Who on here , besides greenhorn....

[Moosie]

.. Has legitimately eaten a deer tag. I don't mean at the end of the season you had a tag left over because you suck or didn't mak eit out or that you saw a glimpse of a buck and didn't get it, or that you passed up a Dink ass forked horn or so........ but Truely had a Good buck in front of you......and let it walk hoping for a better one or was on track looking for one you spotted before .

Are you happy 'bout it now ? Or do you wish you'd of Squoz sooner.. (Ohhh Squoz is a word, don't question me, I own the place !!! )

 

[JB]

believe it or not...it happens all the time.
really, you dont have to kill something to enjoy a hunt.
WTF
some of you may need to regroup!

 

[Moosie]

Maurice, I know it happens all the time. I'm posting this topic to hear some Good stories. Sometimes you just need to shut yer Piehole, Gosh, get laid would ya You've been over to MM.com to much lately Also, not everyone hunts the way you do, have you ever thought it's you that needs regrouping ?

 

[JB]

have you ever thought it's you that needs regrouping ?

its been suggested a time or two.
btw, i dont go over to MM's unless you stir up chit and I need a laugh....and then its only if you post a link!

Gosh, get laid would ya

ok....... but dont blame me if someone gets hurt!

 

[Idaho Ron]

I have passed up a lot of 150 class bucks and dinned on tag salad.
Two years ago I missed out on a 370 class bull and passed 40 other bulls looking for the big one again. On the last minute of the last day I let a 320 walk. I never got a shot at the 370 but I don't regret not shooting the smaller bulls.

 

[BOHNTR]

I generally pass a few each season trying to get something better. Sometimes it pays off....sometimes it doesn't.

Here's one I passed opening morning in Arizona at 40 yards a few seasons back.......never had another opportunity for a decent buck. Just part of the game.

 

[BuzzH]

I pass up tons of bucks each year, both whitetail and mule deer.

Last season, my best day I passed up 20 whitetail bucks, most all of them 4x4 or better. I ended up taking one that day, even though it was a nice one, I almost "ruined" the day by killing a deer.

I could look in my journal, but I know I pass 75+ whitetail bucks in 5-7 days of hunting in Montana. I consulted the journal and tallied up the bucks I saw in 9 days...114.

I've often times passed higher scoring deer hoping to take an older animal. Score really isnt that important to me, taking older age class animals is where its at.

 

[shoots-straight]

I knew an old boy, he's dead now so I can say his name without him getting pissed. His name was Leeland Crow. He went up to the Northwest territories with his nephew. The younger fella filled his tag first on a nice Muskoxen. Then it was Leeland's turn. He was looking over some nice big bulls when he spies this old timmer with his horns running down his face and growing into his jaws.. The bull had rubbed off the tips of his horns in an attempt to get rid of the pain he was induring. Leeland was hovering around 80 + at the time and kind of related to the old bull and put him out of his missery... I believe that was the last animal the old Leeland took himself. Oh I almost forgot, he had the old bull mounted just as he was and Leeland was as proud of that animal as any other's I believe.

 

[noharleyyet]

I've taken 3 whitey bucks in the last 23 years. Nah, I never pass em up.

 

[cornfed]

last year I finally got a good piece of ground to bowhunt.It was like watching a TV show on deer behavior.Saw more in one year than all my others but never put a tag on any of them.Kept hoping for a bigger one.No regrets, was hoping they would walk past my son so he could arrow his first deer but he just watched them as well.He said big or nothing and thats what we both got.

 

[Calif. Hunter]

I've only done that with elk....

 

[elk_hunter]

I come up with a little game plan...say I'd like a 300-class bull but I'd also like meat in the freezer. If I don't see anything in say the first 2 days that meets my criteria, I'll take whatever is legal.

 

[Bambistew]

I rarely pass up a buck I would be happy with killing the last day. Sometimes I kill that buck the first day of the hunt sometimes not. It all depends on where I'm hunting and the expectations for the area. For instance I hunted eastern MT a few years ago and I can't remember how many bucks I/we passed up on that trip, we saw way more than usual. I looked at probably 100-120 deer a day and in 5 days saw one buck that I was willing to put my tag on. Never found him again though, and went home empty handed.

Does passing on spikes and forkies count, or are we talking about deer we kick ourselves for not killing? I'd say on an average week long deer hunt, I'll pass on probaly 10-20 'buck" deer that are in a position where they are killable, sometimes more sometimes less. If I'm hunting in MT at the "feed lot" for whitetails, it could be 6-8+ bucks a morning, sometimes more.

