frustration

[evan9201]

well i looks like im not getting a deer this season because of my truck ****ting the bed these last couple of weeks and my work, muzzleloader ends the 31.

im so frustrated i feel like a failure and its not like i wasnt patient i would sit on stand for 6 hours in 25dg weather, i never shot a a sound in the bushes,i tryed several different stands that i set up and i hunted as much as i could.

i have been doing a lot of small game hunting since i was little and im now just getting into big game hunting these last couple of years, i miss how small game was so fun and if you missed a rabbit you just shrugged it off. i love hunting and killing is not necceary for me to have a good time but to my so called " friends" need to kill. they like making fun of me for not getting a deer and i feel like **** all i wanted is 1 doe and to eat sweet venison. im sorry to rant guys but i need some people to talk to.

 

Hey Bud,

I know what your talking about totally. Hunting is just that hunting, nothing ruins it more than getting a kill early in the season for me. I don't get into the games some hunters play equating killing something to being less or more than a man. Same goes for trophy hunting, fine if thats what your into but don't expect me to jump up and down like a kid when you start talking about racks, deer racks anyway. :wink:

I am sure you had a good time out in the woods and sometimes that is the way it goes. Be proud of hunting ethically and be thankful you were able to get out there as much as you did. I have many friends that for one reason or another could not get out at all this year. One friend got out for one day only and at least he did get to see a pair of deer. If I go the whole season and at least get to see a deer I'm happy. If I get one I'm even happier.

I might be going up to MA for some NSSA shoots this year and if I do and if you'd like to meet up with me at one I can easily throw some venison in a cooler with ice for ya.

Start planning for next year and don't let your "friends" get to you. If it was me I'd be looking for guys that hunt the same way I do and think along the same lines as me when it comes to hunting and mutual respect. Life is too short for putting up with BS.

If this email is a little disjointed its the pain meds, had to have a minor surgery and I am a little out of it right now. lol.

Billy

 

[evan9201]

where and when dude lol. im only 19 so i may be the only one at the shoot with out grey hair.

 

Lol well I'm 41 with some gray but as long as I keep the high and tight hair cut I'm ok. lol

Shoot me an email and will save it and then get in touch when the matches start up. If you want to come to any of the biathlons in NY or the northeast let me know and maybe we can meat up there! lol

B

 

[bigbore442001]

Call in sick or make a deal with someone at work. I was scheduled to work monday and have New Years Day off. Monday is the last day of muzzleloader so I asked the boss if I could switch. She said yes.

See what you can do.

 

[Rancocas]

I didn't take a deer this year, either. But, I really don't care. I spent many enjoyable days alone in the woods. I think I had a great season, even without bringing home any venison.
I use my muzzleloaders throughout all the firearms seasons. I haven't used a modern rifle in 5 or 6 years. Here in Tennessee I start big game hunting in late October, and can keep it up right into January if I follow the various open periods around the state. I can take a total of two bucks and something like three or four does. But, I don't.
I even went up for a week's hunt in Kentucky this year.
All together, I saw 3 bucks this year. None of them presented me with a clear shot. One of them stood back in the brush at the edge of a field, only about 60-70 yards from me. It milled around there, waiting for dark. I didn't want to risk a shot through the thick brush. After about 20 minutes of this, darkness finally fell and I could no longer see either the deer or my rifle sights.
I did have easy, clear shots at several different does, but I declined to take them.
I spent an hour helping a total stranger track a wounded doe that he had shot.
One frosty morning as I sat in my blind, I was surrounded by 15 or 20 wild turkeys. Some of them were within 10 yards of me.
Another morning there must have been 500 crows that settled in the treetops around me. What a racket they made! They paid no attention to me. I have no idea what attracted them. After about 15 minutes the riot broke up and crows flew off in all directions.
Just things like these made my season wonderful. Making meat don't matter.

