What do you get out of passing bucks???........my opinions on a lost season

What I'll pass on and what I'll shoot are as fickle as the winds. I have shot yearling bucks one day and then passed on 120-130" bucks the next.

This year I let a forky mule deer buck trot by me at six yards. I'm quite sure I could have smoked him but I never shot.
He would have probably pushed my team up into first place. (Don't tell my teammates)

But I can only shoot two mule deer bucks in a three year period, with any weapon in utah. That buck encounter was back in August. That buck would have ended not just that year's hunt but also another whole year. So that was a pretty easy decision.

No telling what I'll shoot at this year.

 

This was a great read.,,,and very depressing....lol

 

I know EXACTLY what you're talking about bro. You did say this is your first season there? In my opinion the verdict is still out seeing what may or may not happen with the 120's and 130's you passed on. Run some cams, shed hunting, scouting before season, talk to your neighbors and then determine if you're hunting ghosts or not before deciding what road to go down.

It's simple to say if you don't shoot them they will be bigger next year. That's fine and dandy. Yeah they will if they made it. Yeah the will but how many? Where? It's tough to sit there passing on a 130 deer when in the back of your mind wondering if that was just the biggest buck my land has to offer. And if so.... what then hell am I doing out here lol? You just have to know what your land has to offer. I think it's going to take a little more time for you. Also, don't assume what you're neighbors are doing. They can be saying one thing and doing a complete other (been down that road).

We have a very similar situation right to the size of the piece of land.

 

i'm not a trophy hunter... I hunt NY, MA, & CT. Normally I shoot any legal buck as well and have a blast doing it.
I do understand your point and situation.. We all want bigger deer and the time and $$ invested can be a struggle and without the results, quite disheartening.
I guess you have to find that happy balance.. If I was in your situation I would set realistic goals as to what is truly achievable. In NY, 150s do exist, but it is a rarity.. I think a solid 120-130 class deer is a true trophy for NYS, or anywhere in NE for that matter.
Run your cameras and get idea of what is realistic and go out each season upon that evaluation and then collectively make the call on what you guys want to do. Just make sure you are still having fun and hunting for yourselves, and not some standard someone else in a different area, with different deer, and different mean has set as what everyone must do.

 

I remember way back when killing a deer, any deer, was my only goal. As time went by and I had a few under my belt, I started hunting for specific types of deer. I decided to only kill mature does, letting yearlings walk, and not shooting little "basket" racked 6pts (which are legal). As I'm more selective these days, I feel like I've taken pressure off of myself, and I sit back and ENJOY my hunts more than I did when I "had" to kill a deer.

 

I'm the same way except the last part. In the past 2 years I think I've become too selective (aiming for 3.5+ year old bucks and mature does only) and it's resulted in more pressure and less enjoyment. Because the chances come so few and far between on a mature deer, I haven't enjoyed myself as much. So we both went from harvesting just about anything to hunting mature deer only but have different resulting emotion behind it. Very interesting.

 

Best way I can sum passing bucks for a bigger one, knowing someone else could/would kill it...

The juice is worth the squeeze!

Can't let your neighbors dictate your management goals

 

Patience is King

Would you rather hit a grand slam home run or a bleeder ground ball through the infield? Make your at-bats count, brother.

 

I've always put it this way....I target specific mature bucks, shoot some seasons I zone in so much I let them dictate every stand choice, every hour spent up a tree and as a result I've at tag soup a couple seasons. However, even in seasons where I'm chasing one or two specific deer I live by the concept, if upon seeing the buck I instinctively grab my bow I at that point am shooting that deer whether they are my target buck or not.

You live to regret some of these decisions, like this past season when I passed a 120 here at home...my gut said pass when I saw him but as I've analyzed the film of him and after the season I had I wonder if I should have just shot? Wondering though I guess isn't necessarily regretting, I refuse to shoot anything less than what makes me tick in the moment and in that moment he didn't make me tick.

Now my "expectations" change with the property or location I'm in...when I was in Kansas it was much easier passing a 120 range buck opening morning of my first hunt....here it'd be tougher and even between my hunting properties here I may shoot something "smaller" than the other properties.

It is all about perspective and expectations of the hunter, the choice to shoot or not should be 100% a personal decision. No other opinions, voices or feelings matter in the end. Take what makes you happy and live with those decisions.

 

I've bowhunted 10 years and haven't even shot at a buck. It's all about what makes you happy and your own expectations. I have yet to see anything on the hoof that will please me so I choose to pass countless bucks a year. This goes for whether I am hunting my "own" deer or am on public for me.

