Pass those smaller bucks.
 

I have been passing on smaller bucks for the past 5 years. I have taken some nice bucks, the nicest was about 120 class typical. The past 2 years I have been passin on 120 class bucks. Last year I passed on a nice typical 10 point that prolly went 120s, and I had him at about 12-15 yards and had my sights on him, but then said no; got to pass on those bucks so they get a little bigger.
This year, my dad and I have seen some very nice bucks. 2 of the bucks we saw were the biggest bucks we've seen so far this season. One was a typical and the other was a non-typical, and they both were 180s if not 170s. Along with those bucks we have seen at least 6 bucks that go 130-160. Also, we have some nice 120 class bucks that we're hoping make it to next year, so they can be 130s-140s. So, if you can start passing on those small bucks, you'll see a great increase in the number of bigger bucks that you'll see.
When my dad and I weren't passing on smaller bucks, we would see a biug buck here and there. Now we see them alot more. This will work for you if you start passing on those smaller bucks, and eventually you'll be rewarded with a very nice buck; and probably the biggest buck you've taken and possibly be a record buck.
With the rut right around the corner, you'll see lots of small bucks chasing does and coming to your calls. Let them walk, and in 2 years they'll be a 130 or bigger. I've had 14 bucks I could have shot this year, but I tell myself in a couple of years, they'll be shooters. The moire smaller bucks you let go, the more bigger bucks you'll have where you hunt. So guys, pass them smaller bucks, and let them turn into big bucks!

That is great, but you have to have some control over the land in the area you hunt. If you pass on those 120's and the guys a half mile down the field are blasting everything with four legs that walks past, all you did was allow them to fill THEIR freezer. I would love to have a few hundred acres to manage, but my fifty acres is just a rest stop along the path to "the killing fields".

Obviously some are seeing no more than the antlers on the head! Where me, I have three kids and wife to feed. Not to mention the money time and effort I put into the sport and hobby I love so much. So personally i let what I want go, and shoot what I want even if it is a younger buck!! Depends on the situation at the time and how much meat I have. Do I shoot everything that passes by? Absolutely not! But well I shoot a small buck, you bet your @$$ :)

Exactly I have no control over pretty any land I hunt on and even the land I do sort of have a say in gets trespassed and pushed with out permission as soon as the orange army gets the go ahead. I too though have passed on a lot of smaller sized bucks and recently closed the deal on not the biggest bruiser in the woods but one that I would be happy with at the end of the season.

I agree though if everyone was as open minded as the rest and we all agreed on QDM and let those small ones walk the increase in bruiser bucks would increase. I do my part and I suppose that is all I can do. If the ones I passed make through till next year awesome!!!

Why do some people think you need to shoot a P&Y deer to enjoy hunting? If your goal is a 125''+ go for it, if a spike gets your heart pounding, stick it and be proud, its your tag use it how ya want. That said, I dont buy into this passing on small bucks to grow whoppers:s13: I got whoppers where I hunt, and I also see small bucks, and alot of those puny bucks get wacked, so where did the whoppers come from????

How about everyone shoot the buck that makes them happy???????

1st 2.5yr (or older) old that makes my heart flutter is getting shot (at).

Mr 120 is preaching the QDM. Got it.:rolleye0011:

A 120+ class 10 pointer would be the deer of a lifetime for about 90% of hunters. If that buck is the biggest you've ever seen while hunting, why would you pass it and expect to see a bigger one? If you see plenty of 150"+ bucks a season, then I guess it's reasonable to pass on a 120 or so inch buck. It's just not reasonable to most and ludicrous to others.

Attached is my biggest buck so far. It ended up netting down to 115". It grossed 128". There was no way I would have passed this buck in hopes of catching him again in 2 years.

Every thing I take with the bow is a reward! You don't have to have a record buck to feel proud!

Wow, Scott, I never saw a buck tree before!! I thought they came from doe! (Just kidding.) Nice pics.

And you will never again. My wife had me cut that tree down so we could get a pool :D No big loss, though. It was a poplar and broke branches off in every storm.

Thank you -

and thank you -

and thank you.

I hunt the way I want to hunt and I kill what ever trips my trigger on that particular day. I hunt deer, not antlers. If I kill a big buck, great! If I kill a small buck or a doe, great! For me, it's about the hunt and the kill, not the size of the antlers.

