hoosierhunter Posted June 2, 2012 Report Share Posted June 2, 2012 You have legitimately passed a shot on? I.E the sole reason for the pass is because you had NO intention of killing him. Mine is a 130-135 inch 9 because of age. I've passed a 52 yard shot at a low 160's but I don't count that because had he been slightly closer I was shooting for sure. This is a tough question bc it's always easy to say you'd pass until the moment of truth. For me personally I guess I won't know until I face the situation. My mouth says I can but I'll feel a lot better once I can say I've actually done it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetailfreak55 Posted June 2, 2012 Report Share Posted June 2, 2012 Mine was a 135 inch 8. I started kicking myself for not taking him then later on in the season took a 150 inch 10. Never would of had a chance at the ten if I hadn't passed on the eight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted June 2, 2012 Report Share Posted June 2, 2012 Had to think about that one Pat. 1st of all...the size of the deer a hunter chooses to pass depends on the potential for mature bucks in the area he or she is hunting. Well yes...and the hunter too. The size of the trophy depends on the hunter. There's some bowhunters here that rarely, if ever see a P&Y class buck on their home turf. For others, they see them every year. While bowhunting in the Midwest I passed what I estimated was a 145 class 9 point 3 different times during one week's hunt 4 or 5 years ago in Kansas. My closest shot on him was ~25 yards but he never passed outside the 30 yard line. He was borderline for being legal for our criteria there (145 for 9 points). 2 years ago I passed what I estimated to be a 140" main frame 12 point at ~10 yards...needed 1 more year and he was under criteria anyway (150 for 10 point or better). Blew an opportunity on a 160 class buck 2 days later. Heck no I didn't pass him...I choked & shot over him! I couldn't begin to guess how many bucks I've passed between 130 & 140 in Iowa and Kansas since I started hunting there on shared private leases since the late 90's. I had to because they were below the criteria we had to abide by. If I had shot a non-criteria buck on those leasess I would have been kicked out. Matter of fact if I had gotten kicked out for shooting one of those smaller P&Y bucks in the earlier years of hunting there, I probably never would have killed the booner in Kansas. I'll admit it was hard passing those smaller P&Y class bucks until after I killed the booner...after that it's been easy. During the few outfitter bowhunts I've gone on (3), I passed one 140 class 9 point in Missouri at ~20 yards (needed another year) and several P&Y class bucks in Missouri & Illinois. To be honest though, if I hadn't already killed the booner in Kansas the prior fall, I probably would have shot that 9 point. Here in MS the biggest buck I've passed during bow season was last year. He was an upper 120's class buck at ~15 yards. That's the only P&Y class buck I've ever passed in MS. As you know I was hunting 2 that were bigger than him so passing him was easy. Matter of fact the smaller of the 2 shooter bucks I was hunting was just out of range the prior afternoon. I was back in the same stand (same wind) and I was waiting to see if that shooter would show again. He didn't. I killed the bigger of the 2 shooter bucks on Nov. 4th. That one made my season! The other shooter buck was killed by a friend of mine during the gun season in early January. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
need2hunt Posted June 2, 2012 Report Share Posted June 2, 2012 Mid 140's 10 point is the biggest I've passed on with my bow. 180's is the biggest I've had to call a hunter off as a cameraman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrown Posted June 2, 2012 Report Share Posted June 2, 2012 LOL, kind of bragging? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 LOL, kind of bragging? Pat isnt the kind of guy that would post this question to brag..imo 130" 10 pt for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebohio Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 wont pass him next year if he is still around. pretty sure he was only 2.5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sskybnd Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 shoot i wish we had deer like that around here. we'd have a stroke if we ever seen a 150 or bigger around our lease, theres no qdm around here so if it gets 3 points on one side its pretty much a goner, my biggest was an 8 point but hed only go 130. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 I've seen some 130's at 50 yards with my bow and told a fib to my hunting buddies that I let it go (which I did, but had he came to within 20 yards I most likely would have arrowed him). As memory serves me I pulled on a 9 point probably 115 inches that was probably 2.5 years old. Ended up letting the bow down without taking the shot. He was also right at 30 yards which was my max distance so combining the distance and smaller rack I didn't shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted June 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 what's the biggest buck Al Great points. It's very relative to area and past harvest for sure. Prior to 2008 I wouldn't have dreamed of passing a 115 inch deer. I'm sure as with most guys the more your wall grows the more selective you become. Brown- No bragging just honest questions/answers from all who replied. Everyone is in a different spot in their hunting career. I certainly hope to achieve a level like Rhino, Need2hunt and several others on the site have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted June 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 Mid 140's 10 point is the biggest I've passed on with my bow. 180's is the biggest I've had to call a hunter off as a cameraman Well for your sake I hope it wasn't Vicki as she seems like the type to give a person the ear full! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrown Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 I understand. I can understand with what Rhino was saying also. You also have to understand that probably the majority of hunters are lucky to have a chance at a 150 class buck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 I've passed much bigger bucks out in Okieland, but around here where i normally hunt it's really tough. there's no management and most shoot them when they're young. biggest i've passed around here is a 100" buck. many people have their "biggest buck" on the wall around here from this area taping out 100 - 125" gross. i'm trying to work on the people around where i hunt, because i'm tired of them complaining about there being no big bucks around. hard to change old habits of the majority. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 Mid or upper 120's. There are a few............ VERY FEW......... 140 - 160 class deer in my area. I've only ever seen two of them while in my woods and hunting. I get some trailcam pics. But again............ VERY FEW. So it's pretty hard to wait for one of them. I've only shot two bucks in the last 7 seasons. Neither of them are out of the 120's. My general rule is "P&Y or bigger". My hard & fast rule is "do I want that deer on my wall?" I will not shoot a buck that I will not have a shoulder mount made and hang it on my wall. Maybe my overall, baseline rule is "I will know when I see it". