I usually pass bucks on a regular basis. Sometimes I get the big boy, sometimes I go home empty handed. I'm okay with that. A small doe does just as well. There's always next year. Your patience will pay-off more often then not.

Bn'R

I don't have much to let past me...

really depends on how the freezer looks....how the seasons going and how late/early it is in the season......this year i told myself i was waiting for a buck.....but my opening day was messed up by a bunch of hunters that were inconsiderate and sat infront of me....spooking my deer...not even intercepting them....spooking them....so close i could hear the deer busting them.....i would had another 40+deer sighting day in my stand if they werent there....and they weather was cold snowy and 30mph winds....so after passing the few deer i seen about noon i shot a big doe....then buck hunted till saturday......the rest of the seasons weather was rough.....i passed a bunch of does then the first saturday i shot another one being dad couldnt hunt any longer and we only had 2 deer in the freezer.....then i horn hunted the rest of the year....hunting about 15more days.....never did get that buck.....passed atleast 50 easy does.....i had alot of fun and had a good season.....i seen a few bucks......they just never worked out for me......maybe next year.....in my opinion it was worth it....if i got a buck i wouldnt be complaining about it......and im not going to now.....i enjoyed seeeing that many deer close enough to kill with a flintlock i had most of the time....and learned alot...cant wait for next season

I hold no prejudice towards small deer. In the heavily hunted woodlots of south central PA, I'm more than happy for opportunities at any deer.

With a gun, I try to pass up smaller bucks, but with the bow, I mean to get some meat. I passed up a couple of smaller bucks last year to get a nice 8 point. sorry I don't have any pics. I lost them all when our house got hit by a tornado. It was november of 2002 that it hit. It was only 1mph under an F-4! Lucky I lived! we lost the meat from my buck too because we were out of power for nearly a week.

I pass up a lot of deer every season, but I can do that because we have so many deer in the areas I hunt. If the deer were few and far between, I don't know if I would still be as selective.

I usually pass up about 20 small bucks a year (110" or less) and never pass a mature doe when offered an ethical shot. It has been proven time and time again that doing so will help produce a better age structure (among bucks) and keep your herd more in balance with the habitat. (generally speaking) Here in NY we have to harvest 60% of the doe population each year just to keep the herd stable. Unfortunatly we also harvest about 85 percent of our yearling bucks too.

I let the small bucks walk......I don't take much mercy on does, being our buck to doe ratio is terrible....usually during archery season I'll shoot does, but alot of that depends on where I'm at.....some places I hunt are for meat other places I hunt are for bucks....but still, if it's not during rutting activity, I'll take a doe if it doesn't contaminate an area that I know a mature buck is using....you really just have to work it out in your mind and think about future hunts also.....I know some guys that will shoot a 4 pointer and pass on a doe, which is prefectly legal, but I can't convince them that they don't have much more than a doe.....alot of it depends on the individual.....I can't really judge someone for shooting a 4 pointer, checking it in legally, and enjoying after the hunt and at the table....but it's the cats that shoot a 4 pointer and through it in the freezer without checking it in that I have trouble with.

I pass up bucks and does all the time. It just depends on what I am after. If I want a nice big mature doe, I will wait until one presents itself and let the younger ones pass. I also pass a lot of bucks because of the places I hunt having deer management programs. If I come back dragging a small 8 or even a big 6, I will never hear the end of it. I let many bucks walk right on by this year because they didn't measure up.

To me, it is just as much of a hunt to be invisible enough to have them walk right under my stand and have no clue that I am there, as it is shooting them. The most exciting time I had this last season was when I had a doe walk right up under me, stand there looking at me, then stomping, then looking at me again over and over for almost 10 minutes. She had a nice 7 point buck about 10-15 yards behind her watching the whole thing, and he had no clue that I was there. They finally both walked away, unafraid. That was very exciting, and it made me feel like a better hunter knowing that I was invisible and scent free enough to have that happen. It was a better experience than any of the 4 deer I shot this year.

I personally let many does and younger bucks pass. For me it helps me pattern the herd so that I do have a better chance at that big fella slinking about. Scouting year round adds to my patterning method. Often that big one follows just biding his time as he scouts out his mates.