My son drew this tag this year for his first year hunting, and at first I was pretty excited for him, but as my scouting progresses, I am starting to doubt the success that we may have. I started scouting shortly after the draw results and have had several areas in mind to check, and as of today (July 30) I have yet to see a decent buck. I have had a trail camera setup and the biggest buck I caught so far will barely score 150, if he makes it at all. I have moved my camera a few times and the next setup will be checked next Wednesday. I have been out mornings and evenings with my boy looking for something that might make him smile, but I feel he is as disappointed as I am. Now, the number of deer doesn't seem to be an issue, we have seen plenty of deer, and plenty of bucks, but still nothing that I couldn't find on a general hunt, in fact I don't plan on hunting general this year but I did a little scouting in a general unit a few weeks ago with my brother and saw about 20 bucks over 160, including one 28"+ non-typical that really got me excited, and that was in two evening hikes for about 1 hr each, I think I would rather hunt a general unit at this point.
My boy wants to hunt opening archery but I am not sure where to start. All the hype about this area is blind, I don't see myself ever applying for the area again, it is not what people make it out to be.
I understand I do still have a month to find a buck, but honestly I have never put this much scouting effort into a general hunt, and if I did, I would guess I could really find a smoker buck, but for a Limited unit I would think it would be a lot easier to locate a nice buck, especially in the type of terrain as is 102. I'm sad to see my general hunt go away as I will be working my tail off to try and get my boy a deer, and wont have the time to hunt for a deer myself. May luck be on my side!!!
My boy wants to hunt opening archery but I am not sure where to start. All the hype about this area is blind, I don't see myself ever applying for the area again, it is not what people make it out to be.
I understand I do still have a month to find a buck, but honestly I have never put this much scouting effort into a general hunt, and if I did, I would guess I could really find a smoker buck, but for a Limited unit I would think it would be a lot easier to locate a nice buck, especially in the type of terrain as is 102. I'm sad to see my general hunt go away as I will be working my tail off to try and get my boy a deer, and wont have the time to hunt for a deer myself. May luck be on my side!!!