# What would you do.................



## buckeyeguy (Aug 20, 2006)

You are going deer hunting the "bonus" shotgun weekend with a buddy from work and his boy. His boy is 13 and has never shot a deer, but has missed quite a few (6+). No one in your hunting group, including yourself has shot a nice buck before. 

You are hunting on their family's land with them. The terrain and boundries of the property almost force everyone to hunt a ridge that runs next to a very steep hill. The wind is in everyone's faces so there not a large threat of getting winded. Deer movement runs along the ridge in front of you with very good shooting lanes. It is basically a gauntlet for them to cross through.

Mid morning you have a nice buck (use your judgement for nice) walk by in a herd of 6-8 deer. You have a wide open shot and are very confident you can make a clean kill. HOWEVER, the deer are moving toward your buddy and his boy further down the ridge. Do you:

A: Pass up the buck to give your buddy or his boy a shot?
B: Pass up the buck and wait for the monster of a lifetime?
C: Shoot the buck?
D: Shoot one of the does in the herd and let your hunting party have a chance at the buck?

What if it was a herd of all does? Would you pass them up in hopes that the young hunter gets a shot?

Hopefully I have a chance to play out this scenario tomorrow. I'm kind of torn as to what I would do right now. I have no deer in the freezer but man it would be pretty sweet to help the younger one get his first deer!


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I guess the first question to be answered would be from your buddy. Since you are hunting on their land I would think you would want to clear your conscience with him if you were to shoot in any scenario.


----------



## squid_1 (Jun 2, 2005)

If your involved into the "group hunting" stuff that might answer your own question. But seriously I would let the buck pass, if its not your trophy let the kid have a shot at it. It just might be bigger next year.


----------



## buckeyeguy (Aug 20, 2006)

I should clarified in the original post. 

I was told to shot anything that I could.
We are all setting stand. (We are not doing drives or "group hunting" as reffered to in another post.)
I would shoot a nice buck. (I didn't want to start the whole size thing over again.)


----------



## wildman (Sep 3, 2008)

That's a no brainier Shoot the buck and hope the does run the rest of the ridge. As the saying goes 1 bird in the hand is worth more 2 in the bush. I am not a selfish person but the kid may have his finger in his nose. Itching his head they may turn and go some where else. You will be stuck there saying did you see the nice buck it went your way? 

I was in the same situation and I let a trophy (big boy)walk so a boy and his dad could get a shot at it. well the dad said shoot the boy said where is it the deer turned tail and was gone.


----------



## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

wildman said:


> That's a no brainier Shoot the buck and hope the does run the rest of the ridge. As the saying goes 1 bird in the hand is worth more 2 in the bush. I am not a selfish person but the kid may have his finger in his nose. Itching his head they may turn and go some where else. You will be stuck there saying did you see the nice buck it went your way?
> 
> I was in the same situation and I let a trophy (big boy)walk so a boy and his dad could get a shot at it. well the dad said shoot the boy said where is it the deer turned tail and was gone.


I agree, no one really know where the deer are going to go. A million things could happen before the deer go to that kid.


----------



## tOSUSteve (May 30, 2007)

If aren't going to shoot, why bother going? Unless your buddy told you to not shoot certain deer, young bucks or whatever, then I would shoot at what I thought was a worthy deer IMO.


----------



## jig-eye (Mar 25, 2005)

Shoot,then have the boy help you drag.


----------



## Fishstix (Aug 16, 2005)

I would take the shot at the buck if it meets your standards. They invited you to hunt on their land, so if they come by you first take it. Personally, I won't hunt on a buddy's property if they put standards on me. I do have standards for my bucks, but I will never pass up on a trophy just because I'm on a buddy's land. If they didn't want me to shoot that buck, they wouldn't have invited me. Plus, like mentioned before, it is not a guarentee that the deer will make it to your buddy and his son. They could change their direction after passing by you. I understand you would like to see the youngster harvest a deer. Who wouldn't want to be apart of that. Just remember that there are plenty deer out there for him to shoot. That is how I see it, but ultimately it is up to you. Good luck!


