drdi

This is not meant to be inflammatory, but rather something I really want to try and understand.

Every time there is a thread about whether or not hunters will or won't shoot yearling bucks, there are always a few people that answer that the reason they shoot small bucks is that if they don't shoot the buck, then someone on the next farm over will.

I don't get that. How do they KNOW that buck will get shot? I am surrounded by farms that have gangs of hunters come in with the "if it's brown, it's down" thinking. They shoot anything and everything, but every year, some of the yearling bucks make it through and grow bigger.

I can understand someone shooting a small buck because they want to. Heck, my first buck was a yearling basket rack and Iam still so proud of that deer. Last year I posted a trail cam pic of an eight point justfor fun to see how many would or wouldn't shoot thebuck. I had a couple ofpeople tell me that I should shoot it before someone else does.I just don't get the part of "I'd better shoot it or someone else will". I actuallyfound the sheds of the buck I was talkingabout after the season so I know he made itthrough. Please help me understand?

Remnard

People are going to do what they want. Usually as a hunter evolves(hopefully)he becomes a steward of the land and its game. Someone shooting his first deer should be able to shoot whatever he wants. Everyone needs to get that first ritualistic animal under his/her belt. Some people shoot one and never shoot another one because they didn't like gutting it. Hopefully they will have friends that will influence him to learn about the animal he hunts and how he can protect it as a resource for the future. If a person has an attitude that "if I dont shoot it someone else will" was correct, how did the deer get to you anyway? is that person really the first person to see that deer.

arrow2512

DRDI-I try to pass up smaller bucks thinking the next year they'll be shooter that year.And every time i let them past and they head to the pond on the woods next to me all hell breaks lose ,i'm not talking about one or two shots i'm talking about untill they emepty there gun and reload.Every buck i let pass me the last three years i've not seen again. And it realy breaks my heart knowing i let those buck pass just so the guys in the woods nexts to me can unload there guns on them .I don't know if they found them after the shot but i do know this i don't see them again.

Paul L Mohr

I have been known to say that occasion, it really depends on where you hunt and how many deer you see. If there are a lot of deer in your area and there is a fair amount of land it is really a crap shoot. However some places have a LOT of pressure and you just don't see that many deer.

I have a self imposed limit of at least four points on one side, I really don't care about age, and do be honest don't really know that much about aging deer. I have reason for limit other than one of places I used to hunt those were the "house" rules. I don't own the land so stuck to them. And it just sort of stuck with me I guess. If I saw an eight point that was really little though I would probably let it go and wait for something with some more weight though.

I guess it's really personal thing.

Paul

timbercruiser

I've passed up hundreds of deer, and if I live long enough I'll probably pass up a few more hundred.If Ihave a friend I've promised a deer to and I want to shoot any legal deer then I will. Also if one of my grandsons that have just started hunting has a legal deer that walks out I'll guarantee I will have no problem with one of them shooting one if they want to. I'm not in the business of raising "trophy wild deer", nor will I chastise someone else for shooting a legal deer of their choice.

johnnybravoo77

I'm not a trophy hunter so much as I am a meat hunter, cant eat the horns. Dont get me wrong, I dont blast everything I see. I would love to shoot a mature buck every year, but that just isnt going to happen were we hunt. We are almost surrounded by amish folks who will shoot anything, at anytime of the year.

dayna0306

I'm a head hunter and the only thing I know is if I take him this year he definitely will not come by next year .Every buck I let walk I wish him luck.That's all I can do.


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dog killer

''if they don't shoot the buck, then someone on the next farm over will.''

you won't find the answer to your question. i don't understand it myself.
while i agree with the others,if its a first deer or a kid,go for it. myself,i would let it walk. if more people did this,INDIANA wouldn't have a one buck a year rule.the majority want bigger bucks and you have to let them walk to get that ! my opinion is...why waste a young small racked buck,when a doe tastes just as good or better !

Dozen Arrows

I will not ever shoot one again but if one steps out in front of my 12 year old then it will probably be the last step that bambi takes, LOL!

TRACKER

Most cases I,d say have to do with the age and experience of the hunter .
Most young hunters start off as Just trying to get there first buck to brg .
Most of us has been there and done that .
Funny thing is I have a few buddies that hunt . They usualy hunt together in the same areas .
One will say brown is down and if you dont shoot it .I WILL .
The other sayshe would like to,let the youger bucks go but because his buddy will shoot it if he doesnt he usualy shoots what ever he see,s.
Personaly I think it S.,/,.s , But there are so many simular sinarioes it will never change .
We go down State every year I fill my tags most of the times .
Last year I filled all 3 doe tags and picked out the bigger does .
The same guy ribbed me as to why I bothered selecting them and why I just didnt shoot any and every .Go figure ..