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Shoot or Pass

Seekbigger said:
So I have 3 years history with this buck, I passed him twice last year and though he is much better this year he only has one brow tine on his right side which makes him a big 7 pointer lol. Just curious what others think, if given the chance, do you shoot or see what happens next year! This buck should be at least 4 to 5 years old maybe older, like I said I’ve had him on camera for 3 years and he was pretty large the first year! Anyways just for fun what’s your opinions? God Bless!View attachment 93376View attachment 93377View attachment 93378
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Fun question.. For me, it depends. Have you ever shot anything this big before? Are they common? If not, heck yes. For sure the last week of the season. However if there are a bunch of big ones around and if you already have bucks like him on the wall, I'd say pass. IMO those other 2 are what I'd be chasing!

I'm still chasing a 160" , problem is you have to pass up the 140"s to let them grow up. It's REALLY, REALLY hard to pass 140"s when they are close and giving you the perfect shot.
 
1simplemann said:
Fun question.. For me, it depends. Have you ever shot anything this big before? Are they common? If not, heck yes. For sure the last week of the season. However if there are a bunch of big ones around and if you already have bucks like him on the wall, I'd say pass. IMO those other 2 are what I'd be chasing!

I'm still chasing a 160" , problem is you have to pass up the 140"s to let them grow up. It's REALLY, REALLY hard to pass 140"s when they are close and giving you the perfect shot.
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You are right, I have a 150 on the wall and would like to get a bigger one, but at the same time these mountain bucks are tough and I have very little hunting access to the areas where these bucks travel through.
 
Seekbigger said:
You are right, I have a 150 on the wall and would like to get a bigger one, but at the same time these mountain bucks are tough and I have very little hunting access to the areas where these bucks travel through.
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All big one's are tough. That's why they are big. In my case, I've got a few 130s and low 140s that show up every year. The truly big ones are rare but they exist. Maybe 1 or 2 bucks out of the whole herd in the area. If I ever want to shoot a truly big one, my best chance is to let the smaller one's walk. However that's REALLY hard to do when they are standing right there. Believe me I know. Your mind plays tricks on you. You talk your self into shooting him and regret later. Then if you do pass him up, you run the risk of some else shooting him or something else happening to him. That's the discipline. I would pass him up and hunt those other 2 bucks. But that's me. I have a bunch from 145 to 152 so it might be easier for me than a LOT of other guys. Everyone's situation is different. If you have had a limited amount of success on big ones in the past and If you have a limited amount of time and area to hunt then I say shoot him.
 
1simplemann said:
All big one's are tough. That's why they are big. In my case, I've got a few 130s and low 140s that show up every year. The truly big ones are rare but they exist. Maybe 1 or 2 bucks out of the whole herd in the area. If I ever want to shoot a truly big one, my best chance is to let the smaller one's walk. However that's REALLY hard to do when they are standing right there. Believe me I know. Your mind plays tricks on you. You talk your self into shooting him and regret later. Then if you do pass him up, you run the risk of some else shooting him or something else happening to him. That's the discipline. I would pass him up and hunt those other 2 bucks. But that's me. I have a bunch from 145 to 152 so it might be easier for me than a LOT of other guys. Everyone's situation is different. If you have had a limited amount of success on big ones in the past and If you have a limited amount of time and area to hunt then I say shoot him.
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I shot a 2.5YO six point a couple years ago. First antlered deer. I am still more stoked on that buck than any other I’ve seen btw, for several reasons, which I won’t worry about here. After that great experience, I said “I’ll be super happy with just bigger than him next time. Doesn’t have to be much bigger, just bigger.” So last season opener, I had a tall tined not-quite-mature 8pt come in that I passed several more times over the year. Good deer, I think he’s back on cam and I plan to pass him again. Anyway after passing and missing out on a few GREAT bucks, thinking my buck tag would best be served in a hot bowl with croutons, I was grabbing my bow to shoot a doe and serendipitously I shot a bruiser instead. It was Dec 29 and he weighed 250+ still, 140”-150” class and aged at least 4.5, probably 5.5 or even 6.5. A boss buck on the block for sure. Didn’t even realize until I walked up to him. Had pics of him but never thought I’d be so lucky to arrow such a beefcake. After I got his skull back and put it next to my 6pt, I joked that I’d 1) met my goal of “bigger than last year” and 2) I might as well just go ahead and reset my career to shooting spikes because I don’t think I can “fluke things up” any better next year.
Well…dontchaknoh…
Last weekend I had 2 great young 8pts hang out below my tree while their WAY bigger brother postured about at 42yds. Rack looked similar to my buck from December. I could have and would have arrowed one of those 8’s any day of any season prior to 2021 if for no other reason than I need venison. But there’s something so special about waiting and watching that patience pay off in the form of a truly mature deer close enough to leave the binoculars on the hook. Released arrow or not. I’ve been doing martial arts for 31 years and hunting for 11, and they are one and the same, especially when you start learning (obviously I’m no expert) how AND why to hunt, bucks vs does, food vs cover, wind, tree selection, weapon proficiency, etc. I would never tell anyone to pass a buck they want to shoot, ever. I’m still ans excited to see a spike as an badonker but I can now leave my bow on the hook for deer I would have loved to kill a few years prior.

