I've always wondered about the hunters who are well known. I'm not taking anything away from their successes. I've also wondered if their success was because they have access to great places to hunt.

Do you think they would be less successful on public lands where most of us have to hunt or would they be more successful?

I hunt public land without a tree stand and use primitive equipment. I don't kill a lot of deer and the ones I've killed were within 15 yards. I feel it's made me a better hunter.

Hard to tell...Will tell. Some may be great hunters, some not so much, just like the rest of us. Usually, if you are on the television with a show, you are sponsored and those sponsored expect to sell merchandise. If a guys isn't getting the job done, they will find someone who will. and then there is the landowner or guide who wants to push his business so he signs on as a sponsor. He wants to sell his merchandise too, so the hunter needs to do his job, so then the guide "may" make something happen to show how good of a guide he is to the great hunter.

Now all of this is hypothetical, of course, and not to put down any hunters who are honest and hard working. Just saying sponsorship needs fulfillment ..... that's all I'm saying. :)

I have killed lots of deer when I had access to private lands or in exclusive clubs but the deer have been depleted on the public land in my area. 10 outings, about 4-5 hours each and lucky to see one deer, that is how it has become. Even a great hunter can't kill what is not there. The state of Ms has "managed" our deer herd to almost extinction in some areas.

James

Its 100% about access. The longer you hunt and the longer your alive the more clear it becomes.

Or how about this theory. If you are on television you are sponsored to the tune that you can sit on a spot 14 to 30 consecutive days highly increasing the probability of seeing your intended quarry that only shows up on cameras twice a month or so. So without the constraints of available time to hunt you have a much better chance to score compared to us common folk you don't have as much free time. It'd be nice if the TV hunters would mention how much effort, how many day on stand and such was required to pull off the feat.

And if the TV hunters mentioned how many unsuccessful number of hours and days on a spot before moving on to another to put it all in perspective, that would be interesting too. Or maybe they do that already. I haven't seen any such shows since the 90s.

I agree with PEARL.

The "greatest hunter" alive couldn't kill "trophies" on a regular basis without access to the game. I'm not knocking how or where anyone hunts but I know my chances of killing a "giant" buck here in my neck of PA are pretty dang slim, not impossible but dang slim. That's fine by me, I have my own definition of a successful hunt and a "trophy" and it doesn't include how many inches of antler are on a deer.

Well Said George.

My comment is for "every dayers" as much as TV hunters. Some have access to incredible whitetail areas and some fight their a**es off every season to see a few deer.

Yes, if you are in game rich territory, You will be more successful

you can be the best hunter on the planet but if you dont have access to areas where trophy animals live, you arent going to kill any. if you have access to areas where trophies are common, average hunters can get the job done.

Meatloaf said it best...

"You'll never find your gold on a sandy beach You'll never drill for oil on a city street I know you're looking for a ruby In a mountain of rocks But there ain't no Coupe de Ville hiding At the bottom of a Cracker Jack box"

If you have access to property with high populations of game, and you have the leisure time to spend looking for them, you will find them if you aren't an absolute baffoon.

No need to really wonder because if you have shot enough yourself then you know your only as good as your spot. But with that said too you have to be able to close the deal making the right shot and then all go well with it also.

In the arrow game many know what's at stake the good and the bad and the ugly.

A number of guides won't take archers especially stick bow archers.

And because there are variables you can be in the right place at the right time and still not connect for one reason or another many times. You can make all the mistakes and still capitalize or do everything right and end up with the agony of defeat.

Depending on what's in your head at the moment of truth. I know for a fact that I have seen animals I wanted and been told you can't shoot that one its promised out its being saved or come now and get on a plane tonight to be here tomorrow we have what your looking for. An could not get a flight out then and there and someone else that got there take that animal.

Travel around with others with money and you will find out what's been available to them that can make it happen because of it.

There's nothing to wonder its reality you either know or you don't and you find out things in life as you travel about.

Many a guide has made others famous same as Captains and mates have and the person who shot or caught got the recognition.

World wasn't fair in the beginning and won't be in the end. That's just the way it is.

I once told an Elk guide ok I have been on several hunts and no shots. You get me a shot and I will double your fee. That's all you need to do is put me in position where it comes down to the shot. He said no self respecting guide will do that. I said if you are good enough and know your animals well enough you could.

I told him flat if you can't do that then I don't want chance going with you.

Its the biggest scam out there going you see guides and outfitters showing animals at sports shows they have taken over the years and big talk like it was yesterday they are crawling in animals. Just not so do your homework in all that you do.

