I know and you know, sometimes we just have lousy seasons. There may be things that happen that are out of our control that cause us to miss an opportunity to bring a deer, or deer, home.
However, there are a number of Hunters who fail to bring a deer home year after year. I know several right now who haven’t killed a deer in 5 years or more. I bet you know a few also. In fact, you might be one of them. This list is to help you change you skills. Notice I didn’t say “change you luck” because in deer hunting, I believe you make most of your own luck. I’m not writing this to be mean, I’m writing this for those of you who can’t seem to bring home a deer.
Here are 7 reasons you fail to bring home a deer every year.
- You fail to take deer hunting seriously. Some of you see deer season as a chance to get away from the ole lady and party. That’s fine, but be honest about it and tell people you getting away for a few days, not deer hunting.
- You fail to become proficient with you weapon.I know a guy right now who misses a lot of deer every year. He’s a lousy shot with a bow, rifle and muzzleloader. Why? He doesn’t practice! He claims he doesn’t “have time”, yet any given day after work he’s either at a Bar or napping in his recliner back at home. He has time, he just doesn’t want to make the time to become proficient with his weapons.
- You’re lazy. You walk out into the Woods just far enough so you’re sure you don’t get lost and plop your butt down at the base of a tree. You don’t bring a tree stand “because it’s too darn heavy” or because “ole so and so kills ‘em off the ground, I can too.” You could use a blind if you didn’t want to hunt out of a tree stand, but you have your excuses for that also. Perhaps if you learned how to use a map and compass or GPS you would venture further from the roads but then “that’s too far to drag one” you say. So you fail year after year.
- You Fail to Scout.Some of you wonder aimlessly through the woods opening morning, spooking deer from other people looking for a “spot”. Or, you always hunt out of the same permanent stand because you killed a deer out of it 10 years ago or someone you know killed a deer from there 10 years ago. Times change. Deer patterns change. Just because one spot is hot one year, does’t mean it will be the next year, or even the next month. You need to get out and pattern the deer in your hunting area. You want to kill deer? Learn what they’re doing in your hunting area. You may find out that you need a new hunting area!
- Where Your Buddies Hunt, You Hunt! I know guys who never kill a deer simply because where ever their buddies hunt, they hunt. They have no idea where to hunt in that area, but because they have friends hunting there, they hunt there. It never occurs to them they should find their own space to hunt. They’re more worried about missing the Poker game that evening than killing a deer. I love deer camp as well as anyone. If I stay with a group of hunters, it’s because I have a place to hunt in the area. Otherwise, I’m up early driving to my spot, even if it’s not in the same location. Go to where you know the deer are and worry about the Poker game later.
- You Let Everyone Else Pick Your Hunting Spot. Here’s a news flash. If you’re the type that lets everyone else find a place for you hunt, yet you’re not killing any deer, it may be because they’re putting you there to keep you out of the way. Unless you’re killing deer every year, you need to be finding your own hunting spot.
- You’re the Last to Leave and the First to Get Back to Camp or the Truck. I know guys who wait all year to take their vacation during the hunting season, spend loads of money on gear and drive hundreds, if not thousands of miles to get to their destination. Then, they hunt an hour or so in the morning and their back in Camp goofing off the rest of the day or walking all over the freakin’ countryside. Then, in the afternoon they sit an hour and leave well before legal shooting times because they’re afraid of getting lost in the dark. If you’re going to hunt, then HUNT!
With the deer population the way it is these days and the availability of public lands probably better than it has ever been, there’s no good reason one can not kill a deer if they want to. In all honesty, if you go year after year without killing a deer, chances are it’s because you meet one of the reasons above. It usually comes down to rule #1 in the list above.
So this year, don’t make excuses, suck it up and get down to deer hunting and make gut piles, not excuses!