Too Close or Too Far?

[HarryO45]

Just curious, what haunts you more? the buck that moves in quickly and close, or a situation were the buck moves just outside of the distance for an easy shot (in terms of distance)?


Follow up question, do you place your stands in positions to reduce either of those senerios over the other?

Discussion

 

[1eyefishing]

The one(s) that made me but I never noticed.

 

[HarryO45]

The one(s) that made me but I never noticed.

Yeah... I am sure lots more of those than any others. I have often wondered if at the pearly gates, I will be given the opportunity to see the most colossal failures I have ever made in deer hunting? I am thinking there will be some pretty disappointing replays!

One of my favorites: you don’t know, what you don’t know.

 

[buckpasser]

I’m haunted more by the extra close ones. Two come to mind. One, I wanted bad, real bad. I was hunting the too thick stuff in a climber like I tend to do, and had him within bow range a couple times and couldn’t kill him (with my rifle). The disappointment climaxed one morning on the walk out when I tried to kill him in the fire break chasing a doe by me at about 5 feet. Stupid cheap rifle! You have to take the safety off every single time you want to shoot it!!!

The second that still bothers me may or may not have been a shooter. I grunted a few times like I normally do leading up to a rattling session. I was watching a huge pine flat. I eased the horns out of my pack and the second I slammed them together I noticed him in the creek right below me spinning around to haul butt. Looked like a good one to me...

I think I position my stands to hunt naturally traveling deer. When it’s super thick that means right on the trail basically. You can’t be really tricky in long range shooting with the types of stands I hunt, so I don’t place them too far from where I expect them.

 

[KevChap]

The ones that are too close. It's happened several times to me.. last year in Greene co during the rut I moved a stand on the edge of a thick clear cut. I could see 200 yards in front of me. About a hour before dark I hit my can and grunt call and it seemed like seconds later I hear walking right behind me. The buck stepped out right under my stand coming from some thick stuff. The way I was facing in my ladder stand the tree was blocking me from being able to throw my rifle up. He was the biggest deer I seen all season and couldn't do anything but watch until he caught my wind and ran back into the thick cover

 

[HarryO45]

I definitely don’t like it when deer move in too close “unannounced”.

I have found for me, the stands most productive are in locations where I can over-watch thick areas, and the best of the best, are when I can get high in the tree and on a ridge were I can see a beyond the the perimeter of that thickest area. I want to be able to see the entrance and the exit to the thick area. If I can find a stand of short planted pines nearby then that is even better. I want to hunt those edges, and as a general rule, at the maximum distance that I feel comfortable shooting. Deer like walking those edges (bed) and I don’t want to be too close. I can’t see more than a foot or two into that cover, anyway. No need to be too close to that.

 

[bfriendly]

It must be the close ups. I remember once I grunted in something(a Deer)that made the ground shake below me.....so close I froze and never saw it. I think there were two deer probably. Once I lightly rattled in a deer to maybe 10 to 15 yards, but only saw it’s front feet. I saw a giant deer with a bag on its head, spread out over his eyes, attached by his antlers. Saw him at about 80-100, then again at 50. I hit the grunt and he came in on a string, blind as a bat. I drew back and said mehhhh.......he came faster and went right under me.
yeah, it’s the close ups that get me.

 

[antharper]

The ones that are to far haunts me more , because I didn’t pick the right spot .

 

[Whitefeather]

Too close haunts me. I bow hunt only. If he’s 75 yards out, so be it, I couldn’t do anything anyway. If he’s in too close and pinpoints you exactly, I feel like I’ve educated him and it time to start all over again. I hate hunting educated deer.

 

[Railroader]

Close or far, it's the ones that are already looking at me when I see them that wig me out...

 

[Tight Lines]

Rifle hunting, if I can see the deer and make out what it is (i.e. buck, doe, age, etc.), I've never felt like it was too far...longest shot I've taken was just a hair over 300 yards and dropped the doe where she stood...everything else I've ever killed was way inside that...150 yards or less...so within maximum point blank range...

Bow hunting, the deer that haunts me was too close...I was on a field edge with 3-4 trees to my left but cut corn in front of me...I saw him behind me at 80+ yards moving away and thought he was gone...I sat back down and he circled around in the timber, and walked straight at me behind the trees to my left...he walked a perfect line so that I didn't see him for 50+ yards until he stepped out at 12 yards with me sitting...he then walked to 7 yards and looked right at me broadside, sitting. I just tried to stay as still as possible...he turned and walked the same line away from me behind the tree trunk...he was a 170+ class 11 that the outfitter had on cam...yeah, it sucked...

 

[SakoL61R]

Way too close many years ago while bow hunting eastern Oregon. Doesn’t bother me as it was rather humorous.
A bit after daylight, a very big muley buck wanted to get outta the heavy rain. His bed was under a large low-branched juniper surrounded by very thick ceanothus brush. Well, I was already there hunkered down waiting it out. Don’t know who was more surprised after he slipped in. We eye-balled each other for several seconds. Coulda easily tickled his nose with an outstretched arrow.
Dad had decided to wait out the rain at the truck before hunting and was watching my progress with the binos from several hundred yards. Saw me go under the juniper from one side and the deer from the other side soon after. Said the deer looked like a rocket coming out.

What haunts me is Veterans Day, 2013 around 1:30 in the afternoon in middle Georgia. Had my face in my phone as he walked across the opening and stopped behind the privet. Huge. Cured me of that bad habit.

 

[huntersluck]

neither , nothing about deer hunting "haunts" me . I just enjoy the experience no matter what happens.

 

[Jim Thompson]

Depends on whether they bust me or not

The ones that are close but dont present a shot are the ones that get me more shook up

 

[elfiii]

D. All of the above.

I've had them just barely out of reach during archery season and it drove me nuts and right underneath me during gun season.

The ones that jack me up the worst are the ones who slipped through my one shooting lane unannounced and I missed the opportunity but I could see their rack as they slipped through the forest on their way to somewhere else. Still have nightmares and cold chills about one of those. Biggest deer I've ever seen and he was a monster and it was the last day of the season.

 

[bnew17]

I have killed 9 wall hangers and all have been shot under 40 yards (with a rifle). The only time i have knowingly been busted i had a nice 8 pt bust me from behind at about 10ft.

 

[ssramage]

It depends... when I bow hunt, all of the deer are going to be too close and I do that on purpose. I typically can't see over 30 yds in most of my bow spots. I stay on my toes and try to move as little as possible. I utilize cover a lot more also. Sure I still get busted, but I try to do everything possible not to be since I know they'll be close before I see them.

The only time I worry about too far, is if it's a long shot with a narrow shot window. For instance, we have a lot of stands at the club where our shooting lanes are less than 10 yds wide. It's very easy for a buck to pop through without stopping and never offer a shot. If he's too far in a wide open space, well... giddy up.

 

[SC Hunter]

I've got 3 that stick out to me that still haunt me. Big 10 I had on camera that was 75 yards away in some real thick stuff and I had 1 shot but felt like he was quartered to hard. I was younger and didn't understand what a 300 wsm was capable of. Now days I'd run that bullet right up through the ribs and out his chest.

The other was a 165" inch typical 14 point that I watched chase does around a cut cotton field all afternoon never getting closer than 400 yards. My brother in law at the time killed the deer 3 days later about half a mile away and shot him at 45 yards with a 7 mag.

The last was a doe I missed 3 times with my bow. Target panic is real and I was all eat up with nerves. Missed her at 20, 18 and 31 yards. ?

 

[Spotlite]

Too close / too far doesn’t affect me - it’s the ones that know I’m there before I know they’re there.