Had a nice 5 pointer under my stand tonight and I DIDN'T shoot !!!!. Damn this big buck contest LOL. All I could l think about was sending you all the picture of the little rack that scores oh 20 POINTS. You guys/gals will make a trophy hunter out of me yet.

20pts might be just what a team needs to put them on top! You never know!

Hang in there, passing that small buck might just pay off for ya....the best is yet to come.

I think you should of shot it. You may never see another buck. That's just my unbias input.

Hey maybe 2 or 3 years from now that buck will go Pope & Young on you and then you'll be glad you passed him up!!

Just think that buck you past on! will be there next year and bigger

That is one of the toughest things to do thats for sure. Unless you KNOW first hand you have BIG bucks on your land passing up smaller ones is tough. But here is the thing you have to keep in mind, if you want to harvest a mature buck you have to let the smaller and the first bucks you see pass. Its just now getting good, if you want that mature buck that will make book you have to earn it. Otherwise everyone would do it. I will say this Ihave been blessed with a wonderful place to hunt and its easier to pass up those small 8 pointers when I saw at least 3 different Pope and Young before the season. But I did my share of scouting too. My hats off to you for the discipline on holding off. Be alert, it pays off.

Let 'em go and let 'em grow.
The rut is coming fast and the dominant bucks will be on the prowl, real dumb and looking for does.
Good luck and shoot straight.

Why kill just to kill? You really didn't want that buck and obviously wouldn't have been happy with it. Thanks on behalf of everyoe out there that hopes to have a neighbor like you in the name of QDM! It's all part of maturing as a hunter/sportsman....... CONGRATS! I'm way more impressed and even proud of a hunter that passes an immature buck like that then I ever will be of the guy that kills one! The most easily killed deer in the entire herd, alright if you are/were a newbie or a kid but not as a "hunter" that is actually supposed to be a conservationist and care about his local herd, it's condition, health and sex ratios. Thanks man and CONGRATS again!

Hats off to ya. Let the lil ones become big ones. You'll appreciate it later (that is until some yahoo who walks in the woods opening gun day and shoots him sheerly out of luck) - so frusrating these 1 day hunting yahoos.