Last year was an interesting one for me. One one hand I took two nice bucks and filled both of my IL tags, which was great. On the other hand the bucks I took just weren't the caliber I was really looking for. I let an itchy trigger finger get the best of me. Going into this year I vowed not to let it happen again. Of course with that said the first morning of my first trip to the lease this guy walks in front of me, stands broadside at 22 yards, and looks the other direction. With the camera rolling behind me it was the absolute perfect setup, perfect light, perfect everything. All I had to do was put one through the boiler room, but I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. So what say you? Am I stupid, or is this the first step towards turning over a new leaf in my deer hunting career? I bring you Rudy.
Good for you Justin. If hunting bigger bucks is your goal, then you made the right choice. Do what you feel is right. Best of luck this hunting season. ......by the way, Rudy would have died if he would have walked past me. That is a nice buck.
If your happy with that than dont shoot it but if u stick to it and dont kill that bad boy......can you say MONSTER next year? Good luck this season Justin i can see your already seeing some brutes
It was a good thing ole' chum. It's a loooooong season. Take your time and wait for the one you know you want before ya let an arrow go. He's a good looking youngster though... gonna be real cool lookin' in another year.
Very nice Brows on Rudy...but I would have done the same...you got gobs of season left - heck, I've yet to get out since Oct 2nd. What is your goal? Inches? Or is it asking the question - "would Todd Graf shoot this buck?"
Nice call justin although he appears to be a dandy looking buck, you know as well as i do, if he makes it one more year he will be unpassable. I to have set my self to a higher standard of hunting this year, i hope we both wrap our illinois tags around a gagger buck this season. Before we know it we will be seeing the big boys doggin does left and right opportunity will come knockin, hopefully we will capitalize on the opportunity.
If you want the big ones you have to let the smaller ones go. Good for you but be prepared to eat your tag.
I'd a put him on the wall between the damn leprechaunand touchdown Jesus. Kudos to you for stickin to your guns.
Was happy to get the text and proud of you buddy. Show's you're really growing up. Someday, I may even let you have the keys to the Vette.
Remember when you were going to call me back? Yeah, that was 4 hours ago. Still waiting.....jerk. But yeah, I'm glad I passed him. I wasn't at the time, it was by far the hardest thing I've done when it comes to killing deer. Having the camera rolling made it even worse. BUT, I'm going to slam a dandy Halloween weekend. I can feel it. As for goals - if I'm going to shoot a 3 year old he has to gross at least 130 or better. This guy just wasn't going to cut the mustard. If the deer is 4 or older, I don't really care what's on his head.
Went to my parents and shot my bow for awhile. Then had to do some sweet talking to get my dad to let me steal one of his Reconyx to send with Johnny to Knox.
Bwahahahahah That will be a great deer next year man. I woulda had a hard time not roastin him, but i am not to that level yet
Quite a bit actually, but only in the mornings. I saw this guy and two 1 1/2 year olds that were sparring for probably 15 minutes in a CRP field on Saturday morning. My buddy hunting the next finger down from me saw a mid 130's 10 point bumping some does, and had another big buck come by just before shooting light. This morning I had a 2 year old under me who was grunting and snort wheezing at a doe he was with, and the other guys down in the CRP saw 2 or 3 different bucks, 1 1/2's and 2 1/2's. Pretty decent for mid-October.
He's a dead deer for me (Assuming I hit the thing), but that's what makes hunting so personal...we should be doing what makes us happy. Good for you, and I hope it pays off for you in the end!
Good call for you if that is what you want. Its an individual thing. Getting harder each season for me to pass up a decent buck as I get older.
I would've had a hard time passing that deer, looks like a pretty nice rack to me (would've probably put him in a full head mount). Though, as others have said, if he makes it through the season, next year he should be a whopper. On the other hand, I could just come shoot him for you, then you don't have to feel bad about letting him go... lol
