Tough deer to pass

[catman529]

The title says it.... had this buck give me a quartering away 20 yard shot...didn't want to use my last tag when I've got bigger deer on camera and a week vacation in November

http://youtu.be/DemuJW6pRvk

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[cozy23]

2 buck limit hard at work! [emoji23]

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[Andy S.]

Good buck, looks about the same caliber as the one you just killed. I know what you mean about tagging out early in the season, it can be bittersweet if you really like to hunt and be in the woods, like yourself. The more you pass, the easier it becomes. You made the right decision, best of luck remainder of the season.

 

[Nimrod777]

Good buck, looks about the same caliber as the one you just killed. I know what you mean about tagging out early in the season, it can be bittersweet if you really like to hunt and be in the woods, like yourself. The more you pass, the easier it becomes. You made the right decision, best of luck remainder of the season.

Definitely one to stare at!

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[ImThere]

Nice buck.


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[AT Hiker]

For me, passing deer comes and goes. Sometimes it's easy and other times it's like I have case of Jekle and Hyde and can't hold myself back.
Best of luck with getting the one you want!


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[tree_ghost]

Great video Catman as usual! And a phenomenal show of restraint on a very nice 2.5yo. Thanks for sharing with us!


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[Andy S.]

Just watched video, few things to note:

1. At the 1:31 mark, you did a good job of advertising and capturing "PSE" on your cam, you looking for endorsements?
2. At 2:37 or so, it sounded like the yearling buck was grunting, was he?
3. The video shows plenty angles of the buck, you did the right thing by saving your tag.

For some of us, hunting and time in the woods is more far more rewarding than killing. It all depends on the hunter, situation at hand, number of tags left, time of year, and how much season is left.

Great video footage Cat, thanks for sharing.

 

[catman529]

Just watched video, few things to note:

1. At the 1:31 mark, you did a good job of advertising and capturing "PSE" on your cam, you looking for endorsements?
2. At 2:37 or so, it sounded like the yearling buck was grunting, was he?

Lol that's PSE putting their logo in the right place.

Yes the yearling was grunting


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[Mike Belt]

Good deal! Maybe you'll get another crack at him in a couple more years. Passing on tempting bucks is an art. It takes practice.

 

[duckduck84]

Good looking buck and nice restraint. I would happily shoot that deer, but tagging out in October would make me really nervous the rest of the season with the change in the antlerless rule.

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[landman]

Oh the Good Ole Days......Remember when Cat was Wacking Everything that walked, Even killing one from the Back Deck of his Parents House.....Grass Hopper has come far..... :smash: :smash:

 

[fairchaser]

Great video of the buck. That's the great thing about video. It's catch and release deer hunting. I have a problem though with the videos. I'm getting pop up notices from YouTube now that there is a new Catman Outdoors video I need to watch. oke: I can't get any work done.

 

[catman529]

Oh the Good Ole Days......Remember when Cat was Wacking Everything that walked, Even killing one from the Back Deck of his Parents House.....Grass Hopper has come far..... :smash: :smash:

lol you know I'll wack one from the porch if I get the chance...when I'm not buck hunting those nanners better watch out


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[Stu]

Good deer but i think he is still young so you made the right choice. With the rut around the corner im sure youll see him again and his big brother

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[wsm]

Good for you ,that would have been hard to pass on.

 

[Smo]

For some of us, hunting and time in the woods is more far more rewarding than killing. It all depends on the hunter, situation at hand, number of tags left, time of year, and how much season is left.

Great video footage Cat, thanks for sharing.

That's what it's all about too me.

That's why after health issues sidelined my bow hunting I switched to flintlocks.

They have a definite learning curve and are challenging.

You made the right choice Cat. Hold out for the bigger ones .... or go fishing!

Either way it's a win - win situation .

 

[Grandslam11]

Awesome video. I saw that pic on TN Deer Hunters Facebook. Good deer.

 

[Hunter 257W]

That would indeed be a tough one to pass on but I can see your reasoning. The season is early (hasn't even started in fact for us gun hunters!) so you've got a lot of time in the woods and you don't want to make it "does only" for the rest of the year.

 

[scubacamper]

About how high up do you climb? Looks about 20 feet?


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[TheLBLman]

Great video Catman as usual! And a phenomenal show of restraint on a very nice 2.5yo. Thanks for sharing with us!

x 2

IMO, this buck is a great example of EXACTLY the kind of buck that becomes most rewarding to give a pass:
An above average 2 1/2-yr-old buck.
THIS is the caliber young buck that has the most potential to become a monster racked buck.

