A little guy with potential....
 

Caught this guy on a trail cam last night near one of my honey holes. He's obviously a pretty young deer. cant wait to see him in two years! He's in an area that gets light pressure and has a fair chance of surviving a couple more years. (He's safe under my tree)

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

I don't think he's too young. He's a shooter to me.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

You're a nicer guy than I am....I'd be sending an arrow on the way if he walked under my stand!!

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

looks like a shooter to me

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

He is a pretty good looking deer for his age but there is a 150 class buck that frequents this spot that I've been hunting for the past 2 years. I shot a petty good one last year early in the season only to wind up seeing Mr big three more times before the season ended. Including having him at 12 yards on the last day of our late season. I'll fill the freezer with does and I'll be holding out to the end for the big boy unless he gets shot or hit by a car. Hope to get a pic of him with the trail camto post heresoon.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

How much bigger than that are they where you hunt? I agree w/ the rest of the guys. That would be a shooter under my stand.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

if there is light pressure, I would pass if you have shot deer bigger than him before. Some areas of PA, he would get killed right away and be considered a monster....others he is considered a med size for now. I would have a hard time laying off on him but if you know there is a bigger deer in the area, then hold out. Can't wait to hear some stories....

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

Your state obviously does not have antler restrictions. I live and hunt in the same general area of PA and can truthfully say I too would pass on that buck. Too many biggerbucks out there to settle for that one.

Nice pic by the way Bob. I didn't know you used trail cams.
I didn't bother putting mine out this year. I need to get a digital cam.
Gets to be a pain using a film camera. I spend alot of money for pics of raccoons and fawns.[&o]

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

I know what you mean about the coons and fawns. This pic was one out of 18. There were about 6 good doe pics along with some pics of me trying to get out of there, squirrels etc etc but the nice thing with the digital is you simply delete them. Unfortunately, I gotta bring this one in to see whats on it so I have two and I simply swap em out. This trail cam is a Moultrie digital from Walmart for 98 bucks. I just had my 35 mm stolen from another spot this week so I dont have any high dollar cameras.

Yes, I have a much better buck that frequents that property. In 99 and 00, I kept passing a buck like this andin 01 here was my reward. Same trail, same treestand.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

Boy if I could get on that posted QDM land up from my house, I'd be in the same boat as you, but its a 10 yr wait so I guess I'd shoot that small eight point.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

That is a great pic. You must have some slammers around. He has a nice thick body and a good head on him though.. I wouldn't guess him to be too young. You know your hunting area better than any of us... but would have a difficult time passing him up! I wouldn't here in MA!
Good luck and I hope you stick the big one you are looking for.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

It's a shame that you can't leave any thread alone without wanting an arguement. I'm sorry that I offend you with my support for AR's. All I did was post a nice picture of a young deer and state that I would let him walk due to his obvious potential. This deer is a young deerand has the potential to grow into a real trophy. That doesnt mean that I wouldn't be happy for any other hunter who might take him. I would happily congratulate him, help him load it in his truck and offerhim a copy of the photo. I think your response tells us where you're coming from. You are obviously the bitter, jealous type that gets upset when you think someone has something that you dont.My access to this spot came after a lot ofeffort and keeping it requires the same. I've only killedfour bucks in the last 12 years in PA because I pass the young ones waiting for a good one.This one is safe for now near me.

I truly hope youhave an opportunity at one like this andif you deide to shoot, I hope you harvest him.If you do, please post the picture and I'll be among the first to congratulate wholeheartedly.

