ORIGINAL: NEW61375
On a side note for those who wouldn't shoot in hopes of seeing the same buck the next season. You may want to read D & DH magazine (either June, July, August sorry don't have it in front of me) there is an article titled something along the lines of "They Walk til They Die" in reference to big buck travels especially during the rut.And even though I know it definitely happens(same buck seen year after year)I think the probability is far lower than some think. I will find the issue and exact title later at the house, it was pretty informative.
Deer & Deer Hunting, August 2008
The last section of the article states having a few 3 1/2 year old bucks is about the best most land managers can expect in the majority of whitetail locales.So for those of you passing on solid 3 1/2 year olds (half rack or not) the likelihood of you seeing them again the following season is basically slim to none(ecspecially on smaller tracts of land with surrounding hunting pressure)but I can still understand not wanting to use your tag on him if you are a horn hunter because while you may not see him again you might see one you like.
For the record I have no problem with guys wanting to take onlybig racked bucks but what I see a lot of(in my area)are guys that want to shoot big bucks and often don't succeedbut don't kill the first doe eitherand then theytalk about QDM because they are letting small racks walk, to mesome seem to be missing the bigger picture.