Now I’ll just step off my high horse to remind everyone, if the season starts a-closing and I have no venison nor antlers, basket racks and below may get looked at more closely if jah feel me. and I’d like to say I’ll follow last year’s mandate of “just bigger than last year” but I already told @Seekbigger what I’d do…arrow that suckah!
 
Seekbigger said:
So I have 3 years history with this buck, I passed him twice last year and though he is much better this year he only has one brow tine on his right side which makes him a big 7 pointer lol. Just curious what others think, if given the chance, do you shoot or see what happens next year! This buck should be at least 4 to 5 years old maybe older, like I said I’ve had him on camera for 3 years and he was pretty large the first year! Anyways just for fun what’s your opinions? God Bless!View attachment 93376View attachment 93377View attachment 93378
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I would have shot him 3 years ago
 
I say pass him. Very easy deer for you to recognize and a huge 8 pt is everyone's dream buck. With the jump in antler, could only imagine what is to come. Good luck on your decision! That will be a tough one!

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
 
DelaWhere_Arrow said:
I shot a 2.5YO six point a couple years ago. First antlered deer. I am still more stoked on that buck than any other I’ve seen btw, for several reasons, which I won’t worry about here. After that great experience, I said “I’ll be super happy with just bigger than him next time. Doesn’t have to be much bigger, just bigger.” So last season opener, I had a tall tined not-quite-mature 8pt come in that I passed several more times over the year. Good deer, I think he’s back on cam and I plan to pass him again. Anyway after passing and missing out on a few GREAT bucks, thinking my buck tag would best be served in a hot bowl with croutons, I was grabbing my bow to shoot a doe and serendipitously I shot a bruiser instead. It was Dec 29 and he weighed 250+ still, 140”-150” class and aged at least 4.5, probably 5.5 or even 6.5. A boss buck on the block for sure. Didn’t even realize until I walked up to him. Had pics of him but never thought I’d be so lucky to arrow such a beefcake. After I got his skull back and put it next to my 6pt, I joked that I’d 1) met my goal of “bigger than last year” and 2) I might as well just go ahead and reset my career to shooting spikes because I don’t think I can “fluke things up” any better next year.
Well…dontchaknoh…
Last weekend I had 2 great young 8pts hang out below my tree while their WAY bigger brother postured about at 42yds. Rack looked similar to my buck from December. I could have and would have arrowed one of those 8’s any day of any season prior to 2021 if for no other reason than I need venison. But there’s something so special about waiting and watching that patience pay off in the form of a truly mature deer close enough to leave the binoculars on the hook. Released arrow or not. I’ve been doing martial arts for 31 years and hunting for 11, and they are one and the same, especially when you start learning (obviously I’m no expert) how AND why to hunt, bucks vs does, food vs cover, wind, tree selection, weapon proficiency, etc. I would never tell anyone to pass a buck they want to shoot, ever. I’m still ans excited to see a spike as an badonker but I can now leave my bow on the hook for deer I would have loved to kill a few years prior.

Now I’ll just step off my high horse to remind everyone, if the season starts a-closing and I have no venison nor antlers, basket racks and below may get looked at more closely if jah feel me. and I’d like to say I’ll follow last year’s mandate of “just bigger than last year” but I already told @Seekbigger what I’d do…arrow that suckah!
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Awesome story. congrats! It also affirms my point. If you had shot one of those younger bucks you might not have even seen him. I hope you get him.
You also brought up another good point. By being selective, your in the woods longer. If your paying attention, you can learn a LOT by watching how they interact, use the terrain, etc. In the last 5 years, I've learned so much about my property. It has totally changed how I hunt. Now I hunt less but see more. Basically more effective.
 
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