REALISTIC Expectations

What are y'alls realistic expectations when it comes to the quality of deer that you expect to see/harvest each season? I think a lot of hunters have their expectations set too high for their area and are hunting giants that simply aren't there or simply too few of to set expectations on. What's your expectations on the land you hunt? On ours, we usually land a couple 120's with maybe one in the 130+ range. Realistically I expect to get some chances at least 110-115"+ range class deer every year.

I agree with your realistic expectations , about the same on our lease. The best buck we have taken scored 142.

I expect 1-3 chances/sightings on a mature buck per season with virtually all those around the rut. Last year I had 4 and made good on 3 of those but that's the exception. More times than not the deer wins.

100-120" is as good as I can hope for. Last year I saw one mature deer cull deer 3 on one side giant spike on the other.

I expect to have 1 mature buck encounter and I expect to close the deal...I expect to see atleast 8 other bucks that I will pass.. I also expect to murder as many does as I can with my bow this year simply because I can't grow a freaking food plot for them eating them down

The area I hunt produces some good deer in the 120-145BC range and I hope to get a chance or 2 at a deer in that range. There have been some bigger than 145 but they are definately fewer and farther between in sighting and usually seen during the rut!

I only expect to see 1-2 racked bucks per year. Forget mature bucks. I've only seen and killed 2 of those in over 10 years hunting.

130"+ but if its an older deer 4 1/2 or older ill shoot it regardless .

Realistically, I expect between 2-5 encounters with 120+ bucks each season. Any 4 yr old gets the hammer. What he scores is up to him, not me. I just kill them.

A lot of people set their standards too high and end up being let down or disappointed. Just remind yourself, realistically, what we do in AL is no comparison to a The Crush on TV.

More often than not though, if I have an encounter with a 4 yr old I end it. He's going home.

Hoping to get the wife and son a decent deer...not worried about score but hoping for a 8pt for him and atleast a 6pt for her..and of course some does(they love jerky)..I have another son that has never killed a deer..so it's up to him as to what he wants to shoot...He/I will be happy either way with what he decides from a doe to a monster even a unicorn if he wants to..as long as he enjoys himself.

We've killed some 130's, and 1 140. These are few and far between. Try and kill mature bucks. Realistic expectations are 100-110, but you never know.

I expect to kill one 100 - 120" buck and two does.

I expect to kill a mature five+ year old/130+ twice every three years.....not quite one a year......

I pass up everything else and sometimes don't kill a buck. I have gone three years w/o dropping the hammer on one and I have killed three in one year....works out over time to 2 every 3 years.....

I would be quite happy with anything 100 or better. See plenty of smaller bucks but have not shot one in 2 years.That said, I am a lazy hunter who likes box stands with office chairs in them. If I got out in the thicker stuff on my place I am sure I would see more mature bucks.

i expect to kill a 100"-120" 3year 4 1/2 month old on my small lease and i have no clue on the new one i joined. i know i have bigger and older on the small lease but i doubt i will ever see them in daylight shooting hours. (BASTARDS)

120s is the realistically the top range where I hunt. Usually one close to that is killed every year or two on my club. More than likely any 3 1/2 + year old buck is considered a shooter for us. I have not killed a doe and do not plan on it either as long as the bears out number the deer I see. So far as what I expect to see is more bears than deer and if I see at least a deer on most hunts I am pleased. I would like to see more but it is what it is.....

I go after 4 1/2 year old deer. I might 1-2 real chances per season. The last two taken ...one was 145 and the other was 121. All good. I'd shoot a 5 1/2 year old unicorn

That said...majority of racked deer seen are 2 1/2- 3 1/2 90 - 110 range.

I guess the point of the question is what the ceiling is for expectations (not our personal guidelines on size). I do not expect to see 150" deer in Alabama. The realistic "top end" of what I EXPECT to see would be "mature" 16" eight points. Any deer bigger than that is legitimately unexpected.

Now having said that, every year in memory I've actually seen bigger deer than that, but again I wasn't expecting to see them when I left the house that morning.

I've said it on here repeatedly... anybody in Alabama who says they only hunt 130+, or 140+ (etc) deer, either has some of the most incredible and exclusive land Alabama has to offer, or will hunt most of their lives and never kill many (if any) of those deer. If we're being realistic, I don't think the average hunter in Illinois/Iowa is either. What we see on TV isn't even the norm for those places.

Expect 1-3 chances at a 110" plus each year. Usually have 1 chance at a 130" plus every 2-3 years.

Trained biologists success rate on aging dead deer is not more than 60%. I would suspect that accurately aging 4 1/2 year old deer on the hoof is well under 50%. Also, in many times the window of opportunity is fleeting and the difference between a 120 buck and a 140 buck is not always obvious in that time frame. Sometimes the difference is largely great brow times. I shoot at what I hope is a mature buck at the time.

This

Your expectations should be set at whatever you want to get out of it. If you wanna kill small bucks then settle for that, if you want to have a chance at some decent bucks and are happy with them, make it happen. If you want to lay off the trigger and wait for a monster and only shoot one every few years, then do it. My point is, if you are happy with your current hunting experience then great! If you want something more, then take steps to accomplish it

I don't expect anything...I just Hunt...

