travis_ranger2000

Very Nice DC, and well put together!!

PreacherTony

THIS!!!


Some of you need to stop worrying about WHAT or HOW MANY deer others shoot..... Hunt for yourselves and let others do the same

Jeff Ovington

There is no comparison for me.Killing a monster buck is better than anything.Jumping monster bucks is the absolute worst.Not being able to get a shot off or even point my rifle because of safety reasons is not a big deal to me, neither is passing them up. I only point me gun at an animal I want to kill, have proper shot placement on, and it is safe to do so.Over the years I have seen only a few walking through timber that would not offer me a clear shot on the vitals and didn't even raise my gun. Those gave me a sick feeling about not getting them,but that's not passing up, that's just wanting to shoot them, but knowing better.My heart sinks, but I know I did the right thing.
The one that still hurts is the one monster I blew my knee out going after.After I twisted my ankle crossing a creek I still pushed after it.
Was maybe 500 yrds away from it and I had to let it walk cause I
couldn't go any further.I had 2 mountains to climb to get back to camp luckily I had tensor bandages on me and taped it up.I hunted the next couple of days but couldn't get back to that mountain I was limited to where I could go.But it was the climb down that mountain with all my gear on wrecked my knee.It took some time and plenty of physio to heal.That one I wish I had back. I will never forget that one walking away.I know I did the right thing, but I honestly could have cared less about getting another monster if I got that one, cause I highly doubt I will ever see an animal with that size of a rack again in
my life.

MichaelH

So are you telling me you've never fished a body of water that everyone performs catch and release and found the majority of the fish to be stunted? Many lakes, at least in MD and VA encourage people to take small bass for this very reason and have a slot size that you can't keep.

Where I agree with you that I get a rush any time I pass on deer when they're within 50 yards of me, you're generic logic is messed up. On the land I primarily hunt, we are completely over run with does and even bucks. There's not as much farming in the area as there used to be and we are seeing a decrease in the average deer's weight and antler mass. I can't recall how many deer I passed up while others were thinning the herd, but I make it up at the tail end of the season. Six of us have taken a total of 21 deer from about 300 acres (more woods surrounding that as well) and we're still seeing loads of deer. Only time will tell if thinning the does will help gain mass, but I'm willing to bet it will help provide a healthier herd.

Mike

PY Antlers

For someone that has spent a fair amount of time in the woods there is a big difference in adrenalin when a encounter goes to kill status.
Yes you can make a difference with management on 120 acres. It certainly helps if the neighbors do too, but even they don't, you can still make a difference. One must keep in mind that SteveBNy is the most negative and the unhappiest person on this forum, poor guy...........

GTOHunter

I get a rush from passing on Deer,this past year I had 5 Deer run up by my stand..I waited and watched for a Buck but didn't see any with them or behind the herd of Doe's...I ended up shooting the large lead Doe.She ran about 50 yards up behind my stand and fell into a brush pile that was cut up for timber stand improvements...as I watched and waited the other 4 Doe's came back to investigate what happen to their leader?I watched them for over 30 minutes (with a bonus tag in hand) watching them and hoping a nice Buck would come in,they left and about 45 minutes later a nice 6-Point Buck came into view...I decided to let him walk because I knew from trail camera pictures that there was 3 other Bigger Bucks in the same area.

Fast forward to the next day in the same stand,I'm Hunting with my Bonus Any-Deer Tag and I can shoot a Buck or tag another Doe?I'm sitting there from just before sunrise til about 8:30 AM when I hear something behind me while I'm up in my 17 foot ladder stand,4 Does walk in and feed behind me,I'm shaking a little,yet still excited to see more Deer the next day form the same stand...well I look to my right up by the logging road and here comes 2 more Doe's and a button Buck...then after watching them a little while a different 6-Point Buck comes from out of the woods off the same logging road and circles around the other Deer,then a Spike Buck comes rushing in chasing a Doe in Estrous and they leave running all around the woods.I had a total of 10 Deer around me for about 45 minutes to an hour.....it doesn't get any better then that!I ended passing on all the Deer because I was looking for a nicer Buck to harvest....my waiting paid off because I ended up getting a nice 8-Point Buck the following friday evening.

Pope94/IA

I get a rush from everything I see in the timber! Hell this year I had 3 little fawns under neath my stand and I was shaking and getting all excited just as if their was a big buck in front of me. Luckily I haven't had to make the decision on passing up a "Could be shooter but not sure" type of buck yet. All of those bucks are always to far away. Im sure ill have to make that decision sometime in the future.

125py

DC thats awesome to have all the history of your buck...congrats!!

As far as the original post....NO it doesnt give me a rush at all to pass smaller young bucksm, but it does make me feel good when I let a 135 walk knowing I could possibly get him next year much bigger.

SteveBNy

I guess if your fence is high enough, you can do wonders and apparently it makes you a happy guy.

Does this sound familiar? "When looking for hot doe's, mature bucks will travel a long ways out of there core area, unless there is enough hotness in there imidiate area and the don't need to. When big bucks are not breeding there cruising." 120 acres is not a long ways.

Disagreeing with you on cover scents makes me negative and unhappy??
Stretching just a bit, aren't you/