Screamin Steel

I had an interesting conversation with a buddy last week. Like alot of folks, he usually passes on a few legal bucks in the course of a season, waiting for a nice one. ( Not necessarily a huge one.) Let 'em go, let 'em grow....how many times have we heard this? Funny thing is, though, that by the last week or last day of the season, he told me now he would shoot any legal buck that gives him the opportunity, as time is running out. I asked him why he would abandon his philosophy just when the odds were finally starting to lean in favor of those smaller bucks making it to next year. Esp when he already had a couple of does in the freezer. He stood by his decision butI have to say thatI don't necessarily understand why. Anyone else have similar experiences or follow the same philosophy of passing deer until the last day, then taking whatever buck you can?

MJR10

I have the same philosophy as your buddy except I don't change my mind at the end of the season and shoot a small buck.I guess in your buddies defense by passing onthe small bucks early onit gives him moreopportunity to take a big buck instead of shooting something small opening day.

BTBowhunter

It's a personal choice. Period. Passing any legal buck at any time is a self imposed standard and that decisionbelongs only to the individual hunter.

The exception to that being a higher agreed uponstandard imposed by the landowner, outfitter, group or club etc.

Personally, a shooter is a shooter and small bucks walk even on the last day past my stand. I've done it many times and last year it really paid off. A decent 8 was 10 yards out on the next to last day of late archery. One I'd passed several times. I let him walk again and 3 minutes later a whopper came by. No matter how late it is, there's always the chance...

muzzyman88

Like BTBowhunter said, its personal choice. I leave all small bucks walk. I'm more of a trophy hunter, period. I do not need the meat that bad and get no satisfaction out of killing a small buck. But, the next guy who holds out until later in the season and then shoots a small buck....to each his own. I have no problems with it. In fact, I applaud the guy for sticking it out that long. There is always the chance he won't see another legal buck during those last few days.

4evrhtn

I too pass up quite a few legal bucks throughout the season. However, I do not shoot a doe until I have shot my buck. In the rare occassions I have not taken my buck I will shoot a doe toward the end of the season. To me it is personal choice and I also see taking a doe as eliminating 3 deer for the following season. But it needs to be done and I would rather shoot that doe than a small buck b/c I know by holding out on the buck I have increased the potential for having nicer buck the following year. And I would prefer to shoot any deer with a bow over the rifle. So I sometimes have to sit in the cold in late archery.

BTBowhunter

With two growing teenage boys in the house and a whole family that loves venison, I take my share of does. I usually take the bulk of them early in archery season from the places where the does need harvested. WHen the rut nears, I suspend the doe killing for obvious reasons and then resume in gun season. I also wind up "donating" a few doe tag and DMAP fees simply because we have to apply so early and our gang likes to keep some variety in our hunts so we get lots of tags so we can move around a bit.

That buck tag, however, gets saved for a shooter! Right down to the last day!

muzzyman88

One thing that doesn't get mentioned very often, and I believe 4evrhtn brings it up in a different way, is that it's probably better to harvest that doe as early in the year as possible. By doing so, you don't chance taking a doe that has already been bread. Taking a doe late into the archery season or gun season really does increase the odds of you killing three deer at once.

livbucks

I used to lower my standards at the final bell when I was younger.
Now it give me no satisfaction to take an immature buck.
I would rather leave him grow or let a young guy take him.
Simply personal choice.

Steve863

I am a mainly a meat hunter and could care less about a bucks rack. I surely will shoot any legal buck that happens to walk my way. I like venison and am allowed only one doe tag at best in the area I hunt so in order to put more than one deer in my freezer I will shoot any legal buck. Some people don't have the privelege of unlimited doe tags. In some areas in the upper northeast doe tags are not even issued. I can't see hunters in these areas being overly selective on what they want to shoot. If you see a legal buck that might be the only chance at a deer you will get.

WNY Bowhunter

I hear this quite often too. To me, if he's not a shooter on opening morning...he's still not a shooter 10 minutes before season closes. I'll take my "meat does" right off the bat if given the opportunity. Personally, I get much more satisfaction out of letting the little bucks walk. Most won't make it throught the season, but there's always the chance that they will. Kinda like letting the jakes walk during spring turkey season.

I know quite a few guys like you. Absolutely nothing wrong with it either. If you fill your tag with a buck that you're happy with then thats great! However, I know way too many self proclaimed "meat hunters" who will shoot the first buck that they see, not tag it or tag it with someone else's tag (just to say they killed a buck) and will hold out for a bigger one. Worse yet, are they guys who will kill every buck that they see...[:'(]. Unfortunately, I know several guys who do this every season. I too consider myself to be a meat hunter. I passed on some young bucks during season but was fortunate to put 4 does in the freezer between bow/gun season and have propably eaten venison in one form or another, almost every day for the past month and a half. I LOVE the stuff!!!

I guess what seperates me from most other meat hunters that I know, the "you can't eat the horns" guys...is that most of them will NOT take a doe when they want meat just because it DOESN'T have horns. Seems totally contradictive to me?