Update: the 8 that walked away... 2015 version

[Deleted]

Dave passed him again this year, (Kudos Dave) he gained some mass and some more spread but not much, if any on the tines, his main beam length did get better also. Not at all what we were hoping  he would do in a year.. (Pic was captured by the new regime that is taking over the farm we have hunted for the last 12 years, this will be our final season on this farm, time to knock on some more doors.) 











Not the best pic because it's a screen capture from the video that I took of this buck. Thought I'd share anyhow. Had this buck at less than ten yards right at daylight last Friday, decided to pass cause we believe he is only 3 1/2, so I hung up the bow and started videoing. Dave has had encounters with this same buck and passed as well. Didn't get any pics or video of the 10 I passed on the other night, I was too busy debating whether to shoot him or not. Kicking myself a lil now... Guy

[kralik4jr]

That's gonna be a pig next year. At least somebody's seeing them. I passed on the same deer in Iowa Sunday but mine has a broken G2.

[Dave W]

I doubt he will be anything more than a main frame eight next year, hopefully we get to find out.

[wilmsmeyer]

That's some ultimate discipline.

[03mossy]

I don't know how you guys do it, passing on those I mean! That's a trophy where I hunt. I admire your discipline.

[Deleted]

We are pretty certain that this buck is 3 1/2 and would score somewhere around the 140" mark, Dave is most likely correct and this buck will likely remain a mainframed 8 pointer, but, but... at 4 1/2 or even 5 1/2 he may be a 150, 160 or even bigger. Who knows.. we would definitely never know if we killed him this year and with our luck we will never see him again, but its worth a shot. Never easy watching bucks like this walk away but it's what we gotta do to have a shot at a 160 or bigger. Always gives ya hope for the next season.

[sw]

Nov 22, 2013 5:31:50 GMT -5 wilmsmeyer said:

That's some ultimate discipline.

I agree. Milo's deer was a 3 1/2 year old. Last year I passed on a similar 10pt, waiting until after the rut to consider killing it(oops! Harvesting it!) and the next week, still in Oct, a kid killed it across the line from me. How do you control the neighborhood? Same as doing good deer management: own the neighborhood.

[Deleted]

SW we suffer from the same problem. We pass them and the neighboring farm chums the heck out of em and I'm sure they "harvest" quite a few of our hopefuls. Some of them are lucky enough to stay on the opposite neighbors farm where there is no hunting allowed at all and they grow old and become fertilizer there. Boy would I like to have some trail cams on his place!!

[mrbuck]

You are a better man than me to let a 140" buck walk . Hope you see 'em again . Best of luck during your firearms season .
mrbuck

[Dave W]

Not sure if you can "find Waldo" in the pic I got. Dunderhead forgot to zoom in. Gives a view of the body from the side and though the points don't show up, you can make out the frame-maybe.

Size is relative to the area you hunt, 120-140" sightings are rather common on a yearly basis if you hunt enough. The more often you let them pass, the easier it gets. We are probably foolish for the amount of acreage we hunt to let him walk, the guys on the neighboring farms will almost certainly not pass on him.

We can't control the food or genetics, age is the only variable we have any influence over, and that is very little. To get a chance at one like Guy has in his avatar, takes some discipline and a lot of luck.

[jims]

I am fortunate that I and my two neighbors have an area to hunt. All pretty much for deer. Even with that and passing on bucks we have a lease hunt club near us that puts out 100 plus acres of food plots. We cannot compete with that so I often think we are growing deer for them but that is what most people face, just a fact of life.
I hope that deer gets to be a 6.5 year old and he stops in front of your stand.

[Dave W]

The biologist I talked to felt a person needs 1000 acres at a minimum to do serious trophy management. With less than that, your odds to harvest mature deer that you pass on go way down.

[Deleted]

The 8 that walked away has walked away 4 times now this year. I had him right where I wanted him during gun season, if I had wanted. He's a lucky buck and I hope Dave or I are lucky enough to see him again next year. I did see something I've never seen in my 37 years in the field, I watched this buck walk up out of some timber right into a cow pasture where a lone and aparantely agitated BULL stood, needless to say the bull didn't take kindly to this buck entering his field and was quick to drop his head and charge this buck. The buck gladly vacated the field in a hurry but did slow to take a peek back to see if he was in the clear, he then turned his full out run to a cocky trot until he cleared the field and made it back to his hiding grounds of the neighbors protected sanctuary. That was a once in a lifetime spectacle....

