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Who the heck is "they'??

5K views 48 replies 30 participants last post by  BCozhunter 
#1 ·
I had my mind blown recently.

I can't tell you all how many times I have heard "you just gotta get back in farther than everyone else" or "they will get the deer moving around lunch time when they walk out to the truck". A few months ago I was shootin it with a guy about a piece of public land I had been looking at. Now this guy was a big fella and my point is, this man isn't makin it very far in the woods if you know what I'm sayin. I couldn't believe what he told me. His exact words were "I just get back in farther than everyone else and that's just what you gotta do if you want to see deer"

This caused me to do some serious soul searching. If this man is saying this, which I have heard 100 other guys say, then exactly who the heck is "everyone else"? This guy is exactly who I imagine in my head when I am talking about "everyone else". If this man isn't "everyone else" than who the heck is it? Has anyone ever actually met the guy the are referring to as "50 yards from the road"? Is anyone out there the guy that ALL of us are referring to when we tell people "they will get them moving at lunch when they walk to the truck"

My theory is, "they" do not exist. We ALL have the same plan, get back in farther than everyone else, stay in the stand longer than everyone else, do everything better then everyone else and you will get that buck. The reality of it is, we are all banking on a fictional character that we have made up in our heads to get the deer moving if we get back in farther and sit longer. I think we all need to stop expecting "everyone else" to move the deer, or to get out of their stand earlier, because they simply do not exist.

Note: No, I am not smoking pot
 
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#2 ·
Be careful, you are becoming one of "them" :grin2:.


Just like the guy at the range, the fellow with the ample body mass index, don't be fooled by appearances. My man may be large for many reasons, but size does not make or break the hunter's knowledge, skills, and experience.


"They" all start to think gee, I need to get down and move around. They think gee, I walked in two miles, I must be further back than everyone else, when in reality, Mr. Big has another mile on you. They think, gee, even though I spend only a few dozen hours a year in the woods, I can "still hunt" undetected through the woods and sneak up on a mature buck that has eluded scores of other hunters.


The reality of it is, a significant portion of the deer hunting ranks don't have the confidence or the abilities to really get in deep, get off the beaten path, take nothing but paths of least resistance. I'd like to see a study where they drop guys off at the edge of some really big woods and tell them to head North, with no GPS to guide them, for two miles then signal. I wonder how many would even make it close to one mile before they thought, man, I am at least two miles in.


They indeed exist. But they are sneaky. When you start to believe they don't exist, you are secretly being recruited to join them.


And no worries, if Wolf and Fetterman get their way, you'll be able to enjoy that toke on your back deck >:)
 
#5 ·
Honestly, you have to be smoking pot. And you can go hump yourself with the body size and judging comments. I am 6'2" and 270 pounds and I've done Alaskan backpack hunts for grizzly bear and caribou. I've been an elk guide in the rockies and I just recently went to Wyoming on an antelope hunt where I walked over 4 miles at 9,000 feet to get my buck. I'l bet there are plenty of people smaller than I am who can't finish the elliptical workout that I do on a daily basis.
So to answer your own question about who "they" is, to me it appears to be you. Because you ain't one of "us" in my group.
 
#6 ·
I worked with a carpenter that used to have a saying he'd break out when the work got difficult, something was giving us fits, or as happens in construction, things get scary, Jake would say "You gotta want it!" He was right.
 
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#13 ·
Just remember, you walk too far "back in" anywhere in PA, you'll eventually hit a road.:grin2:

Also remember, as you get farther from your car, you are getting closer to others!
I guess that’s true but there are many obstacles along the way. High elevation, impenetrable cover, deep creeks and ravines, rivers, boulder fields and other obstacles. I am in pretty decent shape and have been hiking the mountains and river bottom terrain all season. Often after a hour or two I start to feel pretty blown out and begin to question my sanity. On a map that next road or parking lot seems a lot easier to get to compared to actually walking it out.
 
#8 ·
“They” are the guys that have quit hunting or about to quit. “They” are the ones who began hunting when there was a deer behind every tree and never actually learned any “skills”, just stump sitting.

The vast majority of those left in the woods today are all waiting for “them” to push deer around, but “they” aren’t there anymore. That’s fine by me, because now I can hunt deer in rifle season like you would on archery season instead of hoping that “they” push them around...
 
