That's a nice buck. When I said they keep getting bigger until about 6 1/2 years, they do, they may not grow any additional points but they grow in mass, length and width. You know , an 8 can go from 125 to 140 in one year and still be an 8.

If you don't want a buck to become nocturnal, wouldn't it be more harmful to " invade his bedding area" than to attract him with bait? I don't know because I don't use bait. Where I hunt it is totally illegal. However it is considered a very agressive move and sort of last resort to invade a big bucks bedding area. Much safer to crowd the edges of it.

Why would you pass up a nice 10 with your bow to shoot a nice 8 with your gun, when you could of had both of them? That would seem completely successful to me, unless you didn't want to take that many bucks off of your land.

For what its worth, I started bowhunting in 1967. Gun hunting in 1968. About 38 seasons. I've taken 62 deer. 37 bucks 25 does. 20 bucks with a bow. 14 mature, 8 - 14 points, 125 to 183".Gross score.7 P & Y. With all of the antlerless tags available, I shoot does for meat, then hunt for big bucks. I don't get big bucks every year but I have fun trying.