An unsuccessful hunt??
Mule Deer
Can a hunting season that ends without a kill still be successful? I bring it up because archery deer season has just ended here in Nevada and I have repeatedly been asked the question "Were you successful?". Did I fill my tag? NO.(But is wasn't due to a lack of effort!) Was my first ever archery deer season a success? Hmmm.. let's see.. I drew a party tag with my son Travis, my daughter Adrian and my son-in-law Collin so it was essentially a family event. Virtually every weekend some of us were out hunting. We found deer every day and in an area that "has a low deer density" we put eyes on more than 2 dozen different bucks and more than double that in does and fawns (including one doe that had five fawns following her). Most of the bucks were smallish to average size, including a pair of 27 inch 4x4's that were virtually identical. One heavy horned buck was given the name KONG and carried a well balanced 5x5 rack nearly 3 feet wide and over 2 feet tall. Travis and I spotted him opening morning and watched as him and 4 of his friends bedded down in a patch of sagebrush. 2 miles later we had worked out a game plan and were pulling off our boots.. Travis got to within 90 yards and something got the attention of those boys but they weren't sure what.. they stood looking in his direction for about 10 minutes before they bolted. The next, and last, time KONG was seen was a week later, Adrian and Collin watched him stop feeding and leave the valley below just as soon as the sun broke the ridge top. That smart old buck had became nocturnal. Adrian got an arrow off at a 30" 3x3 but the excitement got the better of her and she hit the release to soon. Crap! I had a yearling walk straight up the hill to within 10 yards of me, his antlers were about the size of 2 fingers in a V and I didn't realize it was a buck until he was at 40 yards. I probably would have shot him but I had spent 3 hours watching a group of 5 bucks (that included the matched 4x4's) feed and then bed down a few hundred yards away on a slope where nothing was over a foot high. The events and experiences of archery mule deer season 2014 were many, I have shared only a few. I have memories for a lifetime after a too short month of weekends on a mountain camped at 9,110 feet. There are things that you just can't make up, like the coyotes that saw Adrian move in the brush and then stood and barked at her for 20 minutes, or the 3 bucks that showed up and bedded down on the ridge less than 500 yards from camp as we were packing to leave. (Yes they were stalked, Travis took a shot at 38 yards and a small branch on the mahogany that the buck was under deflected his arrow. Crap!)Oh yea, I sat in the shade with an ice tea and watched the whole thing. Better than television! Or the doe that was ready to fight when a small forkie got spooked, she pushed the buck aside and was stomping, snorting and lunging in every direction.. it was hilarious, I'd never seen that before. So back to the question, "Was my season successful?" I can only answer ABSOLUTELY!! How was yours??
That's what it's all about...
Most of my successful hunts end with an unfilled tag. Sounds like you had a great season! Congrats.
X2 "I can only answer ABSOLUTELY!!" Just to have the freedom, health and time to get out makes it successful and a blessing for me.
Sounds like you had a great season no question about it!
I'm with you on that. My brother and I have hunted together for over 20 yrs. It is always a good time to catch up and by the end argue again. lol We have been skunked a few times, but it is only really disappointing when you aren't seeing ANYTHING! Rarely. Since I started archery 2yrs ago, I have been a solo hunter. I see a lot more, get a lot closer, but yes closing the deal is not so easy. Glad it was priceless!
While the logical conclusion to a " successful " hunt means meat in the freezer, if that's your only criteria, you might as well buy your meat at the store. For most of us, the comments above apply. And I applaud your attitude. Sounds like it was fun !
Even on the hunts where I do fill my tag the memory isn't of a tag with the dates cut out. It's the fun, laughs, hard work and time spent with friends that stands out. That and the animals I may have crossed paths with and never had a shot at.
Congrats on a successful hunt!
That's why they call it hunting The TV shows make it look easy but that's not so.Having a good hunt with you son is what it's all about The kill will come soon enough. You had a great hunt my friend!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck in the future/ Remember Field of Dreams!!!!!!!!!!
Refreshing story, and I would say that was a highly successful hunt.
Sure is a lot better than listening to " he was 90 yards but I had to take a shot or he was leaving forever" BS.
Luckily my season isn't over yet, been hunting pronghorns like crazy and as usual im stuck on one particular buck. Its been some fun, tough hunting!
If I can get out and hunt a fair amount and see and stalk game, I consider it successful. I enjoy the hunt more than the kill but making a hard earned bow kill is a great achievement.
Congratulations on a very SUCCESSFUL hunt spent with your family.
Here in Alabama I can take two deer a day. One doe and one buck until I get my three buck limit and then it's two doe per day. Different rules apply for different lands throughout the state but it is very liberal bag limit here.
I set my sights on one buck and struck out on the kill but was very successful in seeing this buck and I had my opportunity to take a shot but I hesitated and blew it. Anyway I only took one doe last season but I had a great time chasing the one buck and passing on all others. I learned some things and hopefully this year will be the year. ( Going into year five for this same buck.)
interesting question. I just returned from a week-long (archery) black bear hunt in Newfoundland, where I never saw a bear.
