Ohboy

Do like i did a 3 years ago with my best friend when he shot a spike on my land. I told him that was BS and he knew better and tried to use the excuse that he thought it was a doe and i said yea ok. And we kinda argued for a minute and both realized it wasnt worth arguing over a deer! Especially one that will be good to eat, not a older, tough buck with horns you cant eat either! Dont get me wrong, we "trophy" hunt, but if we see something we cant pass up on, then we shoot. We have been great friends for almost 20yrs. Im now 28 and he is 30. We both still hunt together today and at each others clubs and land. Express how you feel and he will understand, and if he doesnt, then that shows you how well of friends you are! But, Its not worth losing a good friend over, especially if there are many other deer in the herd. And if its like the land around here in SE VA, if you or yall dont kill the deer, then others on adjoing land or other clubs will kill them. You cant control what goes on when your not there or outside of your property lines.

KSBOHUNTR

It all comes down to repecting the person and their property. I hunt my wifes, cousins property and we have agreed we don't shoot anything smaller than what is on the wall now. For me that is 120". I had a nice 8 pt last year walk within a few yds and was a chip shot but he wouldn't clear the 120 because he had no mass. I passed on 4 bucks that same morning. Later in Rifle season him and his wife both shoot small bucks. I wasn't to happy to hear that because of our agreement and I clearly passed on the better buck BUT, it's his property and his rules and he can change them at anytime. I respect him and i'm lucky to hunt this place and I will continue to follow our agreement on my end and not use an excuse of "well you shot 2 small ones last year." I remembered what i said and therefor I will follow that.
Next, i'm going hunting with a good friend on his property this Sat. to get a few does. There are some really big bucks there and bigger than what I'm hunting now and he has simply requested that I only shoot does. I'm fine with this. I'm not going there to shoot a big buck, I'm going there to enjoy some hunting with a good friend and film. In the heat of the moment I could easily let one fly on a biggin and play the card "oh man, I just couldn't pass that one up..sorry" but since I RESPECT my friend and his property i would never do such a thing. I would give your buddy another chance but clearly explain the expectations and let him know you both are guests on this land and need to respect the rules that have been set. Just because you're family doesn't mean you get an automatic bye to hunt there. When it comes down to it, you are responsible for who you bring onto the property with you.

sdhunter11

That is a tough one but you have to put your foot down or he will do it again.

PY Antlers

I agree with everyone else, you have to let him know your disapointment. Since you never mentioned a monatary fine for shooting small bucks (but it should be brought up for future) limiting him to does for a year would be the thing to do. As also mentioned its not worth the friendship lose. Be do lay down some rules. My guess is if he shot that.......he would be shaking so bad when he saw a 150" he would more than likely miss......

JasonR686

I would agree with that!

trkytrack2

I agree with the above and especially the "he can now only shoot does" remark. He broke the rules on purpose and has disrespected you and your family. One more screw-up and it's heave-ho time and I would surely explain that to him in detail.