I Hate Whitetail Deer!!

Bull Shooter · #1 10-22-2007, 02:33 PM

Reading another post on this forum espousing the virtues of mule deer over whitetails, I couldn’t help but think that I too, hate whitetail deer. My revulsion however has nothing to do with the little buggers replacing mule deer in the natural order of things but hinges entirely on how a decent whitetail buck has eluded me so far in my hunting career.

I have taken some great elk, mule deer, black bear, wolves and caribou but I have yet to tag a 130+ whitetail buck. The truth be known, I always rush my bull elk and mule buck early in the season just so I can spend more time in search of Mr. Whitey. Most of my hunting partners have connected with BIG whitetail bucks. I always thought you had to be smart, cunning and patient in order to tag one of these fellas. My hunting partners are not smart, they are not cunning (unless there is only one beer left in the cooler) nor are they patient. What gives? Is it possible that Manitou has a wicked and very warped sense of humour?

I live and breathe for a big whitetail. I scout a full five months before the season. I pattern the deer (not too well apparently), I take lots of pictures and I work on the preservation of their habitat. I am mindful of scent control. I have stand-hunted, still-hunted, spot and stalked, walked, ran and pushed bush. I have followed the does, hunted the scrapes, lingered the rubs and watched the fields. I have rattled, bleated, remained silent and finally, when all this has failed, I have cried like a school girl.

After observing the success of my hunting partners and numerous other ingrates who have had the audacity and poor judgement to show me photos of their ridiculously large whitetail bucks I am changing tactics. This year I am hunting upwind of my quarry. This year I am going to start smoking cigarettes and wear the garlic on my breath like a badge of honour. This year, I’m trading my camo for blue jeans and red flannel. This year I am wearing new leather boots that creak with every step. This year, I will be listening to my IPOD as I make my way through the woods. This year there will be no need for a urine bottle or trowel. This year I will welcome beans and cabbage for dinner. This year, I’m going to get that sum-of-a-beotch whitetail buck. I’ve got a real good feeling that this is the year. Regards, Mike

P.S. – If any of you ingrates have any further tips please feel free to post.

chuck0039 · #2 10-22-2007, 02:43 PM

ha i know how you feel, 12 years of hunting and last year i finally got my mister big. He scored out at 148 typical. I had seen lots of bigbucks come out by partners and other hunters and i always end up settling on one for the freezer. It seemed like i was always in the wrong place at the wrong time or a day to late for a big one. you will get a big one bull shooter i'm cheering for ya cause i know how you feel.

TreeGuy · #3 10-22-2007, 02:45 PM

I'm with ya and coincidentally feel the EXACT way about my hocky pool! Never discount the value of LUCK!

Tree

Bull Shooter · #4 10-22-2007, 02:51 PM

Treeguy, is Luck a new camo pattern or some kind of new decoy? Where do I get it and how much does it cost? I'm willing to spend a lot at this point!

Chuck, congrats on the buck... it has been a bit longer than 12 years for me... actually quite a bit longer. Regards, Mike

albertadave · #5 10-22-2007, 02:53 PM

I feel for you....not because of your whitetail problems though....because I too have friends who have shot big bucks and wouldn't think twice stealing the last beer

Bull Shooter · #6 10-22-2007, 02:58 PM

Salt in the wound Delburnedave, salt in the wound. The thing I like about those twist-off beer caps is that there is always a little room for some estrous Doe urine in the top of the bottle and my hunting partners are none the wiser. On second thought, perhaps that is the secret of their success? Regards, Mike

Drewski Canuck · #7 10-22-2007, 04:04 PM

In my distant youth, I met Werner Dorsch, who I expect now is dead, but his body will be VERY WELL PRESERVED. Ol Werner questioned my obvious fear about driving across a beaver dam with a Dodge 4 x 4 1/2 ton. he turned to me as he slammed it into 4 low and yelled : THE GOOD LORD SURE HATES A COWARD!!!!!! Proof of devine intervention is the fact we made it across.

What does that have to do with whitetails? Well obviously, of all the things you mentioned, no were do you say you crawled up a slippery poplar to sit 30 feet in the air in a Tree Stand. I am sure my efforts at inadvertently killing myself going in and staying in a tree stand is the secret of my success. Just remember ol Werner's words, and make sure your Life Insurance is paid up. You will be rewarded.

