The time has come boys, archery deer season will be opening in most places this month or early in October. Let's use this thread to talk about 1 goal we each have for this fall and how we plan to capitalize on it, I'll start.
My biggest goal for this fall is to kill a mature buck on public ground without the aid of any technology. No trail cams, no internet mapping. Using woodsmanship alone to dial in on fresh sign and hopefully find success. *disclaimer- nothing against those tools as I have used them a lot in my life, I just think it will be cool to hunt without them this season.
What is your biggest goal for this fall?
Shoot a nice buck off my farm. I haven't since I was younger. I've just been hunting the in laws or public and shot some good ones. I put in a bunch of plots and food for em.
I was going to go to kodiak island again and hunt but I can't this year.
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I just hope to be able to enjoy some time with family and friends. No goals in particular, just looking forward to some down time in the woods.
Kill some deer and fill up the freezer. That's my only goal.
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Two goals :
Get out and relax.
Have a mature buck do something dumb in front of me.
Kill a couple yearly does here soon off of damage permits with a rifle, oh, you said bow. Sorry, mine hasn't been drawn in 15 years, case is probably holding it together.
You guys enjoy your bow season, it is a great time to be afield. Good luck!
Getting back into bowhunting this year after a 13+ year layoff. And here in Idaho, that means bugling elk. Opener was Wednesday and I'm heading up tomorrow to meet a buddy and give it a go this weekend on a hill with a lot of elk.
Goal? To learn and gain experience hunting them. And the opportunity to kill a dry cow or a bull, that's the ultimate.
I'm not as proficient with my bow as I should be, so range will be short. But I'm excited about trying to call and just getting into animals. I've had terrible luck hunting elk since moving out west, but I've made a new commitment to learn all I can about elk and hunting them. So... it'll take a while, I'm sure, not unlike turkeys, but it all starts this weekend.
Even though it's frustrating, it's also kinda fun being 'new' at something again, especially at my age.
Bow only for deer for last 25 years . Been very blessed to gather my share of good bucks and make some great memories. Looking forward to my 10 year olds lst bow season . Hopefully get him a few opportunities at some deer and hogs . We ready !
Last year walking down a ravine to head back to my truck at my hunting ground, I jumped a huge buck bedded in a blow-down. I found several large rubs and scrapes in this core area. Last March, I set a stand in the ravine. I saw very large tracks in the snow traveling past the blow-down in late Feb. He has been spotted this summer close to this area. I plan on targeting him, I have to pick the right conditions to slip into this stand. I am not using a camera, I won't enter this area till I am ready to sit him out. I'll probably only have one chance at him, so I have to be careful to make it my best chance. These bucks do not slip up much, one or two days a year when the ladies drive them crazy......can't wait.....
Just get out in the woods and bow hunt. Oh I'm serious enough about it and very fussy about odors. I wear rubber boots, wash all my clothes and use some type of scent blocker etc.
I practice with my compound ( Mathews set at 60lbs using Rage broad-heads) as well as with my Raven Crossbow( It's dead on at 50 Yards) I checked all my tree stands and life lines a month ago changing out anything I deemed unsafe. Trimmed out a few limbs to open things up a bit for a better shot.
I would like to shoot a Pope and Young or a Booner and I'll hold out and keep hope alive. Have photos of a nice 10 and some good looking 8's but haven't seen the Booner from last year of camera yet!
Truth be told that last week if I haven't filled my buck tag if something legal comes by it might be taking a dirt nap.
A doe or two might hit the dirt as well to help fill the freezer.
Ya'll be safe!
Good luck and safe hunting for all.......
That's an honorable goal, if you succeed than you truly have a trophy !
My goal is going to deer camp and enjoy some old friends, maybe swap lies and share some good camp food !
Quote from: topnotch on September 01, 2023, 02:45:59 PM
That's an honorable goal, if you succeed than you truly have a trophy !
My goal is going to deer camp and enjoy some old friends, maybe swap lies and share some good camp food !
Amen, having fun with friends at camp is what it's all about!
Id like to learn how to process my own deer. Didnt grow up deer hunting, and my father was a quail hunter. I practiced once on a roadkill buck someone hit running off of my place. I can gut them quickly now. I can get the back straps and tenderloins out. I struggle with the rest. Just got my 2021 buck back a month ago from the taxi.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230902/d9277b18ffe1c868709d2b118ee82e54.jpg)
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It's pretty simple. My wife and I process all of our deer at home. Check out the bearded butchers on YouTube. They do a decent job of showing how to break down a deer. I prefer to quarter everything without using a saw myself, though. They also show how to make sausage, bologna, ect.
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Quote from: nativeks on September 02, 2023, 08:04:48 AM
Id like to learn how to process my own deer. Didnt grow up deer hunting, and my father was a quail hunter. I practiced once on a roadkill buck someone hit running off of my place. I can gut them quickly now. I can get the back straps and tenderloins out. I struggle with the rest. Just got my 2021 buck back a month ago from the taxi.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230902/d9277b18ffe1c868709d2b118ee82e54.jpg)
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Nice buck.. there are a lot of you tube videos on how to debone deer. It is really easy once you do it a couple times.. key is a good sharp knife and what your fingers.
Quote from: Happy on September 02, 2023, 08:30:12 AM
It's pretty simple. My wife and I process all of our deer at home. Check out the bearded butchers on YouTube. They do a decent job of showing how to break down a deer. I prefer to quarter everything without using a saw myself, though. They also show how to make sausage, bologna, ect.