I supprt AR's because I hope that someday everyonehas a chance at a buck like this.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

We do have some slammers around here! I'm guessing him at 1 1/2 or 2 1/2. His head shape and body size ( I can tell the body size by the background area which I know well) indicate that he is a youngster but the mass of the antlers near the bases tell me he might be 2 1/2. I yhave a real slammer there that will be 5 1/2 this year. He was in the mid 140's last year and I saw him 3 times after I killed a pretty good 10 pointer last year. I had the big boy at 12 yards on the last day with nothing but a doe tag on my back.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

Bob,
Go down past theCENSORED and head east onCENSORED Road about a 1/4 mile. I know you know where that is. Someone hit a deer there and it must have been a monster because they proceeded to behead the thing. I've seen roadkills with their horns cut off but this guy cut the head off!
BTW...If a few guys would pass on the young ones there would be nice bucks everywhere. I get tired of the argument that "if I don't, someone will". It has to start somewhere. If I passed on a lesser buck and someone else shot it, I would be happy for that guy, and help him drag it too, as long as HE was happy with the deer. If I heard one word from him about "I shot it because it is about as big as they get here, and if I didn't, someone else will".....well then he would be dragging it out himself, and taking a few choice words home, fromme.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

Yup, I know where that is.... about 3 miles from my house! I know the guy who ownsa good chunk ofthe property to the the north of that spot. I'll do a drive by and check out how big he is. Luckily it's nowhere near my honey hole!

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

yeah, i dont see a "little guy" in that picture. bucks around me rarely ever get that big.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

HA HA!
I was waiting to hear you say "S.O.A.B!!! That's where my honey hole is!"
HE is laying on the right as you go east, right alongside someones driveway.
BTW..last year I was holding out for a 10 point minimum. This year I think I'll go for 12 point minimum...Whadayathink? hehehehe

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

sounds good! My landowner where this pic was taken told me he's been seeing a "real nice 6 pointer" this summer. Not that exciting till I realized he was using a western count!!

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

And why is that? Are your deer genetically different than ours?

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

Nice reward! Kudos on your restraint and patience.
Yep...that's how AR's (self imposed or otherwise) tend to work. Sometimes you take a risk and often it pays huge dividends.
If a hunter wants a guarantee, here it is:
A dead forkhorn has ZERO potential. That is a certainty.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

I watched this guy grow up. Tyhe first time I saw him, I dropped a pine cone on his head when he came by wearing his first rack. the second year, he was hard to pass but in year three, I had to drop the ol hammer. BTW, this spot is very near to a place open to public hunting and he had a fresh slug wound in his front leg when I took him.

I hope to watch this young buck on my trail cam grow a bit more before I let the air out of him;)

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

i disagree.
a dead forkhorn has great potential.
potential to be a successfull and gratifying hunt.
potential to be a memorable harvest
potential to be the best deer to walk by me all season
potential to be killed by someone else an hour after i see him, thus ruining potential for a big rack next year.
potential to taste amazing with some friend potatos.
:D

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

I guess it is safe to assume that we all hunt for different reasons.

Some like to measure the rack after the kill.

Some are happy for any legal buck.

And some just love deer meat.

I like jerky, smoked hindquarter, slim jims, salami, butterfly chops, chili, and steaks, all, way too much to pass that buck up.

Yeah, the kids andI take a few does, but we go through a lot of deer meat. I also have family members that like it too but they don't hunt.

Just last year we ate 4 deer and we are just about out of the 247 pounds of moose meat.

To each his own.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

You left out this line when you quoted me:


Once again, you attempt to hijack a thread and start a flame war. No wonder you were banned twice before here under two other aliases. anyone want to start a pool as to how long it takes this time?

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

Well, if you take my statements out of context you could write a novel of misstatements. Everyone knows I was speaking specifically of ANTLER potential.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

Hey, every hunter would like to kill a big buck when they go hunting. the ones that say they don't are full of it. unless they never had opportunity at a really nice buck. But then most guys don't put the effort into it. so they take what they can get, which is fine, because hunting is not that easy to begin with. I think in many places if you have opportunity at a nice buck like the one you posted you better take it, because if you don't,
someone else will, It will get hit by a car or some one will poach it. That's just the plain truth. But then again you might get Lucky and get that slammer. Back to Topic. If i was in your shoes I would pass also.
But in my shoes I would kill it.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

of course i understand that you were referring to antler potential. i was just pointing out that there are all sorts of "potentials" to take into account.

