The Piled-High Club

[Plebe]

What’s your trigger? Has it changed? Does filling every tag satisfy you? Do you feel 100 is an accomplishment? What satisfies you on a hunt, tomorrow? What haunts you? Who do you learn from?

Congrats!

 

[dalton916]

What’s a big mistake you made on a specific hunt that cost you a chance at a big deer that still haunts you?

Whew weeeee, there’s a lot to unpack in this thread, but I’ll start with the above (and probably won’t be back to this thread for the next 9 days or so as I’m dropping my wife off in the morning and heading west, lol).

Mid 90’s in SC. 2 day draw hunt on a State Park. Scouted a couple weeks early and found great sign. No….GREAT sign, lol. Climbed a tree the first morning and had a gangly dogwood leaning over blocking my shooting lane. Sat all day and told myself I was cutting it down and hauling in out when I got down that night.

Came back the next morning and climbed the same tree. When the sun came up the same dogwood was still blocking what I deemed to be my shooting lane. Got distracted by killing a doe the previous evening and had forgotten to deal with it.

I couldn’t think of anything BUT that tree so at 0800 I climbed down to get rid of it, lol. I stepped off my climber and saw movement about 120-150 yds away. Turkeys. Well hell, no way I can cut the thing down with lout disrupting them so I sat there waiting on them to feed out of sight. Then here he came. Main frame 12 with mass, tine length and symmetry. A giant. And he stopped 18 yards away. The problem was the turkeys had made it to me and I was amongst them. He was broadside with nothing blocking a shot, but there was a hen between me and him about 6 yards from me. She was staring at me, I was staring at him and he was staring at her.

I had an arrow nocked and my release on the string, but I was not drawn back. I thought about going for it, but didn’t. After a few minutes of waiting on something to give he turned his head forward and started walking. The hen looked his way and I drew back, put my pin on his shoulder and was tracking him as he walked. Slowly walked…..

I had made up my mind to shoot him in an opening beyond a cedar tree. He got to the cedar and turned right, eased down into the creek and crossed out of my life forever without offering a shot.

I let down then laid down. Turkeys freaked out and left. I was devastated, lol. Packed my sh….. stuff and left. And I still forgot to cut that ****** ****** tree down.

I could have shot that fool anywhere I wanted to in the first 20’ while he was walking and just didn’t. Because he was moving. Big mistake. Still remember that morning like it was yesterday.

Now he’s the second largest deer I’ve ever seen alive in SC, but the other was from my truck. During the 2 or 3 days I was awake after that morning I did the math over and over in my head and decided that deer would green score 158”

 

[Pavehawk01]

For the killers… do you use leg straps? Jokes aside, how would you arrange each of the following groups in order 1-3 based on your personal success/priority? 1 being the most productive, 2 being somewhat productive, 3 being the least productive?

Group 1 (location):
- bedding
- transition
- food/water source

Group 2 (time of day):
- morning
- midday
- evening

Group 3 (season):
- early season
- rut
- late season

Group 4 (most important group)
- group 1
- group 2
- group 3

Could you please specify if you are prioritizing based on packing a freezer or adding to your trophy wall?

 

[Plebe]

For the killers… do you use leg straps? Jokes aside, how would you arrange each of the following groups in order 1-3 based on your personal success/priority? 1 being the most productive, 2 being somewhat productive, 3 being the least productive?

Group 1 (location):
- bedding
- transition
- food/water source

Group 2 (time of day):
- morning
- midday
- evening

Group 3 (season):
- early season
- rut
- late season

Group 4 (most important group)
- group 1
- group 2
- group 3

For bucks? does? Big bucks?

 

[Pavehawk01]

For bucks? does? Big bucks?

Wow, that’s an important question that completely slipped my mind. Perhaps I should ask anyone who wishes to respond to clarify what their target animal is, because that certainly changes the dynamics.

 

[Plebe]

Wow, that’s an important question that completely slipped my mind. Perhaps I should ask anyone who wishes to respond to clarify what their target animal is, because that certainly changes the dynamics.

Maybe it’s the same? IDK? Leave that to the certified killers.

