Killing a Big Deer

As was said by many it is a matter of patience. I hunted for many years before tagging a really big one. In the last few years I managed to luck a few more times. Hunt in areas known to contain a lot of deer and do your homework if it involves getting permission and so on. By scouting during the summer you get to know landowners and sometimes you get some great tips on big bucks in the areas.

My biggest advice for whitetail in the bush is you will get more shots from your butt than from your feet. Find scrapes and rubs in the main rut and set up a stand a stay put. Moving in the brush is a disadvantage regardless of how quiet you are.
 
Well, pretty hard to scout from DT Toronto, so unless you join an established camp that know where the deer travel, you might be years trying to shoot any deer.

As for Northern Ontario, while they do have record book bucks, 90% of the deer here are in the south. In my WMU its not uncommon to see 30 deer on the first day. However, the big ones seem to elude hunters. In the 18 years I've deer hunted, I've probably shot 10 bucks, 2 of them were wallhangers. I've also seen alot of big bucks that I didn't shoot, for one reason or another.

Nowadays I just hunt to fill the freezer and enjoy the quiet of the outdoors. If I shoot a biggun, its a bonus.
 
I to am a meat hunter first,if it has antlers thats a bonus.:)IF I was a trophy hunter I probably wouldn't have pulled the trigger on any of the deer I shot,and would have been very hungry also.
I have hunted whitetail for 25 years in that time I shot 7 decent 115-125 class 4x4s,a couple basket bucks,spikers,does,ect.I have hunted all over Mb. and in the 25 years have seen maybe 5-6 150-170 class deer (again thats in 25 years) unfortunately I didn't harvest any of them.But I am proud of the ones I did get to take.
Sometimes its not the kill but the thrill of the chase.Be patient and enjoy the hunt for what it is.:)
 
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LOL! when its your turn it will happen, some of the biggest bucks Shot in our camp where complete flukes! some where being whee you were suposed to be?
I have shot many buck but a few real nice ones that scored well and were big bodied deer. One was a complete fluke one our property hunting with 4 buddies i sat them out in a good spot and i decided to just walk around in the acres that were not hunted.
Sure as poop in the middle of no where no run ways the large deer came flying out a headof 2 hounds , in th emiddle of no where? I got him.

One was like it was supposed to happen found a nice scrape and hunted it the doe came out than the buck droped him.

And the last big deer i shot i walked up on in a field??
Prob shot a dozen decent bucks and a few spikes but those 3 I will not forget and all 3 are down stairs

Go figure when its your turn and your in the bush it will happen!

But good advice you have to put your self in a spot to get that chance!
 
Just to add my dad is 60 now and just shot his first nice buck and with a bow thats after 50 years of hunting sure he has shot lots? 50-60 deer but he held off hunted every evening and morning and started mineral plots and food plots for 7 years now and finaly after1000s of hours it payed off.

Some guys get lucky some have to work a bit on it!
 
Interesting thread. As I think back to the beginning of my hunting career, I do remember that point where I craved success so much I could taste it -- and I hunted two seasons without putting anything on the ground. In mid-season of the third year, I finally put a small buck on the ground, and felt like I had jumped over the moon.

The funny thing is that I've hunted that same piece of crown land (perhaps 1000 acres in total size) every year since -- more years than I care to admit. And I never cease to be amazed how I stumbled through it for nearly 2 1/2 seasons before finally tagging a buck.

Why amazed? Because with every passing season, I saw more and more animals. It wasn't because their numbers increased -- it was because every season I was hunting better, based on the lessons learned from all the seasons before. Now, I think it's been over a decade since I spent a day on that piece of land without seeing a legal buck -- and most days I see several.

The message in all this is that hunting is a learning process that never ends. But if you stick with it, you'll be amazed at how easy it becomes to find game that was there all along. You do have to earn that ability the hard way, though -- there simply are not any shortcuts. But why should there be? Everything I've ever accomplished in this life came as a result of real effort. Hunting is no different, and I'm glad for that.

Oh, and BTW AR15Meister, I shot my first "wall-hanger" (a 130-class whitetail) in season 6. As I sat there under shadow of the tall poplars with the rising sun beginning to warm the cool morning air, I felt the enormous satisfaction of having truly earned that moment. That may not make sense to you now, but sooner or later it will. Few things are as hollow as a reward one doesn't deserve.
 
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Neo said:
Interesting thread. As I think back to the beginning of my hunting career, I do remember that point where I craved success so much I could taste it -- and I hunted two seasons without putting anything on the ground. In mid-season of the third year, I finally put a small buck on the ground, and felt like I had jumped over the moon.

The funny thing is that I've hunted that same piece of crown land (perhaps 1000 acres in total size) every year since -- more years than I care to admit. And I never cease to be amazed how I stumbled through it for nearly 2 1/2 seasons before finally tagging a buck.

Why amazed? Because with every passing season, I saw more and more animals. It wasn't because their numbers increased -- it was because every season I was hunting better, based on the lessons learned from all the seasons before. Now, I think it's been over a decade since I spent a day on that piece of land without seeing a legal buck -- and most days I see several.

