In light of the recent thread in regards to Antler restrictions, I thought it might be fun to start a thread about ones that you have let “walk”.

Here are some that I have let “walk”

I hunted a 3000 acre ranch north of Vanderpool Texas between 2003 and 2008. The area I hunted backed up to the Lost Maples State Natural Area. I had set up a blind at the junction of two power right of ways. For three years I kept a game cam set up and continuously taking pix. Got to be almost worth the trip just to look at the 1500 or so pix each month when I went up. For three years I got to watch five different bucks on stills as they shed their antler, got nubs, then antlers in velvet, then finally hard horned. Learned a lot. Seemed that they had two different ranges. Between February until the first week of so of October I’d see them on the game cam photos. After that they would disappear until February or so. This went on, like I said for three years. Some could postulate that with increasing human activity the bucks changed their pattern in the fall. However in this instance I was the only one that hunted this part of the ranch and the rest of the area was either state park, or you’d have to be dropped in by helicopter. I would park my four wheeler about 500 yds. away, and walk in so as not to disturb the area and I would be there only once a month during the off season. My blind was just over the rise that opened up to the area, so nothing would hear or see me coming.
Anyway, this is one of the bucks I watched grow. I never did take him. The landowner’s son let one of his bud move a blind right on top of me and would not make him move, so I packed it in. Don’t know whether the punk killed this deer or not.



Here is another I watched on the same ranch. I let him walk for two seasons. My bud shot him later this same year when he was hard horned, about ½ mile from where this photo was taken.


A nice buck but kinda young. He walked.


Had to let this one walk as I didn’t have a rifle at the time. Not a whitetail, so the antler restrictions do not apply.



Another I let walk. Been a while, must have had a reason.

Didn’t have a choice on this one, does only weekend.


Here is one I never saw, and have only a sequence as he only visited the area where this camera was set up once. Never actually laid “eyes” on him.





I let this one walk last year. If I see him again this year, all bets are off. I figure him for five or six years old this year. If I see him and he is on the decline I'll do my best to take him.



Best

GWB

Typical twelve:



Busted ten:



Wide ten:



Decent eight:



Little nine:



Same buck:



Another busted ten:



Crummy low-res video capture of a young ten:



All old pics, have not been back to hunt S. Texas since I went to Zim.

Good Pictures Geedubya.

I don't have any pictures pof any I let walk. Because of the parameters I have hunted under over the years, and because antler size has never been high on my list of priorities, I have only let bucks walk after I came back to Olney anmd started working for Robert.

The last buck I shot was a 3.5 to 4.5, 5 pointer that I shot late one evening down at the ranch where I do my javelina hunts in Pecos county. It was in February 2 years back and the ranch has Level 3 MLD permits and I was culling does. It was right at sundown and there were about 30 head of deer milling around and I knew for sure that what I was shooting at was one of the does.

Land owner said stuff like that happens and the buck was of an age that he should have had a better rack.

Most of my hunting career in Texas has taken place before the Trophy hunting craze got started and no one really worried about managing deer.

One the property I hunted for so many years up in Montague, the limit was one buck and then we had doe days and finally does were legal all season, but the limit was two. The place covered 180 acres and was surrounded by 5K acres that no one hunted. The land owner is a friend and he did not charge me anything and I would invite people up and let them shoot whatever walked out.

I told him I was going to stop hunting after the 2005 season, simply because it was getting too hard to find people interested in coming up there and I do not like hunting by myself, and lora did not always feel like going, but when she did she would take a doe or a spike, no interest in branch antlered bucks.

In actuality I have never let a deer that I knew I could hit and knew was legal walk.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:


Most of my hunting career in Texas has taken place before the Trophy hunting craze got started and no one really worried about managing deer.

CHC,

a few thoughts.

Never been much one to follow trends. Might be just that I'm too cheap. Maybe if I was younger when the emphasis on trophy deer hit it might have took.

My love of being "in the field" harkens back to when I was six or so. I had a little black fice that loved to run rabbits. There was a large open field and woods just across the ditch where we lived That pooch and I would run rabbits till dark. Wasn't much meanness back then and evidently my mom must have had a sense about me. She let me and that dog run. I've tried to craft my life so I can make a living and provide for my family yet still spend a good deal of time afield. Over the last 15 years or so, I probably average about 60 to 65 days a year, in the field with a camera and rifle or bow.

