Passing on small eights paying off

[Buckstopshere]

Bucks in a bachelor group 8/12/15. Starting to pay off by passing on small eights with bow and gun. Many of them will get whacked of course, but that is OK.  Makes some other hunter happy! But if they get through to become 3.5 year olds, then they become literally something to shoot for. The small eight gets a free pass this year. If I need the meat, I'll shoot a spike or a yearling or a small doe.

[grampy]

Nice pic's! Nice bucks! That 10 in the lower right is VERY nice! Keep doing what you're doing, it seems to be working well. Good luck this season!

Edited August 15, 2015 by grampy

[genesee_mohican]

Nice looking bucks. I have read and seen studies that show a how a buck may be a spike in his first year but when left to grow can produce a great rack in a few years.

[greg54]

Nice pics.

[NFA-ADK]

Very nice to see the results of not shooting a deer.  Good luck with him, this would be a target for me thats for sure. 

[dbHunterNY]

first one is definitely a 2.5 yr old I agree.  that second one is a nice deer anywhere.

[wooly]

first one is definitely a 2.5 yr old I agree.  that second one is a nice deer anywhere.

 

They all look like different bucks to me.

The first one could be a 1.5 all day long around here though.

[Buckstopshere]

Nice looking bucks. I have read and seen studies that show a how a buck may be a spike in his first year but when left to grow can produce a great rack in a few years.

 

Right, but if I see a small eight and a spike, I will shoot the spike every time. The amount of meat is about the same, but the eight is only a year away from being awesome, while the spike is probably a year or two away....just my thinking now.

[Buckstopshere]

first one is definitely a 2.5 yr old I agree.  that second one is a nice deer anywhere.

 

Thanks, but I don't know. The TV guys out in the Midwest with their farm raised bucks would probably yawn if they saw him. Here is a better picture. But not a bad buck at all for down here in Wellsville, right on the Pa. border. We have the genetics, but the bucks are hunted so hard here, few make it through unless they are very lucky and run into some crazy man like me that lets them walk as a decent 8 pointer.

 

[greensider]

why would you shoot a spike if you want bigger bucks those small 8s were most likely spikes or 4 points the year before

[thphm]

It pays off doesn't it though .

[Buckstopshere]

why would you shoot a spike if you want bigger bucks those small 8s were most likely spikes or 4 points the year before

 

Down here in my neck of the woods all the pressure is on the little 8 pointers...the 2.5 year old bucks. Everybody passes on the spikes and little forks and want to shoot a little racked buck. We are overrun with little bucks. My family eats four to five deer a year. I shoot the small bucks in the hopes that by letting the little seven and eight point two-year olds go, and if they make it through, they will really be something in that third and fourth year. And my philosophy seems to be paying off. I have a garage wall full of little 8 point racks. Just as soon shoot a spike or a four point now. That two year old is just one year away from really being something and he has proven survivor skills while that spike is two to three years away and he might not ever make it. Just my philosophy.

[nyslowhand]

Very novel philosophy, sort of reverse AR..!?! lol. Whatever makes you happy in the woods and while attaching a tag!!!

[Buckstopshere]

Just got out of the woods, checking another camera on another property. Another bachelor group...this is the best buck in that group, but there is a rumor going around that a bonfide tanker is there to. (But landowners have been known to stretch the truth a bit...not that hunters ever do...Ha! I know he is just a 2.5 year old...but damn. Velvet makes them look bigger than they really are. This one would put my philosophy to the test. lol! Hey, never said I was perfect. And it isn't really a rule. Just a guideline. ;0)

[nyslowhand]

LMAO. If any of us really thought we had this hunting thing figured out perfectly, would be time to take up checkers or chess! I too have guidelines or rules of thumb, but they seem to go out the window when sitting in a stand and a buck is approaching that gets your heart pounding. I'm a sucker for a buck with a unique rack, either a big 6pt, a tall or wide rack, nontypical formation, etc. To me a basket 8pt is generally boring. Not to say I haven't shot a few. One of my most memorable and adrenaline charged encounters, but nothing to brag about was with a 2yo 6pt. So, to each his own!

[Buckstopshere]

LMAO. If any of us really thought we had this hunting thing figured out perfectly, would be time to take up checkers or chess! I too have guidelines or rules of thumb, but they seem to go out the window when sitting in a stand and a buck is approaching that gets your heart pounding. I'm a sucker for a buck with a unique rack, either a big 6pt, a tall or wide rack, nontypical formation, etc. To me a basket 8pt is generally boring. Not to say I haven't shot a few. One of my most memorable and adrenaline charged encounters, but nothing to brag about was with a 2yo 6pt. So, to each his own!

 

When I finally get it all figured out, I promised myself that I would take up a sensible, soothing sport like golf where there is no frustration and I don't have to wear weird outfits anymore. 

[dbHunterNY]

They all look like different bucks to me.

The first one could be a 1.5 all day long around here though.

 

I agree they are all different bucks for what it looks like.  most people wouldn't think at all here in NY about passing the last two so I didn't comment on those.  I'd be more than happy to take either of those two last bucks.  I guess I wasn't very clear.

[gjs4]

No one shoots smaller bucks because they wanted to

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[dbHunterNY]

Thanks, but I don't know. The TV guys out in the Midwest with their farm raised bucks would probably yawn if they saw him. Here is a better picture. But not a bad buck at all for down here in Wellsville, right on the Pa. border. We have the genetics, but the bucks are hunted so hard here, few make it through unless they are very lucky and run into some crazy man like me that lets them walk as a decent 8 pointer.

 

 

they all seem to be different bucks it looks like.  I only commented on the first two.  when I said anywhere I mean in NY.  even in managed areas many hunters still think the second buck head down is a nice buck.  some people on here post bigger bucks on trail cam and that are harvested but it's not the norm.  a majority of people "holding out for a nice deer" start pulling the trigger at 2.5 yrs old here in NY.  the last two bucks are very nice deer for more than just here in NY.  what you see on TV and magazines are almost always cherry picked from the crop of the best.  hard to compare experience... I'm 31 and have less years of hunting experience than many on here.  being lucky enough to grow up on the family farm I have a wall of decent bucks and have even lost some of the racks.  I guess I'm crazy too because the last handful of years I've passed them up and hunted where ever I found a 3.5+ year old buck.  it's hunted very hard here with little good cover.  sometimes I swear I could be crazy.