I expect to have a good time, if I kill a good'un he will make good sausage, if I kill a nanny, she will make some good sausage.

I can plan on seeing 2 or 3 racked bucks, 6 pts or better, throughout the season. The biggest racked buck I've killed was a 3.5 YO, typical 8. Green scored 122+ and he dried up to 119 5/8. So we don't count on even seeing anything over 120. Most of the larger racked bucks that have been killed over there never showed up on camera and were probably just passing through during late Dec and early Jan. cruising for estrous does.

Pretty similar here. 4+ and 130+. I don't have a problem with going a few yrs without shooting a buck. 3-4 Does a yr.
Our 4+ will go 125-140 so that's what I wait for.
Cameras have shown me that I have a pretty good 10pt genetic so that's encouragement.
So to answer the question, I killed 4 bucks over 125" in 10 yrs and I guess I would expect the same for my next 10yr plan. Only exception would be my 6 yr old son is kinda loud and tags along about 3/4 of the time, so my production has gone down. I can live with that.

Dang. If I hunted where some of y'all do I'd give up hunting.

Got that right! If I hunted all season and saw 2-3 deer with forked antlers I believe I might start a new hobby.

I've hunted places where I expected to kill a 130" + every year and I've hunted places I was ecstatic to kill any mature buck. My current situation is hunting on a small 100 acres and I'm happy with any mature buck and was lucky enough to kill a nice 4 year old and a 120" 3 year old this past season. I don't expect that to happen again on that piece of property anytime soon.

i aint killed a rack buck in 6 years .

Trained biologists don't use browtines or any part of the rack to age a buck, especially on the hoof. Use the sway of its back, and how the neck goes into the chest. On older deer there is no give, the bottom of the neck goes straight into the chest, not much bend.

[img:left]http://[/img]
I expect somebody on our club to kill this buck. We named him sky high. I don't care if it is me or not that kills this deer.. I just want to put a tape on him so I know what our realistic expectations are.

Yeah, he was a stud last year. Should be a fine representative of what our property is capable of this year. Should be a maxed out 6.5y/o.

We have had 140+ bucks taken off our property in the past and have trail cam pics of some great bucks but not something anyone would expect to kill on a yearly basis.

Hard to believe, a 5.5 y/o buck standing at a feeder during broad daylight, out in the wide open. I'm jealous. Ya'll are lucky, our deer are more cautious than that.

Ha. It certainly didn't take him long to see the error in his ways once these pics got around the club and everyone decided to walk all over the place scouting for him...

Since i got the lease this year, i have put in some pretty progressive rules regarding no in-season scouting, running of trail cameras, or riding of 4 wheelers except for deer recovery.

I think it will make a difference. We'll see.

This property has been at ground zero from a management perspective for decades.

Slippin and I got big plans for the place. Its got the potential for sure.

[/quote] I expect somebody on our club to kill this buck. We named him sky high. I don't care if it is me or not that kills this deer.. I just want to put a tape on him so I know what our realistic expectations are. [/quote]

i accept the invitation.

I have heard tell of some 160" deer killed around bromley. But yeah Walt, we get some better nutrition out there there's no tellin what them deer will look like. The main problem that place has had for the last 5 years though is trigger control and pressure. We have a good group of guys out there now. I'm excited about it. Here's the other pic I got of him. He was coming to that feeder for a solid 2 weeks but once everyone started to stomp all over the woods around him that was it. We only got night pics of him after that. He's got to be pope n young at least. EHH, there ain't no trees left out there high enough for you to climb. Sorry. But yeah I have high expectations to say the least.
[img:left]http://[/img]

horse hockey! i see 2 perfect pines in the back ground of the last pic. hey, no problem. if all you want is pics of that big sucker then so be it.

on a serious note. do you have any pics of him out of velvet?

[img:left]http://[/img]
I'm pretty sure this is him. Only other pic I have of him. All them pines in that pic were cut this spring.

I live close to where this buck lives,river side of hwy225 across from Bromely Rd. He has the potential to be nice, we have seen some nice bucks around the house here in the 18 years we have lived here. Best was a 10 point with long tines that ended up getting hit by a truck on hwy225 by the transmission line.My son knew the young man that hit him and he wound up scoring 139+.We don't shoot them just feed them and watch,take pictures etc.

I expect to do a lot of huntin', I expect to kill something.

This ^^^

I don't know anything about scoring a deer so I'll just show you what we have showing up in the area and what I HOPE to get a shot on this year.

[img:left][/img]

[img:left][/img]

I saw a fine buck killed right after season went out this past hunting season. He was hit by a truck crossing in front of Mr. Riders house just north of you. Had a real nice set of horns and pretty big deer. I grew up hunting on the east side of Hwy 225 and have seen some very nice deer come from this area also.

I'm going up to the camp this weekend to check my cameras. Depending on what's on film will determine my chances this year. All 3 cameras are in good areas. Based on the sheds I found, it could be a good year.

I don't think as much hunting goes on around this area as it used to,so the deer are getting some age on them.Most all my neighbors feed them, also Blakely Park is right here with 3 or 4 thousand acres most of which is just thick woods(deer sanctuary).

I ended up with the opposite. 2 bucks in that caliber and one doe