Drewski

littlered · #8 10-22-2007, 04:04 PM

Hey Delburne No need for bitterness. Hopefully we'll have some rams pics for you next week. Oh Yah how's work going?

How many more days are you stuck there?

Jamie · #9 10-22-2007, 05:00 PM

Bull.. I feel your pain.. My own demons are more of the Elk varity..
I have just come to accept that Elk hate me.. Since I have accepted this into my heart, my falls have become more enjoyable.. Sure I still buy the tag, sure I still try and get come september.. But deep down inside I know it will all end in hanging that tag on a X-mas tree..
Perhaps the biggest insult I have recieved from these devil animals is the year I sent my brother to my best bear field. 10 minutes after legal light as I was sitting in a sure fire elk location I got the call from my Bro.. (Now remember he never has given a rats ass about elk)...
He says...
I got a good 6 point.. How you doing???
Little %#%#%#^#*#(

SIGH........

Welcome to my world.

Jamie

rednek · #10 10-22-2007, 05:43 PM

I feel the same way i put all kinds of hours, morning til nite, cant seem to shoot anything. I have shot sum ok wt but no true wall hangers. get this the last year I guided hunters my last hunter shot a 196 non tip, go figure.anyway thats the last year i every guided, need a deer for my wall in stead of somebody eleses

.270fan · #11 10-22-2007, 05:58 PM

Well Bull...I feel the same but for different reasons...My very first deer was a 130 class 5 x 5, shot at about 100 yards and " He was comin right for me ".........I thought to myself... "that wasn't so hard..this deer hunting stuff is a piece of cake "

That was 11 years ago......haven't come close to a better one since.

Dumb animals..

albertadave · #12 10-22-2007, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littlered

Hey Delburne No need for bitterness. Hopefully we'll have some rams pics for you next week. Oh Yah how's work going?

How many more days are you stuck there?

Don't worry little buddy, I'll get home in time to be in my stand bright and early Nov 1. Good luck on the sheep, have fun without me

russ · #13 10-22-2007, 06:25 PM

Then there's my cousin, a booner for his 1st buck. Just as bad, no where to go but down!

Bull Shooter · #14 10-22-2007, 07:08 PM

Well, after reading many of your posts I’m feeling a little better about my whitetail follies. It appears that I’m in good company with my misfortunes. For some reason I thought all Alberta and Saskatchewan hunters routinely harvested 150+ whitetails, me being the exception.

Thankfully, I am seeing a pattern in the thread. Big Alberta whitetails are only harvested by individuals encumbered with mental and social deficiencies who have little actual hunting prowess and are prone to steal other’s libations… that or they are just a dumb-arse lucky first timer.

I think I hunt with a few of Werner Dorsch's relatives. Regards, Mike

Cordur · #15 10-22-2007, 07:12 PM

I can't believe you spent that much time scouting and still haven't found a nice buck. One of my friends likes to drink lots of apple juice before he goes hunting. Hasn't helped him yet as far as I can tell. Kind of funny though since when ever I've gone hunting with him if he settles into a blind about 30 minutes later he has deer walking up the same path he took to his blind and never sees them coming.

I understand the elk problem though. I guess I could have taken a nice one this year. Was sitting in a ground blind and heard some movement. Got a bit excited waiting for what was going to walk into view as I couldn't see anything to the right. Had a tag for everything with four legs this year just in case so this was going to be good. Didn't see anything..... about 5 minutes later my buddy comes over to where I am and asks me why I didn't shoot the huge elk that walked past me about 20' away. Sigh.... tried calling but he wasn't interested and was no where in sight. I figure white tails are easy since there are so damn many of them you have to be careful not to trip over the sheds come spring. But elk just aren't plentiful enough for me to be successful I guess.

Grizzly Adams · #16 10-22-2007, 07:29 PM

Problem is that those big bucks value their headgear mightily.

All the ones I've encountered act like a different species, than their smaller cousins, but sometimes they get arrogant. My brother in law bagged one that was hiding in a strip of bald poplars about 30 feet wide. He was just lying in there, watching Fred walk by. I had passed by there previously and my first thought was, what's that idiot shooting at.

