Now thats what I call Hunting.
As far as I'm concerned you did every thing right.
The fact that you were not noticed by the doe or the smaller buck
speaks for itself.Generally its those animals that blow a hunters chance for success.
The patience that you showed under those circumstances is commendable
it must have been tough but you persevered through it and got rewarded
for your effort.
Nicely Done.
That buck will only get bigger,You obviously have the technigue down,
you'll bag him next year.

I totally agree wait him out is the safest and best call in most cases. Maybe right near or in rut a call would work but more often than not a noise is just going to result in pinpointed at close distances and therefore your haunt is suspect to the old blow and flag wave once he or she has locked onto your existence! I don't think it is advised by to many to get into a stare contest with a deer..why most times it ain't the hunter who wins that battle

iv heard of throwin rocks right by them to get them to stand up. read it somewere

I would also choose to wait him out and if that doesn't work try a grunt call or rattle depending on the time of the year.

Thanks for the input guys. Yea i figured that waiting was my best option. I did consider sneaking up a bit and whipping a shotgun shell beyond him to spook him my way. But if that backfired i would probably never see him again and i'm sure he would'nt sleep in my piece of the woods anymore. This year he should be a bigger beast and we shall meet again!

I'd shoo it away - I stopped shooting bucks a few years ago.

I would have grunted a few times maybe and definately waited a while. 50 yards isn't that long of a shot with most shotguns though. If it was a clear shot I would have eventually taken a shot with my 20 ga. mossberg, but you know the range of your shotgun better than me so you probably made the right decision to not shoot and just wait.

Nope, this stuff was really thick. All i could see was the top of his head and his horns. So unless he came towards me another 10 yards to be in the clear, i had no shot. It would have been a total guess, although after 4 hours it was tempting.