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Lucky on your part, bad luck for the animal

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Lucky on your part, bad luck for the animal

Postby Lefty » 05 21, 2020 •  [Post 1]

Ok I’m not really into “luck” but some situations just work our better , or maybe shouldn’t have happened

But is it really “lucky” that you chose to take a nap and that critter of a lifetime walked right up to you!

What abnormalities have you had happen that where luck was given too much credit?

Others in my goose blind all too often credit “luck” for some shots that they or others have made
My dad was a fanatic ; the only shots you take should be sure.
And well sometimes I take those less than sure shots too but my dad isn’t around to chastise me for taking less than the perfect shot
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Re: Lucky on your part, bad luck for the animal

Postby Swede » 05 21, 2020 •  [Post 2]

I actually believe in "luck", both good and bad. I believe in the sovereignty of God, but do not believe we are all robots or wind up toys just following a script. II believe in the freewill of man up to the point it goes against the sovereignty of God. We are not going to thwart His plans or will. I believe God has given me an ability to learn and use that knowledge for good or bad. If I believed everything was foreordained, how could I explain heaven or hell? It would make no sense. I believe in the work of the Holy Spirit (sovereignty of God) converting man's heart so he will chose to receive Christ as Lord.
So, with that said; I believe every time I have been successful in killing an animal is was good luck on my part, aided by the knowledge God has given me, and bad luck on its part.
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Re: Lucky on your part, bad luck for the animal

Postby saddlesore » 05 21, 2020 •  [Post 3]

A believe a person makes his/her own luck Sure, first time hunters do at times kill a nice bull the first time out .However there is a reason 10 % of elk hunters skill 90%o of the elk,and it sure isn't luck.I hear the phrase every once in a while that " I'd rather be lucky than good". That may be true a few time but over the long run it gets mighty thin.
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Re: Lucky on your part, bad luck for the animal

Postby Tigger » 05 21, 2020 •  [Post 4]

Luck is where preparation and hard work meet. Or is that success? Cant remember. If you are not in the game, you cannot get lucky. So just being in the mountains with a gun or bow in your hand gives you a chance. From there, you use skill and expertise to increase the odds you will encounter an elk. Experience trumps non-experience almost always, but guess what? Sometimes some greenhorn does everything wrong and shoots a big bull. that is luck.

So for example, everybody knows that Joe has a killer spot where he knows he is going to encounter elk. He has done his homework, prepared and it is a sure thing. Except....except that drainage where all the elk are? He theoretically could go there and the elk are gone. Why? Well maybe 3 cows came in heat from the next drainage and the wind just happened to be blowing that scent into Joes valley. A bunch of the bulls followed there noses and are gone. Then, a wolfpack slips into the valley blowing out another group of elk. the last group of elk is not where they should be and on Joe's trek up the mountain, he unknowingly has his scent (Old Spice mixed with bad Mexican burritos from the night before at an all-night gas station!) slip down to the elk and they bail out behind him. That is all just bad luck (well, except for the burrito thing...THAT was self induced).

OR Joe could get to his favorite spot on opening day and the biggest baddest bull (400+ inches of antler!) from 3 drainages over walks out at 150 yards 10 minutes into legal shooting light because it was chasing the scent of a really late cow in heat. That bull had never even been in Joes drainage, but that cow....that cow was good luck! But again, Joe made much of his own luck due to skill and hard work by being in a great place plenty early. The only question to our scenario now is, does Joe blow the shot or not? Does he get bull fever at the sight of a giant bull and pee down his leg??? :lol: Joe, fill us in, what happens??
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Re: Lucky on your part, bad luck for the animal

Postby wawhitey » 05 22, 2020 •  [Post 5]

Lefty wrote:Ok I’m not really into “luck” but some situations just work our better , or maybe shouldn’t have happened

But is it really “lucky” that you chose to take a nap and that critter of a lifetime walked right up to you!



They werent critters of a lifetime, but i got 2 nap kills in 2013. September i was taking a nap, woke up to a bear sneaking up on me and blasted him in the throat with my .44 from 8ft. Then in november i was taking a nap and woke up to a bit of a ruckus. A 4x5 whitetail chased a doe and stopped broadside 100 yards away. Couple easy tags filled that year.
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Re: Lucky on your part, bad luck for the animal

Postby 7mmfan » 05 22, 2020 •  [Post 6]

Where do I start? I only have a few animals that I've killed that I feel were a result of a well thought out plan of attack that worked. I do agree that being out in the woods weapon in hand is important to success, and perhaps 25 years of being in the woods has given me the experience to put myself in the right place for luck to happen. I always still feel unbelievably lucky when I kill most of my animals.