If you don't then we are the fake news. LOL

THAT'S my problem. Thanks for clearing it up for me. ;-)

A buddy of mine is not known, because he has been careful not to be, but has a trophy room that is awe inspiring. It really is. That room is packed with big mature bucks, not two and three year olds, including several giant non-typicals, some B&C size. It impresses me and I'm not a horn guy. All killed with a recurve, except two he killed with a selfbow he made after I showed him how. He said to do it consistently you have to hunt where the big bucks ARE, and in good numbers, and spend the time. Before he retired, he took all 6 weeks of his vacation off every year, and hunted hard, every day. Come home for Thanksgiving and head right back over to Ohio. He wasn't messing around. I never met anyone like him before.

He lives in Pa, but didn't kill them here. Most were in Ohio, but some other states too, Illinois, New York, etc. In fact he didn't buy a hunting license in his home state for many, many years. All he ever hunts are big, mature bucks. He is obsessed with them. He knows them inside and out. He said they're so much different than younger bucks and does, they were like their own species. He's a great hunter, patient, nerves of steel, and a consistent shooter. I didn't care about those bucks as much, and I'd go stay at his camp and hunt squirrels a lot of the time. Drove him nuts. Lol.

I think access to them in numbers is #1, but to do it consistently you have to have a certain drive and determination in regard to those big old bucks. It just ain't in me.

Let's say Hunter A has a very productive tree stand on a great property. He sits in that same stand and takes a big buck year after year. No need to do anything different to achieve hunting success. Now let's say Hunter B hunts on various properties using a variety of methods, learning as much as he can about his quarry. He often, but not always, gets a nice buck. I think I could learn a lot more from Hunter B.

RymanCat, do they tie the animals up for you or keep them in a pen as well and then turn them loose when you're ready to "kill" them?

Sadly, it seems that a big part of the guiding business has now become year 'round surveillance of prospective trophies. If you want to see the worst example of this, check out this video about the army of guides who served up a 470" AZ elk (governor's tag last year) to the fat slob who founded Jimmy John's sandwich business. They had paid people "putting this bull to bed" for 15 days prior to its execution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf0JXZqzsyE

So clearly, some guides are more than willing to up the stakes when there's enough money involved.

Just an opinion here, but when it comes to tv land, nothing is as it appears.. 90% of the scouting, trail cams, diverting of animals etc are done by someone else..

I believe one of the Wensels, maybe both, have written that where you hunt makes a big difference. Have to have access to hunting areas that have big critters. It's as simple as that. You can't kill them if they don't exist where you hunt.

Of course, folks who have made a name for themselves have usually started out by finding and securing access to those properties through hard work. Once established, they're often invited to /offered lucrative properties to hunt. And if they're sponsored, the sponsor buys their access to the best, usually private, properties and guides.

Do I think they're better hunters? Some are. The Wensels, for exampe, I believe earned their stripes. A lot of the others are just shooters. Regardless, I don't pay much attention to their exploits either way.

And, of course, the super rich, like the Jimmy John's guy, aren't really hunters at all. They buy their trophies, starting with high-priced tags and high priced guiding armies. (I watched that video. He couldn't even get on and off a horse without help. They didn't even show him shooting his cannon, no doubt from a mobile shooting bench, to kill the elk at 960 yards.)

I've always said, put them in unfamiliar territory with limited time to scout and pattern their "shooter buck" and they wont do any better than the average Joe who has to work 6 days a week to feed his family. Most of these guys, all they do is manage deer and shoot deer. They know every animal and where it is and when it will be under the tree. You can do that when you have a cable network and umpteen sponsors paying your bills.

Depends on the Hunter. Many are excellent woodsmen that will do well and kill the bigger animals wherever they hunt. They are observant, patient, and take advantage of an opportunity whenever it presents itself. And then there are many who rely on great private properties and the efforts of others to help them find and target great animals. A lot of the modern day video heroes fall in that category IMO.

Great places make great hunters. Honestly, it depends on what you are hunting. A great hunter can consistently take an animal on large public tracks of land. For deer, if you have a farm or private land to hunt, it does not take a lot of skill to find where when and why an animal comes through a spot. Now pressured large public forest hunting? That takes a skill to consistently put yourself onto animals unless you are a baiter, then not much skill needed.

The guys who crawl along a mountain sneaking up on there target for most of a day after searching for the animal for days - I would call those guys great hunters(Im not one of them.)