I can only think of two bucks I passed on and killed later on in the season. One I passed on 3 times thinking he wasn't quite big enough. I learned my lesson though, when a whitetail is 250+ on the hoof his rack tends to look a little smaller than it is. Just wider than the ears means really means 20" inside not 17". Another one I passed on the first day of the hunt, had him at about 75 yards and dry fired on him... Tried to talk my buddy into shooting him, but he wanted to kill a muley later on in the week. Second to the last day of the hunt I talked him into shooting that same deer and he missed 2 or 3 times, so not one to let a nice deer get away, I piled him up. I was happy and if we weren't specifically going muledeer hunting I would have killed him the first day.

I've never had a 'premium' LE tag though. I should pull one next year and we'll see how much talk I really am. I'm more than willing to eat tag soup if I can't find a book sized deer. I've been saying for years that I won't shoot an elk unless he's a 6pt. Hasn't worked out quite like that yet. LOL

 

[mdcrossbow]

Durring the season I usualy take 16-24 deer depending on my work load. So by the end of the season I'm passing up bucks allot. 2 years ago it was the last day and this realy nice 10 point that I hunted for the better part of the year on the days I buck hunted can in and I let him walk with the thought in mind that he made it this far now lets see what he'll look like next year.

That is not uncommon for me to do the last week of the year for the past 6-7 years.

 

[MarvB]

Depends on where I'm hunting...Kali general season tag if it's in the X hairs chances are it's gonna drop, Kali premium (draw) tag I wait until it's a buck worthy of burning my points on...last day or not, out of state tags- yep have ate the thin broth more than once and am no worse for wear!

 

[Dangerous Dave]

Yep, had to choke a coastal A tag down two years ago... all because I refused to pull the trigger on one of the tallest and widest blacktails I've ever seen.
It was the last day of the season and I was sneaking along heading to the exact spot where I shot my buck last year. Out of the corner of my eye I catch some movment 200 yards down the ridge, so I freeze. At first I don't believe what I'm seeing; a big, dark deer just bedding down in 3 foot tall brush and his horns are so tall that half their length is sticking out over the top of the brush!!
All I've got to do is wait until he stands, right? Sounds too good to be true, right? You bet!
The 1st problem is that this big buck is 150 yards over the fence on someone else's property. The 2nd is my shot would be aimed right towards the neighbor's ranch which is a mile away. 3rd: While his horns were taller, wider and heavier than quite a few mature mule deer I've seen, he was a simple 2X2, without a bump anywhere.
I sat there for 2 full hours in agony, trying to convince myself to shoot that deer. Every time he'd move or turn his head and spin those horns, I'd go nuts. I tried to think of every excuse or lie in the book... like; "What in the hell are you out here for, exercise? Shoot the damn deer!" Finally I decided; "Shooting that buck would be flat-out wrong."
I nearly forgot what I had decided when he stood up to feed out in the open. I simply watched him feed away and just sat there until dark. True story.
I've got to be honest. Things might have ended diferently if he had been a 4X4.

 

[camo308]

A few years ago on a Cal X (draw) tag, I had 5 bucks about 150-200 yards out feeding in some sage and willows. One was a really wide, tall 4X4. There was another smaller 4X4 (still nice) a 3X4 and two forks. The problem was the forks kept blocking a shot at the big 4X4. I waited and waited. When the perfect time came I hesitated for just a second and the big boy stepped behind the bushes. I watched the other bucks, including the other 4X4, on the hill feed for another hour waiting for the big one to step back out. He never did. After an hour or so some ground stomp'n loud talking "hunters" came busting out of the brush above the bucks and they took off. I never saw where the big one went. The tag kinda tasted like chicken... a little tough but not that bad.


PS - BOHNTR - Probably good that you didn't take that shot. There might have been trouble with a pass-through.

How big was the buck in the backround? He looks pretty good too.

 

[BOHNTR]

camo308:

Obviously the photo shot was not the best.......I had these bucks feeding in front of me for about 20 minutes. Plenty of opportunities to get an "ethical" shot.

The back deer was wider......but short G3's & G4's. Had the front deer been a few inches wider and some eye guards, he might have been in trouble. About a year too young is all. But then again, he was the best I had an opportunity at that year. Went home without one, but no regrets.

 

[schmalts]

I passed up a couple of 170ish bucks last year in CO because i was gunning for the Elk buck during the muzz hunt. The last day that i saw him i was stalking him and got into some chest high scrub juniper stuff and lost track of my direction and walked right into his partner in crime bedded @ 40 yards or so. I was real temped to shoot that 170 in full perfect velvet but i knew the elk buck was someplace close by. Never saw the Elk buck again, and ate my tag with no regrets. I think it helps when you know for sure a bigger one is there someplace. Had i not seen the Elk buck, i would have shot that smaller deer and been happy as hell.

 

[the nikster]

When I see a decent buck I usually go off like a kid after his first date.
I did go to Alaska 2 times and saw several thousand caribou and came home empty both times. Have yet to fire a shot. I really need to try again.