Public Land Kill Opinion

[ScLowCountry]

Lol i know your joking but it's a 3300 acre farm that has been managed by my buddy for 20+ years. Huge dear out there but a lot of land which makes it hard nail them down

Not to be a butthead, but last year you shot a basket rack 6 on public land. I'm game for shooting whatever you want and whatever makes you happy. Your post last year seemed like you were pretty excited about it.

Do you have any pics of these 150s or 160s that you're killing??

I killed a basket 8 tonight on wma. I was ecstatic.

 

[Omega]

I have stated over and over, I hunt for meat. I usually get the first deer that presents a shot, that isn't too small. After that I do get a little picky, but if it has horns, they are usually coming home with me. And the younger ones taste better IMO.

 

[ScLowCountry]

Horn porn is ruining this sport

 

[Vince]

I'd leave alone those small bucks for now because you have bigger ones on your lease you could target, or, a big one might show up on public land itself. Plus it's early in the season now and hopefully there is time left to shoot later in Dec for meat, if you don't get a big buck by then. Or burn one now so you are on the board, and save the second for a big one.

Last year I waited and waited to see if a big buck would show up and passed does in Nov and early Dec. Come last week of Dec, I am without meat and then my intent is to shoot the first deer showing up. I hunt on a small property that is getting urbanized all around, plus I don't get out too often hunting late Dec so that limits how much I can be after them.

Do what makes you content within the rules (KFC - Kill For Content).

 

[TonyB]

What you're saying doesn't make sense to me.. you regret not shooting little bucks but you have 150 and 160s everywhere on your lease? I'm not sure of your dilemma? Kill what makes you happy, but if you want to kill big deer you can't kill small ones it truly is that simple. And with that mindset you may not fill all your tags or even a tag. That's the gamble you take trying to kill bigger deer. I'd be tagged out in 2 day 3 days max if I shot the first bucks I saw. I personally love to hunt to much for that to trip my trigger. But I am also ok only killing 1 buck a year or knock on wood it hasn't happened in many years no bucks. And sometimes I fill both tags.

I only hunt private lease 1 or 2 times a year but hunt public hard. Public is my priority. So yes i do have a lease opportunity to kill that 150 or 160 but it dont always work. So i am more invested in my public hunts due to the amount of time spent scouting, setting up, and trying to find mature deer. Thats why holding off on smaller public bucks feels right at first but has left me with a tag or two at the end of the year.

 

[Ski]

Just out of curiosity, is the lease something you only get a limited time to hunt? Why hunt public if you're paying to hunt a managed lease? 150s-160's are enormous deer, especially for TN.

edit - you posted the answer as I was posting

 

[TonyB]

Just out of curiosity, is the lease something you only get a limited time to hunt? Why hunt public if you're paying to hunt a managed lease? 150s-160's are enormous deer, especially for TN.

edit - you posted the answer as I was posting

Im Not paying for it. My buddy manages the lease and they can bring guests. I get to hunt it free when he is there hunting (which is a lot) but i try to not be that guy so i hunt it usually once or twice a year out of respect for all the paying members.

 

[TonyB]

Just out of curiosity, is the lease something you only get a limited time to hunt? Why hunt public if you're paying to hunt a managed lease? 150s-160's are enormous deer, especially for TN.

edit - you posted the answer as I was posting

Plus public is literally 150 yards from my back yard so i walk into the woods which is great!

 

[DoubleRidge]

With young bucks I figure if I let them go there is a chance they make it, if I kill them then that's it.

I can't control what the neighbors kill but I can control what I kill.

Totally agree.

 

[ScLowCountry]

Im Not paying for it. My buddy manages the lease and they can bring guests. I get to hunt it free when he is there hunting (which is a lot) but i try to not be that guy so i hunt it usually once or twice a year out of respect for all the paying members.