[Deleted]

way to go guys! it shows you gents are serious about downing a good one. Yes its hard to pass on a 3 1/2 yr old sometimes but if you shoot them this year one can only imagine what would have been next year or the year after you go dudes!

[lttac]

I admire you for having the control to not take the shot but around here he would have been toes up ! The hunting pressure is unreal around home and I have some neighbors that will shoot anything that has horns or doesn't. I passed a good 10 last year only to learn the lesson when the neighbors brother came down the road with the deer in the back of his truck less than a week later.

[Deleted]

We suffer from the same problems, our farm doesn't hold many deer. There just isn't enough thickets or food any more to hold em. The neighboring farms have all of that, unfounately. 2 of the 3 neighboring farms, no deer is safe, no matter of size or gender. Guess this is why we've only been able to take two deer above 150" in the last ten years, while letting "Dozens" of 120"-140" walk. Either way, if we start shooting the smaller immature bucks, we would only add to the problem at hand. At least I can honestly say that both Dave and myself have had at least one opportunity at a P&Y buck almost single year for the last 10 years, guess that's worth something.

[Deleted]

Per the land owner, rumor has it, this ole boy made it and is on the farm again this year. Time for me and Dave to get busy and see what a year has done for him. Fingers crossed...

[ET]

Oct 26, 2014 23:36:30 GMT -5 @ohioguy said:

Per the land owner, rumor has it, this ole boy made it and is on the farm again this year. Time for me and Dave to get busy and see what a year has done for him. Fingers crossed...

Ohioguy

Wish Dave and you good luck in achieving a return investment.
You guys deserve it.

Ed

[Deleted]

Thanks Ed, much appreciated. We will need all the luck we can get, he will be a year smarter and I bet not so careless to show himself so often. Plus we have the added problem of "New" hunters that will be tromping around the farm...That's out of our control unfortunately.

[Deleted]

I hope Dave gets a crack at him!

[jims]

He will be bigger and better, but wiser too. Good luck.

[Deleted]

Oct 27, 2014 10:01:49 GMT -5 @myers129 said:

I hope Dave gets a crack at him!

So do I, he def deserves a dandy buck as much or more than anyone I know. He's way over do and paid more than his share of dues.

[zakjak221]

If we pass on those deer (Where we hunt)--we will never see them again!
Good Luck fella's!

[Deleted]

This is the best buck I've had within bow range all year, I've only seen one better than this and he was hot on a doe in early November, going the other way of course. Hopefully the tides turn this week in gun season.

Edit: This is not the same buck as the one at the top, just thought i'd clear up any confusion...

[03mossy]

I just can't wrap my head around hunting an area where you pass on deer like that! That's awesome. The only buck I have seen this year his forks barely stuck above his ears lol

[vpimine]

Really nice deer.... Take a lot to let to walk past.... Always fun seeing them though.....

[Deleted]

Dec 2, 2014 21:41:32 GMT -5 03mossy said:

I just can't wrap my head around hunting an area where you pass on deer like that! That's awesome. The only buck I have seen this year his forks barely stuck above his ears lol

Being our last year hunting this farm, the standards may get lowered a bit (at least mine) if the opportunity arrises, just to get one and get out. So far the weather and the deer have not cooperated at all.
It was pretty easy to pass bucks like this and set a 140" minimum when you knew you'd be back again next year and hopefully so would the bucks we let walk. Now that's all down the tubes....

[Dave W]

Would like to go out with a bang and get one like your 167 but boy it is not looking good. We aren't the only ones not seeing much, Mitch and some of his crew went fishing today.

[mrbuck]

" The best buck I've had within bow range all year " was a super nice mature animal . And the one at the feeder in the picture is a fine animal also . Hang in there , boys! But like Kenny Rogers says " You gotta know when to hold 'em , know when to fold em " It's getting to be time to fold 'em !
Chris

[Deleted]

Dec 5, 2014 16:56:25 GMT -5 mrbuck said:

" The best buck I've had within bow range all year " was a super nice mature animal . And the one at the feeder in the picture is a fine animal also . Hang in there , boys! But like Kenny Rogers says " You gotta know when to hold 'em , know when to fold em " It's getting to be time to fold 'em !
Chris

If the weather and the deer ever give us the right chance, we will be folding. At least for this year and for this farm.
Good advice as always Chris.