But no joke, some of them do it well.

Nice looking buck in your profile pic.

 

[Still Kicking]

I also have never hunted over bait as I can't really call that hunting. I just like hunting and love venison. I still like watching big bucks working scrapes, pushing does and tearing up trees. I can tell if I'm eating doe or over yearling bucks and I try to get 100 lb field dressed does for the best meat. Not willing to argue that point it's just my take on it. I've went past collecting antlers and an older doe is just as smart as an older buck. I don't feel like it is much of an accomplishment to have killed over 100 deer in 58 seasons as Illinois has no limit on archery doe tags and many years I've taken 4.

 

[Plebe]

I also have never hunted over bait as I can't really call that hunting. I just like hunting and love venison. I still like watching big bucks working scrapes, pushing does and tearing up trees. I can tell if I'm eating doe or over yearling bucks and I try to get 100 lb field dressed does for the best meat. Not willing to argue that point it's just my take on it. I've went past collecting antlers and an older doe is just as smart as an older buck. I don't feel like it is much of an accomplishment to have killed over 100 deer in 58 seasons as Illinois has no limit on archery doe tags and many years I've taken 4.

So it’s a matter of what’s enjoyable recreation then? Thumbs up!

 

[DB4x4]

The members of the 100+ kill club are too busy out killing deer to respond here, while everyone else is staring at their phones waiting for replies.

 

[Will Harris]

I want these guys' deer recipes. Two or three a year is all we can eat through. TBH I like deer meat, but I don't love it. It's fine.

i go thru 3-4 in just grind. not to mention steaks and roasts and stew meat.

how much ground beef do you consume in a year?

meatloaf
tacos
summer sausage (at least 1 deer)
snack stix (at least 1 deer)
spaghetti
chili
stroganoff
hamburgers
meatballs
lasagna
deer and noodles
....

literally anything that calls for ground beef.

and then you can get into chunk meat if you roll yer own with all kind of stews and gumbos and ....

endless.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

While I havent killed quite a hundred yet, between my dad and my brother, ive processed over a hundred. Now that Im the chief processor, I smoke every thing I can with deer. I love leaving everything whole as much as possible. Last few years i've been just been cutting the legs on the front quarters of deer just short enough that they fit in my smoker and smoke the things whole. Deer pastrami out of the hind quarter roasts are great. When I do steaks out of the backstraps, they stay whole so they dont dry out while cooking/smoking like they do if you cut them into medallions or butterflys(butterflying backstraps is such a waste of time just do the medallions unless you want to stuff them).

 

[bowhunthard88]

I want these guys' deer recipes. Two or three a year is all we can eat through. TBH I like deer meat, but I don't love it. It's fine.

I still prefer venison over most red meat, but sometimes you just gotta have beef lol. I also don't like my meat above medium, medium-rare preferred, crockpot or ground not inclusive...

 

[The_Fit_Ness_Monster]

Just for perspective, in Louisiana if you used the brown it’s down approach and filled all 6 tags every season it would take 16.6 years to kill 100. I’m barely in the mid 40’s and I’ve maybe hunted 10- 12 seasons relatively hard and in these parts I’m doin pretty good for only bow hunting public land. 100 is impressive in almost any circumstance. For the nay-sayers, these 100+ guys regardless of how they hunt or what they kill whether it be spikes or small does it doesn’t matter, I’ll take a full freezer over pope and young records all day. . I have no questions but thought I should put some perspective on this. To the 100+ guys I am both humbled and optimistic that there’s guys like you that exist. Congrats! And thanks for just doing what you do.

 

[bowhunthard88]

What’s a big mistake you made on a specific hunt that cost you a chance at a big deer that still haunts you?

The trigger that actually eventually led to the saddle hunting rabbit hole... A climbing stand used to be my vehicle of choice. Scouted into a really good area, picked where I wanted to be and there were no acceptable trees... AND it was too thick to sit on the ground. I picked the "best" tree. Had a the largest buck that I've ever encountered in the woods come up over the ridge about 200yds. away and literally walk until his nose was at my tree. He never violently spooked, he just backed up about 10yds., turned around and walked out of my life the way he had come. To top it off, it was the literal last day of the season. I gave up on climbing stands that day, switched to a mobile hang-on setup before the following season, and after two seasons of fighting mountain laurel and blueberry brush with that on my back I switched to a saddle. Still kinda makes me sick. Hindsight being 20/20, I could have possibly backed off a bit further or pushed forward a bit to select a "better" stand location. Most of my mistakes were location based more often then not...

