In my deer-chasing world, a few notions come to mind following each hunting season; some regulars, some new ones. From acknowledging my fatigue to the melancholy feeling that it’s over, from guilt for spending so much time away from family to the relief that it’s over. Emotions are all over the map.
I deer hunt a lot. While I hunted a little less this past season, I still estimate that I had 35 individual sits. Perennially, my main goal is to harvest mature bucks, preferably with the biggest antlers possible. Sure, I like venison and the time outdoors. But my weaknesses remain; towering antlers, kicker points, mass, and the like. While the antler score isn’t necessarily important to me, it provides a benchmark for the types of headgear I seek.
However, sometimes the types of antlers I strive for get me in trouble. This very thing happened throughout the 2022/2023 deer season.
While I hunt hard, as well as regularly tend to all the basics when bowhunting older bucks, the category I’m looking for eluded me during 2022. In fact, the area bucks on one property ran circles around me. 2022 was a strange year in parts of Texas. A lot of thought and planning went into each sit. Still, when it comes to this category of animal, it was largely a bust. In fact, there were a handful of hunts that yielded zero deer sightings at all; quite unusual in the deer-rich Texas hill country.
I hunted over feeders, draws, and heavy trails. I even hunted well-thought-out staging areas. I was also pretty resolute about not overhunting any stands.
Still, nada.
I had 3 different quality bucks within bow range (I drew on one), but in my estimation, they were a tad young or just weren’t what I was looking for. The mature bucks that did show throughout the season were few and the ones that did were underwhelming in the antler department.
When hunting and scouting for big mature whitetail bucks, consider your real chances of taking one on a given property.
I love it when I hear guys on hunting podcasts and other platforms proclaim things such as, “I finally had to get aggressive and invade bedding areas”. These die-hard members of the rejuvenated DIY bunch must be damn good hunters to pull off such a feat, even in places with high deer density. While I’m open-minded, I’m still old school. You won’t see me getting so aggressive that I risk sabotaging a sanctuary.
Maybe, that’s why my freezer is solely full of does.
Either way, when the hunting gets slow, a lot of deer hunters fail, especially if they are hunting bucks of higher age classes. I’m convinced the failure is often based on over-inflated expectations of the kind of bucks that exist on the hunting property. I know this because I’m guilty of it at times.
Here are just a few of the factors that can lead to overblown expectations when pursuing mature whitetail bucks.
Recent History
Do you let the past stoke your expectations in the field? I do.
For example, on one property, I have perennially encountered an abundance of mature bucks with good antler traits. Before this past season, this particular whitetail haven regularly housed as many as a dozen mature bucks with really good antler traits – at about any given time. For 200 acres, that’s pretty good from where I sit. I’ve been lucky enough to take a few of them.
Not this past season.
I had been duped by my excessive hope. 2022 was a grind. Exhaustive scouting and hunting revealed that most of these bucks were no longer using the property. I ignored the obvious and hunted hard all season. The fact of the matter is that, even during previous seasons, a lot of work went into each successful harvest of good bucks with some age on them. This should come as no surprise, as free-range mature whitetails can be hard to catch up with. Still, regardless of the situation, I hold out for such bucks… After all, I’ve got expectations; ones that may be a little unrealistic at times.
After finally being beaten into submission, I now know that I should have spent more time on other properties.
Ancient History
The same can be said for properties that yielded a big buck or two in the past. You know, like the 10-pointer that grandpa harvested in 1979 and that big 11-pointer that wandered in front of your stand in 2002. Ah, the memories.
For most hunters, the number of attractive bucks with some age on them is limited. Things change. Luckily, deer hunters are a hopeful and nostalgic bunch – one of the great things about this great fellowship. Nonetheless, if your main motivation is to harvest big-antlered mature bucks, it’s not easy and, while a couple of past successes get the blood flowing, they can lead to disappointment.
Trail Camera White Lies
Those plastic boxes strapped to trees and t-posts across North America are a dishonest lot. Sure, they tell the truth some of the time, but they can be a subtle foe. They create expectations that aren’t always warranted. For example, do you get overly excited over nighttime images of shooter bucks? I do. What about those blasted summer trail cam images of nice velvet bucks? These too, are often fools’ gold, as they often vacate your hunting grounds before the season. I can be guilty of that one too.
On their own, photos like this one can lead to a rabbit hole. However, nighttime and velvet photos aren’t as reliable when it comes to actually harvesting such an animal.
While these camera images show proof of life, it doesn’t mean that the mature bucks in your area will be there when it counts.
Social Media
This one speaks for itself. Just spend a few minutes on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube during deer season and you’ll be treated to a ton of whitetail eye candy. To boot, many of the images are of trophy-class bucks, some of them harvested by kids!
Hunting success displayed on social media can lead to overblown expectations regarding your own hunting situation.
It becomes painfully obvious to you that you’re about the only person in the country striking out. This is of course hogwash. Remember, many of these hunters punch their tags on remarkable whitetail properties, some of them high-fenced. In terms of your own hunting conditions, try to keep it real.
Sheds
Another creator of false hope is the shed antler. It’s easy to get excited over particularly big shed antlers, but don’t get carried away. While it’s a good indicator of proof of life, you likely have no idea when or how often the buck even uses your property. Keep it in your knowledge bank, just don’t take it to the bank. By the way, the same goes for big rubs.
We all want to believe that we have a good shot at a big mature whitetail buck. However, don’t let the internet, your game cameras, or your past history fool you. To repeat, for most hunters, the number of attractive bucks with some age on them is limited in the areas they hunt. That doesn’t mean don’t hold out for them but temper your prospects. It could be that you’d be better off either emphasizing another property or settling for a lesser buck antler-wise. Even if you’re okay with eating big buck tag soup, don’t be afraid of facing reality and pivoting.
Ask yourself, “am I hunting a caliber of buck that probably doesn’t roam my hunting digs?” It’s a fair question.