So then you dont have a lease lol. Just hunt public and kill what makes you happy man. No need to ask our permission to kill young bucks on public. Kill what you want. That's why it's public

 

[44 mag]

I have not killed a buck since 2015 or 2016 I don't remember I would have to go back and look. I have passed a ton of smaller bucks that did not meet my requirements. I don't care about large antlers I am looking for mature bucks. With that being said I have not got to hunt near as much in the last several years due to work and life. I do kill a doe or two for the freezer every year.

Like others have said shoot what makes you happy. If at the end of season you have a tag or two left over so what.

 

[ImThere]

Dead deer don't grow. If you kill them they never have a chance to grow.
Kill what makes you happy. Heck I I'd consider it a good hunt just having see all that action and be pretty satisfied with it.

 

[Ridgeline300]

If I had a lease with that potential no way I'd waste a tag on young bucks.

 

[ImThere]

If I had a lease with that potential no way I'd waste a tag on young bucks.

So you'd hold your tags for two hunts with a buddy?
Just shoot what make you happy.

 

[Ridgeline300]

So you'd hold your tags for two hunts with a buddy?
Just shoot what make you happy.

I just scanned what he originally wrote, I thought it said he had lease with 150 and 160 deer and a pick of 130 or something similar to that so I wouldn't waste a tag on young bucks if that was the case. If I only had a couple hunts on that property and could only go if invited then maybe not if I was him. For me personally I wouldn't waste a tag on a young buck period because what makes me happy is a 5 year old with 150" of headgear.

 

[DEDDY]

Let me begin by saying i have been hunting a piece of public for about 6 years now in the same general area. I have a couple cameras out and i have noticed that about every 2 to 3 years there is a new generation of bucks that stick around before they keave or are killed off.
Today i had an exciting hunt filled with two young bucks (1-2 years old) fighting, a 2 year old 7 point hanging out under my stand for over 3 minutes, and a spike run through. This afternoon another 2 year old 4 point and one doe that was barely bigger than a german shepard.
My dilemma is on killing young bucks. I can hear the people in the back already saying they kill for the meat and to kill it if i have the chance. For me i want to let the young ones walk so that next year they will be a decent size. Not to mention we only get 2 tags, i gun hunt a large lease with 150s and 160s all over it, and i have a 120-130 8 point on camera.

It feels right to let them walk in the moment but afterwards when i dont see a doe or a decent buck i question myself. Should i waste the tag on the young buck or am i over thunking it? Pictures of the 8 on camera and the young 7 today.View attachment 201175View attachment 201176

I would never consider killing any deer a "waste". I also believe we all need to kill what makes us happy and don't ever let someone else's opinion influence that!

 

[MidTennFisher]

Shoot whatever you want. The absolute last thing you should do is worry about whether people on an internet forum agree with what you shot or didn't shoot. If you've got 150s and 160s on a lease and you pass up a little buck to hold out for one of those, I hope you get it!

 

[Bone Collector]

I hunted yesterday on public. I saw 4 different small bucks and 3 were in bow range. I haven't killed a deer with my bow this year and that makes 2 out of the last 4 years without a kill. Before that I had a streak of like 10 years, but I never even but them in the sights. I thought about it though .

Like other have said, if you have lease with the caliber of deer you are describing, I'd save my buck tags for those.

 

[Omega]

I hunted yesterday on public. I saw 4 different small bucks and 3 were in bow range. I haven't killed a deer with my bow this year and that makes 2 out of the last 4 years without a kill. Before that I had a streak of like 10 years, but I never even but them in the sights. I thought about it though .

Like other have said, if you have lease with the caliber of deer you are describing, I'd save my buck tags for those.

When I used to bow hunt, I would draw on any deer that I saw unless I felt it was being chased. That way I could practice with a live judge of my skills, use to get seen often at first, but after a bit I could do it without having my movements get spotted.

 

[killingtime 41]

What part of the state you live in and even what county can be important factor. Some parts have even less big older bucks than others. but no matter where you are on public a 150 to 160 inch buck is very few and far in between.I know I would save at least a tag for the lease if it were me.