Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Sean B on January 04, 2016, 02:41:00 PM
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.....six years ago I made the decision of holding out for a mature buck. This decision came to me after reading the books and watching the DVDs from the Brothers of the Bow. listening to thier words, I felt that it was a goal that I wanted to set for myself. Knowing that having a crazy personal life and limited time to hunt The past several years made it an even tougher plan to stick to.
I'm fortunate enough to have some pretty good property to hunt including I good hunk of land in an archery only zone. I've also been lucky to have taken some pretty good bucks over the last 35 years with both the wheel and stick bow. All were factors in my decision.
The one particular wood lot near my home in a bow only zone has held some beauties that I've had a tough time getting close too. This year I had high expectations although again, I had limited time to hunt.
Sign in my woods was unusualy sparse this year. However, I did find a set of huge rubs along an open hard wood ridge.
(http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee393/seanb45/3077DB0F-1177-4F52-A6DB-2F94305E3A14_zpsx8zwpuks.jpg) (http://s1225.photobucket.com/user/seanb45/media/3077DB0F-1177-4F52-A6DB-2F94305E3A14_zpsx8zwpuks.jpg.html)
(http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee393/seanb45/59207B29-25C9-44E6-95FB-BA18340F43F5_zpsmn6x19f5.jpg) (http://s1225.photobucket.com/user/seanb45/media/59207B29-25C9-44E6-95FB-BA18340F43F5_zpsmn6x19f5.jpg.html)
(http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee393/seanb45/FCA369F7-455C-473D-AE3B-7C74DD86554B_zpsqdlqroej.jpg) (http://s1225.photobucket.com/user/seanb45/media/FCA369F7-455C-473D-AE3B-7C74DD86554B_zpsqdlqroej.jpg.html)
These rubs are all on the same tree!!
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I haven't gotten around to being a trail cam guy, more so for fear of having it stolen, so I Never did get a picture of this buck. The last few years I've gotten glimpses of 140" bucks during the rut, so I was pretty confident that this was made by one of those bucks or thier offspring. It's all really open hard woods, so there's no real cover to hold a good buck so I'm pretty sure they're in there at night to feed on the white oak acorns or cruising the day during the rut.
Anyway, I had this guy come through and had him at 20 yards....
(http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee393/seanb45/1DD59339-6B27-4AE7-812C-07F4582701D8_zpscffzt1gi.jpg) (http://s1225.photobucket.com/user/seanb45/media/1DD59339-6B27-4AE7-812C-07F4582701D8_zpscffzt1gi.jpg.html)
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AND????????????????
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:campfire:
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I passed. It was a tough decision, but I held off. I would think about it quite a bit afterwards, questioning my sanity. On one hand, he would be a great buck to take with any weapon, and I didn't have a lot of time to dedicate to this season. On the other, I have taken a few bucks his size, and I knew there was a bigger buck somewhere in these woods. "A Bird in the Hand..." I knew if I didn't take a bigger buck it would be hard for others to understand my decision.
Needless to say, I didn't take that bigger buck. I have no regrets or make no apologies. It's gives me more incentive to hunt those woods next season. Hopefully that buck who made the rubs will be back and the 10 in the pic will have another year to grow. I am by no means a trophy Hunter, this is just a personal goal that I set for myself. Thanks for taking the time to read this!!
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If your good with you decision then so be it.
But frankly I think you nuts!
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Oh no, what were you thinking....you have now made it a virtual certainty that you will never have another deer in bow range again, lol! My personal "rule of thumb" when I switched to trad only many years ago is....if it's old enough to walk it's old enough to die! Best of luck on your quest, I must eat.
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Hunting for meat, and hunting for personal goals can be very different things. You passed on an immature buck at 20 yards, your goal was to shoot a mature buck. I think you are closer to your goal then you were prior to that hunt. Well done and good luck going forward.
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When I we had many land owner acquired doe tags, we did the same thing. However, when there is a big deer around, it tends to draw crowds of hunters and some not on their best behavior. Competition gets fierce and takes the adventure out of the hunt. Now if I could get control of a a couple of square miles of Iowa hunting land, naw, the problem is with owning land of any size is the constant trespassers and night lighters when a big deer is on it.
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I usually judge deer by close enough or too far but I respect a fella who chooses his own path and is more selective than myself.
Ill tell you this. Of the deer that Ive passed in my life, I never did regret the decision later on down the line. Nice buck brother and I hope he's "close enough" for you (or me) next year. :goldtooth:
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That's a sharp looking Black Widow! !!!!
Best of luck to you and your endeavors with the "big" ones!
Good luck, shoot straight and God bless,
Rodd
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That's a great Buck! I hope he makes it until you can have another opportunity at him.
