I love this guys videos. He’s one of us . A regular guy that is realistic about deer hunting and willing to share his known with the rest of us. Thank you sir 👍🏻😮
My most recent buck with a bow this past Monday was literally out of no where. I was about to take a mature doe, when BAM bIg six walks out in between us. I probably had less than those 10 seconds you are referring too. Great videos!
So true especially in the north woods where we hunt. We usually figure you get 5-10 seconds to identify your target, decide if you want to shoot and make the shot with both gun and bow hunting. Always be alert and ready! Thanks Jeff!
Im glad you talked about the color of antlers and their coats. Ive always wandered if that meant older, but you know the old guys saying its genitics or their winter coat🤣🤣. Thank you Jeff!
The biggest bucks I have ever seen. Showed up out of nowhere. We refer to it as mushrooming. They just seem to pop out of the ground like magic. I never take my bow out of my hands
Very cool...they sure do come in quiet! Unfortunately tho with our temps we have to hang a bow...also, with the bow hanging vertical in front of your face it becomes very speedy with only the slightest of movement...
The minute you do take it out, BAM up pops another shroom. Biggest buck of my life popped up like that last year around noon AS I WAS DROPPING MY BOW 😢
See I gave my best luck even on public land is to dig to where no one else bothers I'll set my stand up, watch hunters leave left and right by 930 10 I'll sit till 1 to 3 and sure enough between 1130-2 one usually comes by most time no where to take a shot but they come in. But never go where most hunters stay
Happened to me opening day in southern Michigan. Wasn’t sitting 15 minutes and playing on my phone and it was walking 30 yards out by itself on cut soybeans. Completely exposed on a bright blue sky day and not sniffing or anything, I knew it was a shooter instantly. Didn’t realize it was a 235 lb 7 pt that measured about 145” until I recovered it. DNR aged it at 4.5. Time of day was 3:15.
I’m mainly a gun hunter, but all of the bucks I’ve taken have appeared out of nowhere also. They also don’t seem to be bucks that I have ever seen before.
We hunted the rain today and my 15yr old son got his first bow deer this am a nice doe. My cousin son got a decent 8pt the deer were moving in wv. Thanks for ur tips
I’ve been following you for awhile and have been implementing a lot of knowledge besides my own and my own experiences. I’ve always shot decent bucks, but I shot my first old mature buck a few days ago and a lot your videos are spot on. Thank you sir. Estimating well close to a 6 year old!
When I was a young man I was doe hunting on a property that's fairly close to where I know own... 270 acres .. I sat in a stand and saw 3 completely different coats n color phases on deer ....almost looked like seperate species .. light Grey coats from open field areas the dark brown/ black color from the thick deep pines I was sitting in ...n then the normal or standard looking brown from the hardwoods.. it was truly wild n made me understand at a very young age how habitat impacts the animals dramatically !! Great video ..lots of stories of those going thru with zero to no time !! Thx 😎 Love your content n your presentation!!
100% agree. bow or rifle season i hunt in treestand in woods and have very little time to shoot. you have to be ready. i like my stands that are high on ridges and i can see bucks coming so i have time to get my bow in my hand.
Your videos has taught me alot these last 2 seasons thank you for everything. Ive seen improvement in myself in the deer woods since watching your videos.
I agree with everything you are saying. I would just like to add I have seen some very mature deer with bleach white antlers because they live their lives in open CRP fields. It all depends on the terrain and cover in your area.
Definitely does vary like he said, how they move definitely tells more from my experience. Biggest buck I ever saw had bleached out tips so white you couldn't make out his rack on the frosty ground. Sure fire booner that I found one side to before he disappeared the next year
I want to hold off on a 4-5 year old buck this year! That’s my goal! Your last video about social media hit the nail on the head! Sometimes we sacrifice our goals because of social media! Not falling into that trap
Hold off on a 4-5 year old?! That’s an old deer pretty much anywhere, unless you’re hunting on one of those highly managed properties. 4-5 deer on public land are rare as hens teeth
Did a few habitat improvements. Tremendous sighting in deer and bucks. My 3 Amigos, super high racks, past their ears. Body wise one maybe 31/2, others no more than 21/2. All shooters around here. But you are absolutely correct. Bone white antlers very early. No attitude at all. Saw them the other day mixing with does, eating tree of heaven leaves that I toppled into the field. The side view length to tip of nose is a great tip. As is whether they have a bull nose, short and weathered looking. I know their daddy is out there but that is gonna have to be a completely different story.
i like trail cameras to help with this however there are always bucks not on cameras in our area. so these are some great tips to help educate our group as to shoot or pass. i also like to talk about the shake factor. if one is shaking and excited it has a greater likelihood to be a shooter for you. best tip though is to treat every buck as a shooter and be ready!!!!
