[njbowhunter3113]

Personally I think 90 % of it is skill ... You have to scout you have to adapt to situations.. You have to read the deers body languege.. You have to make the shot.. You have to track it.. People don't realise this and they think it's all luck... The only luck IMO is the weather and the cooperation , but if you put your time in there's bound to be that perfect weather...

Just want to hear what you guys think.

 

[DropTine249]

LUCK- Finding a tree that your stand with look good in. Throwing out a bunch of corn and a buck happens to walk in.

SKILL- Glassing fields all year long. Boots on the ground scouting. Finding NATURAL food sources(because if deer are there, they're FREAKING EATING SOMETHING, you dont need corn, and knowing when, where, why and how deer will utilize these food sources.

Analyzing your properties via aerial and topo maps(and actually knowing what you're looking for). Really learning your quarry. Practicing with your bow like your were getting ready for the Olympics.


Let me add, the guys that CONSISTENTLY drop GREAT bucks(and I am NOT one of them), do what I've said above. Hunting doesnt being and end a month before and the week after a season, for these guys. They are out, ALL year, looking to better their chances.

I just do not have the available time to devote to this method, but, I know it's how these gentlemen and ladies get it done.

 

[njbowhunter3113]

I put corn out in the summer but I decided to stop baiting... Now I haven't baited and I'm huntin a different spot .. I feel it's more rewarding but I have no problem with baiting... During the rut it's a different ball game

 

[Liv2hunt]

Its both as I my father always told me you have to be in the right spot at the right time..

 

[ny hunter]

luck.biggest deer i ever shot was when i was walking of the woods for lunch

 

[Stevo]

Your lucky if you walk in in the morning and your stand is still there. Then you've used all your luck up.

So I say SKILL

 

[rdfhunter]

Luck. Some idiot wandering around can screw all your prep.

 

[UltraMag77]

Luck is what happens when preperation meets opportunity.

 

[mikec]

In NJ...90% property. 5% skill. 5% luck. Regardless of weapon.

 

[NJ Hunter]

Me - SKILL

All of you - LUCK.

 

[OneShot1kill]

In NJ...90% property. 5% skill. 5% luck. Regardless of weapon.

mike c makes an interesting point here. PROPERTY

Because its commons sense, mature deer need to LIVE there in order for you to have a chance to take one.

 

[njbowhunter3113]

Well I have a star park 10 mins away and it's really tough huntin and me and my friend scouted all summer and it paid off... Have been seeing 4-7 deer a day... It feels great to figure it out.. And ultramag that's going to be my senior quote. Haha

 

[PHENOM111]

SKILL [up]

 

[lives in trees]

Neither. Its about preparation. CONSISTENT success is all in the details.

 

[Northernhunter]

75% skill
25% luck
25% other

Yes. It takes a degree of skill to harvest a deer and more skill for bow and less for gun. Some luck comes into play just because sometimes a deer will turn your way or provide a good shot while that same deer a day earlier didn't provide that perfect shot or went down into a gully, etc. The "other" is my category for using trail cams, baiting, etc. It used to be you had to spend a few hours in the woods in August and September to find sign, travel routes, pattern the deer, sit and scope to see if any good deer were around, etc. Now with all these cams, you just set it and forget it until you read the disk to see what's been coming around and at what time. Baiting many many years ago was not allowed but today you can put down a buffet table in the woods to attract deer when it used to be you as the hunter had to adapt to the deer. Just my opinion. What we do today is all legal and allowed and helps s be more efficient with our time.

 

[Matty]

You're all wrong, it's INSTINCT!

Some people have a killer instinct, others do not. Of course you hone that instinct through experience. Maybe you could call that skill, but I think it goes beyond being a "skill".

I also agree with the few that said preparation and property. It's easy to get "lucky" if you prepare correctly.

It's also easy to get "lucky" or have the "skills" to kill big mature bucks if you have the right property, where they are located.

You could be the greatest hunter in the world and if the big bucks don't live where you can hunt, you aren't going to kill them.

 

[njbowhunter3113]

Marty I agree... I don't know what it is but when I'm in the woods I'm in my own world... Sometimes you get that feeling or you just hear things other won't... With all this public land available you have the oppurtunity at some nice bucks... You just have to find them..


I enjoy reading all of your opinions[up]

 

[robnj]

10 skill 90 luck.

 

[bullfrog]

For does you need neither luck nor skill. You only need a back yard. Same goes for spikes and small racks. Big Bucks require every skill you have, determination plus patience and a whole lot of luck. When I grow up ...

 

[Meshach]

hard work determination more than skill