why is everyone givin this guy grief? his friend is huntin the land because of HIM... if they have rules an cant follow them get the hell out... is it so hard??? gmmat tfox michealt... if you owned land (which you very well might) an you invited ME to hunt it but with rules to kill nothin under a 8 pt.. an i kill a 5 pt the first morning. your not gonna be happy.. now i understand we might not be "friends" but still if theres rules follow them.. that guy aint much of a friend anyway if he kills deer that he knows the lands owners DONT want shot!!!!!!

Damned right he should.

VA (and others) I missed (because it's not in there) the part in the original thread where it said it was the OP's land. That makes a HUGE difference.

A "guest" should shoot what he's been asked to shoot....and NOTHING else. "If" you impose restrictions on your guests......they should follow your guidelines or EXPECT to be tossed off the land.

I learned a lesson discussing this a year or so ago. From now on.....ANYONE hunting with me has carte' blanche rights to shoot anything that tickles their fancy. Anything. If you're hunting with me.....there's a reason you have that liberty. if you're not....there's a reason for that, too.

Your land........your rules. Period.

Thats right. I agree wholeheartedly. However if its an "old friend" of mine there will be no rules. I have invited friends to hunt with me in the past and will again in the future. If you're a good enough friend to get an invite , well, you're a good enough friend for me to help drag and help celebrate anything you choose to shoot.

To me an old hunting friendship is more important than letting small bucks grow. Obviously the OP feels opposite. I just don't understand the "grow as a hunter or stay home" comment. Growing as a hunter should have nothing to do with raising ones standards on the age or antler size of the deer they choose to shoot.

"Growing as a hunter" includes understanding that others have put in a lot of hard work and exercised a lot of patience and self-restraint to get to where they are in their management plan.

"Growing as a hunter" includes respecting the wishes of the landowner.

"Growing as a hunter" includes understanding that the wishes of the landowner trump YOUR personal wishes EVERY time.

"Growing as a hunter" incudes understanding if you're told to stay home because you can't abide by the rules set forth, that you knowingly accepted to be able to hunt there, that it was 100% YOUR own doing.

It sounds like you are fortunate to hunt on your families land and now it is going to your head? It is unfortunate that you now refer to an old friend as merely a "guest"..

Well there are things to consider here. 1. Friends 2.The Heard.
1. If you are a real friend, "as in grew up together" then you should try harder to get him to help you manage the heard.
2. If your does to buck ratio is good then there is no reason he cant shoot those bucks, basically could be cull bucks.
But if they are 1 to 2 year old bucks then i think he should pass. Simply friendship over bucks will cause the property to be pour hunting.
However bucks over friendship, you lose a hunting buddy.

So my advice is to talk with him. Better yet get with him in the field and film for him and help him decide yes or no.
If you guys dont manage the property you will decrease your hunting percentage and friendship along with it.
The 4 or 5 times he was asked to pass on those bucks, could have happened in a single season. Educate yourselves on how to manage the property. reason with him on limitations. Also, if others hunt there that dont have limitations on size of deer taken and he does thats not good management as well.
The rules have to apply to everyone including the owners. "Do as i say" "Not as i do" will not work for this situation.
Help your friend help you get it right. Dont just drop him after a couple of suggestions. Find out if he is hurting the heard or helping it before making such decisions.

I consider those points as being a gracious guest and respecting the landowners rules. Whether it'shunting, fishing, camping, hiking or riding ATVs the guest should obey the landowners wishes.

But it was my impression, after reading the original post, that the comment about "growing as a hunter" was directed at the fact that this friend was shooting small bucks. But that's just how I viewed it. Obviously it wasn't how it was intended.

Thanks for all the input several things to think about. However, I stand my ground. We have a lot of property to hunt if we want to just blow off steam and take whatever walks. The last time we hunted, we chatted for the third or fourth time about our goals and what was expected on that particular farm. When I arrived to his stand he told me he got a buck and I was thrilled to think we had a good one down, but when I had to drag a yearling 4pt. out, needless to say that is not an honest mistake, that is blatent disregard to a request.

It is his choice to shoot whatever he wants that is legal. Not everyone is a trophy hunter. My family stays fed because I bring home deer. They really don't like eating antlers. Granted, who wouldnt want to shoot a nice big buck? I would too, but that is not why I hunt. I hunt becasue its my passion and it puts food on the table. And I am veryproud of whatever comes out of the woods. Does also

Adam Bowman