Being an insulin dependent diabetic, i can really relate to your experiences while hunting. I've never had a needle in my eye, but I've come close. My usual issue is low blood sugar and having to eat at a bad time.
Jeff, totally agree with your ten second rule. The thing that we add is.....IF IN DOUBT LET HIM WALK !!!!!!! This will allow you the potential of shooting him another day. Will not be able to hunt this year due to complications from nerve damage after spine surgery. Bob
Such great advice Bob! And man, feel for you! I know how much you love getting out and how much work you put into your hunt. I hope and pray you are on the mend, my friend!
I had elbow surgery on August 25th and it was up in the air whether or not I was going to be able to hunt too. I am making it work with a crossbow luckily but I remember that sinking feeling when my surgeon confirmed that my biceps tendon was ruptured. The first thing that I thought of was missing hunting season. I'm sorry that has happened to you. I hope you get well and can be back out slinging arrows next season!
Brob...thanks, it was very difficult to wake up and have no use of my left leg. When you can't walk it TOTALLY changes your life. I'm been going to PT and doing a little better, but as my surgeon said getting the nerve activity to return is a very slow process. I'm hoping to hunt next year and for now concentrating on helping my grandson harvest a nice buck with his bow.
This goes for shooting does, too. Im looking to get one to fill the freezer and had one pop out of the treeline 16 yards to my left. I was sitting on the ground tucked into a fallen tree and was surrounded by deer, so I couldnt really move to begin with. It took me about 3 seconds to determine that she was a mature doe, but she was out of range within 5 seconds of me seeing her. They dont hang around very long.
What circumstances would you need to hunt a stand back to back or even weekends back to back. We’ve had perfect weather for sits both weekends in a row. I sat twice last weekend and saw 18 deer. Weather and winds are right for 2 more sits. Am i over thinking about sitting twice?
I would sit twice especially if I had some indication my target buck is around. If I spook any deer at that spot...I sit somewhere else. Weekends in a row aren't bad either...you should always be more concerned about how many deer you spooked Vs how many deer you saw.
Haven't had many buck bow kills because I'm always waiting for that giant but the ones I have successfully killed definitely fall into that 10 second rule. I remember I had a young buck chasing does relentlessly one afternoon, thought it was him stirring up a couple does again and to my surprise it was a really nice buck chasing two does right under my stand, grabbed the bow, put the release on and shot all within probably 10-15 seconds. I can't imagine watching a shooter slowly working its way to me in a food plot, to much time to get those nerves going!!
When are you free for next year? I need you to help us in Tustin Michigan, we have 110 acres. It's been in the family for 52 years, and they get a shooter buck about every 4-5 year's.
Jessi is scheduling June right now but it may be full already? She is working on August too, and then I may add February. I am dropping 1 month in MI this season...want to stay home more 😊
Thanks a lot Gae! To be honest I know of very few folks that use that site. I've seen it up close and in theory it should work well but I'm not sure why more folks don't use it that are hardcore hunters...at least the ones I know.
You bring up an awesome point. I think I had less than 10 sec. to seal the deal on my 8pt. Wind at him, following a doe, she's 10 yards away, it was an action packed 5 seconds maybe 10. And he's in the freezer...
I really trust your opinion and judgement so my question is I'm a beginner bow hunter that wears glasses what bow sight that's easy to use ,because I'm like you sitting down.Need something simple and easy to use cause all my shots are 20'-30' I'm not comfortable taking shots farther than that?
As a regular Joe hunter, I used to be able to get in my stand on one property and know there are deer in there, However, being able to pattern and actually see bucks has proven difficult during daylight hours. Those I have seen were typically in rifle season. Although once I saw several Doe coming directly to my stand in the middle of the woods. The sad part was, as I got ready to draw my bow, the arrow fell off my rest and clinked on the ladder of my stand, scaring the doe's away. The time I saw the buck , was off in the distance in some good thicket. There was no way I could have made a bow shot on him at the distance or cover he was in. It has been 10+ years since I have been in these woods. I am curious what my game cams will pick up once I set them. It is now Nov Rut season approaching here in Maryland
Hi Andrew, they are sprinkled into lots of the vids. However, I hunt with a camera man very little and can't stand self timing. We are doing a lot better job this year with multiple Tactacams and creating a story for each sit. Filming my hunts has never been a priority...just killing target bucks.
Biggest buck I ever killed I looked to my left for a few seconds, turned back to my right, and he was standing there staring at me. Luckily long enough for me to draw and shoot.