Judge Smails: Ty, what did you shoot today?
Ty Webb: Oh, Judge, I don't keep score.
Judge Smails: Then how do you measure yourself with other hunters?
Ty Webb: By height.

I agree with LittleChief 100%! Go with whatever you believe and don't try to foist it on someone else. Self righteousness is unbecoming! My signature says it all for me! :poke:

I'd opt for a doe over a small buck on private land. But I have access to plenty of private land to choose from--a lot of guys don't. On public land (which I hunt a lot as well), if it's half decent, it's as good as dead :D Of course, I'm speaking from a firearm standpoint. I would shoot anything with a bow 'cause I have yet to do that! Gonna give it another shot today and tomorrow :)

Why all the negativity towards the OP? He's not telling you what to shoot, just telling you what can happen If a person has the resources.

Are you being serious? They get big or old by not getting shot, passed on or whatever.

I agree and disagree. :s4: Letting that 120" buck pass can still reward you. By letting that buck pass another hunter may shoot him ending their season but It will also save the life of a bigger buck your after and leave that one for you. The point I'm trying to make Is every buck you pass on may open the doors for another hunter but It also might save the life of a buck your really after being that person filled their tag and Is done hunting.

Gundeck, I do know where your coming from though, I deal with this every year. Yes It's frustrating but If the hunter Is happy and Isn't complaining about their bucks I'm happy for them. I'll never tell someone what they should be shooting on their land, I'll just offer them friendly advise If they were to ask.

Thats about the best sentence in this thread !!

Uh , did you bother to read the title of the thread? "pass those smaller bucks" sounds like someone, telling someone else, what to shoot to me:rolleye0011: I also see my simple point has confused you, so let me simplify it a bit more , -shoot many small buck-still plenty buck left to get big-that why big buck live everywhere deer found.

Now thats funny lol lol

Sorry, Steve, but taking the subject line of the thread at face value, it sounds exactly like being told what not to shoot.

Still, I didn't intend for my post to be negative. I simply stated how I feel about hunting in response to how he feels about QDM. I kept my opinions of QDM to myself. If I voice those opinions, you will undoubtedly sense some negativity.

As I always say, each to their own. I posted that because I hear alot of guys complain that they never see big bucks. Then I ask them do you just shoot any buck that walks out? They say yes and then I say there's your problem. So, before you slam a person for just making a suggestion to those kind of people, read a bit more closely.

Yes, that was meant for people who can, and people that want to see bigger bucks. I understand some of you guys need meat or you just don't care what size the rack is, but that's you guys. This is meant for people who want to do this.

Come hunt New York and see how far that gets u....there aint no QDM here!!!

Thank god, Ill take QDH(quality deer hunting) over QDM anyday.

Let me preface this by sayng this is intended for those who want to see larger bucks or want to practice some sort of QDM. I am not preaching that we all should use QDM, but if you would like to, or do, read on.

QDM starts with one person at a time. Myself and my brother hunt a public piece in north central PA. We try to pass smaller, but legal, bucks in hopes they survive and become bigger deer. This isnt to say that a day later this buck wont be shot by another hunter. BUT, atleast I gave that deer the opportunity to survive and that was MY job while practicing QDM. Some guys use the excuse that "if I dont shoot it, someone else will" then they blast him--thats a pisspoor attitude. That, at the very least, is a copout so that they can shoot smaller bucks, YET complain about only having and seeing small bucks as well.

If we believe that what we are doing is too small, a goal can never be accomplished. If you hunt on public land, all you can control is the decisions YOU make. While these decisions may not make monumental changes, it does have an impact on the deer herd. So, for those of you that complain about only seeing small bucks, and you would like to potentially see larger bucks, pass the next small buck that crosses your path. Who knows, you might see him next year. Let em go, watch em grow.

It's always funny how whenever someone makes a thread that mentions shooting larger/older bucks,... you get the same group of "brown & downers" whine and complain about how if they don't shoot the deer in front of them then someone else will! GIVE ME A BREAK! :mad:

If deer were as naive and as easily killed as some of you make it sound... there wouldn't be any deer around! Also, if they were that easliy killed a LOT more of you would be able to tag them!

Deer hunting is full of individual choices, from your bow, b-heads, arrows,.... right down to the deer you wanna shoot. If a deer comes by that you'd really like to use your tag on than by all means shoot it. However, as suggested... don't feed us all the BS about how you MUST shoot the deer before someone else does! Also, if you're settling for smaller/immature bucks that you certainly don't EVER have a reason to bitch and cry about there being no big bucks where you hunt!

