If there is a mutual agreement for a management plan in place, and everyone agrees to let the deer reach a pre-designated age, I'd be pissed. If not, I'd say congrats to the hunter.

I would have shot half of these bucks. I’m like my grandfather was and like to get the deer hunting out of the way so I can consentrate on important things like Quail hunting. When I was a kid we ate mostly wild game. Opening weekend I never shot a deer because I knew my Papaw would kill 5 and we’d have to process all of them on Sunday.

I would've shot half these bucks 2 years ago. Then I changed my way of thinking.

You're right, but this one still haunts my dreams, we passed him the year before but never saw him in person again.



Then again dad saw and passed this one only to find him dead on the side of a ranch road the next weekend, he was not busted up when we saw him and was running hard after the does.

Every lease and ranch is different.

Every 160 buck was a 120 buck along the way. Every 200 inch buck was a 160 along the way. I have never seen a single buck grow one inch bigger after he is dead.

We routinely pass 170-190 bucks because they are only 4-5 years old. Some grow to 200 and some disappear.

We let a 175 inch 9 point walk. Next year he scored 201 and made book. We are LF but large acerage so no neighbor worries.

How about this guy. Haven't seen him in person yet.

He’s got a pass the last 2 years. He won’t this year.

This guy still haunts my dreams. I let him walk before he was broke. Almost perfectly symmetrical 8. Never saw him again in person.

This one gave me the slip in the 16-17 and 17-18 seasons. I am hoping he is senile and shows up during shooting hours this year:

I let this 9 point walk 2 years ago. I watched him for 2 years. I can't remember if this was the first or second year I saw him. He came in about 30-40 yards to my left, made my heart skip a beat when I first saw him. I grabbed my cell phone for a pic, since I knew he wasn't a shooter buck for me. Had my 12 yr old son been in the stand, I would have let him shoot him for his first buck. I let him walk on several occasions. About two weeks later, he got shot by another guy on our place. IMO, this a deer you let walk to grow and get bigger. I think he's 3 1/2 in this pic. I was upset he got shot.