Guys who stick there tree stand up by a busy trail and wait. They may be well be competent hunters but theres nothing "great" about it.

A nationally known gunwriter from the state I hunt once wrote an article about how not to be successful at deerhunting and used the area I hunt as the main example. Seems he got invited to hunt up there by an acquaintance because that is where his family's camp is and where they have always hunted. Guess the low deer density and infrequent sightings didn't do it for him. I hunt that area because I have a cabin there and love the area. I likely get as exited just seeing deer in the woods as most do downing them - especially if I see them first. To each his own.....

Its both . You can't kill nice buck if there is none. In ohio some of our nicest come from public land. Ones you find one you still have to hunt the right spot, come in the right direction ,and then seal the deal. Most areas in Ohio have nice bucks but most hunter never see them.

I once asked Barry Wensel what advice he had for me hunting the big woods of northern Wisconsin. "Move!" was his answer. That's my answer to the OP.

I began bowhunting with a man that hunted public land all his life. He didn't kill B&C bucks but he consistently killed the best bucks the area offered.

So if you measure success by the size of the antlers then I agree you need to be where the big bucks live. But if you measure success by the challenge of taking the best bucks in the places you hunt then you need to do your homework and not kill the first legal buck you see.

I agree it’s both to some degree. All my hunting has been in SC. Was in a club for many years , it was easier to hunt and kill deer on that property, big ones were still tough although I’ve never been too concerned about antlers. I now hunt public land right near the club I was in and it’s a lot tougher hunting. So I can explain the tougher hunting as habitat and pressure. On the other hand a friend of mine has hunted public land almost exclusively and has killed some really nice deer , he’s one of those hunters that seems can kill a deer almost anywhere he goes. He puts in the time and hunts a lot of different areas.

Agree with others that's it's a little bit of both.

The more money you have, the more time you can afford to take off to scout and hunt. The more money you have, The more places you can afford to hunt. The more money you have, the more you can afford to travel to hunt great places. Like Tom T. Hall said. "It's about young women, older whiskey, and more money." wpab

So was Cat saying he’d double the guide’s fee if he got a shot, or was he betting him double or nothing?

Double or nothing, I’d side with the guide. Never seen anyone willing to be paid in full AND have the chance at a 100% tip.

Access doesn’t guarantee Success, but there’s a reason nobody has been good enough yet to tag Bigfoot.

Is Jimmy John a great hunter?

He has killed and killed big.

oz

It depends on the hunter and the hunters situation. Look at Randy Ulmer. Every year, the boys on bowsite get excited to see what Randy kills. Big velvet mule deer. Then the discussion starts. "He only kills them because he gets to hunt where we don't." "I could kill them every year if I hunted where he did." "Wrong, Randy started at the bottom like the rest of us, he worked his way to the top and would totally out hunt you in your area." etc etc, much like this conversation.

The "regular guys" type successful hunters I've known (not talking TV celebrity fake types) that kill big stuff regularly absolutely hunt in great areas. That said, they all work really hard at getting into good spots, whether that is travelling to good areas, working hard at getting permission on good areas, working hard to secure access to good ground one way or the other.

They also all make what many would consider huge sacrifices to put themselves in a position to be successful. Like time away from home, moving to a better part of the country to be where good hunting is, putting time/$/resources toward hunting.

Sure if you put "average joe" in Gene's(insert whomever successful hunters name here) treestand he could shoot a big one too....but if "average joe" would make the same "sacrifices" or work as hard as Gene he'd get the chance on his own.

Mostly the harder you work....the luckier you get. I love to hunt big whitetails...if I couldn't do that where I live...I'd absolutely 100% live somewhere I could.

R

No he's not a great hunter, but he has a big wallet and can hire the hunting part done for him. JJ couldn't get himself off that mountain by himself. That was pretty sad actually.

I think his success is entirely due to living guides and dead presidents...and very expensive weaponry.

Lot of valid points here, you can't kill 'em if they ain't there.

You have to hunt where the Big one live To kill them. Most importantly thing to do Is pay attention to the wind in your face and pay attention to enter and exit.

It takes game to be any kind of a hunter. Without out game you are a bird watcher for a few hours every hunt.

Letting my bowhunting mag subscription lapse after seeing so many articles of big dear kills taken from an elevated blind on the edge of a food plot. Not much skill there, just right place at right time.

