Rethinking my self-imposed rules

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Thekla

Thekla

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Joined
Nov 9, 2019
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City & State/Province
West tn
Well, got up and hit the woods this morning. Hunting a pretty thick area of the woods that's hard to see and hunt with leaves. By 8:00 I've seen 6 or so doe. Two of them 50 yds away going into a cedar thicket and the others going into another bedding area. About 8:30 I hear grunting and the two doe come running out being chased by a buck. Couldn't tell anything about him running through woods so quickly.
I watch and catch a glimpse of one of the doe heading back to where they came. Few minutes later the 2nd doe comes back walking back through at about 75 yds followed by the buck. I get him in the scope...again thick woods. Stop him and he stops right behind a tree then continues. I only have a small window to shoot. He has good mass and tall tight rack but body didn't seem to be there....idk.
I was safety off and finger on the trigger and decided in those couple seconds to not shoot.
My rule is I'd rather not shoot and wonder than shoot and regret. Well heck, I didn't shoot and I'm kinda regretting lol
 
My rule has been the same I''d rather not shoot and wonder than shoot and regret.
I've gotten wrapped up in the moment before and killed a buck I really would have rather he made it another year. And I wasnt so much disappointed in the deer as much as I was in myself for not sticking to the goal I had set for myself. Targeting only mature bucks comes with challenges, it can be a grind at times.
As its been said, sometimes you gotta let good deer walk in order to kill great deer....and there is zero doubt that when it all comes together its very rewarding...good luck hunting!
 
I like hunting shooting cleaning dragging and eating deer. We eat venison year round so that's the reason I hunt. Im on public so it's 50/50 of passing small bucks if they survive the season or not. I don't let that determine my actions. I don't fully buy into, the if I don't kill him someone else will kinda thing. If Ive killed a marginal buck and I'm only after a bigger class then that's that. I pass several bucks every hunting season, I also pass a lot of does. I typically shoot at least one buck who wasnt fully mature every season.

Every season has a different feel to it. Last year I killed two does with my bow and then a big mature 10 point the first week of ML. I was super blessed last year and I'm not certain I will have the same opportunities this season.

This season I struggled through bow season and wasn't seeing as many deer early on. I was more than ready to get a deer down and happily shot the 6 point I got on opening day of ML.

I only get picky after I've already gotten a few in the freezer. Also on public, it helps to knock down a few early in some of the easier spots. I inadvertently always end up wading through a swamp and balancing across a few beaver dams by the end of the season to even see a deer. Those spots are a challenge to get deer out of and it's nonsensical for me to put myself and my venison supply in that position.

If I'm ready to kill a deer, I kill the next one I see. It's important for me to stay confident and killing a few deer every once in a while throughout the season keeps me sharp and confident.

The big bucks I've gotten over the years always seem to give a very small window of opportunity. I have to read him, field judge him, and take the first available shot to get him. Real world practice on killing deer is the best practice of being a good deer killer and ultimately a big buck killer too.

I'm a deer hunter and every deer I get is a blessing from God and I don't need to kill the biggest buck every time to have a good time.
 
My rule is shoot what I want, when I want to. I've found over the years that I pretty much know soon, after seeing a buck, whether I'm going to shoot or not. The only exception, similar to your experience, is if one is moving thru the woods and I can't get a good definite look at him. In a case like that, I'll likely find a shot lane and ground check him, that being that I've seen antlers flashing going thru the trees and chances are good that he's a decent buck. I will not regret shooting bc as has been said already, it's still meat in my freezer. 🙂
 
MUP said:
My rule is shoot what I want, when I want to. I've found over the years that I pretty much know soon, after seeing a buck, whether I'm going to shoot or not. The only exception, similar to your experience, is if one is moving thru the woods and I can't get a good definite look at him. In a case like that, I'll likely find a shot lane and ground check him, that being that I've seen antlers flashing going thru the trees and chances are good that he's a decent buck. I will not regret shooting bc as has been said already, it's still meat in my freezer. 🙂
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Same for me and well said!
 
To be honest I shoot does for meat and bucks for the antlers. I am not going to shoot a small buck just to get a deer for meat. I also get just as much enjoyment getting that mature doe who always seems to pick me out in the tree or winds me.

I had something this past weekend that I have not had happen in a while and it was get buck fever bad on a big buck. I think it was because most of the properties I hunt I run enough cameras on them to know what bucks are there. This property I had no clue what was there and had a big 10pt come in with a doe and I let myself get worked up due to the unexpectedness of seeing a deer like this and then not being able to get a shot on him that when I finally had a shot through a small opening I couldn't hold it steady enough to take the shot. I want to tell myself that it was because the tree was swaying so much in the wind but I was shaking as much as the tree. I have been hunting now for over 30 years and it has been awhile since I got this worked up over one. Once it was all over I just laughed it off like wow what were you doing felt like I was 12 years old and the first time Dad let me hunt by myself and I saw my first 8 pt come in to check a scrape. Wish the outcome had been the same because I shot and killed that deer.
 
You didn't pull the trigger on something you couldn't 100% identify. To me there's no regret to be had. I'd call that responsible hunting.

As for self imposed rules, they're just that. Self imposed. The only person who will hold you accountable for breaking them is you. Personally I break my own rules on occasion for various reasons but normally I adhere to them because there's a reason I set them. But I know some who won't waver at all and that's fine....for them. It's completely individual.
 
Ive never regretted passing a deer even if said deer gets killed. I believe that hunters know when to pull the trigger. Its easy in hindsight to think different but in the moment you know.
 
When it comes to deer, whether buck or doe, I want the biggest body! The meat is going in the freezer. Can't eat the antlers...unless you're oriental! 🤣
 
tellico4x4 said:
or "Don't shoot on the last day, what you'd pass on the first".

Hold your standard, whatever it is
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Thats EXACTLY what I tell folks I let hunt my farms. If he didn't meet your standards on the first day of the hunt, don't lower your standards and kill him on the last day.

I can think of two exceptions though... had folks pass a deer they should not have because they misjudged it and thought it was smaller than it was. One guy passed an 8 that morning, showed me pics, and I told him he was a shooter. He went back to the same spot and killed him that evening. Ended up being a 6.5y/o clean 8 that scored 140 and weighed 215. The other episode a fellow passed up an estimated 5.5 y/o and 140 thinking it was smaller. We hunted that buck the rest of the season and never saw him again :(
 

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