Be honest now...

How many of your good bucks came from chance or first encounter vs. you knew he was there and had a game plan in place?

A little bit of both. Most of my bigger bucks were killed the first time I hunted that stand that particular year. I generally see more bucks on fresh stands, but I'm not the type to sit in the same stand over and over and hope to see something different.

90%

I kill the majority of mine the first or second sit on a stand. After that I go somewhere else.

103.4%

100% luck thus far for me

Both

I've been very fortunate to have been able to kill lots of nice buck, but I can honestly say that only three were bucks I knew were in the area. All 3 were on our farm and was able to watch them grow antlers from start to finish. Got a large 7 pt I've been seeing the last 3 yrs and he keeps getting away from me. Had him dead to rites 2yrs ago and he had me so shook,I screwed the shot up. The field is almost 90 acres of soybeans. It about 350yds at its widest point and almost 3/4 mile long. Never see him at the same place twice. It's been a good battle so far but one day the stars will line up and I hope it's the day I'm on that field.

Most of mine were first encounters. But I don't run cameras religiously. I also, like everyone else, put myself in position stand wise where I expect to kill a mature buck at.

I guess what I'm saying is, I don't hang my stands in places and tell myself " Your not going to see anything here."

Probably 95%. I may know a good buck is there, but i don't have him named. I don't run camera's all over creation, like some folks. I own 1 camera. I put it out, and check it sparingly.

This^

I don't always move after that if I know there's a goodun close by.

Mostly first sits or just by chance, I've never killed a good one that I had trail cam pix of, don't know why, someone else always gets em.

All but one. The others were the first time I'd seen them.

I usually know there is a good one in the area but I dont always have a trail cam pic.

Like the others, it usually happens on the first or second sit. I dont do anything to potentially compromise my stands before I hunt. I dont allow trail cameras during the season or in-season scouting on my club.

A lot of people would rather be deer photographers and nature walkers than deer killers.

The first and only picture I need is a clear sight picture. I can take all I want when he's dead.

I've never killed a nice buck that I had pics of. The best buck I've ever killed was a 10 point that I shot back in 1992 as a guest on a piece of property I had never seen or been back to since. My buddy just pointed to a hollow and said find a tree to climb. I did what he said and at 5pm, the buck stepped out of a thicket about 30 yards away from me.

About 3 years ago I killed a basket rack buck with my bow that my buddy had pics of.

Last year I missed a nice buck that I had on camera. He popped up on the camera about a week later about 150 yards from where I shot.

Dr. B

Most have been luck. The only buck I killed last season got his picture taken in a scrape on Thursday morning. I checked my camera on Friday afternoon and saw his pic. It was the last weekend and I decided to hunt there the rest of the season. On Sunday morning he came through following a doe with 2 8 points.

Biggest Buck I've killed so far, I saw him while Bowhunting in Blue Springs. Too far for a shot. Went back about a Month later on a Rifle hunt and killed him.

2nd best 8, just got lucky.

My big one from last year was my first time to hunt that particular area that season. The good Lord sent him my way, no doubt about it!

I've killed some on the first sighting and others that I hunted three years.......

Me and you both. I'd say I'm bout 50-50.

Over the past 5- 7 years about 75% of the bucks we killed we had pics of. Some get killed with a game plan in place some get killed by chance, without a plan .

My biggest bucks came from areas I had scouted both on foot and from aerial pics.
Then usually it happened the first few times I hunted the stands.
I have only shot one big buck I had trail cam pics of. That was own my own piece of property.

Real nice buck Brent. North Alabama?

Most of mine have been the first time hunting a stand but I also do not hang a stand where I do not have any shooter buck pictures. I usually average around 120 different camera sets from Sept - Nov for at least a week per set. I rarely sit the same stand multiple times in a row and try to have as many possible setups that I can to keep them fresh. I see a lot of deer that I already have on camera and some new ones from time to time. If one is seen or killed most times if not all, we already have his pics or know which one he is from the description but there are some odd and ends especially in January.

Yes it is! "Sho nuff full growd".

Within the last five years or so all my bucks have come from trail cam pics or seeing him with my own eyes. I depend on my cameras to tell me if there is a buck using the area that I would like to hunt. I've narrowed down some really good areas on my leases that produce year in and year out.

Ive had big deer on camera, and see them often at night, But have yet to kill one that im actually hunting. Its all been rite place at the rite time for me, And have yet to kill one ive had on camera. Ive let a few smaller ones one walk ive got on camera, but thats about it

Most of the deer I kill I know are there. Very few are first time sits or don't know they are there.

I've killed a couple that I was specifically after but about a dozen others that I was just in areas I knew were solid spots to catch a good one.

Luck for me. Biggest deer was a 9 point killed during rut when I was walking back to the truck and stopped to put in a chaw, and he stepped out of a thicket with nose on ground...about 60 yards.

just got lucky on mine..

I've only killed 3 decent bucks. 2 were just good spots the other I killed on public land with my crossbow. It was the 3rd time I had saw him. The second time I filmed him but he never came close enough to get a shot. It was probably the only buck I've ever saw more than once in a season.

