mauser06

this year will be my 5th year deer hunting...so far ive taken 3 does and a 6pt..well i now want bigger and better bucks...sure them little antlers of my 6pt made my whole season...but bigger is better! i know where bigger bucks are(same spot holds many nice deer) but the problem with me is the first legal deer i see i shoot and my dads the same way anymore....first day last year first light he shoots his doe...hes happy....then while hes dressing it out i take my doe as a herd runs through..i got my doe im happy.....sitting there in our cubbyhole in a old pile of dead trees i see a doe...im out of doe tags for that county but dad isnt so i say dad dad! doe..hes like OH! a nice buck! and moves in for the shot but the buck is looking right at him but is blocked by a tree perfectly for me so i move in and take him...i didnt look around for other deer i was going to let dad take his doe and call it a day....i was tagged about by 9am the first day.....i can bet if we would sat there we would seen tons more deer....we seen about 15 or more by 9am...we went back to that spot the first saturday and got dad his second doe there by 8am and called it a heck of a season..dad feels hes taken his share of bucks and loves the meat so takes the first legal deer he sees...i want bigger bucks....im not sure if hes kicking me out of his hunting spot this year now that im 16 and can hunt alone or if he enjoys my company and will want me to stay...but i plan to hunt ALL day..take alot of food and drinks and sit there all day.....i want a nice rack for the wall...how do you get yourself to pass on all the legal does and smaller bucks?? i may leave my doe tags in the truck the first day and act as if i dont even have them until my buck is down...i know huntings all about patience....i have them but i enjoy taking my deer so i always took what i seen in the past....how can i make myself hold out for a nice one? just when i see little ones just keep in mind his dad is out tehre waiting for me? any suggestions? now im not after the biggest buck in the woods(would be really nice lol) just a nice respectable racker atleast....i think i can do it....just looking for helpful hints to help me out....

J Pike

Mauser, This is a very good question, I think the difference between good hunter' s who can pass on small buck' s and the good hunter' s who want too, but end up harvesting the first legal buck they see regardless is, 1. Having confidence & patience, that if they pass on smaller buck' s, eventually whether it be by skill or luck, they will get atleast 1 chance during the season at a shooter, 2. Also hunter' s who have accepted the fact that they might not fill their buck tag and are fine if that outcome would come true. 3. Hunter' s who force themselves to pass on a small buck and have found out they actually enjoyed the experience of passing up a small buck more then they would have enjoyed harvesting that buck.

So I suggest just forcing yourself to do it, and remember that the harder you work, the luckier you will become. And when you pass on your first buck If you enjoyed the experience and your not kicking yourself for letting that buck walk away, keep doing it (it will get easier everytime you do it) . When I started passing on smaller buck' s I had the confidence ( even though now I think It was more like wishful thinking) that I would harvest a shooter that season, My quest ended with success but I realize now it was more by luck than anything else, But the thing' s I did learn when I passed on that first buck that made it very easy to do so every time since then was, that yes there was a little fear that he might be the last buck I see the rest of the year but I could live with it if it he was, and I learned that I enjoyed passing him up and just watching him more than i would have if i would have released an arrow. Pike

antlergetter

I like to look at questions like these on a semi-spiritual level. Once you' ve harvested a deer or two, and your ready to hold out, you just relax, cozy on down in your stand, and watch. I find these experiences just as satisifying as harvesting the deer, if not more so sometimes. You see, once you get in range to have killed a deer, your kinda, for lack of better term, on a " personal level" with the deer. You watch what they do and use it for a learning experience. No, you dont have something to go back and to showyour freinds, but as long as YOU know what you saw, who cares about everyone else, its just you and the deer. I was on the same level as you, until I began to discover the real " beauty" part of hunting. You start to see the same deer day after day, and you learn their " personality" . This really helps me to not only hold out for the big guys, but also to get as much out of the experience as humanly possible. This is the only true way to learn, to see their actions close up,AND let them pass naturally. There are a lot of bucks out there counting their blessings because I just wanted to watch......but one day they' ll be all grown up, and not so lucky [8D]!!

skeeter 7MM

First of all it is a personal choice what you harvest or pass. If you have predetermined what you want to harvest or take out of your hunting experience anything but that will lead to dissapointment, in my experience. By this I mean you must not waiver but be true to your goals that you have layed down for your season. These goals must be realistic and obtainable, to create absolute lines in which we draw. You said before the first legal animal you harvested and felt great about it. You have done what i said set up the expectation, plan and followed through with it, which led to satisfaction. Now you are wanting to harvest something bigger, but have said not the biggest just bigger than last year. Well your expectations, plans have now been laid, your part is to follow through and excute the plan. believe me this will lead to more satisfication.

