Create Your Own Luck: How to Increase Your Chances of Getting Lucky when Hunting in the Big Woods
After listening to someone tell you their story about killing a big buck, did you ever say to yourself, that was pure luck! Or have you ever felt that you were lucky after shooting a buck? What is considered luck about shooting a buck anyway? I have heard literally thousands of deer stories over the years from friends as well as perfect strangers and I am amazed at the number of bucks that are shot by absolute luck.
Quite often these bucks turn out to be record book bucks, like the hunter in Maine I met at an antler banquet that had shot the highest scoring buck in the state that year. He came to me and said I bet you wonder how I shot that buck? I said yes, I’d like to hear the story. He
proceeded with, he was driving down a logging road and the buck was standing in a clear-cut. He stopped his truck and shot the buck. The best part was that the buck ran toward the road and dropped on bank of the ditch and he was able to back his truck right up to it!
A guide friend of mine told me he had some hunters out and were driving down a logging road to get to a different spot and stopped to take a pee break. When standing there doing his business one of the hunters saw a buck step out into the road a hundred yards away. After finishing his business he grabbed his rifle and shot the buck. I could go on and on but I’m sure most of you have heard similar stories or maybe you’re one of these lucky hunters.
The point is that there is a certain amount of luck involved in deer hunting. I also am a firm believer in creating your own luck. The hunters that consistently shoot bucks are the ones that put the time in to scout, learn and are persistent. The hunters that grab their gun on opening morning and head out to put in a few hours in the woods, are usually relying on lady luck to send a deer in front of them and every once in a while they will shoot one. I’ve talked to several hunters who had been hunting in the Big Woods of Maine for over twenty years and had never shot a buck yet. I can’t even imagine hunting that long without shooting a buck, but I give those guy’s an A+ for persistence. I’m not taking anything away from the occasional hunter and I’m glad they are among the ranks and out there enjoying themselves. If these hunters would just learn to create their own luck, they would be far more successful.
So, how do you create your own luck? You do it by acquiring the skills necessary to become a better hunter. If you’re a stand hunter and you don’t seem to be having much luck at your stand, scout around and find a new place for your stand. Don’t be a creature of habit. Just because you shot a buck from a certain spot five years ago, it doesn’t mean you will ever shoot another one there. If you learn how to find buck sign and how to interpret it, you’ll be able to find the best places to hunt. If you’re a still-hunter and you just wander around the woods aimlessly hoping to see a buck, you are just relying on lady luck again. Do your still hunting where the bucks travel or where the does are staying. Your odds of seeing a buck here will increase tenfold. You create your own luck by putting yourself in the places where a buck is most likely to be.
Any buck tracker will tell you that there is a certain amount of luck involved in it. Even though tracking requires a lot of skill and determination, you need a certain amount of luck to catch up to the buck at a point where you see him first. I can’t tell you how many times I was minute late or two minutes early when catching up to a buck and not getting a shot. I call it ”two points connecting”. But if you keep persisting eventually you will create the right amount of luck and be in the right place at the right time and that’s what it takes to shoot a buck. So get out there and create your own luck instead of waiting for lady luck to catch up to you.
Increase your odds of scoring a big buck in the big woods by reading all the advice Hal describes in his book, "Hunting Big Woods Bucks"
