TEMPTATIONS WHILE HUNTING!!(long story but plz read)

[bigbuckkilla89]

On dec. 2nd It was a cold and kindly windy rainy day. It had been raining all day yesterday and at 2:45 I decide to go crawl in my stand at my foodplot where I took my big 10 point on the shotgun opener on nov.20. I have no rain gear just a heavy coat and a couple layers of pants. So after about 30 minutes of being in the stand I'm wet and cold and Im thinkin maybe this wasnt such a good idea. At about 3:45 I've had almost all i can take and I tell myself if I havent seen a deer by 4:15 im gettin down early. Well at 4:00 on the dot I was watchin 2 squirrels chase each other around the tree and I looked in the field behind me and about 250-300 yards away stands a deer. I knew as soon as I saw the deer that it was a buck , just by the body size. I try to get a look at it through my binos but there all fogged up and all i could make out was it was a buck with a white rack I couldnt tell how big. I grab my buck roar from my pocket on my coat and hit two loud grunts and I see him bring his head up. He looked for a second and then he started trotting my way. The closer he got the better I could see one side of his magnificent rack. He got to the edge of the woods and I still didnt know exactly how big he was. He came in the woods grunting and lookin around tryin to locate the buck that grunted at him. He was grunting aggressive and from his posture and movements I'm pretty sure he was lookin for a fight. When he entered the woods he was only about 55 yards from me and Ive still only seen one side of his rack. I could see It had at least 6 points maybe more I thought he was a small racked buck at first but then when I saw the 6 points and the g2s 3s and 4s were around 10-14 inches i knew he was bigger. As he was going down the ridge to my left he was lookin around and finally he looked toward me.. OMG this buck that i thought was a small racked big bodied deer while he was way out in the field sure fooled me big time im pretty good at field judgin a deer and I guesstimate him to be within the 180s-200s inch range. He had at least three 10-14 inch tines on both sides a matching kicker off his brow tine on both sides that was at least 4-6 inches and his brow tines were around 10 inches. He stuck out past his ears a good ways on both sides and his rack was almost semitrical it looked identical on both sides. He had at LEAST a 20 inch inside spread and he was tall ive never seen a buck that was as wide like him and as tall at the same time. Usually its always one or the other and his mass was unbelievable he was heavy heavy horned I'd say around 6-8 inch bases. He was the total package. Every whitetail hunters dream. The biggest typical buck I've ever seen. And I got him at 50 yards and hes lookin for a fight If i grunt at him theres a good possibilty he'll come in range and give me a shot. But wait I shot a 9 point on the 14th. of nov. with my bow and a 10 point on the 20th with a shotgun. So my two buck tags for the year are filled and Im not a poacher by anymeans. So I sit and watch this buck for a good ten minutes within 50-75 yards and it was actually a humbling experience for me because this is the first year Ive filled both my buck tags and am still hunting for does, and I didnt know if i was going to be able to pass a big buck up if one walked by. Well god tested me with a magnificent huge monster freak of a buck and I cant say I didnt think about hittin the grunt call and tryin to bring him in for the shot because I did, I thought about it hard. But I did the right thing and I didnt even try to get a shot at him I didnt kno if i would pass that test. I had to tell myself you cant shoot or shoot at this deer no matter what. I now know that I have the will and the ability to pass up a big-monster-giant deer even if I may have a chance to get a shot when I dont have the tags or its not legal to shoot. This is the first time Ive ever really been tempted with poaching a deer because I've always had a tag befor. But as I get older and more skilled and experienced as a hunter this is a decesion I may be faced with again if I take 2 bucks in one year and now I know that I can do it. I know that I really shouldnt have even been hunting if I didnt think I could let a big buck pass by when I dont have the tag but thats why I'm sharing this story I wanted to see if anyone else had to do something like this. Having to make the decision about trying to get a shot at this deer made me realize that its choices and decisions that we as hunters make that catagorize us as ethical law abiding hunters or as POACHERS. I kno the post is long but I had to talk about this because I just now realized that I am an ethical hunter and I can make choices to keep it that way and what better place to talk about topics like this than at the hunting forums because to be honest I didnt know for sure if i could let a good deer walk if it came in even with me having no tags. But now I do because today is the 2nd season for shotgtun here in IL and this morning I watched a very nice 8 point(which I would have shot if I still had a tag) chase a doe around the field for about 15 minutes befor I took a shot at the doe and missed her so I've passed bucks 2 times from the same stand all within 18 hours of each other and I'm gonna keep let em go til net year. To everyone here who reads this especially if ur new to hunting or you havent been hunting very long. Be smart while hunting and make the right choices identify and know your target befor you squeeze the trigger and know the game laws for your area because you dont want to be classified as a poacher. I know alot of you who read this may think that I should have made the choice to not poach a long time ago. I always said I would never poach or hunt illegal but you can never make the right or wrong choice until the time comes to do so. Usually Im not good with making the right choice but I care enough about hunting and enjoy it very much enough so that I wouldnt do anything to jepordize my hunting rights or anyone elses. Im kind of rambling on here so im signin off now everyone in IL good luck and hunt smart and safe during 2nd season. Any feedback be negative or positive is appreciated that is if you can read this whole thing cuz i kinda went wacky and jus said what came to mind.