Then there's my neighbors. They spotted a buck bedded down in some high grass, when the blowing wind momentarily exposed him. The father took a shot and the buck ran off. The son caught up with him and shot him in the head, breaking up the skull. I scored the mounted trophy and he would have placed about number 25 in th AFG records.
Grizz

Dunezilla · #17 10-22-2007, 07:47 PM

I guess I don't feel the greef like you do, and simply for this reason.....I am not a throphy hunter. My brother killed a wide spread 4x5 WT buck in 1993 in the 170 range, my nephew bagged a big WT buck in 2005....160 range, I bagged a couple of WT bucks and a mulie buck in the 145 range.

The antlers were given to some handi-cap people who make pens out of the antlers (they are nice pens indeed). My wife doesn't want them in the house (it is a small house at that), but I can put them in the garage. My sons don't want them so I give them away to charities, in fact the AFGA will take them from you as well. So even if I kept them what happens to them when I pass from this earth? No one I know wants them.

To be honest with you all, if I kill a big rack buck it would be for picture posting on this here form or some other form, or perhaps win a prize. My true prize is all the pepperioe and jerky I get out of the buck and giving a deer or two to some family in need.

flower · #18 10-22-2007, 07:56 PM

Yeah all you guys are at least shooting...I think I am one of the only ones that has shot at something less that then number of fingers on my hands(including thumbs). I go out every weekend and rarely get a shot at anything. Ah well I guess no one can have bad luck all the time.

JohninAB · #19 10-22-2007, 07:58 PM

I got a hate on too for them. I get a buck everyyear but nothing real special and then I bring NDN out for a hunt as the nice guy I am. He is just looking for a buck, nothing fancy and lo and behold what do I put him on, but a real nice buck that conveniently stood broadside at 40 yards for him while he fiddled with his gun. 25 inch inside spread, big ole G2's and it proudly adorns his wall now. Of all the lousy luck I have!

Actually I think I was happier than NDN when he anchored the buck.

Bull Shooter · #20 10-22-2007, 08:06 PM

Dunezilla, I actually hunt for the same reasons as you, I'm not a big trophy guy. However, as Grizzly alluded to, those big whitetail bucks are a completely different creature altogether. I love the challenge and every single season they have taken me to school. I have a lot of respect for these big guys, how they go nocturnal right at hunting season and how they don't show themselves until two days after the season is ended.

I'm pretty fortunate when it comes to mulies and bull elk, but a good whitetail buck always gets my heart racing. To be honest, regardless of whether or not I have an opportunity to take a shot, I absolutely love hunting whitetails... the crafty buggers! Regards, Mike

Dunezilla · #21 10-23-2007, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bull Shooter

whitetail bucks are a completely different creature altogether. I love the challenge and every single season they have taken me to school.

I like this statment "they have taken me to school".

I have been {really focusing} on deer hunting these last 9 years and have been ingnoreing other larger animals. Deer hunting and learning from them is fun for me while out hunting. Last year I spent almost two hours watching these two look-a-like WT bucks in thier bedding area at 80 yards away. Oh well I must head to work.

BigRackLover · #22 10-23-2007, 07:35 AM

I learn something new every year from deer (game) hunting. Something from each species I hunt. As for deer hunting I am not a bone hunter either ... if a big buck comes by that's great ... but if a Pennsylvennia 11 pointer comes by I'll shoot him too. My tag says "WT Deer", not "150 class WT deer".

Dunezilla · #23 10-26-2007, 07:00 AM

Anyhow I had a hard time getting back on the board for what ever reason. So now I want to tell about those two WT bucks. They both had good bodies and were 2x2's and looked very much alike. They were sleeping in a tall grassy field on some Leduc Fish and Hame land about 130 yards away, so with my bow in my hand I made it to within 70 yards of the to bucks and watched them. They didn't notice me for about 1 hour, but one finally did and for about the next hour he kept on walking over to me and then run back to that 70 yard spot, at one point he got within 25 yards of me. Man now that is "fun hunting" at its best.

