I hope Karma comes to visit

C

corzatrr

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First time out Crossbow hunting this season. I purchased my first doe decoy (Boss Babe) and set it up in the field amongst some apples. Within 30 minutes I saw a Spiker at 300 plus yards. He came over to the decoy, sniffed from the rear and front. It must have been so convincing he quietly walked up to her and grabbed an apple and ran with it. I had that buck on my rangefinder at 22 yards for a good 20 minutes, broadside. It took everything in me not to shoot but it just didn't feel right being a small buck. I don't know if killing it would have made a dent in the population but I figure he hasn't done his work and re populating just yet. He'll make a nice trophy one day..hopefully for me. the toughest part was I've never shot a deer with crossbow before and its my 3rd season at it. I'm hoping karma will throw me a bone!

Needless to say my first experience with the decoy was a good one. Could this be signs of an early 'pre rut' or just a young curious buck?
 
Good on you! When you finally take the right buck you're after, it will feel so much better! Sometimes the waiting game is painful, but the appreciation afterwards is incredible
 
3rd season at it and you didn't pull the trigger on the little guy? You have more patience than I! (I assume it was legal to harvest in your area, otherwise you wouldn't have even made this post?)

After 3 years, I would be willing to take just about anything that's legal... Especially if it was a region that allowed me to harvest more than 1 deer over the course of the season.
 
cortzatrr, I salute you for a wise, and what I can only imagine to be a twitch inducing, choice! As much as I like eating them, I consider just seeing one - especially as close as you for that long! - a happy win :) Wish more folks had your ideals and discipline.
 
Suther said:
3rd season at it and you didn't pull the trigger on the little guy? You have more patience than I! (I assume it was legal to harvest in your area, otherwise you wouldn't have even made this post?)

After 3 years, I would be willing to take just about anything that's legal... Especially if it was a region that allowed me to harvest more than 1 deer over the course of the season.
Click to expand...

x 2!
 
Whatever you felt to cause you to not pull the trigger will make it worth it in the end. If that wasn't the right shot, right animal, etc you will know when it is. I have had amazing patience at times and exactly zero at others based on factors I understood and maybe some I didn't. Good call.
 
The whole time reading this story I was waiting for you to say "and then some ####### further down fired a shot" lol. Good on you for having a conscience.
 
I take what I can get when I can get it personally. Time is of the essence. Always legal and ethical hunting of course but I never pass up on anything I've got a tag for.
 
corzatrr said:
First time out Crossbow hunting this season. I purchased my first doe decoy (Boss Babe) and set it up in the field amongst some apples. Within 30 minutes I saw a Spiker at 300 plus yards. He came over to the decoy, sniffed from the rear and front. It must have been so convincing he quietly walked up to her and grabbed an apple and ran with it. I had that buck on my rangefinder at 22 yards for a good 20 minutes, broadside. It took everything in me not to shoot but it just didn't feel right being a small buck. I don't know if killing it would have made a dent in the population but I figure he hasn't done his work and re populating just yet. He'll make a nice trophy one day..hopefully for me. the toughest part was I've never shot a deer with crossbow before and its my 3rd season at it. I'm hoping karma will throw me a bone!

Needless to say my first experience with the decoy was a good one. Could this be signs of an early 'pre rut' or just a young curious buck?
Click to expand...

I thought it just did, when a legal buck spent 20+ minutes in front of you.

Need to be swatted with a fish to figure it out? :)

Cheers
Trev
 
Karma will come to visit by way of a big old rutted up buck that eats like leather LOL. Seriously, I want to say we all have to make our choice and live with it but there is no shame in taking a smaller deer. They eat way better and yes a huge set of antlers is nice but what is in the freezer is the prize. I know a lot of people that have tried bowhunting and simply given up after several years of none or little luck. Dump one when the chance presents itself then go trophy hunting after you have a few under your belt. The mass of hunting videos out there make bowhunting look way easier than it is but bowhunting will make you a better hunter if you keep at it

Good luck and may the narliest buck in the county give you a 10 yd broadside
 
hunter148 said:
Karma will come to visit by way of a big old rutted up buck that eats like leather LOL. Seriously, I want to say we all have to make our choice and live with it but there is no shame in taking a smaller deer. They eat way better and yes a huge set of antlers is nice but what is in the freezer is the prize. I know a lot of people that have tried bowhunting and simply given up after several years of none or little luck. Dump one when the chance presents itself then go trophy hunting after you have a few under your belt. The mass of hunting videos out there make bowhunting look way easier than it is but bowhunting will make you a better hunter if you keep at it

Good luck and may the narliest buck in the county give you a 10 yd broadside
Click to expand...


This!

My first deer took seven years to get with no mentor, just trial and error and pure luck. It ended up being one of those "trophy whitetail" bucks everybody always goes on about which I was absolutely ecstatic about. However, after choking down 90lbs+ of that guy I quickly shook the idea of targeting big deer out of my head. Mind you he does look great on the wall, but the quality of meat from the fawn I took last year was better than any wild game I've ever eaten. You can honestly really tell the difference between the two and I would absolutely recommend putting the cross hairs on something smaller to get an appreciation for good venison before you end up with 100lbs of ground.

Also I know there is a large buck on my property as he's been seen here and there all summer, but he's never actually come and eaten from my bait pile day or night... and I've really never heard of big bucks even coming to bait piles during the day either. If you want the big one then you might want to switch up your approach a bit with the baiting until after the rut and for now focus on staging or travel areas. But you do as you please.
 
You made your choice and that is that... Any experience in the outdoors, particularly interacting with wildlife, is valuable. I will make a departure from the praise you are receiving for passing up a younger legal deer and say that in my opinion, you may have made a mistake. You don't say how much experience you have deer hunting in general, but after three years of hunting without harvesting a deer with your crossbow, when Mr.Big comes by there is a far higher likelyhood of the scenario not working out in your favour, than if you had direct experience "under your belt"... that experience and confidence only comes from seeing the devastating and rapidly lethal results of an arrow through the lungs of a big game animal. I have mentored many young people and newcomers into the bowhunting fold... my advice to them is always, to harvest the first legal deer that presents a quality shot, within their comfortable range... the confidence that can only come from direct and first hand experience, with archery equipment, in harvesting game, will go a long way in steeling the nerves and quieting the heart when that monster buck actually does come by... there is no shame in taking a legal, juvenile animal... there is also no shame in passing him up... so, welcome to the archery season and good luck... I hope you get the one you are looking for!
 
I think that Karma affects your next life. So a good deed will be rewarded in your next incarnation. Bad deed, same thing. Good or bad things in this life are due to your behaviour in a past life. Hopefully a Buddhist CGN'er will verify this. Karma is a very misused term in our everyday language.
Good call on the deer BTW. An old guy I knew told me "you'll never shoot a big deer if you always shoot the first deer you see". The corollary of that is "...unless the first deer you see is a monster buck :)
 
Karma, Skarma, you have not shot a deer in 3 years or have never shot a deer, not sure. You made your decision. My father would say you are not a deer hunter if you have never shot a deer. Hunt hard, hope you get the big one..
 
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