Mauser, This is a very good question, I think the difference between good hunter' s who can pass on small buck' s and the good hunter' s who want too, but end up harvesting the first legal buck they see regardless is, 1. Having confidence & patience, that if they pass on smaller buck' s, eventually whether it be by skill or luck, they will get atleast 1 chance during the season at a shooter, 2. Also hunter' s who have accepted the fact that they might not fill their buck tag and are fine if that outcome would come true. 3. Hunter' s who force themselves to pass on a small buck and have found out they actually enjoyed the experience of passing up a small buck more then they would have enjoyed harvesting that buck.

So I suggest just forcing yourself to do it, and remember that the harder you work, the luckier you will become. And when you pass on your first buck If you enjoyed the experience and your not kicking yourself for letting that buck walk away, keep doing it (it will get easier everytime you do it) . When I started passing on smaller buck' s I had the confidence ( even though now I think It was more like wishful thinking) that I would harvest a shooter that season, My quest ended with success but I realize now it was more by luck than anything else, But the thing' s I did learn when I passed on that first buck that made it very easy to do so every time since then was, that yes there was a little fear that he might be the last buck I see the rest of the year but I could live with it if it he was, and I learned that I enjoyed passing him up and just watching him more than i would have if i would have released an arrow. Pike