I'm very lucky. My property sees almost no range shifting. One older buck or five living in 100 acres, dont matter. On my 1000 acres, over 95% of our older bucks are killed within 300 yards of their daily summer hang out. Almost 100% within two weeks either way of peak breeding.

Cameras are absolutely the best scouting tool or way to scout I've ever seen. With few exceptions, once a buck reaches 3.5, I have him narrowed to a couple to 300 acres. If he ventured out much with the amount of cameras I have out during the season, I'd know it.

So yes, every single buck I've killed since 2008 on my place was photographed.

no need to wait them out just send in the beagles

thats right

50/50

50/50

mine has been from woodsmanship and hunting an area that has a the obvious signs of a dominate buck such as scrapes and larger rubs. I am not a camera fan so I hunt where people say that they wouldn't hunt because it is to steep or to deep, so that being said hunting them deep hollers has always paid off pretty good for a little extra work.

I have 8 mounted or skull mounted bucks:

-3 of them I knew that exact deer was there (via track or pic)
-3 of them I was hunting a spot I knew had big bucks using the area and they were just the first to show up
-2 of them were just complete luck really (my first two bucks)

I believe that even if you know a nice buck is in the area it is still alot of luck that you'll see him out of a particular stand at any particular time.

Back when I used to actually hunt, as opposed to planting food plots and hanging stands around it and the access points, I have found good sign, tracked back to his living room only to have him either use every other door and room or I have found his vacation home that he only uses 3 or 4 days of the year.

I have sat in a stand and have them come out in a completely different direction than I ever figured they would.
I killed a nice 9 point this way. I had hunted him for the previous 4 years after I saw him cross the road one afternoon. Finally during after season ML hunt, he popped out on the other side of the small creek I was sitting on. Never a track or rub over there before. I shot him and waded over to drag him out. It was unfortunate that it took me so long to kill him because his rack had already started to decline.

Killed another that I had seen cross the highway one night at the same creek. Went back 4 days later on opening day and found a trail rutted down 3" deep from use. I set up a climber stand and 15 minutes later out he bopped and I shooted him dead. He was a fine 6 point.
I am convinced that he came out to see what all the noise was from me climbing with the climber.

Those were the only two "fine" bucks that I killed knowing they were there. Lots of smaller ones I knew were there and just got tired of seeing them while I waited on Cod Dragger to walk by.

the last one I hunted that I had seen previously and knew he was there I was beaten badly 3 years in a row. I had set up about 50 yards inside a swamp beside a power line that I had seen him in several times. He was a heavy 8 point with really dark antlers and almost black coat, a true swamp buck. I saw him the second time I sat the stand but he was on the otherside of the power line in some 8 ft planted pines right at dark and all I had was my un-scoped 30/30 and it was too dark to get the bead on him. Heart breaker too because I could see him clearly thru Binos!! He just sat there waiting on darkness before exposing himself. Three years later he was still making babies and irritating the hell out of me. They finally closed that section of Management Area and leased it out. I never saw him again in three years after that second sitting except for the occasional sighting crossing the dang power line during the middle of the day.

50/50 My two biggest I told the wife the night before they were going to die.

Stalker, don't ya love it when ya know one so good you feel like he's a dead buck walking. Now that we have these new fangled trail cams we can know what he looks like. Say cheese!

Ive only ever killed one that I was actually goin after (solid black 8 point. Hunted him from the begging of rifle season till I killed him the last morning of the season. The rest were luck probably

The biggest bucks for me (not big by any means) have came from first time tree sits. I use a lock on so I move a lot sometimes it may be 30 yards and sometimes it might be the other side of the property. Last year I got my 3 bucks but I was learning a new property so I hunted from a lot of fixed stands just to learn the basics. Only one of my rack deer (decent 10) came from a lockon that hadnt been moved and thats because it came off of 10 acres with one climable tree on it. I was headed home from my mothers house (playing cards after a Christmas dinner) after midnight and he was standing at a stop sign. I went there that evening and he came out after one of the does I had watched on several occasions.

100% of my kills have been chance encounters.

50/50

We have alot of cameras out and try not to over hunt areas. Usually end up killing them somewhere else not even hunting a specific buck

I have only killed one wall hanger and it was last season, first of this year. My buddy had a trail camera out in this one area of his lease for a few weeks and he got a picture of this nice 8pt(pic below-was on 12/25). He was hunting a bigger deer in a different area so he invited me to hunt one morning in this area where one week before he had the trail camera picture taken. So on 1/4 I went with him and setup my climber on the trail just down from where the camera was and it was not 30 minutes after day break when the big 8pt comes walking by. Best hunt I have been on and better story that is why I had to share.

I have 3 good bucks mounted that were all 3 first encounters. I had no idea any one of the 3 were around. Two of those 3 I would consider as chance encounters. The 3rd one came out on a gas-line after a series of rattling & grunting that I had done.

My best buck was a chance encounter. He was following a honey. I would never have been sitting in that stand if my brother hadn't brought a guy hunting on a small lease we had.