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Let it pass or shoot

2K views 30 replies 22 participants last post by  phumb 
#1 ·
Something happened this weekend that bothered me. I'm curious how other "bowhunters" would feel and not just the non hunting public who I think wouldn't understand. A friend of mine and hunting partner shot opening day with a gun, a small buck that I passed on with the bow just days earlier out of my stand. Now that in itself is not the problem. The problem is that for the past 5 or so years we agreed to not shoot anything that wasn't at least close to something you'd want to mount(120ish or at very minimum 110). I had been telling him of the 8 pointers that i let pass and his reply was that we're doing thr right thing to let them walk etc, i wash shocked when i saw his buck. It didn't come close to what I assumed was a shooter with a bow, much less than with a gun....also, I have been trying every chance I have to get the nieghbors to let smaller ones pass saying we're selective and only shoot bigger/older deer. Now I sorta feel like my word was a bunch of BS. So.....do i bite my lip, be a good friend and don't say anything?(not sure I can do that!) or confront him and ask *** were you thinking? sorry for long post but wanted to give most of the details....
 
#3 ·
depends, is this his first buck kill with a bow?

a friend is a lot more important than a deer, i think you know that...:darkbeer:
 
#4 ·
Well if you both determined that you would pass anything under 110 and he shot something way smaller than that I would say something to him. It will make you guys look like a bunch of hypocrites if the neighbors see that and you tell them you don't shoot young deer. No one likes a hypocrite.
 
#5 ·
:)Well I don't know your situation but just maybe he is tired of passing up deer all the time and actualy wanted to become a deer shooter !!? Just a thought .

I would ask without being crapy if he has changed his mind about what he wants out of his hunting some guys includeing myself have floated back and forth for a few years till they finaly decide to settle in as a trophy hunter and some return to tier roots and just want the fun of taking a deer that they want.:) Don't be hard on him he took the deer he wanted if this is going to be a deal breaker to you then just slowly break it off and remain freinds you yourself may return to your deer hunting roots one day also then you guys would be a great match out there once agin.:darkbeer:
 
#6 ·
I say confront him in a calm manner. just figure out why he shot it. Maybe make a rule any thing under 120 and those inches are added to the next deer they get to shoot.

Say his deer scores 100. 120-100=20. Add that 20 on to the 120 and the next deer he shoots of the property has to score 140. This would stop the shooting of small bucks. And if he doesnt think its right then he doesnt get to hunt there anymore.
 
#28 ·
I say confront him in a calm manner. .
confront & calm; dont belong in the same sentence.

"I thought we were going to try some fancy QGM this year" end of conversation.
or spray paint "tooth pick buck killer" on his tailgate :D
 
#7 ·
I have the exact same problem...only it is with my dad and on my land.

We talked on Saturday morning and I told him in a very polite way..."hey, why don't we both try to hold out for big bucks this year"...he agreed. Later that day he got after me for passing on a 100" 8pt and said he was going to shoot it if it came passed his stand (mind you, he has already wounded a small 6pt and missed a small 4pt this year). Needless to say it was a very quiet walk from our stands. After we got to the house he said that an 8pt was a big buck and I just shook my head in silence. Mind you, he has shot several nice bucks over the years and I feel terrible because I am getting to the point of not wanting to hunt with him over this and a few other issues.

I proceeded to take him down to my barn and showed him the last 5 years of racks that he has shot...none of which score over 100". I asked him is he is proud of any of the bucks or could tell me about each hunt where he shot the buck. He said "no" and then I said "why didn't you just shoot a doe then". He just laughed and said "hey, a buck is a buck". Again I just shook my head.

I also talk to my neighbors about QDM and every year it seems like I have to appoligize for him. My wife is so sick of hearing me talk about his issue that she is almost to the point of telling him he is not allowed to hunt our property....I am torn because I also don't want to lose my lifelong hunting partner and the guy who showed me the ropes. Since I aquired my own land 5-6 years ago it is like he is on a killing mission and I don't know how to stop it still maintain a relationship. What irks me the most is he has almost lost regard for hunting laws as well (which is the other issue). If I was not there stopping him most of the time he would probably land his but in jail. He wants to tresspass on all my neighbors property and my neighbors and I have an unspoken rule about going onto each others land (only if you need to track one)....very frustrating!!!!:embara:
 
#10 ·
well, this is a very interesting situation. I stopped hunting with my brother and 2 cousins for the same types of reasons listed here. shooting anything with horns, over harvest, questionable legal violations and the such. if you guys made an agreement before hunting, and one broke it, then be upset. i would give him another chance, and make sure you are both understanding the goals.
 
#11 ·
I think I would ask him if he was going to get it mounted. You had said earlier that the deal was you would only shoot a buck that you would mount. If he says no, then I would ask him why he shot it and talk to him about it. If he is getting it mounted then maybe your opinion on what is a shooter buck and his differ, and it might be better to set a different score or size rack as a shooter.
 
#17 ·
Can he still shoot another buck this year? If not, the 120 he now has to let walk will be a slammer next year. I don't, but it seems to me if your trying to grow big bucks better he takes a 1.5 year old deer and let's a 2.5 or more make it through to be a trophy next year. Just thinking out loud
 
#19 ·
Yeah, a discussion is in order. He probably has a good reason for shooting a small buck. Just remind him that you're trying to kill only 110+ inch deer or whatever and hopefully he'll get the picture. Make it a huge deal and you could lose a friend in the process. After all, it's just a deer.
 
