Most of us venture into the whitetail woods each autumn with grand hopes of arrowing a huge buck. Yep, we archery hunters are quite delusional, aren't we? The funny thing is, no one has ever mastered the art of consistently harvesting monster bucks with a bow. So, even though it certainly doesn't hurt to dream big, we'd better stay within the realm of reality or our bowhunting efforts will soon lead to frustration and stress. Case in point...

Adolescent bucks are the bread and butter of the bowhunting world. Bowhunting these fellows keeps a guy in touch with reality and makes for some serious fun in the field because every buck is a trophy.

Many years ago, as I began to harvest a number of mature bucks on a fairly consistent basis, it was only natural that I started to set even higher goals. Soon, I was expecting results that were unattainable, yet I insisted on plowing forward. It wasn't long before my time in the field became anything but enjoyable--I was an antler addict with a hardcore appetite for more and bigger. I was passing many bucks that only a few years earlier would have thrilled me. It even got to the point to where I would view 125- to 140-class bucks with disdain and that was a sad place to be.

With the passing of a few years, and very little success on monster bucks, I went down in flames. It was time for a reality check for Super Ed. There was one thing that was painfully clear, and that was that I desperately needed to get back to having fun, plain and simple. How would I do it? Where would I look for relief? There was only one place to turn--adolescent bucks. Yes, you heard me right. I needed to start looking for the bread and butter of an archery hunter's day in the field. Herein, lies the real secret to a satisfying bowhunting experience.

THE LIONS SHARE
In the average deer herd, bucks that are aged from 1.5 to 3.5 years constitute most of the male population. The fact is, very old males are extremely rare, if they exist in your woods at all. Furthermore, it is even more rare to find an old male with genetics that produce monster antlers. Wouldn't it be best to accept the fact that we'd better set our sights on younger bucks, and then count our blessings whenever the rare trophy happens to grace our presence? From the blue-collar world that most of us live in, the answer must be "yes."

Okay, now that we're going in this direction, can I ask you a few more questions? Have you mastered the art of consistently killing 1.5-year-old bucks, or how about 2.5-year-old bucks? How about 3.5-year-old bucks? If your answer to all these questions is "yes," then you don't need to read any more of this spill, go ahead and fast-forward to the next article in this excellent publication! On the other hand, if you're still struggling to consistently harvest "average" bucks, then follow along!

BOTTOM OF THE TOTEM POLE
As far as antlers go, it's usually the second autumn of a buck's life (1.5 years of age) before he will carry enough headgear to interest any archery hunter who is focused on "gettin'one with some horns." It's these truly adolescent bucks that seemingly walk around all bow season with a big bull's-eye on their side. It's no wonder that a disproportionate amount of this age class of bucks will never see the next spring. These young guys are freshly full of their first big dose of testosterone, yet their brains are far from full of wisdom yet. If you remember back to your own days in junior high school, I'm sure you can relate to the feeling. Remember when the urge was strong, you didn't know what to do about it, so you just spent most of your time wandering around like a moron getting into a lot of trouble? Yeah, you know what I mean.

Okay, it's the same idea with 1.5-year-old bucks. During the autumn when we're in the field, there's no shortage of these poor fellows wandering around looking for a friend of any kind. They don't have the survival skills to avoid trouble, and since many archery hunters are "trouble, looking for a place to happen," these young guys are almost certain to end up getting whacked.