I'm sure both factors come into play, but the best hunters in the world aren't going to gain fame and fortune hunting where the genetics, agriculture, ecosystems, etc. don't produce eye-popping racks. And we'll just let those once well-known hunters who got busted for taking trophy animals other than how they were portrayed or other than where they were claimed remain nameless and in the "hall of shame"...the lure of fame and big money have made fools out of many a good man. Having said that, I'm also certain that Unca's Gene and Barry would kill better deer than me in my own backyard. I like to eat them to good to be overly patient!

Great hunters generally hunt for great places first and then the deer. Public or private. You have to hunt a deer where he lives, not where you want him to be. If I hunt eastern CO I expect to see 20 P&Y bucks in a week with a shot at a 150. To get a shot at a 150 on public in an area north of me I plan 2 to 3 weeks and I may see 2 or 3 bucks if I’m lucky. But when I do it is usually a good one. Good is relative to the area. KS, I’ll, OH, CO good is way different than public or private here. But a good hunter recognizes the difference and adapts. They usually get the job done, just on a different schedule. It takes a lot more hunting for a good spot that is huntable on public than it does hunting the deer to be successful. The luckiest people are generally the ones that work the hardest.

Great places to hunt. I’ll buy the big named hunters a new truck if they kill a 125/ class deer where I hunt. I’ll give em 2 months

Phil,is right

I hunt in areas that hold nice bucks. They're pretty scarce but they are around. Thinking about the last 50 years plus hunting I've seen about 10 really big bucks. One or two giant bucks. So if I go by averages I see a big one about every 5 years of hard hunting and a monster buck about every 25 years.lol I'm not up on scoring deer but I consider a nice one that's 10 point or better and have some horn on their head.

For me it has been the location. All of the “trophy” animals I have killed were either in a highly managed unit or private property. I have killed representative animals in tough locations also. But I think for us mere mortals. Opportunity trumps most other things. I do have a good friend/hunting partner that is just a killer. He adapts and is almost always successful in any area or species. Always unguided He is the exception. Not the norm.

Some of the deer seen on hunting shows border on being domestic animals, with food plots, feeders, private leases. Sitting in "blinds" bigger than a garden shed tends to make it more shooting than "hunting". MEATEATER is the one show I care to watch, kill it, cook it, share it with friends, it's a good show.

Well said Ryan

I'm probably missing the point as I often do. But I would think the best hunters would be the ones that don't have access to areas that have the big deer or "trophy" population but still manage to harvest a deer every year be it a 4 pt. doe, maybe a nice 10pt that wondered through one eve because he's a good hunter and loves to hunt. Give's half of it away 'cause his wife and kids maybe don't like rabbit, venison, etc. Has one bow that his Dad or Uncle passed on to him, maybe gets a doz or two shafts every couple of years. Puts the time in when he can but always makes the kids games on Fri/Sat night. Vacations are with the wife and kids and not to some hunting camps. Put that guy in an area with a big population and trophy's you can choose from and give names to and see what he does. TV guys mostly hunt for sponsors and shoot deer from what I've seen.

Oh and doesn't really Bear hunt 'cause of all the math that's involved.

Don't give a rat's ass about "trophy hunters" and tv heroes pushing their sponsors goofy products. Just don't...

While there are a lot of things to like about living in South Florida, large whitetail bucks are not one of them! I drive a long way to hunt deer. I've been wishing for years that some of these hotshot TV hunters would do a show on heavily-pressured public land in the Southeastern U.S. I hunted the mountains of Idaho back in the 1980's and was surprised to see so many mature bucks strolling around in broad daylight, seemingly without a care in the world. That never happened on public land in Florida!

Florida public land is TOUGhH hunting. I bow hunted Everglades deer in the early 80s and man you talk about hunting unicorns. You have to wade out through the saw grass to get to one of the tiny islands. Wading past a lot of snakes in the dark. A nice representative basket rack finally gave me a shot after many days of hunting. (I was so high in a tree so that I could see a long way. Luckily it was very windy too). That I kept shooting over its back. I would shoot and it would jump and look around. I would shoot again and it would jump out of its skin and look around. Eventually all of my arrows, I think 5 were stuck in the ground and the buck eventually strolled off.

Now that’s more of a story of an inexperienced Hunter sitting too high and not holding low enough. Than tough animals. But that is the only shot opportunity I had on any buck. While hunting south Florida for many days.

Here on my property in Michigan I see more deer and nicer deer by the minute or hour not days and weeks.