[bloodtrails]

:death:

[Dawg]

You did good by not stooping to the poacher level. If that deer makes it til next year you just may get another chance at him.

I'm sure there are lots of guys out there that would have felt the same emotions as you did, me being one of them.

Good job bud!

[MNcrittergittr]

To me, the decision is easy there. If the kill is illegal then its a NO GO. Big buck or not, a deer is a deer and that's a life, to justify poaching for a big buck and not anything else is crazy. Poaching is poaching is poaching.

You made the right choice, and I'm sure all of us here are glad you did. I'm sure you are happy that you now know you have the disipline to make the right choices.

I have a couple examples of situations like this I've experienced:

A few years ago I shot a monster 8 pointer, while I was tracking the deer I stumbled upon a BEAUTIFUL, huge, double drop tine buck bedded down under a tree with our posted sign on it lol. It was just like a painting! The buck jumped up and right in front of me broadside. I was left standing there mezmorized with my bow in my hand. He was on our property and easily in bow range. But I already just shot a buck. So he trotted off and occasionally I see him coming up the ridge in my dreams lol.

Long story short years ago I chased this monster 10 pointer around our property all summer (tracking and trail pics) and all fall hunting him. I caught a glimpse of him once during the season and that was it. One morning I decided I was going to take any nice buck and not just focus on that one. So that morning I took a nice little buck that I was very happy with. THE VERY NEXT morning, I'm in the blind with my little brother, looking for a doe to take. And about an hour into our hunt the monster 10 pointer comes strolling by 10 yards in front of the blind! I passed, what kind of example would I be setting if I had taken that buck with my little brother right there with me?

I guess the bottom line is respect and disipline. And I don't need to shoot every deer I see or the biggest buck in the woods to have a great season.

Edited December 3, 2009 by MNcrittergittr

[The_Kat]

I was tempted by a monster buck at 40 yards bedded in a foodplot on evening. I had my rifle which I carried for yotes. It was the day before the rifle season opener and I could have easily checked him in the next morning. I threw the scope on him and could have easily broken his neck with 130 grain .270 shell. He was a magnificent 10 pointer....one of the best I've seen on our ranch. I let him go....took all I had.

Another temptation I had was when I was dating a girl from Clayton, OK and she and I were muzzleloader hunting and had a nice 5 x 5 bull elk come in. What a magnificent creature....we were in the middle of no where and I could have easily shot him and got away with it. Still I passed. It's just in your hunting ethics....ya either got it or ya dont.

[backwoods07]

As mentioned before, poaching is poaching. Good job letting him go.

The night before shotgun season, a couple of us were glassing a field from the truck. A monster walked about 100 yds from us. Any one of us could've easily reached in the back seat and grabbed a gun. We all looked at eachother, then at the guns, then back at eachother, then smiled and laughed it off.

[HOYTnMUZZYboy]

You did the ethical thing. I commend you for that. Nice work!

[Ethan Givan]

Yep you did the right thing. Good job.

I have never felt the desire to poach a deer, no matter how big. I would have no feelings of accomplishment with the kill, and you cant enjoy telling telling the story about your hunt to your buddies on how you killed that deer. All you gain is meat and lots of guilt. It is never worth it.

