RE: For those, that pass on bucks to let them grow...
 

I've been passing bucks for more years than I can remember now Pops and I can honestly say I don't think (know) that I've ever seen a buck that I've passed again. I can't say for certain. I'm just trying to do my part and where I'm at today in bowhunting, I have no desire to shoot a 1.5 year old. I have taken a few 2.5 year olds in the past few years but have a good record of 3.5's as well. I've seen only 2 in 10 years that would go 4.5 or better and one I missed, the second I was already tagged out and a cameraman.

Oh and 2, small private land tracts where I couldn't manage the deer if I wanted to.

RE: For those, that pass on bucks to let them grow...
 

We see the deer quite often in years after allowing them to pass. We also occasionally see them on the side of the road or in the back of a neighbors truck, but over all, allowing them to walk has done nothing but help us see more quality bucks.

We lease 420 acres and have permission to hunt an additional 350 that borders our lease.

RE: For those, that pass on bucks to let them grow...
 

Passing on buck X is a personal decision and it is about that simple. Do I wish everyone passed on 1.5 year old bucks? Yea, but I am also a realist that knows that is not what everyone else wants to do, so I am OK with it.

Right now I dont want to shoot anything under 3.5 years old - this means I pass a few bucks. I would love to see that buck you are talking about in a year or two. My brother passed a split brow tine main frame 10 point 2.5 year that was just beautiful (I saw the deer once on stand as well). The next year he turned into a beast that would gross over 170 but then vanished forever(nobody took him on that farm and what I would have payed to see him at 4.5!) We never took him but it was worth it just seeing him again. He was on a 300 acre farm that has several bowhunters and gets hammered in gun season....the way I see it I will never know if I end up squeezing the trigger on something with that potential. Age is the lowest denominator for me but I still love antlers.

RE: For those, that pass on bucks to let them grow...
 

Thanks for all the replies. I've been leaning toward passing because I know what's in the area but it's public land that can and is hunting by some. I guess when he walks up that trail, it will all depend on what's going thru my mind.

RE: For those, that pass on bucks to let them grow...
 

I cannot say that I have ever seen the same buck that I passed on from previous years, but I do know that we see plenty more big bucks every year. It makes it easier to pass on the small ones too.

RE: For those, that pass on bucks to let them grow...
 

Without a buck having something that makes him stand out (color, scar, etc..) how do you know that the big buck in front of you is the same buck that you saw the year before? The deer in my area are pretty uniform and I am not sure that I could tell if the buck was one that I had seen before or a buck that came in from the neighbors.

RE: For those, that pass on bucks to let them grow...
 

I've never passed on a buck with the thought that he will grow up and I'll shoot him when he's bigger. Once that buck walks out of my sight, I never expect to see him again. It is just not a very realistic situation for me.
I am much more interested in the what the PRESENT holds than what's on down the line. Somehow, some way, bucks get thru to be big each year. Whether I have ever seen them before is a mystery and one I could care less to figure out. Makes it a lot easier that way.

RE: For those, that pass on bucks to let them grow...
 

You will learn more in one year of passing marginal bucks than you will in ten years of killing the first legal you see.[:-]
Taking the time to study the way they travel and stop ,the many different shot angles they present you with ,and most of all the time frame you have to make a killing shot.

RE: For those, that pass on bucks to let them grow...
 

I've been wathcing this 1 buck for 3 years now. I hunt private land.

RE: For those, that pass on bucks to let them grow...
 

I would probably pass on any really big buck because my neighors are after the big rack and they are good to me, so i would leave it to them. But if it is a younger tender buck, any growing that it is gonna do would have to be a scientific miracle cause it would be happening in my freezer.