I always thought it was just human nature to set goals and try to raise the bar.... part of what makes the game fun and keeps it challenging. Obviously many don't see it that way at all... it's kinda sad really and I'm thankful that most of these wankers aren't my neighbors! :poke:

I think the disconnect here is this:

In Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, a 120" deer is a small deer. In a lot of places and for a lot hunters, a 120" deer is something that they only see once in their life.

For the average guy, they can't believe the guys on TV passing on big 8s and nice 10s because they are too small. These would be career deer for them.

It's not that passing on small bucks is not their thing, they just will never have the opportunity.

.308, you are correct. For some areas, 120 is huge, others 120 is a deer to pass. Thats still fine, in PA a 100" deer is a good size buck. Some may opt to pass and some may say to take it.

The important thing is, for your area, make wise decisions. In PA, I might take a 100" deer. Where as in Ohio, that same 100" deer would geta free pass. I don't think its too much to ask people to micromanage their own immediate areas.

Here in Maine we have some really big bucks. The antlers might not get that big though.. The racks are lacking what the body size is not.. A spike up here would be the size of some of your folks big bucks in body size.. None the less we have a different situation where deer numbers are low due to the winter months as well as predators. Survival up this way is everything. No doe hunting of anykind in my area. A spike would be OK to shoot if you can get a shot at one. I would rather take a big buck like I have in the past but with our low numbers. You are lucky to even see a nice buck at all. Actually though the big buck has a better chance of making it through the tough winter months that so many deer up here face. So to each thier own if it suites them or makes them happy with it..

Oh really? I just read all 3 pages, and all I read was one guy say hed like to practice QDM but thought he didnt have enough acreage. You mentioned a "group" ,what group? where are all these lowly "brown & downers" you speak of ,whining about shooting deer before some one else does? How foolish:nonono2:

My son and I, "The Deer Destroyer", the one who started this thread Started to practice QDM on the private properties we hunt. We do not own these properties and yes, other hunters hunt on them. Some practice QDM and others don't. There are also other hunters on adjoining properties that I know for sure that shoot any deer they see. If that turns their crank that is fine. But, like my son said, just since we have started passing on the smaller bucks we have seen a vast improvement on the numbers of larger bucks. So, it sure seems like it works for us as I'm sure it does others as well. As far as needing meat, I'm sure there are enough does in most of your areas that you shouldn't even have to worry about shooting bucks. We do not even buy beef in my house. I have not purchased any beef in over 8 years. Kill those does. By no means was my son cutting down anyone's hunting style. He was simply saying if you want to shoot larger bucks but rarely ever see any bigger bucks and you shoot the smaller ones maybe this is the reason you aren't seeing the larger ones with more frequency. Good luck to you all this year!!!!!

:s2::s2: Based on my posts, do you consider me a "brown and downer" or a "wanker" because I disagree with the air of superiority I sense from the majority of folks who practice QDM? Just to set the record straight, no one on this forum has ever heard me complain about buck to doe ratios or buck size where I hunt. Also, every club I hunt on in Tennessee has an 8 point minimum rule. That may not be much by your standards, I'm sure, but it's a start, right?

In Arkansas, it's a 3 points on one side rule, which isn't much even by my standards, and I passed on quite a few smaller legal bucks and the first buck I killed there was a 10 point. The thing is, I still had a handful of fellows from your persuasion tell me that I should have passed on him as he was a smaller 10 point. Christ Almighty, it was my first buck with a bow and I'd passed on so many. I was thrilled with it, and to have some holier-than-thou prick at a gas station in Arkansas, of all places, tell me to my face that I shouldn't have shot it was an insult.

Fingerz42 made a post on the previous page in support of QDM and his opening statement was this:

"Let me preface this by saying this is intended for those who want to see larger bucks or want to practice some sort of QDM. I am not preaching that we all should use QDM, but if you would like to, or do, read on."

That was well said by Fingers42, and if this thread had opened with something similar to this, I'd have had no input at all, and I'd wager quite a few others who posted wouldn't have either. Unfortunately, this thread opened and gave the impression of a sermon on what you should do instead of what you could do, and that's the fastest way to spin most people up, including me.