[layin on the smackdown]

So I sit and watch this buck for a good ten minutes within 50-75 yards and it was actually a humbling experience for me because this is the first year Ive filled both my buck tags and am still hunting for does, and I didnt know if i was going to be able to pass a big buck up if one walked by. Well god tested me with a magnificent huge monster freak of a buck and I cant say I didnt think about hittin the grunt call and tryin to bring him in for the shot because I did, I thought about it hard. But I did the right thing and I didnt even try to get a shot at him I didnt kno if i would pass that test. I had to tell myself you cant shoot or shoot at this deer no matter what. I now know that I have the will and the ability to pass up a big-monster-giant deer even if I may have a chance to get a shot when I dont have the tags or its not legal to shoot. This is the first time Ive ever really been tempted with poaching a deer because I've always had a tag befor. But as I get older and more skilled and experienced as a hunter this is a decesion I may be faced with again if I take 2 bucks in one year and now I know that I can do it. I know that I really shouldnt have even been hunting if I didnt think I could let a big buck pass by when I dont have the tag but thats why I'm sharing this story I wanted to see if anyone else had to do something like this. .

Great story...would have loved to have been your camera man who still had 2 buck tags...:D:D

But seriously, this is a great lesson, learning tool, and learning experience all in one. You learned so many things from this experience that will only better yourself and others around you...To have an experience like this will only make it easier for you to throw the pass card on bucks that need another year. Even though you had no choice this time around, next year, you will be alot more picky about what you are going to burn your either sex tags on...and that is a very good thing...beeing picky and lettin em grow is fantastic!

I'll burn a tag on a giant or a shooter...but after that first tag is burned, the only way im burning that second tag is if i am pretty darn sure i won't see another shooter for the remainder of the year...december is a long month...

Well done on your decisions, as hard as it probably was...well done!

Hopefully he makes it and you can continue the story next season.

[Prairiepredator]

You definately did the right thing. You would have regreted it for the rest of your life if you would have done it.

[joeaveragehunter]

Sometimes doing the right thing is a difficult no brainer.

[ruttinbuc]

David, you did the right thing. It is a true test of character to keep your ethics in check. There are a lot of people who would not think twice and try to get away with it.

What you did wrong is post the story without paragraphs. Makes it a tough, tough read....:crutch:

[Tominator]

Yep you did the right thing. Good job.

I have never felt the desire to poach a deer, no matter how big. I would have no feelings of accomplishment with the kill, and you cant enjoy telling telling the story about your hunt to your buddies on how you killed that deer. All you gain is meat and lots of guilt. It is never worth it.

Yep.

I don't remember the exact story, and I can't really recall a specific instance, but I do remember having this type discussion with my buddy Tom a few years ago.

He said one thing that will stick with me forever, on killing a big buck illegally he said "what kind of story could you tell?"

Tough as it was, you did the right thing.

[BowTech292]

I agree 100% with everybody, but I like SmackDown's reply the best...... Man am I glad Louisiana gives us 3 buck, and 3 doe tags, and I hope I am never tested like that. I'd prolly pass the test, but don't want to be faced with the challenge.

[MNcrittergittr]

I agree 100% with everybody, but I like SmackDown's reply the best...... Man am I glad Louisiana gives us 3 buck, and 3 doe tags, and I hope I am never tested like that. I'd prolly pass the test, but don't want to be faced with the challenge.

Maaan...I can't imagine having 3 buck tags! Here in Minnesota we can only tag one buck a year. We can pretty much shoot all the does we'd ever want though. How many licenses usually get sold down there? I'll admit I'm a bit jealous of all you guys that get multiple buck tags.

Edited December 4, 2009 by MNcrittergittr

[hunterbobb]

You did the right thing no doubt about that. You had already killed two nice deer and had already had a good season.

However I would like to make a comment on how the Wisconsin DNR has turned hundreds of ethical hunters into poachers.

For the last few years Wisconsin has had a requirement that you must shoot a doe before you can shoot a buck.

Thankfully I was never in the position where my chance at a buck came first. However, if it would have, there was no way I was going to let a politician in the state capital tell me I could not harvest an otherwise legal animal just because he came along before bambi.

:gun2:

[6sixpoint_nobrows]

i agree with you 100 % anyone can say that are not a poacher and very ethical but until faced with a real situation where you have to choose between right and wrong then thats what separates the two. god job on keeping your composure and letting this deer walk. hopefully next season you can lay the smack on him as an even bigger deer! good luck out there!

[illinoisbonesticker]

Awesome job and congrats on your disipline. Keeping Illinois true and proud. Hard, but a very wise situation, who knows, God will grant you a true Monster from the midwest in the future.:yes: