Well......I cannot believe this and I'm experiencing some regret at this point to be honest...I passed the biggest buck I've ever let walk. I fear I'll live to regret this decision but it was a combination of a bunch of stuff. As I've said we haven't been getting any pictures and this is a buck we'd only heard was around (neighbor shot his shoulder days earlier) but no pics and no eyes on. So needless to say when he popped out literally from under my tree from behind me without warning as I watch some does on one side of tree he caught me off guard. I had only moments to decide and his short G3s, being a stranger and not have an immense amount of time to decide and knowing there was a bigger 10 around this property (finally got pics of him week or so ago) I chose to not shoot him at 23 yards to my left rear....I also wouldn't have got it on film which I now believe played a roll as well (but I said I would shoot a buck without film). I couldn't get camera around my body and tree to film where he was. It also ran through my mind that he didn't seem bigger than the numerous bucks I got in the mancave or wall at home (granted I had him pegged around 120....I now think he is pushing 130 maybe??). SO I then watched him come back behind the tree in thicker cover and I filmed him (linked video below)......as I studied him I realized he was bigger than I thought, no giant but hunting small properties was a definite top 15% buck for the area and I decided IF he hooked around into the other lane in front of me I'd shoot him and cam was clear and ready to get it all....he did not. It is awesome to be able to film a buck you choose to pass, in a way makes it easier....however this one it is making me regret it as well some. So....it was an oddly restless night....internally trying to figure out if I made the right call or not....in the end this is hunting. In our times we'll shoot deer we wish we hadn't...we'll pass deer we wish we'd shot...and we'll continue loving the pursuit more and more because of it all.
That be one dead deer if it were by me. Lol. At least you know he is around and might get another chance at him later in season if you haven’t got what your looking for. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That’s the beauty of it all, isn’t it? Beating ourselves up over the what ifs, how’s, and had nots of a hunt or an entire season. He didn’t hook around to your shooting lane but you still got him on film. That’s a win, and you still get to hunt for a big, mature buck. He’s a nice for sure, but like you said, he didn’t stand out much to you at first. I think you made the right call. You set an ultimatum and he didn’t come into the shooting lane with the camera and you stuck to your guns.
Nice buck, but trust your initial decision to pass. When a shooter(for you) presents itself, you'll have no doubt. I passed a very similar buck last season, and regretted it for a few days, same as you, but I now am OK with it, and you will be too. I am way more upset about a deer this year that I really want, but he has passed just out of range twice. I am pretty sure it's the same deer I passed last year!
I second guess any deer that I pass. But your first response was to grab your camera and not your bow, so there is your answer. So when the day comes and you grab your bow first, you will know it's time. With just the quick look, I think that deer would be around 120. Good spread and beam length, but lacks tine length and mass.
I didn't even notice brows at first and saw 120 as well. But they are nearly 10 more, but no matter. Cool encounter nontheless. I agree though mt first thought was get cam if able on him not shoot no matter what.
125” and 3 yr old is what I see at first glance. Depends on your situation but on smaller properties, if you only know of one buck bigger, he’d be a shooter for me. No worries though, it’s the time of year that you’ll get a bunch of strangers Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yeah, he's what I call borderline. Good frame, but lacking the mass and tine length. Looks like he's got a solid body though. I passed one last week that bedded a doe less than 20 yards from me. I just couldn't decide if he was 3.5 or 4.5. He looked very similar to that deer in frame size. Normally that would be a pass for me every day of the week, but this year has been strange. My shooter bucks vanished about 3 weeks ago. My cams are showing nothing but little bucks. It was the day before rifle season(and a new tag) so I could have taken him without having any downtime before my second tag. I'm probably glad I passed him....
Fits me to a "T" LOL! It was the night before firearms season here when this occurred. IF we weren't having an incredibly down year for shooter bucks on cam or even seeing on stand I doubt I'd doubt it as much.
Wide buck like that, there's no way I would have personally passed him! Even real nice deer around here seem to lack mass.
Make your choice and live with it ... no regrets. It was a good deer, but we all have to define our own trophies. It is easy to sit here and have any one of us say "I'd let it walk" or "I'd have shot it". Any time as a self video guy, that I have a buck that is on the edge size wise of what I would like to shoot, it is a tough call. I've shot bucks that I probably would have passed on if I had not had the camera on. I've also let those same bucks walk by and just ran the camera. Every time it is an internal struggle in the moment, but I never regret my decision. Also ... the easiest way to get fooled by a buck's size is to look at his antlers from behind. For some reason that perspective always puts on more inches of antler to the eye. I have been burnt by it multiple times and I know it when it happens, yet I still fall for it nearly every time.
I’d agree with what’s been said. I passed on a decent buck last year. He didn’t make me stand up. Plain and simple, I sat their filming him and was going back in forth in my mind but in the end I made the right call for that day. This year things were different. Came to a different realization and that is I haven’t killed a buck with my compound bow yet. Killed does. Killed bucks with a gun. But Ive never with my compound. Not sure how I hadn’t thought of that...but in 8 years it had never came together. Also knew that during the rut I’d be with my daughter who had hip surgery Nov 6th. So I kept all that in mind as another decent buck stepped in front of me on Oct 26th. He was unique, non-typical, and he made me stand up. Only scored 96 1/8 but he’s at the taxidermist as we speak. Each has to determine what a realistic goal is for that year. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