 

[Ron LaClair]

Evan, Oh to be 19 again...I envy you. :wink: I'm 71 but I still remember my youth. You shouldn't feel like **** when your friends rag on you, just smile and be proud because you are the better hunter of the group. Your day will come and when it does they will envy you for sticking to your guns...muzzle loading guns that is. :bow:

When you take on the greater challenge of hunting with a muzzleloader you need to hone your hunting skills. Learn how to read sign so you'll know how, when and where the deer are moving. Deer are motivated by hunger, especially in the colder time of the year. Hunt near food sources. Here in southern Michigan it's crop fields.Find where the deer are moving into the fields and make your stand along those trails.

In the late season after they have been harassed for a couple months deer move early in the morning and late in the evening. During those low light times it may be hard to see your sights. I put just a touch of florescent orange paint on my front sight to make it more visible.

Good luck and hang in there. :thumbsup:

 

[Mr Hawken]

i grew up in southern alberta similar to wyoming.getting a deer opening day with my 30/06 was fairly easy.now that i have used my ml i have more fun and see more game.i have taken 1 deer so far but i dont have to shoot the first deer i see.i dont know what your friends use for a rifle and i dont know how they hunt but for me i cant sit on a stand.i would sooner still hunt and possibly spook game then sit and wait for game.i also have friends that have to shoot something.they are good friends but i dont agree with there hunting practices so i dont hunt with them.they use centerfire guns and i dont and for me i know who the better hunter is.

 

[evan9201]

thanks for all of your kind words they really made me feel better. for muzzleloader season i hunted right on a cut corn field with TONS of sign droppings,chewed corn,scrapes, rubs and all that.the only action i herd on that field was two bucks having a fight in the woods right across from me.

i was rattling on that field and herd a buck grunt behind me. i hunt with a cap lock 54 during primitive season and my 12 gauge slug during shotgun and my recurve during bow. i want to get a flinter and im a lefty so thats going to be hard. what i enjoy most is hunting with my ML and traditional green wool jacket and pants.

all my friends wont even hunt with a flintlock or cap lock because it takes effort on there part and the art of traditional muzzleloading is a slow learing process.

 

[bwhoffman]

So, you're 19, didnt get a deer, your friends are giving you feces and you fell bad about it.

I would research and heavily evaluate WHO and WHAT my friends are.
You will have several friends throughout your lifetime, your best one will more than likely be your wife and/or your children.

A friend takes you as you are, good times and bad.

You can call a friend 24/7 for help ect and they will be there, no questions asked.

Someone youare comfortable around, can flip you manure AND you wont feel bad about because YOU know they ARE your friend.

If these words dont fit the mold somewhat, those individuals are not a "friend", but merely an ACQUAINTENCE.

I evaluated my list of "friends" and can put most of them into the acquaintance catagory.
...most surprising is the 22 yr old kid that works in our city shops as a mechanic... we get along, he trusts me and I trust him, enough so that I rate that level of trust right up there with that of my wife. thats right up there.
Most others are merely acquintences and live their own lives on their terms and I need be only convenient for them.
Ask yourself if you would put your life in their hands, a yes is a friend.
You gotta lot of years to go and miles of road to cover!
so you didnt get a deer, big deal, you're not gunna starve because of it. AND it sounds like you might have made a potential friend here on the forum that can fullfil your desire for some venison! sounds like a friend in the works.

I have made some strong bonds from here and met several face to face. common bonds and interest make some of the best friends...that and RESPECT.

take care,
Brett

 

[Ron LaClair]

for muzzleloader season i hunted right on a cut corn field with TONS of sign droppings,chewed corn,scrapes, rubs and all that.the only action i herd on that field was two bucks having a fight in the woods right across from me.

i was rattling on that field and herd a buck grunt behind me.

Don't hunt ON the field, get back in the woods and hunt along the trails they use to come TO the field.

 

[bucktales]

19,huh?.
Don't sweat it. At least you're out there. How many guys in your age group are even out in the woods? With a ML on top of it. If this year is a bust, that's OK. There ain't one here that hasn't had a dry year.
You said you heard action in the woods? Start figuring your strategy for next year. Set up some other stands where you have traffic coming and going to the field.
One thing about hunting Whitetails, and I've been doing it a while, is just when you think you have them figgured out, you don't. :v

 

[evan9201]

well i wasent ON the field just set back in the woods a little bit to have a clear shot at the field

 

[evan9201]

i agree with you these guys are more ACQUAINTENCES than friends. the only person that i would trust with my life would be my best friend jimmy.

