Do The Best Hunters Kill the Biggest Deer

A Tale of Two Scenarios

Person A kills giant deer every year, which is why the rooms in his home almost look like exhibits for trophy whitetails rather than housing for his family. His buck hunting not only includes filling resident buck tags but he has also been known to harvest impressive deer from out of state as well. Besides being a great hunter, this individual also has access to hunting grounds that are above average compared to the average hunter.

As a hunter, Person B is also awesome, and he fills all his tags with smaller bucks, but he fills them all with great results. There is no doubt that he has fantastic scouting skills, shooting skills, tracking skills, and other hunting skills, but the environment limits his chances of taking down record-book deer. As a result, he enjoys hunting the largest, most mature bucks he can find, and he is quite satisfied with the outcome.

A simple comparison of these two realities would reveal that they are different in terms of the size of the antlers in their harvests. There is an easy assumption that the hunter who has a greater number of Boone & Crocket and Pope & Young bucks to their credit is the better hunter, but you and I know that is not the case. To hunt a big buck, you must live there, and there is no way for any hunter - no matter how good or bad - to kill it.

A Minor Case Study

My mind wanders back to my childhood whenever I hear this question since I spent a lot of time hunting with my grandfather and his friends. Papa and his hunting buddies were not just accomplished hunters, but they were also talented woodsmen as well. Despite that, they would say that their friend, James Oliver, was the expert on hunting. Whenever we hunted, we would gather at his house before and after we hunted. Countless hunting strategies have been hatched in his garage.

Although it has been over 20 years since I last stepped foot in there, a vivid image comes to mind of his workbench cluttered with gear, the large collection of bows he kept in there, and his ever-expanding collection of skull caps nailed to the roof joists. In all instances, he was bound only by the law and ethical principles, and without fail, he would take down the giant whitetails who had been roaming his ground constantly. My admiration for James' hunting legacy remains strong even after many years have passed, and I continue to draw from his lessons with a sense of reverence, even though that legacy was lost many years ago.

His whitetail hunting skills are still unmatched to this day, and I am proud to say he has never nailed a skull cap to any garage joist that taped more than 125 inches. In the past, Kentucky deer populations were quite different. It was not uncommon for people to go weeks without spotting a whitetail. Even though some areas had higher populations than others, despite the lean times, James Oliver always tagged his buck, making it even more remarkable that he was able to do so.

Just Don’t Worry About It

The hunt for mature bucks in the south-central part of Kentucky has been one of my greatest obsessions for the past 20 years. I have had the opportunity to chase some spectacular white-tailed deer in the modern-day south-central part of Kentucky. As a hunter who has had the privilege of tagging some of them, I have no doubt that a 160-inch Kentucky buck will not impress me any more than a 120-inch Florida deer will.

There is a tendency to assume that those who have trophy-filled walls possess a greater level of skill than those who have tacked up small skull caps on the outside of their garage. But this needs to be more accurate. It is not about the size of the deer; it is about the size of the hunt. James Oliver - a legend in my book - has proven that it doesn't take a world-class buck to test a hunter's skills. So, please don't get into the trap of thinking that the most excellent hunters always tag the biggest deer of their hunts. As hunters, we are all great at what we do, and we are all enjoying our own unique experiences as outdoor enthusiasts.

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