re: :UPDATED: I need OB reassurance (let a buck walk) Updated. Deer was killed

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Could there be any worse rule than this or similar? A 5yo 7pt is off limits but a 2yo 8 fair game?. Makes sense

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I've voiced my opposition to the rule many times. They had a 6pt they watched for years that was finally shot with a bow this year by a neighbor. Taxidermist aged him at 8 yrs old. They let shite like that go but in the last few weeks of the season would shoot a 2 or 3 yr old 14" 8 point when time ran out.

No doubt they will shoot this deer if they see him while letting mature 6s walk

Simple question with absolutely no ill feelings meant. There are a couple of guys on my lease that have passed deer with their rifle but hunted them with their bow. Being dead is dead and once killed can't grow anymore if you'll shoot a deer with a bow why not shoot him with a rifle? Still removing the same deer from the herd. And I understand the difficulty in bow vs. rifle. I also shot a young 8pnt Sunday evening I had asked everyone to let walk so again, meaning no disrespect.

And that's why I'm pretty much asking. If your on a management plan, and I'm referring to what we on my club are trying to do, why deviate from the goal? Sorry to hijack the thread.

This deer stepped out at 75 yards and worked to 150 yards. Where he came out that's a chip shot with a rifle and I was in an office chair reclined back in a box stand. I have bigger on the wall so sniping him would me more meat than I need and id whack the horns off and throw them in the shed. Next year if the same thing happens maybe he'll be a little more wiser, a little bigger, I'll maybe have more sense of accomplishment knowing I challenged myself to have self control to see what his potential is.

When I went after this deer during bow season I put a lot of work into it. Multiple trail cams, tried to identify his core area and travel patterns. Hung 2 stands for different winds ( considering my fear of heights that's a hell of a chore for me) and knew that even if all went as planned and I got him into my very limited bow range I was still going to have to get drawn undetected and make the shot on what would be my biggest bow kill.

To me a kill with a bow and one with a rifle is apples and oranges. I hunt because I love the challenge and being in the woods. When the trigger pulls the fun is over. Maybe letting him walk when it's an easy kill is my way of challenging myself.

Good call, hopefully he makes it.

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This was him in velvet. I had him on camera on my bow stand and said I'd shoot him with a bow but maybe pass with a rifle. I'm sure many will say it was dumb to pass him but I don't need the meat and he isn't quite "trophy" status and maybe with another year he'll get there.

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That is your answer there.

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good job, now the neighbor will kill it. Happens every time.

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Wrong. Statistics by QDM and similar organizations say different. Bucks, even 2yos, make only a few mistakes a year. He just made one with you. Though possible, it surely isn't "more likely than not" that someone else will kill it. If you kill it, there's a 100% chance it wont make it through the season.

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lifes too short to be worrying about a deers age and score

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Keep telling yourself that. Hope you're content with 2yo European mounts

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The memories of killing a buck are better than the stories to tell about "letting them grow

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Sure... ok.

Not sure if you're talking to me but

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Wow you have some awesome bucks if you have the will power to let that buck walk

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Actually I don't have awesome bucks but letting this one walk hopefully gets me one step closer to one. I could hunt my entire life and hope some day I get lucky and that huge buck steps out or I can do my part to increase the chances of that happening. I may never see that deer again. He may get killed tomorrow and that's ok. That means whoever shot him did need the meat or did think his rack was big enough to make them proud. The definition of "big buck" and reasons why everyone hunts are not written in stone. The reasons we all do it and the threshold of a successful hunt vary.

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good job, now the neighbor will kill it. Happens every time.


Wrong. Statistics by QDM and similar organizations say different. Bucks, even 2yos, make only a few mistakes a year. He just made one with you. Though possible, it surely isn't "more likely than not" that someone else will kill it. If you kill it, there's a 100% chance it wont make it through the season.

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lifes too short to be worrying about a deers age and score


Keep telling yourself that. Hope you're content with 2yo European mounts

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The memories of killing a buck are better than the stories to tell about "letting them grow


Sure... ok.

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Does the op own thosands of acres of land? Or have a high fence?

if the answer to both these questions is no. Then im 100% correct. You cant manage deer like you want them on a couple hundred acres of land if all neighbors are not on same exact page as you (and you know that for a fact)

and yeah im content with killing 2 or 3 yr old bucks... life is too short to say oh let me let this deer live another year he will be bigger. And not take a buck. Odds are the deer will move out, neighbor kill it, die of natural causes, die of being hit by a vehicle, die of being shot from a vehicle before i even get a chance the next year (unless the answer to either question i posted earier is yes) Everyone is different. I dont get a hard on to kill a monster buck every year. I spend alot of time and money hunting and enjoy killing whatever i get a chance to kill. Im perfectly okay with a 16" 8point given the opportunity.

Just remember, if there is the slightest bit of hesitation you should let it walk.