----------



## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

unless the buck is a absolute monster i personally would probably pass on the buck and hope that it gets to your buddies son..........but there is lots of variables that come into play so there is no way of KNOWING that the buck will go to the boy for a good shot.........the deer could head off in a different direction once they are past you or the kid could some how spook the buck before he gets a shot .........so its really up to you.........do what you think is right you have no obligation to let the buck walk so maybe the kid can get a shot. as i said i would let it walk unless it is a wall hanger that i really want !!


----------



## fffffish (Apr 6, 2004)

I would let them (herd) get a little past me then shoot the biggest deer hopefully the rest will run away from me past the rest of the group.


----------



## MuskieManOhio (Jun 29, 2008)

I would shoot the buck.


----------



## wannabe (Dec 24, 2007)

Why don't you trade places with him so the deer pass him first?


----------



## One Legged Josh (Jan 27, 2008)

Just shoot, that is why you were invited!


----------



## BOO (Jan 23, 2009)

Pick out the biggest buck and take him, like it was said before you were invited to kill deer not pass on them. Use your own judgement though on what you think is a good buck. Good luck!!


----------



## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

I would shoot what ever you are comfortable with. Your buddies kid has already missed 6+ deer who's to say he is going to hit the next one. Sounds like he needs some more practice at the range.


----------



## fakebait (Jun 18, 2006)

I let everything go by. Seeing what I'm hunting for is the main reason I'm out there. I like the event and do not need the kill to have a great day. I know alot of people would think I'm nuts. I enjoy seeing other people enjoying it as well.


----------



## For my Son (Apr 23, 2007)

My son and I where in a similiar situation this year. Except we where on a buddies land and he let a nice buck walk past him. My son(11yo) was sitting up against a tree 15' below me looking into the ravine, I am trying to warn him its coming without spooking the deer. The deer walks right through and he never even raises his gun. I'm a little dissappointed but I am thinking its early (7:30-7:45am) maybe he is waiting on the monster my buddy has been tellin us about. I finally can't stand it anymore and I walk down to him and he is sleeping. LOL I told him about the buck he never saw, he didnt even flinch "well Dave says there's a bigger one in here" So DONT PASS. You have no idea what he is going to be doing when the deer come by. As much as I want my son to get a deer he is having the time of his life just hanging out with us and getting to be part of this world I love so much.


----------



## MuskieManOhio (Jun 29, 2008)

Well Buckeye, im curious on what you ended up doing?


----------



## buckeyeguy (Aug 20, 2006)

Well, I didn't have to worry about this scenario. I was the only one to see a deer all day. She snuck in behind me and couldn't get a shot off. I went with a buddy from work and it was more or less just a day to hit the woods and be with friends. If I got a shot great, if not we still were able to hang out away from work for a while. If it would have played out like the original post, I would have shot. Like someone else said, his boy has had a shot at more than six deer. This was only the second time I hunted with his boy and the impression I got was he was more interested in spending time with his dad and grandpa.


----------



## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

Shoot whatever deer you are after.

Like a few of the others I have had this happen..had a young man 16 on the "high" side of a ridge with me in my stand on the river bottom. The kid had taken a doe (his first deer) the prior year. About an hour after first light, I had a nice 8 point (115-120 gross range) come right underneath me following the river. This was a deer I would have killed, but when he veered for the trail leading to the boy's location I dropped my gun. I could see the general location and knew this area very well - I KNEW this buck would be in close range for this boy. I watched the buck follow the path right to the youngster's location, as I had watched many deer do. I kept waiting and waiting to hear the shot - the buck had to have passed within 20-30 yards.

I never heard a thing and the buck disappeared over the ridge

That night at camp I found out the kid had already walked in to camp because he was "cold"(it was like 40 degrees!) He didn't hunt a solid hour When I told him about the buck he got angry at himself. The next morning he sat it out and at 11am he killed a young 11 pointer. Lesson learned for both of us!

The only way I am passing a buck I want is if the landowner specifically tells me "doe only" hunting, or tells me of a specific deer he is after. I'd honor their rules - it is their land. I've never had either apply and you can bet I wouldn't pass a chip shot at a buck I want ever again. (I didn't tag a buck that year and this was the best buck I had a crack at all season - nothing but immature deer during bow season). The only exception would be if it were my own son - then I'd let things play out and see what happens.


----------