I agree with the others you must be willing to pass and accept the possibility that your tag will be left unfilled. However just because you know that is a possibility doesn' t mean it will happen and never dwell on the negative but rather the positive of seeing/passing animals! I view every interaction with a live animals as a success, regardless of size or outcome. It will take time but eventually you will gain more with each experience until it becomes the norm and the exception to actually pull pin on an animal.

Oh BTW if you have a doe tag and want to fill by all means do so, don' t worry about what may or may not be following that deer. I have found some guys (especially those new to passing legal animals) find it much easier to sit back, pass and enjoy deer hunting with their freezer somewhat full. I harvest does annually, I actually head out with the intent to harvest my doe, nothing else. As such I hunt different areas than my haven or big buck spots and my mind set is on coming home with a notched tag and filling the freezer. Another viable option for your doe tags, if your worried about screwing up your chances on a good buck!

The most important thing is have fun and do what your heart tells you. I hunt for my personal enjoyment and nothing else, the benefits of meat may reach outside myself only but for me they are reward for being able to sit in nature and enjoy God' s creation (same as the rack).

Rack-attack

Mauser,

its very easy. When you do get to the point that you want a mature buck, passing the young ones is easy. The thought of taken them never crosses your mind, and it is not a sacrafice at all.

You will know if (when) you get to that point.

and if you don' t thats fine also.

Jimmy S

Mauser....You have been given some sound advice. I think you are fortunate to hunt in a state where you see over 15 deer by 9AM and the success rate is high. This may play into your concerns on letting smaller bucks walk because, simply put, the temptation is great to shoot that first buck you see. Folks that shoot big bucks have one thing in common....they pass on smaller ones. To me, that' s the bottom line. If you fill your tag with the first buck you see, you lose that opportunity at the big guy. Two things will happen when you finally make that personal decision not to take that first buck.

First, you will have a deep feeling of satisfaction of not killing that smaller buck. Unless you have experience that feeling, I cannot put it into words. It goes right to the soul. You have that deer in your sights and your decision will determine whether he will live to walk the woods another day. When you let that safe off and simply watch that deer continue on his way, you have made that first big step. He doesn' t know how close he came to death but you certainly do. That' s all that counts at that moment and you have absolutely no regrets.

Second, you now have that opportunity to shoot the deer of your dreams. What could be better than that? When that day comes and you decide to let smaller bucks walk and by waiting, you finally fill your tag, it will be a great feeling of satisfaction because you did it your way. That' s something you can proud of. It will also have other hunters, both novice (new) and seasoned vererans look at you in a different way. I know it takes time for hunters to finally take that big step, but when they do, it is a decision they wish that hade made earlier. Also, the fact that you have posted this question, speaks volumns of your maturity. That time will one day come for you, in the meantime, continue to enjoy our sport that means so much to us and Good Luck during the 2003 deer season........Jimmy

LeeinVa1

I think you are missing the point completly. you are out and nature and you are hunting with your dad, what more could a guy or gal ask for.

wimp

The 1st time you pass is always the hardest. You just have to make up your mind to do it and go from there. No regrets, and be willing to accept the big one just may not come that year.

Trebarker

Instead of hunting season being a time to go out and fill tags, make it a time to go out and enjoy nature, getting fresh air, getting away from the normal routine, a chance to observe wildlife in their environment, and try your best to fool the deer' s senses. The bonus at the end is possibly having the opportunity to harvest a mature animal. Make your time in the woods count, be ethical, leave nature as you found it, and let them baby deer grow up to be mature adults.

Nomercy

When you hunt bucks, you' ve got to remember what you' re hunting them for...the rack and the meat. Getting a fruit basket 6pter isn' t very exciting, getting a fat doe is much more worthwhile to me, only way to improve on a fat gal is to get a fat guy in my book, HUGE 6pt/large 8pt or larger rack. There' s just no reason to take a rack you can' t say " wait til you see the rack off him!!" In years past, I' ve even passed up every buck I' ve seen for their ' girlfriends' , leaving me buck-less for the year, but I just remember that I would have been less satisfied with less meat just to get a small rack.

(Of course, here in KS, a ' buck tag' is really a ' either sex tag' so I can put it on a doe too, if it were specifically a ' buck tag' then I' d probably be less choosy.)