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Good on you for sticking to your goal! I have dreams of a big one and know I must hold out. I have done so on travel trips, and gone home empty handed, no regrets. At home if I can ever put an expanded zone doe in the freezer early I will join you in such a quest (maybe, I tend to get Eichler fever when a legal deer is in range)
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Do what makes it fun for you. If waiting is what does it, then by all means wait!
Good luck next year!
Bisch
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When the right deer comes by, you'll know it. Even though that is one heck of a nice buck, if it didn't seem right then you made the right decision. You'll always have a picture in your mind of him going by, and hopefully by next year he'll even gain a few more inches. Nice pictures! :thumbsup:
Bernie
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Well Sean, I think its only a matter of time. Hopefully your work and life will allow more woods time during future seasons.
That was sure a handsome deer you let walk... at this stage in my hunting career, I would have still been shaking in my tree at that encounter.
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Originally posted by Izzy:
I usually judge deer by close enough or too far but I respect a fella who chooses his own path and is more selective than myself.
Ill tell you this. Of the deer that Ive passed in my life, I never did regret the decision later on down the line. Nice buck brother and I hope he's "close enough" for you (or me) next year. :goldtooth:
Thanks for the support guys. Izzy, itd probably be a different story if I saw this guy in the Catskills!! The 8 that I saw had about the same frame size.
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Sean, good for you, setting your own standards...
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Originally posted by goingoldskool:
That's a sharp looking Black Widow! !!!!
Best of luck to you and your endeavors with the "big" ones!
Good luck, shoot straight and God bless,
Rodd
Thanks Rod, I have a weakness for Widows!! That's the one the Boys made me for taking the big bear in the '12 BW bear hunt. I broke it in earlier this season with a fat Catskill mountan doe.
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Sean, good call.......You need to save the room in your freezer for that giant you're going to arrow in Quebec
:biglaugh:
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We all get to set our own goals - I admire the fact that you set your goals and then stuck to them. Good luck next year!
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quote:
Originally posted by Yellow Dog:
Sean, good call.......You need to save the room in your freezer for that giant you're going to arrow in Quebec
:goldtooth:
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Well written & well done my friend! Goals are personal and therefore matter most to the owner... May you find joy, peace, and satisfaction in the pursuit & journey toward your goal. You will know when the time is right. May God bless you in that endeavor.
One thing to remember, should your goal change or you choose to harvest a younger animal, you have no explaining to do, the choices/goals we make are personal...
That's a beautiful KB! Great thread, brought me joy to read it...
Take care, KAZ
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I respect a Fella that holds out for a great biggen. I`m not that guy. I have passed a few though...right over the top of their back.lol.RC
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I take it you dont think the pictured buck made the rub. Was he in an altogether different spot. Nice critter and hope you get him next year.
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I have passed a few though...right over the top of their back.lol.RC :D
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Originally posted by Possum Head:
I take it you dont think the pictured buck made the rub. Was he in an altogether different spot. Nice critter and hope you get him next year.
No, I'm certain this was not the same buck. The track left by the buck that left the rub belonged to a VERY large bodied deer. I've seen some big deer in this wood lot over the years. I found a deer with the head cut off that weighed well over 200 lbs.
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Right there with ya Sean, let a really nice 8 go by this early season. I'm still good with it even tho I haven't had anything close like him since.
I will shoot does tho on occasion.... :D
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I couldn't pass on that fella......but to each his own. I hope you have a great hunt in Quebec, I know I did last June. I'd sit on the Glove stand anytime......... :thumbsup:
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Way to stick with your promises brother I know it's hard but uncle barry,gene definitely say the truth with that quote and I try and do the same but sometimes it doesn't happen with all of us!but on another note I do believe if your looking for meat shoot the doe and let the bucks grow I wish alot of hunters thought the same
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Thanks again all. This was the biggest buck that I've passed on. The spikes and fork horns were easy to let go. As with most hunters on here, I have no problem shooting doe to fill the freezer.
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I have passed on a lot of deer at very close distances while waiting for a mature buck on my property (which hasn't happened yet). That was my choice, and many guys choose to take these shots. This is also a good choice. I would like to say that when ole big boy came along, I drilled him dead center. Nope, one arrow went over and one went under.
Filling the freezer is not an issue as I can't any longer eat meat due to a health issue. Fortunately, I do have somebody who will eat every scrap of venison I can take, so if I do connect nothing will go to waste.
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Nice buck. Hunting localities differ for all of us. Available hunting time, land access etc. all factor into what we decide to shoot when we are hunting. I have passed a lot of deer in previous seasons that I really had no business passing, and normally would end up eating my tag. I can honestly say that I do regret passing on some of them. But the majority of the time I never regret a thing.
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Hey Sean. Great to hear from you and your exploits. Most of life is about 'waiting well'. Hang in there I'm w/you.
