MOhuntin

If the smaller buck and doe are standing broadside to me like in the picture, then I would have to pass just because the risk of wounding the doe in the process.
BUT, if not, I would probably have to pass because I would already be shaking so bad after spotting that massive brute coming up from behind that it would hard to take a shot at anything! LOL.Wait for the BIG BOY because you probably will only get one shot at him.

Talondale

All you meat hunters have got to be crazy. Even if you only meat hunt, do you realize that if you shot that buck you would never have to work again and could hunt the rest of your life?! We are talking a million+ $$ deer. People would pay for it to be in shows, to use it's likeness in paintings/shirts/mounts/sculptures/pictures/magazines, product endorsements. You would be at every big deer show in the country, for pay. You would get invited to hunt lots of different places. If I could get my bow pulled back I would wait and go for the big guy, no question.

adams

There's no question about it. I'm holding out for the big boy, my bow grunter in my mouth and my release clipped onto my string loop.

With a little luck the whitetail gods are going to treat me favorably. If not it wasn't meant to be. Both are respectable bucks though.

silentassassin

You should have made the question a little tuffer and left the big one out of the picture. In that scenario I would not shoot the doe or the smaller buck. However, whether or not I would shoot the buck standing there wtih the doe would also depend on the day of the hunt I am on. If it's the first day of the hunt then I am not shooting even if the big buck isn't around. I am waiting on a bigger deer. If it's the last day of the hunt then I am waiting for the doe to step clear and smokin him.

dkeener

After I sh*t my pants, I would wait for the big boy to come into range. Of course he would then smell my sh*t and run, so I would prolly have to go ahead and take the smaller buck.

Huntnsinme

That is quite the scenario..........I cant say what I would do. I would have to have it happen to know for sure.

DaveH

There's no question here. I'd wait for the monster buck to get in range and offer a shot. That may not materialize, but if you shoot at either one of the other deer, you KNOW he's gone and you may have just used your last buck tag anyway. If he comes your way -- like he should, you're golden. If not, he's still in the area you're hunting for another day possibly..

reylamb

I had a similar situation this year in Illinois, only the second buck was not quite that big. I had a mids 130s buck at 18 yards broadside trailing 2 does that were 40 yards out when a upper 170 class came up out of a creekbed. I was already at full draw when the bigger buck appeared. I let down and I waited. As it turned out, the smaller buck took off running, the does took off running, and the big buck took off chasing them. I never let an arrow go. In hindight, I should have taken the smaller buck as it would have been my biggest to date, too many things can go wrong in 50 yards, let alone 100. If the chance comes along again, well...........as they say..........one in the hand is better than 2 in the bush.

Talon, call me crazy, but some of us do not hunt to become rich, get endorsements or anything else. Some of us actually hunt because we love to hunt and are looking for no outside people to tell us how great our accomplishments are.

Talondale

I don't either. I'm not a pro and I don't have any deer the size of half the guys on this board. BUT although I'm not looking to get rich, I do recognize the opportunity to realize a dream. If I could make money doing something that I like a lot and have the ability to increase my free time to hunt as much as I want, why shouldn't I exploit that opportunity? Call me pragmatic but the reality is there whether you recognize it before you shoot or after. Ask kcison, he shot a state record and notoriaty came to him whether he wanted it or not. If you check in a deer of that caliber, people will seek you out and you will be in the limelight. How you deal with that is up to you. I would not mind taking advantage of the opportunities available to me to increase my ability to provide for my family, improve my lifestyle, and increase opportunities to hunt.

Having said that: I wouldn't shoot the deer BECAUSE of the money. I would because that is what I'm looking for, the deer of many lifetimes. It would be that trophy you dream of. I wouldn't have mercenary motives. But afterwards you can bet I would capitalize on my opportunities. That is no worse than Chuck Adams, Myles Keller, Fred Bear, or any of the video hunters out there today. It's kind of insane but that's the nature of the beast and the level of enthusiasm hunting produces. At the same time I also wouldn't NOT shoot the deer BECAUSE of the money.

DavidPaul007

Common Buckeye, that is way to easy of a choice. Even if the absolutetly grotesque gargantuan monster buck didn't present a shot my jaw would be hanging so far down the tree I wouldnt' know where to anchor...assuming of course I could draw my bow back at all.

Holy cow he looks impressive!!

EDIT:
You know, on second thought, I would probably get so excited I'd wet my pants, then start laughing so hard I'd fall out of my stand and break my neck.