#9 ·
Im a 6’ 320lb fit fat guy that most of of my under 200lb buddies cant keep up to me in the woods. When I step out of my truck I’m in go mode. I hunt out west for elk and deer. This year with no training we shot 2 elk the first 2 days. Steeper than a 12/12 pitch roof on my elk. My elk was 2.21 miles in and my buddies was 2.19 miles in. We carried them out by ourselves. 3 trips each. I out smart most hunters on a regular basis and hunt hard and go deep when the situation calls for it. I’ve killed game 50 yards from the truck or 5 miles from the truck. It don’t take me long to figure out game and get it killed either. I play guide here in pa and out west. I’ve got google earth maps printed for out west with pins dropped for spike camps, bedding areas, water, and feed.... and almost every location holds a elk or mule deer when we get there too. I have hand fulls of buddies to back everything up I’ve just said so when you throw out the fat guy comment all’s I can say is bring your A game. My motto is “ You deserve it when You earn it” so I go and earn it.
 
#10 ·
In the areas I go in rifle season I am a hunters best friend. All I do is still hunt or drive deer after the first day. On Tuesday my Dad and I did one man drives for over half the day. Between the two of us we saw close to 20 deer. After he went home I went to a peninsula . Figured I would still hunt the whole thing. After I made a big loop and came out on the other side there was a hunter watching the narrow field that went down the middle of it. He was seeing a lot of deer but no buck. At the time I am sure he was totally unaware that I was essentially doing a huge one man drive for him. My phone said I covered 11.5 miles that day. Yesterday I went up into the mountains and there wasn’t another vehicle parked anywhere. Jumped over 10 deer in under 3 hours and I am sure many more I didn’t see. One of them was a real nice buck that wouldn’t offer me a shot. Tracked him in the snow for over a hour before I had to leave. If there was other hunters up there with me yesterday they would of had a good chance of getting him because of the snow and the great visibility. I know I am not the only one out there who hunts this way. I just can’t sit in a stand all day expecting a big buck to get up and move around on it’s own during daylight. They know they are being hunted at this point so I do what I can to get them on their feet and hopefully get a shot. If another hunter shoots one because of my actions then good for them.
 
#24 ·
This is exactly what I was explaining to my son on Monday. Once the deer know they are being hunted they don't just walk around the woods on their own. They need to be helped to get them up.

As far as the OP, I have always wondered who "they" are as well. Everyone I know says you gotta get back in further than everyone else, blah, blah, blah. Do your homework and maybe you won't need to hike all of those miles back in to get the deer pushed to you. One of our best deer funnels is right along the road that we hunt off of.
 
#11 ·
I don't have a lot of "big woods" experience, a few bear hunting trips(stand + hope hunting) as well as a few times being invited to "deer camps". I have always found more deer here in Berks than on any of those trips. I do roam the Blue Mt. here in Berks/Schuylkill quite a bit and have been "back in" many times. I will honestly say that I see FAR MORE deer + sign closer to the roads and surrounding farm areas than I've ever seen in the deep woods. I do a lot of "still hunting" so I've covered a fair amount of ground in my 45 odd years of hunting. I don't claim to be the "great white hunter" but am fairly good at it... don't kill a lot but that is more to being picky - I won't drag a doe more than a 1/2 mile and a buck better be impressive if I'm "back in" ... LOL
 
#17 ·
I don't think "they" get out much anymore, that's why so many hunters think theres no deer left. Up in the mountains or down here, "they" just ain't helping much anymore.

Fortunately, I realize I'm not a great hunter or woodsman, so I hunt farmland, mostly in archery season cus that's where and when my chances of shooting a nice buck are best. I hope "they" don't get out and move deer cuz that goofs up my plans which only work out occasionally anyway, even when the deer are relaxed. And where I usually hunt if you go in very far you're going out, or onto someone elses property. I'm not an alpha hunter, probably gettin' too old to be one anyway, and I admit I rely alot on pure luck.

Steelhead would be a fun guy to hunt with, that I do know.
 
#18 ·
Close, far, whatever. It only matters where the deer are and if you can find them. I know a guy that cant do long hikes or drags for a health reason. He hunts well thought out spots close to where he can get his truck and he fills all his tags. He took a nice crossbow buck this year. And he does it all on public land. You cant judge a hunter by his miles traveled. If you judge him at all I'd say you judge him by his sportsmanship, dedication and skill.
 
#22 ·
When I was at the bar on Sunday we struck up a conversation with another group of hunters. They were discussing how everyone felt about the Saturday opener. My Dad and I both said we were unaffected by it. One of the hunters who didn’t like it claimed the reason for the new change was for the kids. He then asked me how many kids did I think passed their hunter safety course this year. In hindsight probably a over estimation on my part but I said 70,000. He claimed 700 . Not sure how accurate that is but if his claim is anywhere close to being true we are in serious trouble.
 
