I let the small bucks walk......I don't take much mercy on does, being our buck to doe ratio is terrible....usually during archery season I'll shoot does, but alot of that depends on where I'm at.....some places I hunt are for meat other places I hunt are for bucks....but still, if it's not during rutting activity, I'll take a doe if it doesn't contaminate an area that I know a mature buck is using....you really just have to work it out in your mind and think about future hunts also.....I know some guys that will shoot a 4 pointer and pass on a doe, which is prefectly legal, but I can't convince them that they don't have much more than a doe.....alot of it depends on the individual.....I can't really judge someone for shooting a 4 pointer, checking it in legally, and enjoying after the hunt and at the table....but it's the cats that shoot a 4 pointer and through it in the freezer without checking it in that I have trouble with.