 

[Dmathews87]

Just for perspective, in Louisiana if you used the brown it’s down approach and filled all 6 tags every season it would take 16.6 years to kill 100. I’m barely in the mid 40’s and I’ve maybe hunted 10- 12 seasons relatively hard and in these parts I’m doin pretty good for only bow hunting public land. 100 is impressive in almost any circumstance. For the nay-sayers, these 100+ guys regardless of how they hunt or what they kill whether it be spikes or small does it doesn’t matter, I’ll take a full freezer over pope and young records all day. . I have no questions but thought I should put some perspective on this. To the 100+ guys I am both humbled and optimistic that there’s guys like you that exist. Congrats! And thanks for just doing what you do.

3 deer limit in area 4 where i am and less deer population so im guessing 30 years for me to hit 100 lol

 

[elk yinzer]

I still prefer venison over most red meat, but sometimes you just gotta have beef lol. I also don't like my meat above medium, medium-rare preferred, crockpot or ground not inclusive...

Yeah I get it.

Phase 1 of my hunting career my grandma cooked all the venison we killed. I love my grandma and her cooking, but most of her venison was an abomination as per standard for her generation. She did make good crockpot roasts and chili, but all steaks were overmarinated and overcooked.

Phase 2 I think I got a little smidge of virtue about the whole free range organic caveman whatever thing. I told myself I loved venison and we ate quite a bit. We were dinks and I had a lot of time to cook. We ate so much deer I think I ruined my wife on it and maybe myself a little too. She can't really stand any braised or slow cooked red meat now. Whoops.

Phase 3 we have kids now and we do a lot of venison recipes where you can't really tell it's venison. Tacos, chili, that kinda stuff. Most of our cooking is fast, furious, and efficient. Ground coon would be just as good with enough seasoning. I got over the virtuous part of it and realized a good beef steak is about 50x better than venison. Not that every meal has to be bonappertif, and sometimes I tell the fam to suck it up, it's sustenance.

I know you can kill and donate but I never felt right about doing that around here. I hunt all public land, and there are deer but not a ton of deer. Certainly not so many I feel responsible for their population control. If you manage property, you could rack up 100 kinda quick. Heck I read a game warden book and this guy talked about poachers shooting 50+ deer a night.

 

[raisins]

How do you manage nerves when a buck comes in slow?

I killed a large buck on Tuesday and he came in quick and I didn't see his antlers much before the shot. My nerves were okay.

Last night, I killed a much smaller buck, but he came in slow. I tried tactical breathing (counting while breathing in and out and holding breath) and it didn't help. My heart was beating so hard that it was moving my mid layers against each other and making them make a subtle noise (that got in my head and made things worse). I whiffed the first shot (I didn't get him to stop but nerves had me pulling trigger anyways). Thankfully, he ran 15 yards and stopped. I then put another shot on him that was much better.

 

[Will Harris]

Yeah I get it.

Phase 1 of my hunting career my grandma cooked all the venison we killed. I love my grandma and her cooking, but most of her venison was an abomination as per standard for her generation. She did make good crockpot roasts and chili, but all steaks were overmarinated and overcooked.

Phase 2 I think I got a little smidge of virtue about the whole free range organic caveman whatever thing. I told myself I loved venison and we ate quite a bit. We were dinks and I had a lot of time to cook. We ate so much deer I think I ruined my wife on it. She can't really stand any braised or slow cooked red meat now. Whoops.

Phase 3 we have kids now and we do a lot of venison recipes where you can't really tell it's venison. Tacos, chili, that kinda stuff. Most of our cooking is fast, furious, and efficient. Ground coon would be just as good with enough seasoning. I got over the virtuous part of it and realized a good beef steak is about 50x better than venison. Not that every meal has to be bonappertif, and sometimes I tell the fam to suck it up, it's sustenance.

