I guess it is easy to get cocky when you pull the trail camera and see 15 bucks. but after sitting two weekends now and seeing ZERO (0) deer...nadda...nothing. I'm quickly reminded how lucky you have to be just to have a buck come close enough to shoot during daylight hours. If this unique buck comes by AND presents a good shot...I'm letting an arrow fly! And if I don't see him, or it isn't a clean shot...I can rest easy at night dreaming about what he might be next year! I'll let mother nature make the call about whether he comes close enough or not. Thanks to all who shared there thoughts. I also got a new buck on the trail cam last week, much older heavier body, but more standard rack and I think an 8 (maybe a 9) I'll post a pic when I get home. He is on my "ok to stick" list too!
i'd shoot him and be very proud, but i only get to hunt public land and don't know anything about letting 1 walk, he's young but he's cool. if you're happy with him nobody elses opinion matters.
IM gonna be honest and say BIG WAIT this deer has the potential to be a stud, if you shoot him now then your not practicing QDM
Rutin, I know what you mean, and I appreciate your sentiment. Now you've got me wafflin' again. Another thought I had is even if I don't get a shot at him next year...maybe somebody else will, and that is cool too. I don't mind helping a neighbor get a huge trophy. If we ALL practiced QDM then it would work for everyone. We don't have a formal QDM program in our group, nor do the dozens of hunters on the adjoining properties. We have 240 acres, but 140 of that is open fields, so it is not all cover. That is why I say "only" 200 acres...not to sound like I don't think this is a lot of land..trust me I can't tell you how lucky I am that my grandpa has kept this farm in the family for 70 years, but these bucks don't "live" on our land, they just pass through. I've been hunting for 18 years now and have never seen the same buck two years in a row on our property (at least that I could tell). So the idea that I would get a chance at this particular amzing deer next year is hard for me to believe. If I even believed there was a 20% chance he'd be on our property next year I'd let him walk...but I think it is more like 2% chance. Also, It is a two hour drive to my grandpas farm so I only get to hunt 3-4 weekends a year outside of the 9-day gun season so not only would this deer have to live till next year, but he'd have to come back on our property on one of the few wekends I made it up to hunt. Some day maybe I'll live up there and scout all year. Maybe I'll get to know each deer by name, and collect each years shed antlers, but until then I don't have enough confidence in the idea of seeing the same deer the following year to just let a clean shot walk away. I'm considering trying to start a hunting "club" with the surrounding farms and maybe get a concensus on letting smaller deer walk. But I'm not sure with all the different families and traditions hunting in this erea that I could ever get a tru QDM program going. Too many old-timers that still shoot anything with white on the head, and too much distrust among neighbors.
If the hunting pressure is like you say I would take him given the chance. He is a great buck and nothing to be anything but proud of. You most likely know that probably 90% of the surrounding hunters would take him too. Your chances of seeing him next year are not high given the circumstances.
Actually, you would be. QDM principles advise passing yearling bucks and some 2.5s to promote age structure. Nothing to do with antlers. A 3.5, regardless of head gear, would be a deer QDM promotes shooting. Trophy Deer Management (TDM) is too often confused with QDM. If you elect not to shoot a 3.5 yo buck based on antler size, that is TDM.
Trophy is state of mind. I think he's a beauty even if he could get bigger. You might not see him again or someone else will take him. Follow your heart.
He's a good deer in most any state, but has potential to be a great deer. Here in Pa he'd most likley be taken in gun season by a neighbor. In early archery season I'd pass as I have done on a simular buck already this year. At the end of season I'd probably take him if i had the chance.
imo i would shoot, i dont pass up bucks, or nice doe's yet again, i aim to put meat on the table a nice rack is just a bonus. if a small buck walks may way and i now there is a bigger body deer (buck or doe) i will pass him up. thats just me its all about meat
