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Sickining

SeIowa69

SeIowa69

Active Member
I seen more decent bucks n first 2.5 weeks of oct- then I have all of nov so far n the pre rut/rut!! I no it's Primetime cuz ppl r shooting deer left n right all over on here Facebook twitter etc! I guess it just one of those things when it's ur time it's ur time right? Well am ready whenever mr.shooter buck. I passed on a ok 8 3 year old twice oct 5 n oct 20 just cuz I didn't want to tag out that early b4 the rut But iam starting to second guess my thoughts now on passing him. All been buttens spikes n does
 
Sounds alot like my area. Every year I see a few 2yr olds a few yearlins a few does. Is exciting to see a 3 yr old even more a four. But. You never know. The next moment an oldtimer may swing by. That is what is fun about deer hutin. The woods are the one thing left in life you cant predict. Hunting and maybe coming down with some disease.
 
In this case "sickening" may be an unfortunate choice of words. Sickening is when you put a good shot on a deer but can't find it. I think "frustrated" may be a better term for what you are feeling. If you are frustrated then perhaps you have set your expectations too high. Don't forget the core reason you are hunting: To enjoy your time afield and not feel pressure from what others are doing.

Relax, enjoy, repeat.
 
Right. Compared to disease pr being hit by a drunk driver. Huntingis much more fun. The exception may be this week with teen morning temps but the bucks should be movin!
 
I think we're entering into 'Lockdown' Phase now. If not, than we are really close to it. Remember, that we've had multiple EHD Seasons that have taken a toll on mature buck herd and the herd is now in the process of rebounding from that, which may explain the number of younger bucks you are seeing. There are only so many mature bucks to go around that are spread out across acres and acres of ground, that can travel up for miles at a time -- All in trying to procreate while avoiding people. It’s really quite amazing when you think about it and may explain why so many hunters can loose it from this cause of frustation and the expectation to witness a certain amount of mature buck movement because it's the 'rut' and we're in Iowa. There seems to be this expectation that since it's the rut we should have all this constant mature buck activity that matches what we watch on TV or that their sure be a mature/booner buck behind every tree because we’re from Iowa - Home of the Giant Typicals. When reality doesn't match up to the reality presented through the collage of film we've been accustom to viewing in the preseason we come up with theories like trickle rut, moon phase, early rut etc etc and second guessing are own tactics.. Not to mention witnessing all those large bucks that influences people into passing up great bucks because they think their could be a booner the next time on stand or that some user harvested a bigger buck in harvest section, which is totally their call but explains things. The thing I've learned through all my experiences hunting is that you may only get an opportunity to witness, let alone harvest a mature buck that mother nature presents to you. I don’ run trail cams partially because it would drive me nuts to pass up a respectable buck because there happen to be a bigger buck that may not show up again. I’d be to tempted to hunt the same spot over and over again in insanity in thinking it could be any time on stand that Mr. Giant shows up with the result of ruining my spot. I’ve had the pleasure to been able to have some opportunities at some stud deer, but they have been very few. Anyways, are you hunting the same stand spots over and over again? if you are.. You may want to rotate your stand spots to not educate the deer if you are hunting the same spot over and over again ( If you are indeed doing that). Remember, the best mature buck movement is yet to come.... after The ‘Lockdown’ Phase. Don’t loose heart and Hunt for you. Take some time awasy if you have to. Hunt the Doe Groups and keep at it.
 
The woods were crazy today for me, movement all day long. Biggest buck of the season showed up around 1:35 pm. Wish I didn't have to work tomorrow.:(
 
Well said camo. Although I agree with most of you stated I am a bit discouraged as well. You see, I primarily hunt counties where the herd numbers were already low and these past few years have killed my land. What once was a herd of 50-100 deer in a 4 mile areas now very low. I've toughed seen it out and hunted normally but have seen 1, 4,2,4 deer respectively in my 4 sits this year. No Giants on camera all year I'm just out to enjoy it. I hope the dnr and other hunters can appreciate what we once had and can strive to get it back. I believe that places like southern Iowa and far ne Iowa are seeing the numbers that I saw on my ground 10 years ago which was amazing for me but they happen to think it sucks according to their old standards
 