 

It was definitely an experience and change in mindset to switch from just shooting any deer to taking just mature deer. The issue for me is missing out on the meat for 2 years. I think what I would like to do this coming season is to continue hunting mature deer through the rut but if I still haven't killed one by mid-November then I think I'm going to lower my standards and hunt for the meat. With my intention to be better at moving my stand and being in the stand more during the rut I shouldn't have any issues giving myself more opportunities. This past season I missed quite a few prime hunting hours during the rut with the passing of my grandpa, which was obviously the higher priority. I was hoping to kill a buck in his honor and to celebrate his life since he's the sole reason I was brought up hunting and in the outdoors but unfortunately that didn't happen. Even though I only have 9 acres to work with, I will always continue providing what I can for the herd with minerals, food, and bedding - especially since there aren't many other hunters or resources being provided for the deer in our surrounding area. It's all woods and livestock pasture. The deer are there, it was my tactic that failed, the proof is in the trail cam pics.

 

Let me put it this way if I came out there I would probably drop my standards and shoot almost any buck. This also holds true for the county to which I reside in now. There are just not that many big boys walking around.(If I don't shoot the buck the next guy over will or trespasser will) Now when I get out to the western part of my home state of Wisconsin my standards jump way up because I know the big boys are out there and my odds are much higher then anywhere else I hunt. So I guess you could say I just put my standards based on the location.

 

I hunt with all my family and we all generally do our best on QDM and spend our time bettering our properties. There are in most part two generations hunting our properties, my age 21-25 and our fathers. When we were younger me and my cousins would get so sick of hearing our dads say dont feel like you have to hold off a buck because we wouldn't shoot it, shoot what makes you happy. At that time that sounded so stupid I mean come on we wanted the biggest buck in the woods. I cant tell you how many bucks me and my cousins let walk every year wanting to be like our dads holding their big 150"+ deer. Then last year on my third hunt of the season I filmed the most amazing hunt four bucks for 25 minutes chasing and and feeding and bedding and everything you can imagine and I took the biggest deer in that group at 25 yards and captured it all on film. I knew he wasnt a giant but it was all to perfect to let it go. I was fired up more then I could imagine and so was everyone on the blood trail and hours after we found him. After that I guess it finally hit me, nobody cared what eachother shot whether it was a spike or 200" we were all just happy to share the experience. To all my friends who ask if I woulda shot a deer they have a picture of or when my little cousins say they are getting the big one this year, I always say the same thing my Dad always told me...Shoot what makes you happy.
Went on a little more of a rant then I intended there, but I understand your feelings and just thought I'd share my experience with a situation somewhat like that.

 

My opinion is that there is never a lost season passing up smaller bucks and eating tag soup. Beleive me I am never satisfied about eating a tag when it happens. I look at it as a personal choice I made and live with it.


The way I justify it is this - I don't invest my time and money to shoot smaller bucks. I do it to improve my odds to have the opportunity at an above average buck for my area. I stopped setting a certain number for a buck I would harvest as a goal several years ago, and have no regretts about it at all.

I like to take bucks that are 3 year old at least and if they happen to be a 120 inch buck so be it. Four and five year old bucks are far and few between in my area and any buck over 130 is a trophy.

If a buck walks out and gives me the itch I am going to scratch it everytime.

 

Pa public land is also very heavily hunted and tough. My only standards are no fawn does, no button bucks, no 1.5 year old bucks and that is because those animals are young and dumb and not much of a challenge. After that most legal bucks are fair game if they are 2.5 or older. They learn quick when almost a million licensed hunters hit the woods for two weeks after Thanksgiving.

In Ohio it is different. I hunt a private farm owned by a close friend and we work with the neighbors and are trying to manage for more mature bucks. They are not selective about does being farmers and wanting to protect their crops, but I still chose to pass fawn does and button bucks. In 3 years there me and my friend have only killed some does, neither of us has taken a buck yet so it can get frustrating.

 

I am not traumatized by not filling my buck tag. I find it much more challenging to kill a nanny doe then a mature buck. Its unrealistic passing on mediocre deer in a single season is going to benefit anyone. It takes discipline and you may not see results for 3+ seasons but I assure you the probability of harvesting a superior animal will go up.

 

Trophy hunting is not for everyone. To be a trophy hunter you have to be willing to eat tag soup, and not feel defeated. By passing on good bucks you will learn a lot about your self and the deer that live in your zone. Some of us need to tag out every year, and some may spend 2 or 3 season learning how to kill one particular buck. They are both equally honorable in my eyes. I don't know what kind of shape your dad is in(health wise) but if he is not into passing I would make sure he gets his buck every year. Maybe that will help you feel better about passing.

 

Where I hunt here in central Minnesota its rather frustrating. Pretty much every year we have a couple 3 year olds in that 125 inch range that visit our land frequently or a dandy 2 year old. I give them the pass every year. Most get shot come gun season. Heck anything with horns gets shot from the neighbors. Its impossible for me to try and manage the bucks that bed on our land. Honestly the neighbors should say thank you to me when they shoot a 3 year old. It got that big cause I passed them up. Whatever I guess. Nothing is going to change here in Minnesota. At least the area I hunt in anyway.

 

AND MY HONEST OPINION ANY SEASON SPENT IN THE WOODS IS NOT A LOST SEASON...