I know you can kill and donate but I never felt right about doing that around here. I hunt all public land, and there are deer but not a ton of deer. Certainly not so many I feel responsible for their population control. If you manage property, you could rack up 100 kinda quick. Heck I read a game warden book and this guy talked about poachers shooting 50+ deer a night.

i really do hear ya. a few years ago we had 4 males in the house and i was the smallest at 6'1" 200#. we went thru a lotta red meat to say the least. IMO, the only reason to buy ground is you don't like the taste AND you want a hamburger. prices of ground are stupid right now and who knows what's in it?

 

[1simplemann]

For the killers… do you use leg straps? Jokes aside, how would you arrange each of the following groups in order 1-3 based on your personal success/priority? 1 being the most productive, 2 being somewhat productive, 3 being the least productive?

Group 1 (location):
- bedding
- transition
- food/water source

Group 2 (time of day):
- morning
- midday
- evening

Group 3 (season):
- early season
- rut
- late season

Group 4 (most important group)
- group 1
- group 2
- group 3

Could you please specify if you are prioritizing based on packing a freezer or adding to your trophy wall?

Hard to say. My style of hunting has changed totally in the last 10 years. Also I moved from NJ to MT 23 years ago. The terrain is totally different. My deer now are very condensed. Those deer were more of a big wood setting. Back then I was more of a transition hunter and just sat on good trails. In the beginning a LOT of my success was dumb luck. Probably most of it. Then as I started paying attention to more details, the success rate went up. I hunted every chance I got. Early, rut, and late. I made a lot of mistakes. Now I very rarely hunt early unless I'm on a big one and I have specific info on what he's doing then I will go in after him. 2 year ago I killed a big 10 cause I he was coming out on the same point every night. Bad wind there for and evening hunt. But I knew what bedding area he was coming from so I knew most likely he was coming by a morning tree leading to it. I Killed him on my 1st sit of the year. Anyway now I'm mostly a rut hunter cause that's all I have time for. I'd rather take the Grandkids fishing in October. We don't have a late season here anymore but when we did in certain area, I was in tree mostly in funnel areas.. It was a Whack em' and Stack em' situation. They wanted them dead. I've have doubled and tripled there several times. It was mostly does but the more you kill, the better you get especially when a big one come in. You learn how to handle it and don't get too excited till after it's over. One year in a snow storm I killed a giant doe. When I rolled her over there were balls. I rolled him back over and there were great big Bases. I would've loved to seen what he had on his head! I'll never know but he was really big deer.

For years I was an AM PM hunter and ate lunch in the middle of the day. This was probably a huge mistake. But it was working and I was still killing deer and big bucks. Now I have only weekends to hunt. I started hunting longer and eventually started staying all day to maximize my time in the woods. WOW. Learning experience! Deer move way more mid day that I ever thought. Big bucks also. In the last 10 years it has changed my hunting totally. Peak rut I concentrate on doe bedding. downwind. I move to different areas every day. Doesn't work every hunt but it's really helped learn how the deer in my area use the terrain and why. For years I stayed away from bedding areas for fear of bumping them out. Especially on PM hunts. Now I get right in the thick and wait for em to show up. Sometimes there wasn't a tree that a tree stand would work in so I would get as close as I could. Then I found JE and saddle hunting. I knew instantly that his style would work for me. I could get right to those deer and hunt them w/ a saddle. Now I'm intentionally killing less but seeing more bucks waiting for that truly big one. I've seen some dandy's. My partner screwed up on a 160". and has killed a big one w/ his bow.

 

[Nutterbuster]

It was mostly does but the more you kill, the better you get especially when a big one come in.

Where do you think most hunters mess up when it comes time to fling arrows? Is it bad/not-enough practicing, misjudging yardage, messing up on the draw, aiming at the wrong spot, or what? What has cost you the most deer?

Also, what about recovery? Where do most people go wrong there, or where did you go wrong yourself? And what do you do now to make sure a dead deer becomes a found deer?