Everglades Bound , I was watching one show a couple years ago and they made the comment when they killed the deer that that was there 13th all day sit in that stand looking for that buck that they had on camera. That was the hunting show Lee and Tiffany . Most shows never mention how long they been hunting the deer or they were guided and put on it day one. LOL

Altizer is right. Hunt good places to hunt

GREAT PLACES.

Most of these TV "Great Hunters" could not harvest spit on regular folks public lands !!!! It's all about the Place.

Some (I want to emphasize some) of these TV show trophy hunts are all set up pretty nice for the TV personality who is gonna promote all kinds of products while killing the big one.

Multiple stands all over for multiple winds.Food plots galore.A well managed property designed to produce good bucks with good numbers in older age classes.Lots of trail cam picks to admire from the spot you will be hunting on the 1st day.Its all well prepared like a Thanksgiving meal for the guy coming from the airport.

Might even hold your hand while walking you to the good spot for that days conditions.With well groomed trails leading you thier.

Must say I really repect the guy who can kill a few nice bucks hunting public land as well as just harvesting some game for the freezer.It can be alot of hard work and time consuming for sure.

I did go on one what I would say was a cake hunt on private land once with a rich friend.He paid for it.I got a huge elk.It left me with a bad feeling honestly.Just way too easy.No challenge at all.I gave the antlers away.A rarely think of it at all.When I do I change my thought process immediatly.

I dont watch much hunting show type stuff.Some are pretty good though and look like the real thing more than others and are the real thing.

Public hunting is a totally different ballgame!Especially near high human population areas.

Not gonna speak for others, but for me personally, the biggest factor Is where you are hunting. This is followed by how much time you have to hunt and scout. Skill would probably be next. I don't have much of that, but I can usually get it done if I can get a shot.

For me, a guy who questions his hunting ability just about every year, it's where you are. It took me 27 yrs to shoot a P&Y buck around home but once I went to another state south of me I started seeing P&Y bucks consistently and killing P&Y bucks each year. It's hard to see big bucks if they aren't there.

I would say a lot has to do with the hunter. I agree if there are no big bucks around than ya can't kill them. I would also say that a good hunter will kill deer in general no matter where they hunt. I have hunted out of state on public quite a bit since 2011. I have killed all my biggest bucks in those years and all of them but 2 have been out of state. I think folks equate being a great hunter with killing big deer, I don't!! I look at a guy who kills deer every year no matter where he hunts and regardless of the deer population. I will tell you this, if I lived in Iowa or Kansas and hunted as hard as I do, i would kill a P&Y buck every year and I would do it on public. Again, time is one thing very few mentioned on this thread. Give a decent hunter enough time in the woods in a lot of mid westen states they will get it done. Shawn

Scooby do is right. I want to bring the Drury Brothers here to WV to do a show lol

In my 57 years of bowhunting whitetail I have never been a bone hunter nor have I ever been impressed by trophy hunters or by someone who kills an extraordinary amount of game during the season.

I don't harbor the least bit of ill feelings towards trophy hunters or those that kill several deer during a season, I just am not impressed and do not care.

Great Places. I would agree with pdk25 with one added caveat - private land often equates to a "great place". Since my partners and I were able to purchase our own land our success has sky rocketed. Oh, plus I'm retired and put in a lot of time!

I'd like to repost this post. Hope you don't mind Ryan:

The "regular guys" type successful hunters I've known (not talking TV celebrity fake types) that kill big stuff regularly absolutely hunt in great areas. That said, they all work really hard at getting into good spots, whether that is travelling to good areas, working hard at getting permission on good areas, working hard to secure access to good ground one way or the other. They also all make what many would consider huge sacrifices to put themselves in a position to be successful. Like time away from home, moving to a better part of the country to be where good hunting is, putting time/$/resources toward hunting.

Sure if you put "average joe" in Gene's(insert whomever successful hunters name here) treestand he could shoot a big one too....but if "average joe" would make the same "sacrifices" or work as hard as Gene he'd get the chance on his own.

Mostly the harder you work....the luckier you get. I love to hunt big whitetails...if I couldn't do that where I live...I'd absolutely 100% live somewhere I could.

R

All else is mostly excuses. Guys who kill nice bucks don't all do it at home. They travel across state to other areas or to neighboring states.