A mule deer that I killed a few years back is a textbook case of luck, I wrote a whole story on it last year.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10571

The short version is a delayed trip because of bad road conditions, late walk into spot, didn't hunt spot because of other hunters, moved to new spot, no cell service but got miracle text message when my phone shouldn't have been on anyway. Missed shot at first ok sized buck, and stumbled onto really nice buck while trying to follow up on first buck. Whole series of things that weren't intended to happen lead to me killing my biggest buck.

I've also had luck work against me. I killed a nice 2x3 blacktail buck a few years back. Hunting on Halloween morning in a nasty Western WA storm. Wind blowing 25+ all day, trees crashing down in the timber, raining sideways and up. Hunting along the edge of a clearcut, torn to shreds with deer sign, I spied the buck across a little draw, approximate 150 yards away. Tried to shoot through a wet/foggy scope and missed. He stood there seemingly unaware of the 154 gr lead projectile that just zipped past him. I took a second to regroup, dug the only dry piece of fabric I had on me out of my coat, and cleared my scope. Lined back up and dropped him on the 2nd shot. Lucky right? As I made my way over to him, I literally almost stepped on another buck and doe bedded down only 20ish yards away from where my buck lie dead. The buck leapt up and bounded about 50 yards away and then stopped to look me. He was hands down, the absolute largest blacktail buck I have ever seen, and probably will ever see. His body size, enormous. Neck as big as a bull elk. He made the doe he was with look like a fawn. Antlers were thick, all the way to the antler tips and mahogany red. Well outside his ear tips and just as tall, curling in at the ends. 3-4" brow tines. Just perfection. He would have made a DAMN NICE mule deer. He stood and looked at me for a full minute. At any point I could have dropped him with ease. Then the doe passed him and he followed her, nose in her butt, right into the woods and out of my life forever. I think about that buck often and how if I'd just taken a few extra seconds to scan the area around the first buck, I might have seen the big buck and shot him instead.
I hunt therefore I am. I fish therefore I lie.
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Re: Lucky on your part, bad luck for the animal

Postby Lefty » 05 22, 2020 •  [Post 7]

wawhitey wrote:,,, but i got 2 nap kills in 2013. September i was taking a nap,
Great nap locations


Next up maybe whats happened when you squatted. I know one time while "sitting" in the woods I found ginseng,.. redirected my brothers whole life to the tune of a pile of cash
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Re: Lucky on your part, bad luck for the animal

Postby Magic » 05 26, 2020 •  [Post 8]

I might define "luck" as happenstance or an unplanned happening.

I know that in Romans 8:28–30, Paul writes, ... "And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified". Bible scholars lend their interpretations of that scripture and I am no scholar. I can't go along with "predestined" in any way. I believe that I am responsible for my actions and that I will be judged for those actions. Whether those actions were "predestined" is of no concern to me.
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Re: Lucky on your part, bad luck for the animal

Postby Swede » 05 27, 2020 •  [Post 9]

Magic: I understand this Scripture to refer to the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person. A lot of people have a problem with the sovereignty of God, but He calls and it is the work of the Holy Spirit that causes us to repent and receive Jesus Christ as Lord. The natural man does not chose this way. Anyway that is how I understand things with God. The natural person sees man, especially himself as the main object of the universe, and the Born Again see that all of creation is all about God.
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Re: Lucky on your part, bad luck for the animal

Postby Magic » 05 27, 2020 •  [Post 10]

Thank You, and yes I do understand your understanding. I just stand in awe and see how small I am. My small mind has trouble wrapping around His greatness, so I strive each day to measure up.

I apologize for drifting away from "luck".
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Re: Lucky on your part, bad luck for the animal

Postby Indian Summer » 05 28, 2020 •  [Post 11]

Tigger! Wash your mouth out with soap young man! :shock:

First of all if there are cows around, which there are, they WILL be in that spot. It’s their Heaven on earth which is why it’s mine too. They do have an uncanny way of being in the most unapproachable spot so the 400 incher with them might not be killable. But that’s just a matter of time. And for the record wise guy if a bull moves out of there 2 more move in to take his place. :D

I will give you credit for knowing I wear Old Spice... but that was just a LUCKY guess. I never eat burritos when I’m hunting though!

I could miss I suppose but at this point after all that psychological warfare that would be your fault! :oops:

I’m gonna refer you to a quote from a famous American role model from back in the day: “Stifle yourself Edith!” :lol:
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