The 10 second rule can even be less and is a great rule for ground stands in thick cover with muzzleloaders and rifles. I taught my boys and wife to pick ground stands in thick cover, blowdowns and laurel etc, on known travel trails. You listen, stay absolutely still, and when you see the deer it will be 10 to maybe 30 yards at most away in a small opening. You had better been ready, finger on the trigger, you'll have maybe 10 seconds more like 5. We've shot many deer that way in the hardscrabble national forest.
It’s math. Deer walk at 3mph. So from the time he enters a 30 yard circle, until he walks out of that 30 yard circle is about 42 seconds and that assumes that he comes right through the middle.
i had a check station 10 years ago tell me a buck was 2.5 years old. he saw it and wanted to age it because it looked at least 4 if not 6 years old. this buck had split g3s a 3rd main beam. palmation like a moose. tons of mass. no way his ageing was correct
Boy and girls, if you can’t tell a good buck from a scrub, keep taking the ones you always get. As you grow in experience so does the quality deer you harvest.
I would recommend hunters take the time to actuality make an effort to educate themselves on aging by body feature. You might not be able to go through your mental, body feature check list in 10 seconds, but it will certainly help you be more satisfied with your 10 second decision.
I never agreed with the tooth age thing. I shot a bear in the U.P. of Michigan. It was over 6ft. And 300 lbs. The DNR Results said it was a one and a half year old bear.. I don't think so..
I have a corn pile on the side of a thicket I have a bunch of does in their do you think in the rut some of the bigger bucks will start to come in their
I have 3 age classes of bucks on camera on one scrape. One is 1.5. He checks the scrape, walks erratically and carelessly all over, leaves and comes back over and over, and seems almost overwhelmed. Several others it seems are 2.5 to 3.5. They aren't as erratic but they sniff a lot, urinated in the scrape some, and want to spar a lot with each other. One of them lightly pawed the ground. They seem more like they are acting like an adult than being one if that makes sense. The two bucks that I'm guessing are at least 4.5 years old have large racks and big bodies. One is way outside his ears, over 20" wide. They have a belly. Their legs look more proportionate to their body which is much bigger than the other deer. They paw the ground hard almost as if they are trying to fling dirt as far as possible while almost pounding the ground like they own it. All of the other deer around are skittish in the videos, one buck even jumps back scared half to death. They go in, do their business with a business like attitude, and walk away stiff legged, confidently and slowly like they are the king of the forest as the seas part to make room for them. I have to be honest, sometimes watching trail cam footage is almost as fun as hunting.
It happens fast most of the time.Throw in 3 seconds to aim at the spot ya want to hit.Most guys just don’t get it.I have shot a lot of them sitting down.Just comes natural to me🤷🏻
Jeff, it’s high time to finish the inside of that shop out and put some shelving up brother! Everything is on the floor. Your 50% sit rule is money but only getting 50% shop efficiency is borderline sinful! Lol
I go by weight. It’s 4.5 years or more, if it’s 200pounds+. And I’m taking him regardless of the rack. We can take 2 in Maryland. I’ve taken about a dozen sub 75 point bucks ranging from 200-250 pounds field dressed. All 6.5 and older. I want their genetics gone. We get 250# dominant 6s running off 8s, 9s, and 10s a lot. I’ll generally let 3-5 pretty boy 8s go by a year. I know right away. It’s always obvious when the weight isn’t there. Much easier, faster, and reliable for me to judge by weight.
Aging deer on the hoof is easier to do the longer you watch and observe their behavior. I saw a new RU-vid saying he passes all the 2 yr Olds but he will shoot a 2.5 year old stud. I might not be the sharpest tool butt.....
My buddy basically stole my new blind my dad got me last year and he tells me all the time how he's gonna shoot one he's gonna get on his knees pick his bow up off the ground pull it back then turn to the window an shoot 😂
I've always said to my buddies..if you have to think about it..don't shoot. You'll know if he's the one. Only my idiot so so buddies complain about ground shrinkage. Some hunters are so desperate to take a buck they'll turn into poachers,spotlighters,or trespassers to take a nice buck. Then have to lie to their friends, families and themselves forever,anytime their mounted buck is brought up. Who would want to live a lie like that, especially when they're allegedly so compassionate about eithics,morals and the outdoors and wildlife. Friends..just do the Right thing.
I dont care how old a deer is if he is nice im ripping him my bow dont leave my hand unless its really cold i shoot more than a deer or two with my bow does are great practice
Do not shoot sitting down very bad advice! 120 degrees at best. Body size IS best way to age quickly! Go dig a hole a bury a water tank🤣 nice guy not the best advice.
man is that the truth I have been fortunate to kill some really nice bucks and everyone has been just like the situation he talks about, it's just a matter of seconds.
