Expectations for deer??

[Brnsvllyjohn]

If you are a public land deer hunter in California what are your expectations? Are you waiting for that big buck or are you willing to take any legal buck. I personally want to put some meat in the freezer so I typically take the first decent buck I see. I try to wait in some situations but I am not willing to let a 15" fork walk by if I have nothing in the freezer. In years past I have shot my share of really little guys and am not at all embarrassed to say some were really small. I did pass on a tiny guy last year on the last day of the season but I had meat in the freezer. Some of the guys I used to hunt with have not hunted with me in a few years because I have not taken anything really good lately. They tell me once I start finding some big guys they will start hunting again. I wait a lot longer in an X zone than I will in D 3-5. I however hunt X zones that only take 3-4 points to get so they are not the same as X 2 or other similar zones.
Just curious about others expectations.

 

[7mallards]

Sounds like your buddies are trophy hunters and let you do all the work.... Last thing I would ever do is say "hey guys I found big bucks let's go hunting" if they wont put in the time effort and money to scout I certainly wouldn't tell them I found big bucks..

I shot a piggy a few years back had a chance at a bog boar but shot the little one as they taste better. Same thing with deer I grew up in NE PA and shot many deer and was always told you don't eat the horns.....

 

[Brnsvllyjohn]

I just sent some trail cam photos to a couple of guys to see what they say. One of the bucks is big and I would shoot it in almost any hunting situation. He did not get big by being stupid. We will see how my old hunting buddies react. I personally would take most of the bucks that we have photos of but that is just me. By the way it is the first year we ever tried the trail cams. Very interesting but I would think it could be frustrating also when you never see those guys during deer season.
These bucks are NOT in D 3-5 because there are NO bucks on public land in that zone. LOL

 

[Bubblehide]

Thus far, I expect this year to be a repeat of last year for me; unless we continue to get rain. So, I am considering hunting a different area in the beginning of the season for my meat hunt. The Sierras, I am still looking for a wall hanger, so I will pass on anything short of that, and possibly be making soup with that tag, as wall hangers are very far and few between there. Now my hunting partners, they are willing to take any legal buck, but would like to upgrade a bit. They have plenty of room for upgrading. So what are my expectations, well I expect that if anyone gets on the front cover of a hunting magazine, it'll be one of my hunting buddies, some greenhorn, you, someone here, but surely not me. I'm just glad to still be getting out there and filling the freezer.

 

[7mallards]

ZERO for me.. Good luck boys..................

 

[Bossbrott]

I'd like the horns on the wall to get bigger every year as well, and with the constant Sierra rainfall I think it will be a good year.
I never plan on a big buck if I haven't properly scouted or done my homework.
Thus far we did a scouting last week of my sons zone, 7b, and turned up lots of great habitat due to the recent thunderstorms. The sage looks better than I've ever seen it, and water was flowing in all the springs as well. Mind you the major rivers and lakes look really low, but the hills are still secreting water.
As summer rolls on and water becomes scarcer, I think the animals will concentrate more on water and lush habitat.
That tells me to go higher and higher.
The next 7 weeks will dictate where jr will set up on openers, as well as me, and hopefully we'll have mr big tied to a tree.

 

[Brnsvllyjohn]

One thing I try to consider is what is a good buck for a particular zone. A good buck on the coast is a 20" wide fork. A good buck in D 3-5 is something I am not really sure of yet. I have seen some big guys but not during the season.

 

[JustGuy]

Given the opportunity i'll shoot the smallest legal one. I've had my trophies already, They taste like shoes. Now i can afford not to care about the size of the deer, i care about the meat i'll have in my freezer. i like it to be tender.

 

[Common Sense]

I am really not much of a deer hunter. I use to take my kid when he was younger, and lately I've taken grandchildren. Other than that, I usually don't even buy a tag. If I do buy a tag, I'll throw a deer rifle in the truck when going to the cabin --- but that is about as much deer hunting that I'll do. If I ain't taking a kid, I won't walk any farther than off the road for a deer. Before lead ban I did buy tags in case I saw one quail hunting, but now I can't use lead slugs in my smooth bore.

 

[fishnhunt21]

I am giving myself the weekend for a better buck. I have 7 or 8 different 3 pt. bucks or better on trail cams and a couple little forkies. I have killed nothing but forkies, so a 3 pt. or better would be great. A couple of 4 pts. that are really good bucks. Come Monday of archery, I will kill anything coming thru as I am hunting til Weds. It is tough to hold out because it is public land and there are a lot of hunters and road hunters. We have had cams up since June and have a decent pattern on them. But, come opening morning, everything changes when there are other hunters around. I put my stand up last weekend. I am willing to eat a tag because as much as I am not a trophy hunter, I want to kill a good buck and after seeing what I have, I am going to show a little patience and discipline to hold out for one. So, just a waiting game. My buddy plans to kill the first legal thing he has come thru. And he spot has a lot of smaller bucks coming thru and I think even more when other hunters push them up the mountain.