Manof the fall you sound like a gentleman, as well as your son so I will try to debate your points in a gentlemanly way aswell. I dont feel that this thread is a knock to my or anyone elses, hunting style or standards. I feel this thread was unnessassary ,w/ all due repect, because if it was aimed at those who only want to shoot big bucks, they already will pass on small bucks. I myself will pass on small buck 99% of the time, but not because I think hell grow into whopper, but because Ive already shot plenty of em, and I dont want to waste my tag on one, but if all the hunters who preach QDM were honest, they would admit that they most likley killed a small basket rack buck for their 1st, and were probably thrilled to do it, I know I was. Think about it, do you really see alot of posts, complaining that they cant shoot a big buck? All I see is posts by newbies who are dying to stick their 1st buck ,any buck. Im not going to take that joy from a newbie cause I think if he pass's on a small buck, Ill have wallhangers behind every tree in a few years, and I think its very selfish and disingenuous of the more seasoned bowhunters out there, who buy into the QDM logic, to expect the up and comers, to pass on bucks they shot themselves in the past.

Personally I just dont buy into the theorys about growing big deer and racks. I live in the middle of a very well know and highly pressured state hunting land ,that gets hammered by hunters from NYC and LI, and up till this year had no ARs. Alot of yearling get wacked, but beleive you me, there are still some dandys running around in these woods .I also live right on the boarder of NY/NJ ,NJ has ARs, we do not , I have hunted both sides, I have noticed no difference in the size ,or the amount of big bucks I see, in fact,a good friend and taxidermist of mine ,also living in this area, gets 3 big racks from NY for every NJ. now will one of you qdm advocates, please explain to me, how that is? IMHO I think guys passing on deer to increase the amount of big deer in an area are just fooling themselves, but whatever floats your boat. I think the only things you can truly do ,to improve your chances at a bigger class of deer, is to spend as much time in a stand as possible, the rest is luck.

W/ all due respect. I think we need to stop all the eliteism,and pushing our standards on others and we need to focus our attention on getting more people to buy hunting licenses and hunting gear because from what I understand, our #s are dropping every year, and that IS NOT good. "peace yall"

I would love to pass on 120" bucks but if I don't shoot them my neighbors will. I have tried to talk to my neighbors about passing up smaller bucks to try and get some 160-170" deer on all of our properties but no1 can manage to pass up anything smaller than a 90" deer. We have a 4 generation farm and my family and I are trying to manage our 180 acres but it is hard when the neighbors shoot anything that moves basically. My girlfriend that has yet to put a deer on her wall is passing up 100 class deer to help out the cause. Sucks not being able to find the 160 class deer after they have matured.

Yeah that really sucks:s13: almost not even worth the effort to shoot a deer if its not gonna make B&C LOL I cant believe the stuff people write.

Ok, after reading all these posts we apologize. Maybe my son should have said in the title: if you don't want to practice QDM don't read this, or if you don't want advice on possibly how to get bigger bucks on your land then don't read this or maybe for those who want to practice QDM only. The only negative statement he said in this post if you can call it negative is if you want to shoot bigger bucks then pass on the small ones. This post was not meant to bash on those who don't want to do this. We have shot our share of small bucks and I have shot many more smaller bucks than my son has. So far he has shot 4 bucks with his bow. The first 4 bucks he shot were bigger than my first several bucks. His second buck was bigger than any buck I have shot until the buck I shot this year. He didn't mean to start a war and he certainly wouldn't ask any of you to hunt differently. That was not his intentions. He has a 2 year old son himself. I know how he will feel when his son shoots that first buck whether it be a spike or a monster, the feeling will be the same. You see we aren't all that bad. Hunt and have a great time doing it and pass it on to the generations. This is our style we have been working on the last few years and it seems to be paying off. If you don't want to do it then fine. We didn't cut down anything you guys practice so don't cut down our style either. Oh, and by the way the buck I shot scored 125 5/8. Some may cut me down for shooting him. But, we watched him for 4 years and he was a mature deer and I was happy with him.

Well I'm glad you have the luxury of having a property to yourself. But I believe the majority of us have people surrounding us that shoot anything thats brown.

You didn't get no negativity out of me, people over reacted big time as far as I'm concerned. Only on the Internet. ;)

I dont think people disagreeing about passing small bucks is being negative, and if anyone is over reacting its the people posting in this thread ,who agree w/ passing small bucks. That said, If this really was intended for people who believe in passing on small bucks, qdm, or what ever you want to call it, wouldn't it stand to reason, that they already would pass on small bucks? Sorta like telling a republican to vote republican , kinda redundant, isnt it?