The message in all this is that hunting is a learning process that never ends. But if you stick with it, you'll be amazed at how easy it becomes to find game that was there all along. You do have to earn that ability the hard way, though -- there simply are not any shortcuts. But why should there be? Everything I've ever accomplished in this life came as a result of real effort. Hunting is no different, and I'm glad for that.

Oh, and BTW AR15Meister, I shot my first "wall-hanger" (a 130-class whitetail) in season 6. As I sat there under shadow of the tall poplars as the rising sun began to warm the cool morning air, I felt the enormous satisfaction of having truly earned that moment. That may not make sense to you now, but sooner or later it will.
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Yes, that pretty much sums it up !
 
thanks for the replies, some good information here.

I like hunting but unlike some of you guys I dont really enjoy sitting in a tree freezing my balls off and not even seeing a deer.

Most of the hunting stories I have heard and read end with seeing a deer, even if it doesnt get shot at.

I have never heard anyone tell a fireside tale of sitting in the freezing cold for 7 days and not seeing a deer so I am sure you can understand my frustration!

Also it is kind of hard to scout when you live in Downtown Toronto and have no real time to hunt other than that one week in November. Work, family and other hobbies get in the way.

I appreciate the advice on going out west, I am goind to look into it as well as that big bucks forum.

Again thanks, CGN is a great source of info.
 
It sounds like a trip to the west for a hunt might be just what you're looking for. I agree with all the other posters who have said that hunting is about a lot more than a trophy to hang on your wall and that you need to put some time in to get your chances. You will see a ton of deer if you head west though.

We usually hunt the prairie of southern Alberta, and the number of deer that can be seen is amazing. It's not unusual to see hundreds of deer a day, if not a hundred deer in a farmer's field at times. I read some of the posts on CGN about guys who go deer hunting and see only a few animals during their entire season. If you get frustrated because you don't see a lot of animals locally, try hunting the open country of the western prairie. I love being able to have the opportunities to watch so many animals. There is a chance to see mule deer, whitetails, coyotes, and even elk on the bald ass prairie. It's surprising how many animals call this region home.
 
I understand the patience aspect of it and I appreciate the advice. Must be nice to have that much time to devote to a hobby!

I just dont have the luxury of living near the deer woods/fields nor does my business afford me the time to go up north scouting so I prefer to use a guide, also as my father nor any family member's hunt so I neevr had anyone who gave a #### about nature in my family and none of them really care for the woods or mosquitos. :cool: Cant say I blame them sometimes!

we are real city folk.......;)
 
AR15meister said:
I understand the patience aspect of it and I appreciate the advice. Must be nice to have that much time to devote to a hobby!

I just dont have the luxury of living near the deer woods/fields nor does my business afford me the time to go up north scouting so I prefer to use a guide, also as my father nor any family member's hunt so I neevr had anyone who gave a s**t about nature in my family and none of them really care for the woods or mosquitos. :cool: Cant say I blame them sometimes!

we are real city folk.......;)
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Keep your chin up, there is still lots of time for you to become a real hunter;):D

To bad for you live-shot.com aint around anymore
 
Scott_N said:
It sounds like a trip to the west for a hunt might be just what you're looking for. I agree with all the other posters who have said that hunting is about a lot more than a trophy to hang on your wall and that you need to put some time in to get your chances. You will see a ton of deer if you head west though.
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X2, if you can't scout and don't know where the deer are, spend some $$ and make it a once a year vacation and head out west somewhere.
 
Since you seem to be more interested in shooting a big buck than learning how to hunt I would suggest a hunt down in the states with some Americans.

Mabey you can find some "instant sucsess" down these as some guides specalize in it.
 
Republic of Alberta said:
Since you seem to be more interested in shooting a big buck than learning how to hunt I would suggest a hunt down in the states with some Americans.

Mabey you can find some "instant sucsess" down these as some guides specalize in it.
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And if you cross your eyes slightly when firing you won't notice the 14 ft chain link fence behind your trophy.
 
If you were hunting in Campbellford with the guide I am thinking of, I am surprised your gang saw anything, much less killed a couple.

The Ontario Monster Whitetails forum will show you lots of really nice bucks taken in Ontario.

Doesn't sound to me like you really like hunting. More like you just want to kill a big buck to hang on the wall and brag about. You would likely have better luck driving some back roads really fast at night during the rut.

There is an elk farm in Peterborough that might sell you a live one. Buffalo farms too!!! Now they would make great conversation mounts.
 
just run into this passage in the book called "HUNTING in North America";

some time ago, in Michigan, an experiment was conducted "39 deer, including 7bucks, 14does and 18 fawns, were fenced inside a 1-square-mile area. Six experienced hunters attempted to find the deer. On the fourth day, one hunter finally spotted a buck. After one month, the average amount of time needed for a hunter to spot a buck was 51 hours. It took an average of 14hours to spot any deer"

it is one of the most challenging games to hunt (at least for me), and all the efforts are worth it, even if I come home with nothing, or just a glimps of a deer, few years in a row, but thats why its called hunting, and while guys leavning near great places have an advantage, over me and others that leave in a city, I still enjoy the time I have to put in to the hunt
 
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