Disclaimer: I have said this in years past and have a hard time passing a buck staring at me stupid screaming to be shot...

 

[7mallards]

Growing up in NE PA I shot lots and lots of deer every year and a wise old man once told me "You can't eat the horns"... Although I don't and haven't hunted deer in over 25 years now I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night !!!!!!

Again Good luck Boys...................

 

[Brnsvllyjohn]

I really don't "expect" to get this guy but he does live where I hunt. And yes I would shoot the one behind him.

 

[adam32]

I would shoot either one on the first day in California. Especially in D 3-5!!! Heck I've shot smaller in Wyoming!!! Lol

 

[JustGuy]

"You can't eat the horns"..

Words of wisdom, Short and to the point, amen!!!

 

[mike1781]

Im a newbie and would take anything this being my first season! I saw a doe lsat week and couldn't stop talking about it to my buds at work. Guess Im like Bubblehide, I'm just happy to be able to go out there and experience the wildlife, hiking, and the forest, actually getting a deer would be a bonus.

 

[Brnsvllyjohn]

I may want to shoot a big buck but in reality I will take a small to medium buck with my rifle and any legal buck with my crossbow. Hunting public land can be difficult and it seems like most hunters don't even see a legal buck all season. Very common for other hunters to spook game you are after also. Sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesn't.

 

[Bankrunner]

To the best of my ability, I expect to be hunting. All else that follows is unforeseen. As usual!

 

[fishnhunt21]

My biggest fear is having the patience to sit in a stand for a few hours. I have such a hard time sitting, but it is my best chance. I am going to take a book and hope that helps. I have done a ground blind and that was hard. This will be my first year in a tree stand and it was fun to practice shooting out of it. It was cool to be in it when we set it up the other day on the spot I am going to hunt.

 

[Nabes68]

I would be happy with anything legal I want the meat and not the head on my wall..... For bear I would love to take one with my bow but I'm to scared to try that this year since I just bought my bow and I am still learning

 

[TheGDog]

I would be happy with anything legal I want the meat and not the head on my wall..... For bear I would love to take one with my bow but I'm to scared to try that this year since I just bought my bow and I am still learning

Ditto on being new to bow! Though I must say having never shot bow before... these new bows are freakin' amazing! They are like short-range rifles!... Complete with trigger and everything (on the release). It's like the only two things that mess up the shots are fatigue in the forward shoulder causing some shaking after hours of shooting... and the vanes on the arrow being more than a bit tweaked/bent/folded sometimes. Other than that... I've been amazed at how accurate these bows can be out to about 60 yds. After 60 the trajectory drops a lot more and so it's a crapshoot. But under that 60... with the pins... it's totally a fighting chance as long as you've ranged the shot decently and have been practicing!

Soo with you fishnhunt21 re: the patience thing. I was born pretty devoid of patience. Have been learning it my whole life. It is only because I want this soo bad to happen that I can force myself to exercise patience. One problem is with my OCD tendencies it's tiring because my body is like on high alert the whole time because my mind has these thoughts of how messed up would that be if I missed an opportunity because of a momentary lapse in vigilence! As such I CAN NOT relax when I'm out there. Even when on a scouting mission. A small part of me fears that if I do that will be excatly when I let something slip by me! Also because I know very well how my luck works, hehe. I just KNOW the moment I started slipping on the vigilence... that will be when my first buck eludes me. It's frustrating too! With all the scouting I've done since then... I've probably spooked or had encounters with 7 does. Some of which have been soo close I could kill'em with a thrown rock!!! But I have yet to ever see a buck in the flesh.

For me I decided last year (September 2014) that I wanted to pursue this when I saw a Turner's add my younger brother had shared on his FB page... that got me thinking about a rifle, and with the current anti-gun political climate, I got hooked on the idea of purchasing a rifle and the hunting thought was the natural next step. And just like anything before this... once the idea got into my head... that was it.... I've been trapped in this ever since. Needless to say last year was a rude awakening to the fact that this requires a lot more homework than you think, but that's just been strengthening my determination (obsession?) to make this happen.

I wish all the n00bs like me luck that you may be released from the eternal torment of the proverbial "un-popped cherry"!