*note the ":D", lighten up a little bit.;)

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

That's a nice buck and he does have potential.However,no way is he only 1.5 years old.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

The mass at the base of his antlers indicates to me that ne's not a1 1/2but the body size and short face say 1 1/2 to me. The oldest buck I've killed there was 3 1/2 and he's pictured in this thread. I've also killed 2 2 1/2 year olds on this property that had noticeably better racks.

Only one way to really tell....I'll have a look at his teeth when I poke a hole in him next year;)

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

I know, you're right, I really should....There I just did!:D
The whole subject is really too complex to argue. Everybody has their own expectation and reasons for what they do. There is envy, on the part of those that hunt heavily pressured public lands, placed on those with better prospects. Many hunters show up to hunt the same 150 acres of public land every year in some areas. Makes one think of the trout opener and it is somewhat sad. I will say that I have passed up quite a few legal six and eight point bucks on PUBLIC land. Partly because I would rather let them mature and partly because the gated roads make a small buck not worth the effort to get it back to the truck. The first guy to shoot a buck in our party must make the long walk out for the deer cart, when we hunt the mountains. Makes one very selective with the trigger.
To say that those of us that hunt private property don't have any competition, that is just plain silly. Where I hunt at home is private property, but is not posted, and gets hammered in gun season. Even if a guy has exclusive rights on a parcel does not mean he is guaranteed to get a buck he lets walk. Last I heard, a buck has a range of 2 or more square miles. This range will overlap many parcels of private property being hunted by many other people. I'm sure BTB knows all too well that letting this buck walk poses some risks. When the rut kicks in, getting hit by a car is probably the biggest risk. I've seen it happen before..to me.

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

Here's a perspective on the risks... Three of the four best bucks I've taken in Pa had been shot at and superficially wounded before I killed them. the one I postedin this thread onmy wall had a shotgun slug wound in his front leg that was healing over. I passed him for two years and killed him in year three. Another buck I passed as a young buck had a very narrow 8 point rack (about 8") but had incredibly long tines also about 8" long. One year later I shot a mainframe 8 with 10" tines and a 14" inch spread from the same spot. By that time he had grown a 4" droptine and three 1" stickers off his G-2's. He also had a healed over broadhead wound above his shoulders. He scored 120" and was aged at 2 1/2.

Passing nice young bucks bucks to wait for a mature buck is a crapshoot. The buck that started this thread may well die before next year. But one thing is certain, if I kill him now, he wont be back next year or the year after that etc etc. I will shoot some does because with two teenage boys still at home,we eat lots of venison. This guy is still safe for awhile. I'm going after his daddy or maybe even his grandaddy first!

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

Hey Bob, Since you know that I know that you know that I know where you honey hole is. You should just show me your stand so I don't have to stink up the place looking for it and let me end this debateand l'llshoot the deer. Sound good, OK then I'll meet you at the bottom of the hill Saturday morning.;)

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

Sounds fine to me. Be there about 10:00 AM at 10:05 take a deep breath and hold it till I get there;)

But seriously, I could show you my spot, but then I'd hafta kill ya. And I was just startin to like ya!

Hey Deer 902 I'm shooting you a PM!

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

If you're like me Bob, the one risk I can't help taking every year is that the little one walks, my tag is preserved and maybe....maybe, a nice mature hog steps into my shooting lane and THWAAACK! All the risk pays off in spades.
And if not, I can live with it, because "I'll be back"

RE: A little guy with potential....
 

When one like this comes by, I sometimes act exactly like I wouldif I were planning on taking him including coming to full draw and then letting down. To me thats really what the hunt is all about. When I come to full draw and the buck is unaware I silently mouth the words "I win".

I like to call it catch and release bowhunting;). If that means I still have my tag at seasons end, so be it. Theres always lots of tasty doe backstraps in the freezer.