I hunt quite a bit and kill deer in MI, but in over 30 years of bowhunting I haven’t seen as many giants as I will in a week in Indiana or Illinois. Then, in the few times I’ve hunted decent private in Illinois, I’ve killed a few giants with a longbow. If you’re good hunting local, and go where’s there’s big guys, you’ll get opportunities. It can be a different world. It is a lot of fun, and almost proves to you that you know what you’re doing. There are just so few big bucks in MI where I hunt.

Everybody has access to record book, and other trophy animals if you are willing to pay the financial price. Yes, book animals do reside on public land, especially in places such as Alaska, not so much in more populated areas.

I have been offered the opportunities at "trophy" animals through various outfitters and booking agents. Once had a call for a 40 inch ram in Alaska. It was spotted on a mountain, I had 48 hours to get to Alaska. Was not for me. Many outfitters scout with planes and are not going to take the average paying hunter to a large trophy. There is a whole network of high paying clients sitting in their offices waiting for "the call", and they will pay huge sums to get a legal opportunity. This is how it works fellas, same with private land animals in the lower 48.

I always have more fun targeting the largest animal on my own properties, and many would not meet others trophy status. There are no sheep.

I believe how you hunt or how good of a hunter you are, is nowhere near as important as where you hunt.

I have to disagree with the comments about how good of hunter you are is not that important. Listen I have hunted in multiple states for whitetails. I will say it makes a huge difference how good of hunter you are because its not just being able to get on a trophy animal but what you do when one appears. I have seen a lot opf guys fall apart and not be able to get it done, hell I have blown it more than once. Sorry but a good eastern deer hunter will kill deer where ever they get to hunt as long as they have the drive to succeed. Just because someone has access to a great piece of property does not mean they will kill deer. Sorry but guys are not giving the hunter enough credit. Classic example is a spot I hunted last year in Iowa. Realtree filmed one of their big videos on this property years ago. Big Bucks V I believe. The property was over 4000 acres of private at the time and had multiple 150" plus bucks roaming it. In 2 weeks of hunting the property(5 hunters and cameraman) they manged to kill one buck and a few does. Why? The winds on the property bounced every where, the thermals were tough and they kept getting winded. I figured this out the first couple days on a small piece of property that I was lucky enough to hunt(it had been sold to the state and made public) I waited for a specific wind to hunt a draw in the morning that took my scent up and over a bluff. I killed a good P&Y buck my first sit in that draw. This was a piece of property anyone could hunt but recieved no pressure as guys were not willing to make the 50 minute walk to get into this piece. The landowner said he would see guys stop take a quick walk and leave. He told me after killing my buck that he knew I would take a good deer in there as he saw my determination after seeing my truck there several days in a row. Hunt hard, know what you are doing, put in the time and make the right decisions at the time of truth and those are the guys who are successful!! The area they hunt may help but good hunters get it done wherever they hunt. Shawn

Too many variables. You can be a poor hunter and kill a P&Y deer if one walks by, or you can be a great hunter and not kill a book deer if few, or none, are available in your selected hunting area. Then there are preferred equipment limitations, such as a selfbow vs a modern compound. Equipment becomes an influencer.

The happiest hunters I know are those who are content with one of the best mature deer readily available to them in their preferred hunting area.

Many hunters own a hunting parcel of 80 acres, or even much less. They are very happy taking any mature deer (or deer) from their own property. I find this to be a healthy hunting attitude.

van nailed it. I have my own land and am retired. I had one of my best years ever last year but hunted a lot. You have to be in the woods. It ups your chances no matter what size animals you hunt.

Lol....is this really a question? Ever notice there isn't a boat in the background on a bill dance show? Here in indiana you have to wear a life jacket due to the wake of boats. Good grief. A half hour hunting show on the places I hunt would take ten years to get the footage they need. I kill deer every year...but not what you see on tv....heck no they aren't just that good...lol....jeeze

My nephew and his son are superb bowhunters but are not strictly bone hunters. Neither promote products nor techniques. They just bowhunt but you don't read articles or see videos about them.

How good a hunter is will dictate where he hunts. Finding your quarry is an important part of being a good hunter.

What makes a great hunter, great place, or in the picture above, great shot?

in the early 60's here in iowa we were fortunate to see 3-4 deer a season but thanks to the iowa dnr and good management today during season we see a lot of deer. i'm not a trophy hunter by any means as my family loves venison and we can't eat horns very well. lol

In the early ’90s in northern MN, during rifle season (opening 1st Sat in Nov as long as it wasn’t the 1st of the month), you were lucky to see ONE!

If you really wanted to eat that winter, you shot the first legal buck to come by. One year, a 300-pounder showed up.

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