Let me set the stage. Im hunting in a very productive area, but only have access to 4 acres. All the surrounding properties are a bunch of tree huggers and dont want any hunting what so ever. Due to this, there are deer everywhere. Here is the dilema. Around the property i hunt, there is a Monster non-typical, and for NJ, that is very rare. I have never seen him, but the property owner has seen him twice and a hunting buddy of mine saw him yesterday at about 3 while he was driving by the property. Aparently he is a Main frame 10 point with double drop tines. Basically my dream buck. My question is this, the season is getting late, and i have already put about 60 hours into this spot and have never seen him. The other guy who hunts the property with me hasnt seen him either and he has about 40 hours logged in down there. There are a bunch of other beautiful bucks that we see with some regularity there, so with that being said, if a beauty came walking by, would you take the shot, or pass and wait for this once in a lifetime buck that you may never see? Im not sure what to do, but god knows i would be the happiest man in the world if i just got an opportunity to just see a deer like that.

only you can answer that one. a buddy of mine just this year in ohio is going through the same situation. seems a giant deer is living on a farm he hunts, supposed to have 14 points. everybody but my buddy has seen this deer. anyway, so far my bud has passes numerous mature bucks, including 2 that would go better than 140, one of which was a 150 plus typical. he figured that if nothing else, he would get the big one in shotgun season with hunters everywhere the buck would be pushed to him. wrong! no sighting yet, but the landowner still has seen this deer recently. getting pretty cold in ohio now, and i think if my buddy had it to do over he would have shot another deer. personally, im greedy, if i were hunting where the big one was, id probably eat my tag trying to get him.

a very personal decision, good luck either way ya go.

Depends on how much time you have left. If you have passed on those other "beautiful bucks" up until now there is no guarantee you will shoot one of those either... the day you decide to take one they will be no where around. If it was me I think I would not be satisfied with one of those other bucks and as soon as I pulled the trigger I would wish I hadn't. The main problems you have are two fold 1) two guys hunting a very small piece of real estate and 2) over 100 hrs of human scent being deposited in a very small area. That buck may have you two guys pegged. He may actually be watching YOU [:-]. If you want that buck you probably need another plan of attack... change your hours and your spot(tough on 4 acres). Is the property open or does it have good cover? Get in there well before the sky even starts to get light in the morning... the earlier the better and use rubber boots and cover scent. Being the buck has been seen only three times he may not be a regular there... do you see any sign that he is in the area? Being you have anti-hunters all around you may want to leave your hunting stuff home someday and just go for a hike in regular clothes and try to figure out where he is and what runs he is using. Also get a topo map of the area and look for logical spots for him to be... bedding areas, feed areas,ridges, river bottoms, natural funnelsetc.Maybe you will locate some good potential property that is not posted by tree huggers and it may be land he is using on a more regular basis.After you do that you may decideit will be mission impossible and time to take one of those other bucks... or maybe you will luck out and find a better spot to hunt him. If he has been spotted by others you can count on other hunters being after him... maybe even some bandits on the tree huggers land.It's a tough call and you are pretty well limited and you have a lot of restrictions and variables andtime is against you. Good luck

If the buck was big enough to shoot, I would not pass and hope the bigger buck walks by. I have alot of big bucks on my property, but I will never pass on a buck if he is a shooter. I suggest you shoot a buck you feel is big enough to make you happy.

Are you only allowed one buck in NJ? If not I'd take one of the other bucks. It's not like shooting one deer on the property is likely to scare off the big guy anymore than two guys continuously hunting on 4 acres.

Who am I kidding, I'd take the other two regardless.

If what you describe as your sitution is accurate, you probably won't ever see that deer, or even have a chance unless the rut is on and a doe brings him by. Your 4 acres are getting hunted, the surrounding land is not. Sounds like he just isn't patterning onto your land, and since nothing is pushing him off where he is patterning, A hot doe or change of food source sounds like your only hope.

Although the property is only 4 acres, it backs about 100 acres of county park, which is no hunting any time of the year. There is a ton of deer sign in the area, both rubs and scrapes, but there are also a bunch of buck in this area, so as for if it is the big boys, i cant be certain. Like i said, he has only been seen a handful of times, but i never have seen him. Other than the county land, there are some large fields with very small wood lots and fence rows in the general vicinity, but they are off limits cause of the tree huggin neighbor. In NJ, we are allowed to take more than one buck, but i only have one buck tag left, so its either him or another one, cant be both. Im leaning towards if i nice shooter comes by, i think ill take it, there isnt that much more time left till they drop their horns here and one in the hand is better than one in the brush, but who knows. Does anyone have any ideas as to how i can draw him into the area more often? Baiting is legal in NJ, but i have never seen a mature buck on any of the spots i have baited, just yearlings and maybe a 2 1/2 year old. I think that might spook him. Any ideas?

I would take the first "good" buck I got a shot at. Sure you wont get a shot a the "dream" buck if you shoot one of the other great deer but you also might not ever get a shot at him. Plus there is always next year.

Will you be truly satisfied this year with a lesser buck??? Your answer is the answer.

"Don't pass on the first day what you would be happy to shoot on the last."