Regret....

[wihunter]

"2 old warriors met face to face that day... A nod of the hat and letting him pass was a gracious move. Congrats on a successful hunt."


Wow, that's good.

[kwaldeier]

Agreed^^^^

[ Post made via Android ]

[Dewey]

He would be taking a ride home in my truck right now especially with an injury.........but that's me.

It's a personal decision and nobody has any say in it but you. Go out and kill a bigger one and it won't matter anymore.

[tim]

hey its your decision,nothing wrong with being picky. how you kill a 160 if you kill a 150 lol, anywho ive passed bigger deer only to shoot a lesser deer, when im ready I kill one that I so choose, he is a fine looking buck someone will be happy with him if hew don't make it. ......dick idol I haven't heard his name in a while dan, he used to own the biggest collection of antlers then sold them back in the 90s. he has some big bucks to his credit....................

[HoosierG5]

Um...thats a deer of a lifetime! You must have a plethora of em. Ive hunted 20+ years-seen 1/2 of them

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[fishlips]

cool video. That's a dandy

[JoeRE]

Good post by Dan. We each have our own standards....and its OK if they change depending on circumstances. You didn't want to shoot the deer at the time and that's that.

I agree with Bucky though that buck is 150 gross for sure Hopefully you are aware how fortunate you are to have any chance at all of shooting something bigger. In about 80-90% of deer country that would be the biggest buck in the county.

[UofLbowhunter]

Its your choice to shoot what you want. Ive always heard you gotta pass on 150 to get to 180 and 180 to get to 200. Congrats on sucsess! Good luck on a bigger one!! Its how a true woodsman is formed!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Stanley]

I have not shot a 150 in a couple years. But two days ago I heard a large buck get out of a bed close, make rubs and antlers hitting brush in the swamp next to me. He slid thru a thick gap near my stand and I thought he might be the target buck so I adjusted the next morning to where I thought he had to go thru to get back. He came back about sun up and passed by just out of range. A solid 150 class if not bigger... I am kind of glad he did not walk right under me or I probably would of shot him... I thought how easy it would be that evening to kill that buck on that pattern after putting him to bed... But instead I decided to hunt a low odds sit for a giant. Maybe im nuts. Last year or the year before I would of been ecstatic to hunt that beast... I might go beast-less this year. But, I'm having a lot of fun in the pursuit.

I guess what I'm getting at is, some things are more important than kills... It was that bucks lucky day, and your a better hunter for knowing you now have what it takes to let a buck that size walk... Probably a tougher task for most than actually shooting it...

Today most people are so results oriented that they forget the real reason we are out there. When I was younger there was a guy I looked up to somewhat by the name of Dick Idol. Most of you younger guys probably don't remember him. He was a very well known hunter around 70's and 80's. But he rarely shot a buck. He would only shoot if it was a true boone and crockette and they were a lot rarer back in those days... Instead he would take pictures of the ones he did not kill. I wonder what ever happened to old Mr Idol?

Its funny, cause the magazines and such always demand photo's of recent kills from me, and want kill stories, but really, a good article or a good hunt don't need a kill at all.

2 old warriors met face to face that day... A nod of the hat and letting him pass was a gracious move. Congrats on a successful hunt.

Last I heard he was painting pictures and putting together a huge big buck collection. He bought a huge 254 NT mount from a widow a couple of miles from me. Quite a few years ago. I think he also ended up with the hole in the horn buck.
Great post Dan

[Stanley]

I never tell a guy that won the lottery he shouldn't have bought the ticket. I also tell guys that do have the winning ticket, you gotta cash it in. I'm just saying you got some hard bark to pass that buck. I'd be lying if I told you I'd pass him. Good luck I hope you see a bigger one.

[nor' easter]

You had the buck in perfect kill range. Plenty of opportunity to shoot if you wanted. That's just as good as shooting him. If you are striving to put a bigger buck on the ground then you made the right decision for sure. Just imagine his potential in the next year or two. That being said I never would have had the self control to pass up that beast.

[ Post made via Android ]

[stash59]

Really cool. Hope you find a bigger one.

Dick was living in Bigfork, Mt while I was still out there. He did some of the huge bronze deer sculptors for Cabelas!

[Rich M]

What a buck!

You did good.

[PK_]

Ah man. Maybe not a mistake for you but man that is hard to watch.

Buck will be fine as far as that injury, so don't let that worry you.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[ozzz]

Your crazy. I have seen deer with way worse injuries than that survive for years though.