What would you do part 2

[Woodsman4God]

I was reading the previous post and I had a follow up question for everyone. I saw some of the replies have answered this but not all of them.

Typically when I hunt I hunt state land. In recent years I have been able to hunt private more often but still do most of my hunting on state land. I hunt heavily pressured areas most of the time and a 2 year old turkey or deer is considered a trophy. With that being said I have eaten tag soup all too often. Its getting better it usually only last 1 year but I have gone several without tagging anything. So the question is

What if you have hunted and havent tagged anything in 2 or 3 years and that Jake or Spike buck presents itself on the last evening of the last day you are going to hunt for the year. Are you shooting?

[redarrow]

BOOM,BOOM, out go the lights.

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

I honestly never plan on allowing myself to be in that position.

I work hard each year, all year to ensure success on mature animals and will continue to do so.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

[Gobble!]

I honestly never plan on allowing myself to be in that position.

I work hard each year, all year to ensure success on mature animals and will continue to do so.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

So is that a yes I'd shoot

[redarrow]

I honestly never plan on allowing myself to be in that position.

I work hard each year, all year to ensure success on mature animals and will continue to do so.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

Im not sure I understand what being prepared has to do with the above scenario. I do agree that being prepared is number one on my list.
However I can assure you that Woodsman works hard  everyday to raise his family and provide them a good home. With limited time to hunt  and then being forced to hunt on public land overrun with goobers who dont understand the basic principle of sharing the land its tough. You pass up a young bird or buck only to see someone else loading it in their truck in the parking area.

[TnTurk]

I'm pulling the trigger and going home with a smile on my face.   Some people are just not as fortunate to have an abundance of critters to chose from as others may. Spike or 10 point buck, jake or longbeard, they all eat good.  

[guesswho]

Jake/no shoot.  Spike depends on my mood.   If I'm deer hunting then I must be bored so chances are good his day ain't going to end to well.

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

I honestly never plan on allowing myself to be in that position.

I work hard each year, all year to ensure success on mature animals and will continue to do so.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

Im not sure I understand what being prepared has to do with the above scenario. I do agree that being prepared is number one on my list.
However I can assure you that Woodsman works hard  everyday to raise his family and provide them a good home. With limited time to hunt  and then being forced to hunt on public land overrun with goobers who dont understand the basic principle of sharing the land its tough. You pass up a young bird or buck only to see someone else loading it in their truck in the parking area.

It has everything to do with the question.

If you aren't getting the opportunities you are looking for you have failed at some part of the hunting process.

Sometimes achieving success means realizing that an area doesn't have the caliber of animals you are looking for and concentrating your efforts on securing new ground elsewhere.

If you're going multiple years between tagging the quality of longbeards or bucks you're looking for, harsh reality is that a failure occurred somewhere in the process.

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

And the answer is no, I wouldn't shoot a Jake or a spike because I wouldn't feel satisfied in that harvest.

I'd shoot a doe and try to identify why I was unsuccessful.  That would be my first step to ensuring greater success next season.

[chatterbox]

The spike would get shot, and the jake would walk.
I put zero thought into the bone on the animal's head.
That full fan? That's another story!

[Neill_Prater]

Spike, if I wanted one to eat, yes. Jake, no. Absolutely nothing wrong with shooting a jake where legal, but it just doesn't float my boat anymore. I proved that to myself a few years ago hunting Alabama during a tough season with virtually no gobbling. I had 3 jakes walk all over me for about 10 minutes, but didn't shoot, and ended up going home after a weeks hunting without firing a shot, but did not regret doing so for a moment.

[kamski1151]

Leo I suppose it depends if a hunter is hunting for venison or antlers. or turkeys or beards........I personaly hunt to fill my freezer, not my wall.. just sayin...

[Woodsman4God]

[/quote]

If you aren't getting the opportunities you are looking for you have failed at some part of the hunting process.

Sometimes achieving success means realizing that an area doesn't have the caliber of animals you are looking for and concentrating your efforts on securing new ground elsewhere.

If you're going multiple years between tagging the quality of longbeards or bucks you're looking for, harsh reality is that a failure occurred somewhere in the process.
[/quote]

The point that alot of people on here seem to miss because they have more options for quality deer or turkey is that some areas just dont produce "quality" deer or turkey as well as others because of habitat and PRESSURE. a quality deer where I hunt and across most of Michigan on public land is 2 1/2 years old. Buck or Doe.

Not being able to devote alot of time because of having a family to raise is somehow being unprepared? As for the oppurtunities I am looking for is to fill my freezer and has little to do with racks and beards.

I've met alot of goood hunters on here that cant travel all over the place to kill birds who are relegated to hunting in one state for minimal days who do as much as they can to prepare and still get skunked at times. Getting skunked or not getting a shot doesnt always mean failure to prepare, one of the guys on our team in the turkey contest last year put in a ton of time trying to get his bird and it just didnt work out, doesnt mean he wasnt prepared.

[Shotgun]

for me jakes and spikes always get a pass

[n2deer]

I shoot what I feel like.

Some days the jakes get it and some days they dont. I never regret what I kill.


I usually do the same for the deer. Some years I would try for a bigger deer, some years I will shoot anything that moves.