#20 ·
I had a good friend of mine do a similar thing recently. We live in a severely overhunted county in eastern NY. He completely understands the logic behind letting the young bucks walk, and he is always in complete agreement with me on these issues, shoot the does let the young bucks walk etc. So needless to say I was shocked when he sent me the pic of his opening day buck, a 1.5 year old 5 pointer. This is a guy who has shot a number of bucks 130-150 (in Montana), but that day he just wanted to shoot his buck before the guys setup around his property whacked him.

Some people will never change, no matter how much you educate them. He got his buck, and I am sincerely glad for him (although I could tell from his tone HE was a little disappointed). What does bother me though is that if he sees a bigger buck now, he will probably shoot that one too (using the family tag system:rolleyes:). THAT really burns me, and there are a lot of guys like him doing the same thing. He understands the problem, he tells me how much he hates the problem, yet HE allows himself to be a part of the problem.

Ultimately, the only way I can keep my sanity is to accept that eastern NY is what it is, a place to shoot a lot of deer, and spend my time seriously hunting mature whitetails in other states.
 
#21 ·
i would confront him about it.we have the same problem every gunseason we let some extended family and church members hunt a couple of our farms.i always try explaining to them that we are trying to pass all the smaller bucks.so far this year 3 1 1/2 yr old eight pointers have been killed.i informed everyone this past weekend we are not allowing ANY gunhunting on ANYof our properties anymore.i felt like a jerk doing it but they've had numerous warnings over the past few years.
 
#22 ·
Let's face it, until you discuss it with him it's only going to bother you and be on your mind. This means that the next little thing he does that you may not agree with is going to be blown way out of proportion and the consequence is not going to be to anybody's advantage.

Talk it over with him very low key and ask why he chose to shoot...who knows:noidea: Maybe he's hard up for venison or his wife is busting his chops about all this $ he's spending on hunting stuff and not filling the freezer...maybe he thought it was bigger. Find out his justification and go from there. Everybody makes mistakes in the "heat of the moment" sometimes and it's possible he just got caught up in the excitement.
 
#23 ·
My Dad and I had this same sitiutation happen to us, I made a big deal over it and now it haunts me every time I see a 100" buck walk by stand because my Dad passed away during archery season of this year. Remember, he is the one who problably started you hunting and you can repay him that great gift by keeping quite and enjoy your hunting time together. Also remember pass on 160+ deer so they can breed more does if QDM is that important!!!!!
 
#24 ·
I know how you feel, we have one group of neighbors around us that only shoots big bucks, and the occasional doe for management and we do the same. I have passed on so many young bucks this year that I can't remember how many. Then we have the other neighbor and his family that goes by the if it's brown it's down theory despite our efforts to get them on board. But when someone buys a license and hunts legally, we can't dictate to them how to go about it no matter how much we wish, and believe me, I wish they would go along with us. I scouted all summer, hung trail camera's, stands, only hunted when conditions were right. always showered in scent killers, scent free clothes, the whole nine yards, so that I could target two particular bucks that I had on camera. I did not connect with them and did not kill a deer with my bow as of yet for the first time in about 12 years. I found out yesterday the meat hunter neighbors who never do anything but go out and sit on the ground in the same spots every year and shoot a small lead mine on opening weekend killed one of the bucks. A guy I know rough scored it at around 135 inches. I hope some of the others I let go will make it for next year. Sorry so long winded, and didn't mean to hijack, but I needed to vent a little. Good luck to you all.
 
#26 ·
I'm not going to reply to all these replies individually but I really want to thank all of you for your replies. You've givin me some good ideas and insights. Also helps to know that i'm not alone in my strong feelings to let'm go so they can grow. But don't get me wrong, people hunt for different reasons and the guy who comes out for a 4 day hunt once a year that pays taxes on a 75 acre parcel, who am I to tell him what to or not to shoot(thats not the situation that started this thread, just wanted to show I understand there are some reasons for taking what walks by, even if I don't agree and thats okay) thanks again and keep your thoughts coming, obviously this isn't an isolated situation and your replies may help others!
 
#30 ·
While I agree that what the guy did wasn't right, calling his "friend and hunting partner" dirt is a little extreme. How do we know this guy didn't get caught up in the moment thinking the buck was bigger than he actually was? I'm sure almost everyone who has shot bucks before has experienced some form of ground shrinkage. How do we know he didn't walk up to this deer and go "oh crap thats not as big as I thought. I wonder what so and so is gonna say" and now he's embarrased to say anything because what is done is done.

I would just approach him and say "can I ask you a question? Did you think that deer was bigger or what?" Whatever he says I would just say "please don't let it happen again. We had an agreement ya know"

Don't lose a friendship over it...
 
#31 ·
thats what kinda got me, i was suprised that he didn't feel it was small. he actually seemed sorta proud as in "I got my buck" boasting. thats what made it worse I suppose. If the reply was "man, i'm sorry, I thought it was bigger...." than it'd been no big deal, i'm not heartless(though some might argue that:eek:) thats what brings me back to the start of this thread. 1/2 of me thought okay, if he's happy and proud, a friend wouldn't piss on his parade. on the other hand, I thought we agreed.....what the heck were you thinking?!
 
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