keep passing?
 

I have passed up a young forkhorn about 6 times over the course of the season and it is getting harder to do. The season ends for me on Jan. 1st. I have seen a couple of good bucks but never had a shot opportunity. Normally I would not consider shooting a buck as young as this one I keep seeing but this is my first year with a bow and I have not yet killed a buck. I have had a pretty good year so far. With my bow I have taken a doe and a hog and with my muzzleloaderI got another hog. So the freezer doesn't really need the meat. At this point I guess it's ego. How bad do I want a buck? I'm inclined to keep letting him walk and see how he looks next year,but DANG it's getting hard. What do you think?

RE: keep passing?
 

And a good inclination it is.

RE: keep passing?
 

You will feel better about it if you shoot him next year when he is bigger. I wouldn't shoot him.

RE: keep passing?
 

I don't believe you should kill a particular animal you wouldn't ordinarily to satisfy your ego.Knowing that you could have done so should satisfy that need.
You have taken other animals and you have plenty of meat.You have nothing to prove to anyone!

RE: keep passing?
 

I think you answered it yourself. I say......

RE: keep passing?
 

IMO, it depends. How much pressure does your hunting area recieve?

I can't control what the people on the bordering properties do, so I'll be darned if I am going to let a legal buck walk so some guy neighboring me that doesn't give a hoot about QDM can shoot the thing. I see it like this...it's gonna be me or him, and it ain't gonna be him if I can help it.

Now, if your area recieves very little pressure, let him go. You'll enjoy watching him grow up and having a shot at him in 2 years as an 8 or 10 point biggun. The down side of that.......that strategy could bite you too. As buck age they grow more and more solitary. You may not ever see him again.

It's a gamble either way. Kinda darned if you do and darned if you don't. What it truely boils down to is you. Are you man enough to set your goals and stick with them, or are you going to wimp out and modify your goals to satisfy your urges?

RE: keep passing?
 

Shoot him...........if YOU want to.


Doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks.

RE: keep passing?
 

Personally, I wouldn't shoot. I'm in a similar situation you are, this is my 2nd year bow hunting, though I've yet to shoot at a deer. I've seen a couple decent bucks on my trail camera as well as some little forks and 6's. I've already told myself that if I see the little ones come by that I'll watch them walk away, too. Atleast if you let him walk, you know there would be a chance for him to get bigger...if you shoot him, he'll be a fork forever...

Either way, its all up to what you want to do, who knows...maybe one of the good bucks you said about will give you a shot! Good Luck

RE: keep passing?
 

Not ragging on anyone....jsut seems funny that these two statements were made by the same poster.

I've had a half-rack (3 on one side) that I passed on this year....and a spike. I haven't harvested a deer this year, either.....but I still wouldn't shoot one of these evenif he broadsided me. What might seem like gratification....(taking a buck with the bow)....might also turn into remorse. No one canaddress thatdelimma except you.

For the record....I HONESTLY think that hunting is HIGHLY personal. The reasons YOU hunt are LIKELY different than the reasons I hunt. To "ME"......I have never feltmore at-one with God than when I'm in the field.DO I hunt tohave this feeling?......or do I have this feeling because I hunt? Who knows? It's personal...that's all I know. And this is coming from someone sho would NOT classify himself as ANY type of religious fanatic (to say the least.....lol).

You make your decision on this buck.....and feel good about it. THEN...you know you made the right decision.

Have a MErry Christmas.

Jeff

RE: keep passing?
 

The place I hunt is 400 acres. Only 2 people hunt it, my brother in law and myself and we both have always had a standard of 8 or better with an occasional big 6. I know he would not shoot this buck. He has been bowhunting for years so he's not looking to fill his first archery buck tag.
The surrounding properties sometimes sound like a shooting gallery. I can't believe anything could still be alive on that side of the fence. If that little buck crosses the fence line he will be killed. That being said, I won't kill him this year. As much as I want a bow buck I will keep passing the little guy. I don't think I could change my ethics because I changed my weapon. I won't kill a dink with a gun so I won't kill a dink with a bow. I mentioned in my original post about killing him for ego, well, I think my ego would suffer by taking a deer that I would normally pass on. If my season ended today it would be a great success with my doe & hog by bow, and my hog by gun. Thanks for your input guys, sometimes the message right in front of me needs to be pointed out.

RE: keep passing?
 

Let him walk. It sounds like you already know what the right thing to do is.

RE: keep passing?
 

You could always move your stand and maybe see some different deer. 400 acres is ALOT of ground to hunt around here. Most people are tickled to death to get 40 acres to themselves.

RE: keep passing?
 

What's that word for poor hunter....vegetarian?[8D][8D] Whack the little sucker. It'll make you feel good. Besides that, he probably won't be around next year or some other yum yum will whack him. I know the real story....you just haven't gotten a good shot at him yet. In fact, I bet you can't get him before the season goes out.[8D][8D][8D] I double dare ya. I double dog dare ya.[8D]

RE: keep passing?
 

I have a system that hasn't let me down yet! It's called the WOW factor. If when you first see the buck, the little man in your head says "WOW"! You try and get a shot! You may even spend the rest of the year or 2 looking for him. If your first thought isn't WOW, you'll never truely regret your decision.

Now the buck that triggers the little man to say WOW will vary for each of us, based on expirience, kills, or state of mind. But when the little guy speaks...ya gotta listen!

RE: keep passing?
 

Now your talking!I like your decision.Don't hope for things to be easier,work harder to reach your goals!When you reach the goals you have set for yourself it will be so much more satisfying!

RE: keep passing?
 

OK...play out both sides. Do you want a buck, or do you want a buck for the wall.

You said you don't need the meat.

Ego's are over rated. Whats the saying about "Pride coming before the fall". Oh yeah...Pride comes before the fall. :o)

Look at it this way...
1. If you DON'T shoot him, you might shoot him when he is a big boy, and you might not.
2. If you DO shoot him - and I gaurentee you that you won't shoot him when he's big.

Personally, I wouldn't...but that is me. It really is a personal preferrence.

RE: keep passing?
 

Like some posters said, why do hunt. I love eating venison and I love to hunt. My freezer is full, I'm all done hunting. There's always next year.
I know guys that don't eat what they hunt, sometimes to the point of waste, be it deer, duck, orgeese. I find this reprehensible, but that's just me.

RE: keep passing?
 

I've been your shoes many times. I've told myself I wouldn't shoot anything smaller than 120, but then a 100-120 steps out, next to last day and I arrow him. And every time, after I walked up to him, I asked myself, "Why did I shoot him". I regretted it, and I should have just shot the doe. I know better now. And it won't happen again.

But that's just me, with my situation.

RE: keep passing?
 

I am going to create a slight breach of etiquette: I triple dog dare you!

RE: keep passing?
 

I would take him but for me it has been a very bad year seen only 2 doe.