Just taken up the fine sport of bowhunting in the last couple of years....My father in law has a 80 acre farm in northwest illinois that I hunt. To make a long story short, over the past 15 to 20 years prior to my scouting and managment of the property my father in law let individuals hunt his land for various game (without any real knoweldge of gaming rules and regulations.) Now that I have staked claim to the hunting in this location I have noticed a significant spike in the deer population. Over the past couple of years I have noticed more buck activity on my trail cameras than when I first started hunting. However, none of the bucks that I have seen are going to break any records, it is a vast improvement. Do you think that a buck of this cailber comes around my treestand should I shoot? Or is passing and waiting a little longer a better option for the potential growth of the heard? Any input is appreciated.
Early season: maybe. Late season: yes. I'm not a real picky hunter though. Hunt to fill tags and freezer. Hard to resist him especially if he gave a great shot though.
At best that is a 2 1/2 year old buck if not a 1 1/2 year old. Most people consider a mature buck to be at least 3 1/2 years old. If you really like that buck, take him. Is it your first bow buck? When managing deer most people pass on bucks of that age. I got to believe that their are some older ones frequenting your property. He does look pretty tasty though!
Yes, this would be my first buck. Sadly this is one of the biggest that I have seen to date......I am leaning towards passing for now, maybe my thought process will change as the season progresses.
Only you can answer that question. I will however let you know that when I hadnt shot a buck yet, I didnt care how big it was I just knew I wanted to shoot one with my bow Good luck no matter what you decide.
I'd be shooting it first opportunity if it was my first buck. Kill a buck on your land then start worrying about management.
Shoot what will make you happy, first one should make you happy period but only you know to what degree. Trust your gut in the stand if you don't instantly put the release on and get adrenaline pumping then you know you wouldn't be happy.
This deer is prolly 2 1/2 years old as stated above, but a deer doesnt reach full body size till 4 1/2 years old. At 4 1/2 it will be at 90 percent antler potential, but with every passing year he will be harder and harder to kill depending on hunting pressure around your land. If you can hold out id try to wait, but we all know how bad the itch is to kill that first buck with your bow.
The only way to get bigger deer is to let deer like this walk...even if he is the biggest you are seeing on the property currently. I can tell you on my property I let deer like this and bigger walk everyday. I have never killed a buck with my bow, I have killed several does with it though. To me, it is worth it to let them grow and when that big one makes his mistake it will be that much more rewarding as a first bow kill!
Unless you have 1000 acres or you are surrounded by a wildlife preserve or everyone around you is following QDM then you should shoot this deer. I know the only way to get bigger bucks is to let the small ones walk but you said yourself this is the biggest you've seen. The decision will come down to you but I don't know how you will Manage a property with so many variables. Good luck getting your first buck!
Keep in mind that if you dont get it on camera that doesnt mean you dont have something bigger around! I would pass personally but that is your decision. let the rut help determine what you see and dont see. Good luck
Or wait til the rut, then see whats out there. My first buck was a 80" eight point. The first buck i saw Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2
As someone else has already said, passing on deer is not likely to yield results unless you have a very large tract of land. The chances of that deer making it to next year and being harvested by you are slim to none if you are on an 80 acre farm and your neighbors hunt. As for myself, I would have loved to have any 8 point for my first deer.
I agree and disagree. Think of it this way. Say 30 bucks are going to be on the farm throughout the season. Say 5 neighboring lands are hunted by a total of 9 guys. That is a total of 10 guys hunting the area and only 50 bucks are gonna move through in the season. Of those 30 bucks only 10 are 2.5 year olds or better, with 2 being big mature deer at 4.5 years or older. If you shoot one of the bucks that are not one of the 10...you've now just taken a lesser buck out of the harvest pool for the other hunters who may or may not hold out for a bigger buck. It's a gamble for sure, but I've come to realize even on just my small 15 acres combined near my parents homestead (9 is their's the rest is neighbor's) every single lesser buck I pass (that basket 8 or small 6 or scrub 3's and 4's) raises the odds of one of the annoying neighboring hunters (whole nother story) burning a tag on one of them....leaving just the big boys for my father and I. Every year I hear and see neighboring hunters harvesting deer I passed...I just grin. Now a big boy could just as easily mess up and get taken by them and you're stuck 0'fer that year because you passed a decent buck in your book. It's all a personal thing and one you gotta decide what you're happy with and stick to it.
Interesting, I never looked at it that way. Anyway, Virginia gives three buck tags, so my neighbors would probably shoot all 30 bucks. But I see your point.
Thats a decision for you to make and no one else. Who cares what people think.. but if you do... I would take him, who knows you might not see another buck all year! Always a possibility.