 

[bigbore442001]

That is true but sometimes the biggest thing to figure out in Massachusetts is not the strategy of outwitting the deer but outwitting pressured deer from other hunters. Massachusetts deer hunting can be interesting.

A good case in point is what happened to me on opening day of the Massachusetts shotgun season.I am not sure if I posted this story here but this will give you an idea what happens.

I awoke early on the first Monday after Thanksgiving very early. The plan was to go to my swamp stand before shooting light. I made an abrupt change when I saw that it was very rainy and foggy. I figured that the best thing to do is to sit under one of the canopies on the club rifle range. I know that deer will cross now and then and at least I would be dry.

My Dad and I drove down the club road to the range and as I was doing so, I spotted two deer in the headlights at the end of the old range. They soon spooked into the woods. I figured that if I sit on the range, soon enough they would come out.

Keep in mind that the range is about 200 yards long and it is rainy and foggy. I was hunting with a shotgun loaded with a slug while my Dad sat in the truck. He said he wasn't feeling too well and took a nap.

As I sat under the canopy I heard something. I saw a pick up truck barreling down the road and then it came to a halt about 15 yards from me. A member that I know got out of his truck. I am not sure if he even seen me sitting in hunter orange but he withdrew his scoped inline muzzleloading rifle from the truck, peered down the scope and all of a sudden shot.

He took an offhand shot at a doe at approximately 150 yards from his position. He said he wasn't sure if he got it. I figured my hunt was shot to Hades and so got up and walked over to him. I said," Well. Let see if you wounded it. " I took a walk with him to the spot. Again, it was a good 150 yards off hand and I know he doesn't practice all that much( Budwiesers don't count either) . We found nothing. While walking around I commented on practice and ethics a bit. We walked down a path and he said he heard something. I walked off to the right and soon flushed the doe as it headed towards the swamp.

He asked if I saw anything. I said no. In my heart I figured that someone like that doesn't deserve to take that deer.

Just to add, I went to work a half hour late as it was all done by 7:30 AM.

After work, I went to my stand at at dusk shot a 100 lb doe at 35 yards. Needless to say, I told him nothing of the sucess. I told others that I shot it in another town.

What happened to me above isn't too uncommon here in Massachusetts.

 

[tg]

You will have many more seasons than a lot of us will and many deer will fall to your ML over the years, some years they will get the better of you other years you will be the victor. I went two seasons with no deer and little or no hunting after taking at least one a year for ..more years than I care to count, keep your spirits up and stay focused, you have an entire lifetime of hunting ahead of you, and I believe that most seasons you will dine on venison taken with a flintlock.

 

[Hayduke]

All that really matters is that you got out and were able to enjoy some time afield. This year I never got out with my ML. I put most of my time in during bow season and by the time ML season came around work got in the way. As for your 'friends', remember "It takes a lifetime to grow old friends."

One more for you...
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."
- Dr. Seuss

 

[evan9201]

mass hunting is a total clusterF*ck it sucks

 

[bucktales]

At 19, the sky's the limit. Get your feet wet in Mass., hone your skills and learn to adapt to the regs and other hunters. Let them work for you.
Who knows, later you can hunt anywhere you want, other NE states, pa, WV, West, South. It's what you make of it. You have lots of time. Stay focused and pay attention, you'll do good.

 

I shoot up at this range a couple of times a year when I can afford the gas. You might want to check them out yourself they have an active muzzleloader club. Never know maybe someone has private property you could hunt on.

I'll post the address of the other range where I will be shooting North South Skirmish Association matches. I'm dead serious about giving you some venison so keep in touch once this thread disappears. [url] http://www.hsasports.com/cat.asp?cat_id=4[/url]

Who taught you how to hunt by the way if you don't mind me asking? My neighbor's son wants to learn but neither parents hunt. Have a bad feeling his mother doesn't want him doing it. I know I am not seeing too many young hunters in the woods these days.

Billy