Also, the guys I have hunted with for the last 12 years started out on their tools, being pipe fitters, boilermakers, oilfield hands. Now most are either in management or started their own companies. However they still refuse to pay over $1,800 per year for an annual lease. I could pay more, but then I'd would not be hunting with them. Also, though self regulating with our own rules, we are pretty ornery and won't take to too much regulation and interference. Consequently a highly managed, high fenced trophy deer lease is out of the question.
For myself as well as them its more about "the older I get the better I wuz", campfires, camaraderie eatin' good vittles, smokin' cigars, drinkin' good tequila, and just being around one another. Killin' deer is fun, and "tenders" never make it home, but trophy deer are few and far between and of little consequence.

Best

GWB

I've let numerous bucks walk in the Hill country, where you can often see many in a day's time. In the Ozarks and other places where you may only see one or two legal bucks during the hunting season, it takes a bit more self-control. The folks I let hunt on my land always get the "don't shoot the young bucks" talk, but few can resist shooting the small 6 and 8 pointers. These pictured bucks I can frequently see from my computer chair, but come the first day of black powder season and the locals turn the dogs loose, they will be hid till Christmas.

Good pictures.

Just this last Texas Deer season I let 2 Buck deer, bigger that any of the pictures so far on this thread "walk".

One was less than 80 yards, only saw him once, I had an easy shot at him...


The other I saw 3 times at 40 yards, each time an easy shot...

I "should" have shot either one of them, most probably....

But I did not... I did not kill a buck last season. I did see a BUNCH OF NICE ONES...
But I do not have to kill a buck to make my season a success. I do want to see several "good ones", up close, and I did.

And for me that is what it is all about...

I did kill a few does for the meat.

SO, the bottom line IS, I had FUN hunting, and I put enough meat in the freezer to last till next deer season.

As long as you are a horn hunter letting them walk is just fine.

As long as you have a enough land that they don't wander on to another persons or public land and get shot any way letting them walk is just fine.

I am mainly a meat hunter horns are secondary. Not that I will not shoot a big racked buck it just that not on the top of the list.

I only let em walk if the freezer is already full

Geedubya, you and N E 450 No2, pretty well sum up my thougts on white tail hunting in this day and time and at my age.

Hence one of the reasons I am trying to go to Arizona to hopefully shoot a Coues white tail.

Also, in spite of how things may seem with my posts, I am not a competetive person when it comes to hunting, anything and everything I kill is a trophy to me, I don't give a FRA about what others think about what I kill.

I am happy with it and have experiences that will last my life time, the only person I worry about pleasing is me.

With that said,unless it is a person, young or old shooting their first deer ever, shooting a buck, just any buck because of the old saying "A Real Hunter Only Kills Bucks" is a concept that needs to be left by the way side, especially in Texas with as many deer as there are in this state.

One of the reasons I enjoy guiding is becuse I get no joy out of hunting on my own. I pick up the rifle, I am going to kill the first legal animal I see, most of the time.

Over the past couple of years, I have become more picky about the does I shoot on the properties I work on, preferring to take out the older animals 3.5 and up, because those old gals are smart and they will bust you even in a good blind if you mess up any at all.

Camp Bitch is a job I have grown to appreciate over the years, because to me that is what makes or breaks a hunt, kills, even of real tropihies are the icing to the cake, and nothing will replace all those faces I have looked into after helping them get their first big game animal.

Terrific topic, GWB.

I am not a trophy hunter but do what I feel is in the best interest of the herd’s health. Before the implementation of the 13-inch rule, there were no mature bucks in this area, and I did not shoot a buck on this particular piece of property between 1981 and 2007, when the effects of the TPWD management system started to become apparent.

I took a wide/cull 8-pt in 2007, a nice 10-pointer and an older spike in 2008 and another older 10-pt along with a 2.5 year-old spike in 2009. Considering that this portion of Lavaca was not known for producing anything but spindly, 1.5 year-old bucks, the effects of the 13-inch rule were clearly apparent.

No, it’s not a panacea, but there is no denying that it has indeed helped – a great deal, I might add.

Right now I can’t seem to locate the folder with the bulk of my game cam pics at the moment, but here are a few that I had previously uploaded to photobucket.

This buck…



…became this buck…



…and eventually…



…became the buck below because he was allowed to walk. As far as I know, he is still out there and – despite the horrible drought conditions – should be quite nice this season.



On the other hand, this buck…



…became this buck when I got the opportunity a couple seasons ago. I did not pull the trigger on a deer last year.





Here is my 2008 buck:



Here are just a few game cam pics from this Spring/summer. Now, before anyone gets riled about the feeder and trough, let me point out that there is no hunting for deer in this area (only hogs or predators can be shot there!) and that the protein is mainly for the does (the bucks don’t frequent it all that much anyway). We’re also in the midst of one of the worst droughts on record, and without the supplemental protein, these deer – particularly the does with fawns – would have been in dire straits and likely not made it.
:

quote:

Originally posted by Geedubya:
In light of the recent thread in regards to Antler restrictions, I thought it might be fun to start a thread about ones that you have let “walk”.