#30 ·
Don't know the numbers either steelhead, but I do know that our club has held a hunter safety course every year since 1975. Participants have varied from 15 to 75 over the years. That is until this year. We had 0 kids sign up. The Game Commission has already told us not to try and host one in 2020. They're trying to consolidate the course to a central location to make it worth everyone's time.
 
#23 ·
"They" is the guy wearing a Straubs hat in the morning asking where you're going before proceeding to sit 100 yards above you then walks out at 9 because it's "snack time" before returning at 11 in a Budweiser hat. "They" can also be guys that aren't schlupps hunting on private ground bordering public land that can only be accessed by getting "way back". "They" can also be the guys that drive one side of a ridge without putting posters on the back side escape route. There are plenty of "they's" and just as many definitions of "way back" and in many cases you can use both of these to your advantage. There are also plenty of cases where there aren't "they's" and "way back" isn't the place to be; like when you bust a group out exiting the truck in the morning and then don't see a thing the rest of the day. All of these were experienced by somebody in our group on opening day this year. Have some woodsmanship and take the time to learn some areas, that's how good hunters are successful.
 
#25 ·
If "they" don't exist in your area, why not get a bunch of your buddies together and take turns becoming "they"? Why have a contest who can sit in the woods the longest waiting for the other guy to get up and possibly push a deer past you? Tell your buddies to sit while you become a "they" and take a little walk. Then you sit while one of them becomes a "they". Good Luck.
 
#26 ·
I had my mind blown recently.

I can't tell you all how many times I have heard "you just gotta get back in farther than everyone else" or "they will get the deer moving around lunch time when they walk out to the truck". A few months ago I was shootin it with a guy about a piece of public land I had been looking at. Now this guy was a big fella and my point is, this man isn't makin it very far in the woods if you know what I'm sayin. I couldn't believe what he told me. His exact words were "I just get back in farther than everyone else and that's just what you gotta do if you want to see deer"

This caused me to do some serious soul searching. If this man is saying this, which I have heard 100 other guys say, then exactly who the heck is "everyone else"? This guy is exactly who I imagine in my head when I am talking about "everyone else". If this man isn't "everyone else" than who the heck is it? Has anyone ever actually met the guy the are referring to as "50 yards from the road"? Is anyone out there the guy that ALL of us are referring to when we tell people "they will get them moving at lunch when they walk to the truck"

My theory is, "they" do not exist. We ALL have the same plan, get back in farther than everyone else, stay in the stand longer than everyone else, do everything better then everyone else and you will get that buck. The reality of it is, we are all banking on a fictional character that we have made up in our heads to get the deer moving if we get back in farther and sit longer. I think we all need to stop expecting "everyone else" to move the deer, or to get out of their stand earlier, because they simply do not exist.

Note: No, I am not smoking pot

Come visit some SGL north of rt 80. Not many hunters get more than 200 yards from the parking lot. 'They' don't move many deer because not many deer live that close to the parking lots.
 
#27 ·
I think the they you are referring to are not so black and white. I hunt hard during archery season in 2 states and kill about 2-3 deer per year. Sometimes one of those is not a buck.

I’m right in line with steelhead’s original post.

Tomorrow I am going to be one of the “they”. I’m dropping my daughter off at daycare then heading out around 9 to “still hunt”. I’m pretty much taking a walk with the gun to scout some spots for drives at the end of doe week. In turn I am becoming one of the they.
 
#28 ·
I see you got some fat guys wound up!!! Blahaha!
Place I use to hunt, I would walk between 1.2 and 1.5 miles from the truck. Gun season would have 10-15 cars where I parked. I would not see another hunter.

Then some fat guys put another road in the other end up the private land so they could ride their 4 wheelers up the ridge. 😂 had some big fat pumpkins riding 4 wheelers all around. 😆
 
#36 ·
That’s a good point. Especially when it comes to a buck that has survived more than a couple hunting seasons. Distance from the parking lot really isn’t a factor. It’s going to go where it feels the most secure and sometimes those spots are with in earshot of where guys are walking in all throughout the day. Sometimes the deer are watching them as they get out of their vehicles. It was amazing on Tuesday how many deer held tight in their beds until I got within 15 yards of them. Was doing a drive for my father on a four way dirt road. When the drive was over I went down the road behind him and didn’t get 15 steps and 4 doe jumped up 10 yards away. They layed there and watched him the entire time while I was pushing to him. Probably for a good twenty minutes. It’s crazy how many deer we walk right by without ever knowing it.
 
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