RE: Getting soft......
 

I've also passed up shots on a few very large does with young'uns with them. The most memorable was one I used to see every Sunday evening while I was watching the NFL. She used to look in the window and watch the games on occassion. Couldn't shoot my "football buddy!"

Today's small bucks are tomorrow's trophies.

RE: Getting soft......
 

It's definitely not an easy thing to do and I certainly would rather the doe be alone but I rarely ever see does without fawns. You should feel good about your decision.

RE: Getting soft......
 

This situation always reminds me of a sign I saw during a fly-in Canadian fishing trip...It read...

"It's better to be on the ground hoping that you were in the air, than to be in the air, hoping you were on the ground."

Or something like that.

So, to me, the situation you described is much like.."you can never go wrong deciding not to shoot..."

It's a long season.

RE: Getting soft......
 

Folks this is one of the reasons we bow hunt. We get to see things that others do not. Ain't it fun just to watch deer go by your stand? I like to be able to tell myself "I could kill that deer if I wanted to", but I'd rather just watch". I passed up every shot I had on deer last year. Didn't stick not one of them. Did I have a bad season? Heck no. It was great. I learned several new things about whitetails by not shooting and just watching. Now if that P&Y record had walked by, heck yes I would have stuck it! But it never did. Had several average bucks in range to shoot and a bunch of does. I just chose not to shoot any of them. I don't know why I didn't shoot at least one. I just didn't.

Hunt hard or go home !