Should I wait until next year?
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What do you think?
- Thread starter stoll711
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Chancegriffis
Active Member
What I think is, if he makes you happy, you kill him. If not, you give him another year!
Sgt Fury
Sgt. Spellchecker
Sounds to me like if you got him, and got it mounted, every time you look at the mount you would wonder what the rack would’ve looked like if given another year. If the buck is on private land and you think he has a chance to make it another year, I’d let it walk. If it’s on public and the pressure is heavy, I’d shoot if it is a deer that trips your trigger. Looking through trail cam pics in years past from my property, most nice bucks I get on camera are not there the following season. A few were, and a couple of them grew into real nice bucks. Just know that you have no control over if that particular buck will be in that area next season, even if he does survive.
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I think you should make that decision when he's standing in front of you. If he trips your trigger then shoot him and never seccind guess it.
Unless you are hunting several thousand acres all to yourself their are no guarantees he will be around another year even on a huge property..less u have a 12 foot fence around it. Lol
Mickey Merrie
Junior Member
I think you should put less emphasis on what the Mid-West Whitetail guys and the Drury Brothers do on their game preserves and realize that you are in one of the most pressured states in the country in terms of whitetails. Even if he avoids other hunters another year, can he avoid EHD, cars on roads within a mile of where that picture was taken, other rutting bucks, and the myriad of other threats he faces in any given year? He is probably P&Y now, if that means anything, provided you are not using a crossbow. Personally I would harvest him and I have a 163 and a 145 on the wall already.
Big_Holla
Senior Member
One thing I have learned over the years is you can have a lot of memories on the wall and in your mind or you can have a couple here and there. That's your choice. I got questioned by a 'friend' years ago on a buck we decided to pass but I had gotten caught up in the moment and the way things happened I just had to shoot that deer. That always left a sour taste in my mouth on deciding what to shoot and what not to before you even see the dang thing on the hoof. Get out and hunt and make some memories.
That is 100% up to you. How old do you think the deer is? Is this the first year you have pics? How pressured is the area? What are your goals hunting?
Ultimately if you get a chance to see that deer within range you will know what to do.
Ultimately if you get a chance to see that deer within range you will know what to do.
I'm gonna tell you what @Big H told me years ago on another site: "You'll never shoot great bucks if you shoot good bucks." A group of random weirdos on the internet can give you $.01 advice, but only you can make the decision and it's Mother Nature that'll ultimately answer the question of "good call or bad". I've let more bucks walk that I've never seen again than let walk and killed. It's a game of odds and the odds are stacked completely against you. But I always come back to that statement - can't shoot great ones if you shoot good ones.
Body looks fully mature. I would drop him if given the chance. He could be already considered a great buck for the area you hunt...nobody here knows what quality of deer you have around. Not everyone has access to ground that produces 5.5 year old bucks.
Thanks everyone, if I get the chance to make a choice I will let you know how it went.
I’ve hunted this small tract for years but haven’t ran cameras for at least 5 years, decided to put one out and this was the first deer on it.
Spencie
Senior Member
I have let a lot of good bucks go over the years. Most of the time that is a death sentence for them and they die within days. Just my luck. I’ve also had some of those bucks come back a year later smaller than the year before….2 did that this year. My advice is if he excites you then shoot him.
You really don’t want to fall into the rabbit hole I live in.
You really don’t want to fall into the rabbit hole I live in.
