Backyard Buck Dilemma

[muskieman]

I would give him pass but if you decide to hunt and kill him ill say good job!

[Archivist13]

We all dream of having a 10 acre cornfield and big bucks in our backyard, at least until it actually happens! LOL

Thanks for the opinions! I had a feeling I wasn't the only one with this issue. I don't think I could live with myself if I shot him in the yard. If I ran into him across the road while actually hunting, I think I could live with myself though. The reason being that it's pretty likely that one of the neighbors will end shooting him in their yard. It's happened before on much larger deer. What sucks is that they don't even care and just shoot them for crop damage reasons. This one is 2 years old, and based on other deer I've observed around here he will be super nice in a year or two.

I'm actually a big fan of Ken Nordberg. I have all his Almanacs and subscribe to his YouTube channel. Lots of great information.

[RookieBeast2019]

You can only shoot it if you didn’t name him yet

[greenhorndave]

You can only shoot it if you didn’t name him yet

[Bonecrusher101]

If you are sitting an observation stand and pattern a deer on public and get within range and kill him legal, it might feel more sporting. But honestly, you could justify that you patterned that buck by watching him through the observation set at your house and getting him patterned. Then if you can get within range and get him with a bow you still hunted him and earned him.

That backyard buck could very well turn tricky the week prior to the season opening. Or, your neighbor or a poacher will succumb to the temptation if he stays visible. Either way he’s going to chase the local does and might not make it through the season. it’s your choice. I will congratulate you no matter what.

That said, I had a co worker who hunted sometimes but never very much, very hard or very far. He’d never killed a big buck mainly just does for eating. He was hunting 200 yards away from his house in a ladder stand he set up in his backyard. His wife was going to work that morning and as she was pulling out of the driveway she called him saying there was a buck by their pond In the front yard. He jumped down, ran up to the house through the house and shot it with a rifle off his front porch.

The buck was a solid 110 in 8 point. He was proud, I was congratulating and he had that buck mounted. It was legal, he was pumped and having fun showing it off. Hey, We are all on the same side as long as it’s legal deer hunting.

If it’s not your style and you’d be ashamed of it, then don’t do it.

[Hawthorne]

Has long has it’s legal to hunt and it’s one I wanted,I would shoot him. He’s a prey animal. It’s not high fence he can get away if he wanted

[moondoondude]

I'm in southern Maryland too.

At my last house, i ripped up my backyard and planted the most beautiful food plot you've ever seen. I treated that food plot like the greenhouses treat their gonja. I had piles of deer in it every night, and sometimes up to 10 bucks and a few nice ones. I never shot one, i could never do it. There was an attachment part of it and another part of it was nice to see so many deer and observe them so often, from my bedroom window, sleeping on ky side - I looked right over that food plot. It was a one level house and almost daily I had big bucks walk within 10 yards of my bed. I had a few huge apple trees in the front of the house 20 yards away too and you could hear them running from the trees to the food plot and back and forth, almost within reaching distance of my window.

I moved, but i see deer pretty regularly at my new place. Some nice ones here and there too. I can't do it, something about not feeling right shooting at a deer in my yard. I like seeing them.

[Archivist13]

You can only shoot it if you didn’t name him yet

Nice!

[Archivist13]

Yep, as everyone's saying, if it's legal it's all good. That's the easy part isn't it? It's the personal moral part that makes this hobby interesting. I think it's a great example of how we truly love and appreciate the animals we hunt. Nobody can tell me that we are only killers.

[Boogieman1]

Possibly just me or maybe others can relate. But has anyone else ever ran there truck off in a ditch to avoid hitting a buck that they scurried off in the woods after to kill with bow in hand?

Think the same mindset plays into this. There’s something about beating one at his own game. People who buy success will never get the full experience imo

[Archivist13]

Possibly just me or maybe others can relate. But has anyone else ever ran there truck off in a ditch to avoid hitting a buck that they scurried off in the woods after to kill with bow in hand?

Think the same mindset plays into this. There’s something about beating one at his own game. People who buy success will never get the full experience imo

One day a few years ago I spent the afternoon hunting and let a 6 point, a spike, and some does walk directly under my stand. It was early in the season, and I wasn't ready to be done yet on those. That night while driving home I hit and killed a huge 10 point with my vehicle. I would have easily shot him earlier in the day, yet I was distraught that I killed him with my vehicle. I couldn't swerve as he jumped over an embankment directly in front of me. So, yes, I do think I can relate in a way.

[Bigbluehelim]

Had the same exact situation the last 3 seasons.. he would score 150-155 every year. Would come to the feeder almost daily 5 yds from my shed and 40 from my back porch. It would have been my biggest buck but I just couldn’t do it. I have 80 acres to hunt across the road and if he came by me there I’d shoot him in a heartbeat, but I just couldn’t do it in the backyard. My buddies thought I was nuts but I don’t regret it at all. I honestly enjoyed watching him on a daily basis more than anything.

[Chad Gus 715]

I've got a similar situation, just about every year i get a really nice buck or bucks in the backyard. I just can't bring myself to hunt them, there, now if i see them outside of my place, well, then they're fair game. Last year it was a 125 inch 8pt, one of my neighbors killed him during bow season. It was his biggest buck he's ever killed and i was happy for him, good guy and neighbor. This year its a 130's inch mainframe 9pt with 3 kicker points, really, really hoping and praying he can make it threw. As he has the potential to be a giant

[tim]

Only you can decide what you think is right. No one else’s opinion should matter. You live with your decisions no one else. If you are ok with it go for it if not then don’t.

[UntouchableNess]

If it is legal, it's really your call on what you (and your family) feel good about.

I know what I've done in similar situations.