Last year I spent the entire season waiting for one deer to show up and he never did. I just checked my camera today and see that he is back again. Here we have a 1 tag law with bow and 1 tag with gun. I passed on 9 deer last year and ended up not shooting any.What would you all do if you knew your only hitlist was back?
I'd hold out for him again. Are you putting in the time to kill him? He looks like 140"-145". Good luck with him!
Wow great buck. If i was guessing i would say he is in the 140"s, as far as waiting on him?? He sure is worth the wait. But i guess it depends what you are passing while waiting on him, also some bucks you get on camera this time of year this is there summer grounds and they leave when it gets closer to season. Not saying that is what he is doing but it sure would be great if you had pics of him during season also. Good luck with what ever decision you decide on.
Alot of the ones I passed are 2 1/2 year olds or smaller. The next one close to him is a 6. What happens to this guy is he turns into a night owl. This is also public land so I will hit the woods hard for first 2 weeks and after that he is usually just nights. I did have him once on cam last year in the day mid Nov but that was it.
Huge deer. I’d say he will score in the 138-142” range. If you don’t have any other big deer to hunt that you know of then I’m not sure what your dilemma is. If you are wanting to shoot a real nice deer then why shoot a small buck? I assume you can shoot a doe for meat. Shoot whatever will make you happy. If a young buck won’t do that then why even consider shooting one?
I guess I just wanted to hear it from someone else. The largest deer I ever shot with a bow is a 6 pointer. Not bad for public land but it is always in the back of your mind in season, did someone else get him. The other thing is, in order to shoot a doe you have to put in for a draw. Doe is not a given. I guess I should pick a date like late Nov to decide to take another buck. Also thanks for the scoring....I knew he was a good one, as not many that size around here. I guess I just answered my own question. The big ones are few and far between so I am gonna do the same as last year and hold out for this guy. Thanks for the replies.
I hunt public in Ohio and have been after the same buck for the past couple years, he showed up again this year and he’s put on some more inches. I have him at least as a 5 y/o this year prob older tho. I have passed up a bunch of good bucks to get a shot at this guy, I have been fortunate enough to have some good bucks under my belt so I don’t feel the itch when a young but tempting good buck comes by. Can’t get mature big deer if ya shoot young ones with good potential. I had him a 15yds last season and couldn’t get a shot, ended up eating tag soup. But to see him that close on the hoof really got me fired up. Good luck in whatever you choose, it’s your call in the end
Ive been holding out for a top 1 or 2 hitlist buck most of my hunting career and my wall has taken a hit for it. This year i am not, but thats because my #1 and #2 bucks for the past 4 years both died last year. This year begins a new chapter.
I am guessing that deer is mid 130's on the low end and mid 140's on the high end. It is hard to judge mass accurately before the velvet comes off. Velvet pictures always look like the deer is carrying more mass than it actually will by the time most seasons start.
Its so much more rewarding holding off for the one you want. I held off for 4 years on mine this year and got him. I’d say mid 140s.
Hard to say really. It's ultimately all up to you. If it were me, I'd keep track of daylight sightings and try to figure out if I had a legitimate shot at him. If he's not daylight active, and I were in the stand for hours and hours just waiting and praying, I might decide to shoot a different buck. I'm not in a spot in my hunting career where I'm super choosy but I don't wanna shoot something to just shoot it. I just want something that I feel proud of and gets my heart pumping when I see him. If I'm smiling and feel a sense of accomplishment when I walk up to the buck, I'm happy and I think that's all anyone should worry about. Best of luck to ya. He's a beautiful buck!
Do whatever makes you happy. Nothing wrong with going for one deer or not. Just remember while you aren’t shooting a deer to enjoy everything else that is going on. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I also hunt stateland here I Mi. And have been chasing my #1 buck for 4 years. He does the same thing turns night owl, I have came close to getting him by running cameras and waiting until right when the rut starts and find your core area of Doe's. Good luck him is a stud.
Isn't it funny when a buck comes thru that you have no intention of shooting will linger longer and give you multiple shot opportunities.
I'm going to offer a little different perspective here - I totally understand what you and other are getting at - just a different way to think about this. Because eating tags and watching potential shooter bucks walk by can be pretty frustrating. Hunting late into the season can be frustrating. Watching other people post grip and grins all over BH.com and social media can be frustrating. I've not killed any big bucks in my brief (9 years) hunting career. But I've hunted some dandy bucks over the last several years and if I've learned anything half the battle is being mentally in the game. What I would do - is just change my mindset. I find the words "waiting" or "holding out" to be overused hunting speak. If you've had that deer on camera for several years now and are familiar with him then nothing about what you're doing is waiting/holding-out. You've been scouting, planning and hunting pretty hard dang hard to kill that buck. Nothing about that = you just waiting for him to stroll on past your tree stand. Oh look-here I waited long enough and he finally showed up. Hunting isn't like that. My point is this - if you're hunting a deer like that you shouldn't be looking at it like you're "waiting" on anything or "holding out" on anything. Every move you make, every sit, every camera placed etc. etc. is a calculated move to kill that buck you're after. You're actively hunting that buck - if you take anything from my post then take this: just be intentional about all your actions - go into every hunt trying to kill that buck. You're bow hunting - you're not waiting in line to get on a roller-coaster. Best of luck - he's an awesome buck!