It was, to me, a very rewarding and sucessful hunt.
:-)
One definition of success is: a favorable result. So if you had a favorable result, you were successful.
Another definition of success is: the attainment of a goal. So if your goal was to kill an animal and you did not, then by that definition, you were not successful.
How do you define success as it pertains to hunting?
For me much of it has to do with the type of hunt it is. Bird hunt, local to home drive hunt I can enjoy regardless of result.
Alti Argali hunt where only ram seen is a dead one the guide tries to sell you not so much.
If I travel halfway around the world, eat bad food, spend large amounts of time and money, I am not doing so for the scenery. If I missed, I would accept that. ( Never happened) No trophy animals seen is a complete waste of time and resources.
Canadian sheep hunt where no trophy is taken, no, I prefer to stay home. I have been there many times and have tired of the excuses.
One thing to keep in mind is that it cost an outfitter no more to have an unsuccessful hunter for black bear than Stone's Sheep. If the hunt were 2500 then you have only wasted your time. If it is 40,000 and no kill it was a very expensive walk in the mountains. I have taken enough of them to not enjoy it anymore.
Agree with Old Sarge. The success of a hunt is measured by what you set out to do, or accomplish, and that is different for eveyone and yourself even at different times.
For me, I hunt to put meat in the freezer. I can enjoy the outdoors without a weapon in hand or a tag in my pocket. So, if I do not fill the tag, then for me, I was unsuccessful.
It really boils down to personal choice and/or preference.
Bowhunting is a low percentage endeavor to begin with. Notching a tag is icing on the cake. I eat a lot of cake without frosting!
I would need a full time therapist if bowhunting success was defined by how often I punch a tag. I'm short on time this year but I just spent 2 1/2 days chasing elk with the aspens in full color. Had a bugling herd bull at 30 yards with no where to sneak an arrow through. Success? You bet!!
Sure it would have been fun to put my hands on his antlers after a short tracking job, but it was a great hunt.
Dave Sullivan,
Since we have never met I really have no idea how or if to respond to your unwarranted personal attack about a subject of which you know nothing.
We each only know about the other what has been self posted as far as I know.
I do not know what I have posted that offended you, nor do I care much. I read your post with interest. You have stated that neither yourself or others you know well have ever killed a 150" gross buck in Iowa. I find that shocking. I have many friends in Iowa that kill two or more bucks per year with archery gear far exceeding that score a have done so for many years. Urban, and state permits, etc. All quite legal. Occasionally they run over one as well. Iowa is covered up in large bucks. No idea what you are doing up there.
You spent a month sitting in a portable shitter in WY on a tiny ranch failing on the easiest hunt in North America to succeed. Blamed "being unlucky" on your failure to shoot the antelope instead of the shitter. Face it, you sat in the shitter for a month, then shot the damn thing instead of the antelope. Your strategy was so pitiful that you were compelled to scoop water out of puddles to drive the poor creatures to thirst. Think about that. Really stop and think about it. Pitiful.
You have a not mentioned ever having any success hunting in any other area. Your lifetime achievements in the hunting world are zero from what you have posted. ZERO. If I am wrong, please feel free to post your successes. So far, you have only posted your pitiful efforts.
Dave, you were unlucky, but it was at birth buddy. Sorry about that. Now you know what that sign that said "slow children playing" in front of your house really indicated. Or maybe not.
Dave, rest easy buddy, we will not be hunting together.
Success? No, an unfilled tag is unsuccessful. Any way you slice it, failure IMO. You lost the game. They won.
But I can live with failure. Even failure after failure. It's not the end of the world. Not the end of anything really but that specific effort or endeavor. Lots of reasons for the failure, many under your control.... many outside your control. Just is what it is. Nothing says you can't enjoy the whole thing from top to bottom, even at times the pain and punishment.
Unsuccessful? Yeah, if the goal was to put something on the ground and you didn't.... that's unsuccessful. Might have been an epic experience, but unsuccessful. I think the key to the philosophy is....
"'Tis better to have bowhunted and lost than never to have bowhunted at all."
Now you know what that sign that said "slow children playing" in front of your house really indicated. Or maybe not.
That is just downright funny!!
Dave,
Been on many 30 day hunts, some successful some not. Killed a great Alaska Brown bear on day 31.
Don't recall returning home early or crying at any time. Do you have any facts or just making stuff up again?
Again, I only comment on what you have stated. You make negative comments on what you think I might do. You have no idea, you have never met me.
Dave,
I see no crying, just a statement that I did not see value for investment.
If either of those scenarios sound like fun to you, let me know, I can hook you up. You might even get a discount if you promise to spend your days scooping water out of puddles. :)
Looked for your statement on the Wensel threads and it was not there. You again are not stating facts. You did clearly state that neither you nor your friends had killed a 150" deer on one of the NR Iowa threads. Was that true or not? I have no idea as I assume nothing about you. I simply state my observations of what you post.
You stated fact that someone stole your property. I did not interpret it as crying, I just thought too bad that happened to anyone's property. You simply stated fact. Just as I did.
For me no...success means my strategy & planning came together and I killed a respectable buck for my area