Happy is right, after you have a few under your belt you will be able to knock one out in a short amount of time.
Beautiful mount! Good looking deer, did you get him scored?
Quote from: Turkeybutt on September 02, 2023, 09:57:17 AM
Quote from: Happy on September 02, 2023, 08:30:12 AM
It's pretty simple. My wife and I process all of our deer at home. Check out the bearded butchers on YouTube. They do a decent job of showing how to break down a deer. I prefer to quarter everything without using a saw myself, though. They also show how to make sausage, bologna, ect.
Happy is right, after you have a few under your belt you will be able to knock one out in a short amount of time.
Beautiful mount! Good looking deer, did you get him scored?
Negative. Im a fairly new bowhunter as this will be my 7th year. My first deer I think is bigger, however Im a horrible judge of antler size.
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Nice buck nativeKS!!! :drool:
My goal is to take a deer during archery season. Buck would be nice, but a doe scratch that itch too.
Now that I'm retired, some new goals are to hunt more during the week, to hunt more evenings/nights and start processing my deer. Another is to not feel pressured to need to kill a deer. I generally take my deer to a processor. Processors are closed by the time I get done hunting in the evening. I didn't want to be up all night processing a deer and have to go to work the next day. I occasionally would hunt Saturday evenings, but I was VERY selective about what I shot. My only option is to quarter the deer and keep it on ice in a cooler until I can cut it up, especially when it is warm out.
My other goals are basically the same. Living in the "Big Buck" state of Iowa there is kind of a hidden, a in the back of your mind peer pressure, mentality you have to kill a big buck....if it's not 150" or bigger you shouldn't shoot it. I went 4-5 years without shooting a buck, passing up several bucks that would have been in the 140" range. because of it. Several of the bucks I shot I remember I almost felt guilty because it wasn't a "big buck". About 7-8 years ago I quit listening to/ falling into that pressure. Now, I shoot what makes me happy and don't worry what others think about the size of the deer. I don't care what a deer scores and I haven't had one scored since changing the way I think/feel. With that said I still won't shoot a 1 1/2 year old buck. Preferably it's 3 1/2 years old, but if it's only 2 1/2 and I like the way he looks I'm taking the shot if I get one.
Quote from: nativeks on September 02, 2023, 01:17:38 PM
Quote from: Turkeybutt on September 02, 2023, 09:57:17 AM
Quote from: Happy on September 02, 2023, 08:30:12 AM
It's pretty simple. My wife and I process all of our deer at home. Check out the bearded butchers on YouTube. They do a decent job of showing how to break down a deer. I prefer to quarter everything without using a saw myself, though. They also show how to make sausage, bologna, ect.
Happy is right, after you have a few under your belt you will be able to knock one out in a short amount of time.
Beautiful mount! Good looking deer, did you get him scored?
Negative. Im a fairly new bowhunter as this will be my 7th year. My first deer I think is bigger, however Im a horrible judge of antler size.
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13 scorable points, lacks mass, mid 140"s pushing 150? Please post picture of your first "bigger" buck. Great bow buck, like captpete said " don't care what a deer scores" shoot what makes you excited!!
Hunted 13 yrs before killing my 1st buck, shotgun. Now I've become a "horn snob" didn't even buy a license last year, almost strictly bow hunt, bought a license this year...something special is walking....
Quote from: JeffC on September 03, 2023, 03:27:26 PM
Quote from: nativeks on September 02, 2023, 01:17:38 PM
Quote from: Turkeybutt on September 02, 2023, 09:57:17 AM
Quote from: Happy on September 02, 2023, 08:30:12 AM
It's pretty simple. My wife and I process all of our deer at home. Check out the bearded butchers on YouTube. They do a decent job of showing how to break down a deer. I prefer to quarter everything without using a saw myself, though. They also show how to make sausage, bologna, ect.
Happy is right, after you have a few under your belt you will be able to knock one out in a short amount of time.
Beautiful mount! Good looking deer, did you get him scored?
Negative. Im a fairly new bowhunter as this will be my 7th year. My first deer I think is bigger, however Im a horrible judge of antler size.
Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
13 scorable points, lacks mass, mid 140"s pushing 150? Please post picture of your first "bigger" buck. Great bow buck, like captpete said " don't care what a deer scores" shoot what makes you excited!!
Hunted 13 yrs before killing my 1st buck, shotgun. Now I've become a "horn snob" didn't even buy a license last year, almost strictly bow hunt, bought a license this year...something special is walking....
Taxidermist thought he was probably low to mid 150s. The place I took to process him said definitely north of 150 maybe approaching 160". They run a big outfitting service in the area and convinced me I should mount it. Heck I wasn't even going to have it mounted as I thought it was a 130" deer. Like I said horrible judge of antler size.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230903/58c04fe70110fcd25da3a4a0208b3dc9.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230903/bc5ab7c48f1005e9f4d868d1ca3c7353.jpg)
My first deer has 25" main beams, huge g2 and g3, big kicker, etc. I got on the trail to quick and bumped him. Learned alot. Found him in the creek 2 days later.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230903/b9ea4eb810012f8d0eaa24cda8104c89.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230903/5e8ac82f046669b234a2c8ad8ca14de5.jpg)
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Wow! Beautiful deer there!
Both great bucks nativeks! Thanks for sharing.
Right now my only goal is to get feeling better asap so I can wrap up some last minute prep work before archery starts. I'm fighting a case of Covid right now and I don't have the strength or stamina to do much!!