Mathewsboy

I passed up 4 8 pointers this year, all for no POINT.. They all got shot...

Sometimes I dont think there is a point in passin up smaller ones, they seem to get shot anyways...

But i guess i have to take the chance... and hope at least one makes it through...

thelastboyscout

i don't know where you're from but around here 8-point bucks seldom get passed up! even though the law has recently changed only allowing bucks with 3 points on one side or more to be shot, but before that the only deer i ever passed up were button bucks, spikes, and an occasional 4-point. meat is meat.

StickslingnTom

Mathewsboy you deserve a pat on the back. I know it can get very frustrating when you you do your part in QDM and then some people just go out and shoot any thing with antlers. Around here where i hunt in se Mn most of the bowhunters pass up the immature bucks but as soon as gun season rolls around it seems alot of them just shoot the little bucks just so they can say they filled all of there tags. If they would just get it through there heads to let the little guys grow i think alot of them would be shocked of the size of deer we could grow. This year during gun season my party was only 2 bucks for 7 tags and 2 mngmt does, but the those 2 bucks the little one was a 3.5 year old 8 pt. with a 21 inch inside spread and scored 147 and the other buck was a 3.5 - 4.5 14 point that scored 173. It just takes a little bit of self control and good things can happen. Good luck, and don't let those other guys get you down.

Tom

Charlie P

Or then end up in the front grill of somones car. Three times now this happened to me. Hunt a deer and then someones calls me and tells me how a real big one got killed right where I'm hunting.[:@]

NY Bowhunter

It's frustrating. I have the same thing happen to me every season and I've wondered myself what am I doing? My land is just not big enough to manage the deer. I just keep passing and passing on bucks walking by in the hopes of a nice mature one that has evaded everyone over the years. I usually end up seeing the biggest buck in my area several times during bow. The problem is I run out of time getting set up on him to get a good shot. Then shotgun opens and it's like throwing darts. It's anyones game. Depends on your expectations I guess and what you're out there for. I set mine at the begining and stick to them, but it does suck. Dam why can't people around me manage these deer as well?? It would only make for bette hunting and bigger bucks for everyone.

IL-Cornfed

It certainly can be frustrating. I have passed on MANY bucks this season but the one that I REALLY did get burned on was just a little guy. This happened yesterday which was our Muzzleloader season. I had a small yearling 8 pointer come in and mill around my stand for a several minutes and as usual I was happy just to sit and watch. Imagine my surprise after shooting this buck many times (with a Deer Cam) this season and the fact that my Dad and I had let the little guy walk on many bowhunts all season long, I was convinced he had lived to see another season. The buck eventually feeds about 125 yards south where he crosses the fence. Minutes later a thunderous BOOM rocked the woods!!!! He was smoked by the same "meat hunter" that shot another little yearling in November!!![:@] Yet these are the same guys that bitch that "they are NO big ones around"!!! A yearling buck is without a doubt the most naive, and easily killed deer in the entire herd. Yet many people will kill these young bucks just to brag to their buddies that they got "their buck". I guess we just keep doing what we do and simply try harder to attract and HOLD the deer on our property. With neighbors like these I can easily understand WHY someone would want to errect a high fence!!!

Mathewsboy

I dont mind the Meat Hunter... But why not take a DOE... My god, there are more does than there should be anyways...

I dont mind the first time Buck, or the guy or gal who has shot a BUCK in a long time.. but these certain guys that shoot small ones YEAR AFTER YEAR really urks me..


I let my girlfriend shoot a small 8 this year i had passed up many times, but i was sitting with her and it was the first deer she ever shot.. So i was proud and she was happy as hell.. It was great..

I also let a buddy shoot a smaller 8 out of my stand this year.. But i made sure i was there and I video taped it for him... He's a real hard hunter and puts alot of time in. It was the biggest deer he's ever shot, so thats ok.. Cuz i know he'll keep setting his goals bigger and bigger...

captain backstrap

OK - had to log in for this one!!!

It is frustrating to pass up deer just to watch the next guy blow a hole in them. I once passed a 1-1/2 yr old 5 point on a special draw hunt , and was still watching him mill away from my stand when I heard a TWANG!! and the buck bolted. A kid had crawled into a tree 75 yards from me and this buck walked right under him!!!

What could I say? It was that kid's first deer with a bow, so it didn't sting quite as bad and I was truly happy for him.

What you have to keep in mind is this: When you pass up a buck and someone else shoots him, it does two things -

1 - It keeps you in the woods , still increasing your chances for a trophy.

2 - It gets that guy out of the woods before he has the chance to kill THE BIG ONE!!

The only thing that sucks worse than some dude killing a young buck you are passing up is when he kills the monster you've been after even though he would have been happy with a spike.

If he doesn't want to practice QDM , then let him shoot a little buck and get his crack back to the house!!!

I'll also say this - If one of those 8 pointers were killed by a kid who got very excited, then more power to him. My most valuable trophy was also my first - a fat doe with my bow when I was 11 yrs old hunting with my dad. I've killed many more since, including two P&Y's, but that doe will always be super special!! We shouldn't deprive our kids of experiences like that.

However, if that 8 pointer was killed by some dork who just wanted to go back to his buddies and say " I got one" then that's a different story. And it really sucks for someone like you trying to practice QDM.

Any chance you know these guys well enough to educate them a little about herd management??

Maybe you could start a rumor that there's a world-class buck in the area. Maybe then they would be more selective. You can't expect everybody to be trophy buck hunters overnight. For many , including myself, it was a process. But try to do something constructive to get these guys to have the same goals as you do. Or at least get started in that direction.

If nothing else works, I'd look for a different place to hunt where there's not as much pressure.

GOOD LUCK!!!

JimboHunter1

I have to agree with the last two posts. We own 188 acres here in Maryland and most of our neighbors will kill anything with 4 points or more (some neighbors will still kill spikes). "Trophy deer" are very hard to come by, but if you shoot ever buck that walks past you, they're GUARANTEED to not reach maturity. On opening day of gun season two weeks ago, I killed an average sized 7 point, and yesterday, on the last day of the season with 10 minutes of daylight left, I passed up a 7 point that was a tad smaller. He walked by me at 35 yards and presented several easy broadside shots. It was pretty fulfilling to let him walk and now I can just hope that one of my hunting buddies or I can get a crack at him next year. Like Matthewsboy said, there are so many does around that any "meat hunter" should jump at the chance to shoot one of those baldies if all they're doing is trying to fill their freezer...

DaveH

For a number of years now, I've passed on bucks that were anything less than a mature 8 point. Last year I had a suicidal 6 point that was broadside inside of 10 yards on at least 4 different occassions and I passed him every time. I always pass on small bucks (does too), but there are some hunters on the adjoining land who shoot everything that comes with-in range. I've already found spikes and forkhorns that they didn't recover on the property I hunt.

My neighbor always says he'd like to see a 1 to 3 year moratorium on bucks so they can grow---and yet he won't shoot any of the does that he sees everytime out. He usually ends up shooting a 5 or 6 point and then complaining about the lack of big ones!

I'd like to see some antler restrictions in MD just so some young bucks can grow up.