I am curious..... how many of you fellas, would pass on a 180 class deer in hopes of seeing him break 200 next year???????? Last year the deer in question was a 150 class. This year he will be dang close to 180 gross. For the sake or argument you already have a 180 on your wall that looks an awful lot just like him. :p So who would take the gamble????????
Well considering I hope to shoot a 140-150 ish 2 1/2-3 1/2 year old who could possibly blow up next year, the 180 would be no contest. Dead deer if he crosses my path.
The thing is... I have said for years after killing many 130's&140's and a couple 150's that my ultimate goal would be a 180. Well last year I fulfilled that dream. 200" bucks don't just appear, if I were to let him walk this year I would have a very real chance of killing an absolute giant. Don't get me wrong, I still get jacked over 130" deer. I'm just sayin.....
200" bucks can appear. 4 years ago in huntly,il guys shot a 200" and dnr aged it 2 1/2 years old. Then by me 3 years ago i had a world record 10 point running on the ground i hunt. Almost got him one year than the next year i missed him by a day. The sheds are on this website. I believe its in a deer genetics if it will blow up fast or not.
True it can happen but my point is sometimes you have to make a tough call to watch a big buck reach his full potential. This is my delima
I would never pass a 180" but I probably would never pass on him at 150 either. But if you want to get a 200" deer then you'll have to pass on some big ones. If he made it to 180" there's a good chance he will make it another year. A lot of things could happen though, but that's the chance you have to take.
If I already had a 180' deer on the wall and the following year I had a chance at another 180 tht looked a lot like him and had low pressure in the area I would pass him. I would hope he would hit 200' and in the meantime I would look for a buck with a lot of character that would please me for the year.
Depends on how big the area you hunt is. If you know no one else anywhere near is gonna have a crack at him, then you can wait. I have never even seen a 130" deer in my life, so you can bet I would do my best to get an arrow in him.