Have you ever seen deer have fun, that is neat to watch as well. While bow hunting in 337 (a good place to hunt) a WT buck, fawn and a doe came raceing into this lease site at top speed chasing each other in and of the trees for about 25 mins.. They chased each other in the lease site which is 100 x 100 yards square too. I never kill anything like you bow hunters but the fun of just being up in a treestand watching the things that I get to watch is fun indeed.

More fun is to curl up in a ball and watch deer walk right pass you within a few feet, this happen to me a couple of times, I wanted to see how they would react. The best one was with this 16 month old deer (good sup tag filler), but I wasn't able to get my sights on him without being detected. We were head to head, so I curled up and waited for it to pass by, as the deer passed by and was now behind me I moved, and it looked back and booted it.

Never got that one but I did get a bigger one. Anyhow I do all kinds of things that others may not do but at least I know what I can and can not do in some areas that I hunt. There is a spot in 339 where I can park my Jeep near my stand and not bug the deer, while in other areas I need to park about 125 yards or more from my stand, or hide the Jeep period. Today I am off to 339 for a muledeer buck, the last time I saw him he was a 3x3 and thats fine by me. As long as he has antlers more than 4 inches that is all I care about. I like the taste of mule deer better than WT meat.

Reeves1 · #24 10-26-2007, 07:32 AM

Quote:

More fun is to curl up in a ball and watch deer walk right pass you within a few feet,

Made me think of the story of how my Dad got "promoted" to camp cook.....in his own camp !
He had 153 acres, surrounded by crown land in northern Ont.
He came back to the cabin one evening and told the guys how he sat all day on a stump, watching the White Tail Deer play. The others hadn't seen a thing all day.
To the best of my knowledge, he never did shoot a Deer in his life time. He did love to watch them though

Walleyes · #25 10-26-2007, 11:14 AM

Quote:

This year, I’m trading my camo for blue jeans and red flannel. This year I am wearing new leather boots that creak with every step. This year, I will be listening to my IPOD as I make my way through the woods. This year there will be no need for a urine bottle or trowel. This year I will welcome beans and cabbage for dinner.

Sounds about rite there bull,, sums up about half of my deer shoots minus the ipod...

Just a question tho where are you hunting... The fact you haven't taken a large deer may have to do more with the fact of where you are as to how you a hunting them... Whities are a very cunning animal but like any when the rut is on they get pretty stupid... In over 12 years not being able to break 130,, sounds to me like you are in the wrong spots...

Dunezilla · #26 10-27-2007, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reeves

Made me think of the story of how my Dad got "promoted" to camp cook.....in his own camp !
He had 153 acres, surrounded by crown land in northern Ont.
He came back to the cabin one evening and told the guys how he sat all day on a stump, watching the White Tail Deer play. The others hadn't seen a thing all day.
To the best of my knowledge, he never did shoot a Deer in his life time. He did love to watch them though

I like that story. But I like to watch them for knowledge....eventually you learn to know what deer will tolerate and what deer wont tolerate. Like camo clothing for instance, some wear $300.00 camo and kill deer 300+ yards away. I wear $6.00 camo and kill deer 50 yards and less away. When I say I don't like to shoot pass 100 yards most people think that that is the best I can do, but that is not why I don't shoot pass 100 yards, I want to get as close to the big game as possible. Close range shooting is more fun for me and that is how I hunt. To sneak up on an animal and get within 25 yards is how I like to make my hunts more challening. Today I went from 300 yards to 80 yards and killed a WT buck, wasn't able to get any closer, his head was up and down alot.

dlkenny · #27 10-29-2007, 12:08 AM

I was near Grand Forks in BC recently hunting with an old friend of my father's, Dick is the name he goes by. This guy is in his early 60's and has several whitetail and mule deer bucks to his name in the record books and like you Mr. Whitey has always eluded me. While I was hunting with Dick I found his style very interesting, he nearly always hunts alone, and he walks constantly but very slowly. He doesn't stand hunt at all but while I'd walk 15 miles in a day, he'd walk only a few. He finds roads and paths or game trails and simply walks them, looking along the treelines, stopping to listen and glass the fields. He climbs to vantage points or walks along ridgelines always keeping in mind that whitetails like the edgecover (near the edges of fields and meadows along the treeline). I'm proud to say I got my first decent whitetail buck this year using what he taught me. Try it. It's worked for him for 40 years and it's hard to argue with success.