Think about it:
Do we have more to look forward
when the surviving older bucks have above average antlers,
or when the surviving older bucks have below average antlers?

This is also one example of how the reduced buck limit is favorably impacting buck:doe ratios.

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

Good job, your going to kill some big deer in your future

 

[TheLBLman]

For some of us, hunting and time in the woods is more far more rewarding than killing.
It all depends on the hunter, situation at hand, number of tags left, time of year, and how much season is left.

Totally agree.
And I'd say this applies to a growing number of us, rather than just some of us.
Of course, periodic killing of game is a part of our hunting,
but if that killing were the main thing, we could just go slaughter cattle in a pasture?

 

[ImThere]

Great video Catman as usual! And a phenomenal show of restraint on a very nice 2.5yo. Thanks for sharing with us!

x 2

IMO, this buck is a great example of EXACTLY the kind of buck that becomes most rewarding to give a pass:
An above average 2 1/2-yr-old buck.
THIS is the caliber young buck that has the most potential to become a monster racked buck.

Think about it:
Do we have more to look forward
when the surviving older bucks have above average antlers,
or when the surviving older bucks have below average antlers?

This is also one example of how the reduced buck limit is favorably impacting buck:doe ratios.

Unfortunately buck is on public land and will probably get killed. I would have shot it and it would probably be my biggest deer to date.


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[roosterpig]

Tough pill to swallow. Awesome video, as always.

 

[JeepKuntry]

I'd burn a tag on that deer. Once I get a few more 8's under my belt, then I'll get a little more picky!

 

[EastTNcowsNwhitetails]

Catman i love your videos and the way u hunt. I have been in the same boat with 3 different bucks this year since tagging my 12 pointer on opening day... man its tough. The 2 buck limit sucks but is awesome in the same token. Sucks now but will be glad for it in the future when and if the bucks we are passing up survive and guve us a chance next year or the next. I can honestly say ive passed a ton of bucks since ive transitioned from a killed to a mature buck hunter but ive never reaped the rewards yet that i know of... it will be a rewarding day when i kill a buck a year or 2 aftwr i let him walk. Congrats on a good hunt and nice pass. I know the urge u felt just like the urge i felt when a younger brother to my 12 pointer with the same kind of funky point coming from his base walked by. I wanted to shoot him so bad but i just knew id be more depressed about ending my season than excited about my buck.

 

[TheLBLman]

Unfortunately buck is on public land and will probably get killed.

That is not necessarily the case, but believe I understand where you're coming from.

From my observations,
that particular buck would be more likely killed on many private QDM leases than on many public lands.

I don't profess to know all the reasons for this observation,
but one is that top-end 2 1/2-yr-old bucks typically get killed at a higher rate on areas protecting 1 1/2-yr-old bucks
(this would be your typical QDM type scenario)
than on areas that allow "any" statewide-legal buck.

Regardless, a growing number of both public and private land hunters are voluntarily raising their standards as to what constitutes a "shooter" buck to them individually. We can see this "trending" with TNdeer's own "Catman", as he would have not hesitated to have killed this particular buck a couple years ago.

As more of us go to age-based criteria,
more outstanding 2 1/2-yr-old bucks such as this one will survive to an older age class,
and we can look forward to there being more "top-end" larger-antlered older bucks.

What's more, the majority of both the "public" and "private" land bucks include both property types in their daily roamings, especially during the rut. This is less the case on some huge WMA's such as Catoosa, but is still very much a fact even there, when you consider how many of the deer have a core within a mile of the outer perimeter boundary.

 

[TheLBLman]

Also, should you pass up a buck, then another hunter kills him,
that doesn't mean you still didn't make a major contribution towards better herd health
via your "passing" decision on that particular buck.

Often, when another hunter kills a buck we pass, then that hunter quits hunting (for the year), or doesn't hunt as much or as hard, and often it's just the fact he killed that buck, keeps him from killing a different buck.

Just saying, you commonly still save the life of a buck, even if the buck you pass gets killed by another hunter.
So you are therefore contributing to a better buck:doe ratio and typically better buck age structure in your hunting area.

 

[GKG]

Another high quality video ... well done. You mentioned you are taking a week of vacation during the rut ... nice move. Out of curiosity, which specific week are you betting on in taking the vacation days? Would value your opinion to calendar management, on when you think the middle TN area will be at peak. Thanks.