I agree guys I could of choose a different head liner for sure - Like frustrated or confused. Am one of them guys that do enjoy just watching wildlife do it's thing n not have a clue ur even there but the hunter n me also hates an empty belly of tag soup.. And I try n do everything right by the book u know leave a place better then how I found it right( pick up empty shells,trash, paint gates on public ground out of my own pocket, etc), take scent control very seriously, play the wind, etc etc, I guess u could say am just losing faith n motivation n myself, I no I need to just keep getting up n going if I want to ever put a tag on a buck!! Ive just had a lot stuff on the mind here lately after my new ground blind came up missing on private ground also Like how guys that smoke n chew n the stand n barely care about scent control or wind direction, leave buck bomb cans,scent wicks where ever n shoot decent deer year after year I no a few of them.-This really just pisses me off n makes me not want to care n b the same way becuz i c ppl tag out like this but I just can't it's not who I am!!
Camo I usually sit a different stand every time unless I do see a lot of deer from that stand the morning or night b4 but that hasn't been the case scene mid oct right after the crops were removed. Thanks for sum true veteran hunter advice
 
I'll tell you what.I was on vacation all this week seen 2 shooters 1 in the morning when I parked it was standing there then ran off still dark then one at night waslking out dark again and that was it.Til this evening had this drop tine buck at 80 yards for 40 minutes would not come to the call did not get a shot.
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I was frustrated so I got to the truck 10 minutes before dark & drove around the section & seen 4 bucks within the first mile & I got to go back to work tomorrow.Now that is what I call frusterating!!!!!
 
Thanks to crops, out on my farm...still standing on neighbors...and trappers. My morning consisted of more F150's than deer.

Judging by my trailcams, when the crops came out the deer moved-on, too.

Not too excited about sitting in the frigid cold, but the buck sign on the farm couldn't be better.

Can't kill'em from the couch!!!
 
I hunted hard all Saturday and Sunday. Only good movement was before 9:00 AM and after 4:30 Pm. Def on lockdown in our area (ringgold county). Hunting Friday - Monday next weekend. Should be better with the cold front.
 
Yesterday was good and today was a different story. Saw 30 deer total on Saturday and only 7 total today. On a positive had the exact same buck at 10yds two days in a row. On the negative, he is still walking....
 
Good read Camo. I've hunted a total of four days this fall all in far NE Iowa and saw a total of ten deer on stand. I was up at five this morning showered and headed out only to decide to go back to bed, woke up at eleven. Have not sat once in my regular stands. Some seasons are like that, low deer movement in certain areas, more hunters in your area, busy personal lives. Take a break and get after it again.
 
I believe full moon makes for alot more nocturnal activity which is the case. In my area the socalled lock down usually does not happen until around the 12 th or 15 th. At least that seems to be the time i usually see suddenly little moving. Seems to be that way every Nov. If you have enough property that you can keep young bucks alive on. Or you have a good chunk and have neighbors who hold back on the young ones too. You will obviously see older deer eventually. I have just a all tract that the deer cross. A couple doe raise there fawns on it in summer thats about it. Neighbors for the better part dont hold back on anything. Thus,,, in the 10 seasons I have hunted in Iowa,,I usually see a few yearlins , a few 2 yr olds and if Im lucky a 3 yr old. If I'm real fortunate a 4. Just once otta those years a 5. I believe this is more typical across alot of Iowa.
 
I guess I rarely get this "frustrated" feeling. I know what it takes for me to kill a mature bucks. It usually takes me somewhere between 50-100 hrs of time in the stand.
Im blessed with some great property, and i guess, a desire to spend my hard earned vacation time sitting in the woods.
Some people cant sit in a stand all day, and i mean truly dark to dark.
That is fine, put in as many hours as you can, i know we all have lives outside of the woods, wives, kids, other obligations, and life in general. This is supposed to be enjoyable and fun, its not what you see on tv.
Think of how many hours a year you spend at work in a year, its not all smiles and fun and enjoyable. There are certain aspects of this crazy deer hunting life that arnt enjoyable also but remeber why you are out there. If its to keep up with the jones's and get frustrated because you can't kill a deer that's bigger than the next guy then look into table tennis or something.
You won't hear a complaint out of me, ehd, poachers, trespassers, wrong wind, warm temps, getting skirted by a shooter.... it all happens. Look at the bigger picture.
It beats the daylights out of being at work especially if your using your payed vacation. Your essentially getting paid to do what you have looked foreward to since last November.
Take a deep breath, relax, take it all in and enjoy every long hour on stand.
Ive eaten my fair share of tag soup also but that's fine with me. The opportunity can come at anytime for any of us, we are hunting one of the best places on the planet to kill a big whitetail.
Make the most of your opportunities and shoot straight! Enjoy it folks, its november in iowa! Best of luck to everyone still holding a tag
 
Rich77, you took the words outta my mouth! I think there's a big picture out there that we sometimes forget to look at!
 
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