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 I understand. I can understand with what Rhino was saying also. You also have to understand that probably the majority of hunters are lucky to have a chance at a 150 class buck. Yep...heck, many hunters will never have the chance to even see a 150 in many parts of the country. That's just the way it is and I sure understand that. A wise old traditional bowhunter friend of mine told me if you want to kill big rack bucks, you have to go hunt them where they live in huntable numbers. Unfortunately, there are many hunters that have the desire to go but don't have the means to do it. I wish every hard core whitetail hunter could at least once in the lifetime. 180's is the biggest I've had to call a hunter off as a cameraman Now that would HURT Gary!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted June 4, 2012 Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 Biggest I have passed on that I had a good solid shot on was probably in the 90-95 inch range. Sad thing is I have passed on several small bucks with the bow and never killed a buck with the bow, but have killed several bucks with gun that have been in bowrange. That said I did once have a 130+ class 10 pointer in range with my bow drawn and pin settled right behind the shoulder and was waiting for the deer to step into an opening and got busted by a dink out in front of him who caught my wind. The shooter was totally oblivious before the little deer blew and took off. Had a blown almost opportunity on the 8 in my avatar too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted June 4, 2012 Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 Two that I can think of right off hand. Both 8 pts that would have scored right close to 120 or so. One was this past year. Big bodied deer, probably #200+ dressed I'll bet, walked right underneath me and offered a perfect quartering away shot at around 15-20 yards. The other one was a few years ago, but perfect broadside shot at 20 yards or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUDRUNNER Posted June 4, 2012 Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 Biggest buck I've passed was about a 130". It happened last year, and the only reason I passed on him was that I shot a buck that looked like his twin two weeks earlier. On top of that I had seen a 160 in the area a few times that I was holding out for, but he never came into bow range. Normally I would not pass a deer like that though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
need2hunt Posted June 4, 2012 Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 Well for your sake I hope it wasn't Vicki as she seems like the type to give a person the ear full! Nope not Vicki... I filmed her a decent amount around the office and down in pike county, out of all the people I've filmed she is probably one of the best people to hunt/film with as far as easy to get along with, having fun, and not looking to blame the cameraman for every little thing that goes wrong. Rhino - yes that hurt, and now that you guys are dredging up bad memories I realized that I did have to say no to something bigger than that whitetail while running camera... you want pain lol? Try telling your hunter no to a bull elk at 10 yards on the ground.... ooooooouuuucchhhhh!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted June 4, 2012 Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 Rhino - yes that hurt, and now that you guys are dredging up bad memories I realized that I did have to say no to something bigger than that whitetail while running camera... you want pain lol? Try telling your hunter no to a bull elk at 10 yards on the ground.... ooooooouuuucchhhhh!! Dang Gary...that nightshot light doesn't work at 10 yards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
need2hunt Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 Dang Gary...that nightshot light doesn't work at 10 yards? LOL Didn't need a light, just needed someone to cut down a 6 foot pine tree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 I thought of a couple more yesterday after reading all of the other posts. Both deer were shooters in my eyes, right near Pope, but they were off limits at the request of the landowner. One was really goofy...all gnarly non-typical on his left beam, and his right was a normal 10pt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruttinbuc Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 I'm still kicking myself for a couple I passed. One in Kansas in the first hour of the hunt and one in Illinois on the last day. The Kansas buck was probably a 140/150 class buck as an 8 point. I had it in my head from the guy who owned the property that there was a giant non typical with trash all over a 10 point frame. Like a fool I waited on him. I had the 8 pt at 30 yards without a clue. I didn't see anything more than a 120 for the rest of the hunt. Two years later in Illinois I had a 160/170 8 point with junk on his bases at 45 yards facing me while a doe was bedded not 25 yards away facing the other way down the hill. I should have took the shot when I had my chance, but figured I'd wait him out. He moved and bedded down behind the doe, but out of view behind a big oak tree. All I could see was his butt. I sat on the ground for a half hour with my release on the string in a darn near fetal position. The wind was perfect, but the light was changing and the big doe must have caught my glasses or something as the sun was bright through the trees. In a snort and a flash they were up and out of there. It was a long ride home. I could have made that shot I done it before on much smaller deer back in the day. This buck had a chest as big as an 8 ring. That nanny saved that buck's life as many of them do. Place a 5 letter word for a female dog here. -----:bummed: I pray for the day when I can get back there to try again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruttinbuc Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 There is more o the story of getting in close to those Illinois deer. It involved busting a couple smaller deer below where the buck and doe bedded. A small buck and a doe took off down the draw around the horn of the hill while the bigger deer went up above to the edge of the top. The big wind covered me like a blanket, but confused the deer. I made my way to a oak tree not quite big enough to hide all of me, but enough. It was the smaller buck returning up the draw that got the bedded doe's attention and turned my way. Still kicking myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dosse Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 Here is mine and this clip was taken off the playback on my video camera. 35 yards and a deer I had been looking for buti thought could be 3 he had a broken brow and I had just killed my best ever buck with a bow (about the same size) 2 weeks before so I let him go. He made it to the next year and was killed my neighbors. I figured he was low 130s here. Last year he was mid 40s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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