By:  Jake Barnett

            Today I spoke with a hunter, friend, and mentor who has killed more mature bucks in East Tennessee on public land than anyone I personally know.  He is 74, and I would venture to bet most hunters know of a person like this.  Do yourself a favor, and question that person in your life about how they have done this.  In our conversation, none of the newest hunting accessories came up.  I think the hunting industry as a whole has become commercialized, and hunters have become accustomed to watching hunting shows that are trying to sell a product to make the show profitable.  Most hunting shows are just not realistic for the person who is hunting public land, their property, or leased land.  I would venture to bet you could give a hunter who understands the woods the cheapest equipment, and they could still kill their target bucks.  Although, I would doubt you could give an inexperienced hunter the best equipment, and they could kill their target bucks. 

            Don’t get me wrong, I love cell cameras, comfortable tree stands, and the best camo, but I do not think those accessories are the main reason I am able to harvest mature deer.  Understanding the lay of the woods, hunting the wind, planting great food plots, stand placement, and access to those stands are much more important than any hunting accessory to harvesting quality mature deer.  Someone said wanting to do something and working to do something are two different things.  I believe wanting to do something in hunting is having all the newest hunting accessories for the upcoming season, and working to do something is post-season scouting, planting food plots, creating/finding funnels, and tracking patterns on a promising 2.5-year-old deer until he is 5.5 years old and is ready to harvest.

            My main objective every hunting season is to harvest what I consider to be my target bucks.  Knowledge of how to get in the right tree to get them in front of you as a hunter is the only way a hunter can consistently harvest these deer year after year.  If it tells you anything about myself as a hunter, I have used the same rifle for 24 years, wore the same camouflage shirt for the last 12 years, and have worn a pair of hunting boots from Wal-Mart.  I would rather spend my money on quality seed for food plots than any new hunting accessory and spend my time educating myself on how to kill big bucks.

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Whitetail Property Improvement