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Nice job if you feel good about it. That's all that really matters. I never know whether I will shoot something or not until it is in range.
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What's cool about hunting is we can do it in our own way and speed... I mean for me, you couldn't pay me to hunt from a tree stand!... You have the courage of your convictions Sean... That in itself is a noble trait... All else will fall into place...
Happy New Year Buddy!
... mike ... :archer2: ...
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I commend you for sticking to your goals. I also fell in love with your Black Widow when I saw the picture! Even showed it to my wife with a big hint that I've always wanted a Black Widow.
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Glad you are confident in your catch and release hunting. Its all an individual choice what we take or not. I am a hunter first and take the shots I'm presented with although I'd rather pass on young bucks and take does-better eating to my taste buds.Congrats on having the will power to pass in the hopes of him lasting another year.
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Hard to tell from that one pic but I definitely wouldn't say that's an "immature buck", especially for Dutchess Co. Will he be bigger and more mature next year? Sure, but they all will. There may be bigger bucks around but nobody should have to justify shooting (or not shooting)that buck.
Whatever decisions you make and goals you set are yours and yours alone. What anyone, including me, on this site or otherwise thinks is irrelevant. the only validation that matters is yours and your familys
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Originally posted by md126:
[QB] Hard to tell from that one pic but I definitely wouldn't say that's an "immature buck", especially for Dutchess Co. Will he be bigger and more mature next year? Sure, but they all will. There may be bigger bucks around but nobody should have to justify shooting (or not shooting)that buck.
that Buck was in Westchester. I've hunted this piece for about 15 years and have taken a few bucks close to that size and have seen some true monsters in there over the years. That's why I'm so confident that it wasn't the same buck to make that rub line.
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Sean, I've hunted Westchester almost exclusively for 30yrs. Definitely some big (or bigger) bucks around there. That being said, the hunting is nowhere near as good now as it was then due to building, coyotes, over hunting,etc.. In my opinion, it's still a mature buck for Westchester.
All i'm saying is If your holding out for a more mature or bigger buck than that's fine and I admire you for following through on that. Frankly if more people would do that than maybe the hunting would be like it was 15yrs ago. I also ate tag soup this year (still have CT Jan season to try and get one) and passed on quite a few bucks that others may have shot. Nothing wrong with that either.
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Md, Ive done 95% of my hunting the last 35 years here in Westchester myself. I was born and raised in northern Westchester and am actually living back down here after my divorce. I've taken a few the size of the one in the pic. I'm kind of setting my bar a bit higher. If I'd seen that buck in Dutchess, Putnam, or Delaware Co, I'd definitely punch my "either/or" tag on him. But there is a definite slammer somewhere in and around my woodlot.
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Yup nothing wrong with setting your bar wherever you need it to be. I've raised (and lowered) my own bar several times over the years. Haha
I hope you get one of the Bucks that made those rubs. PM me sometime and we can compare notes on hunting suburbia.
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Sean, I passed on 6 eight point bucks back in 2012... Hahahaha .... not the same thing. I filled my buck tag early and had to watch all those fine deer walk past me...
Best of luck getting that biggen!
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When a person makes the decision to pass a deer don't look back. At the time it was the right choice, & at the end of the season it is still the right choice! ;)
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I made the choice to take mature bucks only about 25 years ago and never once looked back. I firmly believe that every man should set his own goals that bring joy and personal satisfaction. For me it has always been about the supreme challenge that mature animals bring to the hunt. Sure I have been successful over the years but I can honestly say that chasing a single buck for 2-4 years and even failing to take him brings me every bit of the satisfaction that I desire in hunting.
Good luck with that big boy next year.
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Thanks Jerry. I've passed up a bunch of spikes, fours and 6's over the last five or six years. Last season I could only get out for TWO sits, I passed on a a 3 and a 4 pt and took a big doe instead. This was by far the bet set of antlers that I let walk. It was definitely tough at first but it sat better as time went. Again, this area is a bow only county and this woodlot has a lot of unhuntable sanctuaries around it. Another Unit that I hunt has had antler restrictions for the last three seasons. Do there's some really good potential. We'll see how long I can hold out!! :bigsmyl:
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I think its okay to set goals for yourself. I have been holding out the last few years again, not necessarily for counting inches but to out smart a truly mature mule deer. I was only able to hunt 4 days this year and didn't punch a tag. It still was one of my best and most satisfying years in a while. In those 4 days I passed up a good 20 bucks under 20 yards, Seen two of the giants multiple times I had been watching all summer. I got to half draw twice on one of them but smaller bucks always got in the way. Most years I don't get nearly this many chances if any at all. On the last day and the last hour I could hunt I had a nice 3 1/2 year old 22" wide 3x4 at 15 yards totally unaware I was there. I just watched him feed off and I'm okay with that.