I have a couple of pictures of antelope we let walk, not sure how to post them.

Here are a couple that I let walk last year.

This one had a broken brow tine. I found one of his sheds. He should have scored a little over 180.



I passed this one because he is only 4.5 years old. I found both sheds and he was a mid 180's buck. He would net mid 170's. I only saw him once on the ground and couldn't get a photo so here is a picture from the game survey.




I passed this one because the year before he was a typical 14 with split brow tines and a kicker. I'm hoping he will do better this year but with the drought all bets are off. I never found his sheds but he should go mid 170's.

M16,

One of our camp rules is, unless you're going to hang it on the wall or makes your heart race like a trip hammer, let it walk. We don't see anything like the buck in the second photo at our hill country lease. I probably would not have let him walk.

GWB

quote:

One of our camp rules is, unless you're going to hang it on the wall or makes your heart race like a trip hammer, let it walk. We don't see anything like the buck in the second photo at our hill country lease. I probably would not have let him walk.

Yeah baby! Don't see stuff like that in Somervell County either.

LWD

M16 has some fantastic deer on the places he has access too. If I were in his situation, I would probably be more inclined to let stuff walk if I were a horn hunter.

In the situation I am in however, all of those bucks would have walked because clients would be willing to pay top dollar for any of those bucks and my shooting one would be totally useless.

Great looking deer M16, Thanks for posting the pictures.

When hunting on my friends farm in Wisconsin we let the young bucks walk. Rule is if your not going to mount it don't shoot it.

If you want meat shoot a doe as doe tags are always available.

BigB

quote:

Originally posted by M16:
Here are a couple that I let walk last year.

Beautiful bucks, as usual. Hope the drought does not hurt them in the long run.

Will try to do a rain dance here pretty soon.

Didn't say it earlier, but good post and great pictures as usual Bobby.

Someone brought up an interesting point. I paraphrase, letting a deer walk "unless you think a neighbor may kill it". That seems awful "greedy" and some what disrespectful to your quarry. If you don't want to kill it for what it is, why kill it. So no one else can??? Seems terribly childish and not much of a sportsmen's attitude.

I don't want to kill anything bad enough to kill it too young just to make sure that I am the one killing it.

Thoughts?

Perry

p.s. No pics but I let a 3.5 year old 10 point walk last year that I hope survives a couple more years. He scores about 130". The place I hunt is surrounded by other small places with lots of hunting pressure. I hope he gets smarter with age or he won't make it.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by perry:
Someone brought up an interesting point. I paraphrase, letting a deer walk "unless you think a neighbor may kill it". That seems awful "greedy" and some what disrespectful to your quarry. If you don't want to kill it for what it is, why kill it. So no one else can??? Seems terribly childish and not much of a sportsmen's attitude.

I don't want to kill anything bad enough to kill it too young just to make sure that I am the one killing it.

Thoughts?

Perry

QUOTE]

Well said. I couldn't agree more.
Way too many killers and not enough sportsmen these days.

quote:

Here are a couple that I let walk last year

If those walked I'd love to see what you killed!!

If you don't mind my asking, what general area in Texas are you in? I hunt in Texas every year and don't see anything nearly that big.

quote:

Originally posted by GA DEER HUNTER:

quote:

Here are a couple that I let walk last year

If those walked I'd love to see what you killed!!

If you don't mind my asking, what general area in Texas are you in? I hunt in Texas every year and don't see anything nearly that big.

Actually I didn't shoot anything big the last four years. I shoot a lot of management and cull bucks. I've got deer that are just as big on the wall so I'm hoping one of these will make a jump. I enjoy taking photos. My ranch is in LaSalle county (South Texas).

Here's another one.

M16,

Beautiful buck and great picture.

I love watching and taking pix of wildlife.

I used a Canon A-1 for about 25 years. Then I went through a series of point and shoot cameras.

Took the plunge again and purchase a Canon Rebel T2I. I'm really looking forward to recovering from surgery and getting back out there taking pix.

Rae 59,

I totally agree with your sentiments. I'm at the stage of my hunting career where I'd rather see my son or grandson take a trophy rather than myself. I hunt with 9 other guys. I usually keep a tri-pod and a stand set up. I tell them if they or their kids see a good buck while they are in my stand, have at it. Definitely don't let hogs walk. We hunt low fenced properties. Deer range. I find that hunting is kinda like working. The harder I work, the luckier I get. I am really lucky when it comes to killin' stuff.

GWB

Without stirring up the Antler Restrictions conflict again, that is one of the parameters some folks used when asking for them, to keep their neighbors from killing off all the bucks, and yes, there are/were to many killers and not enough hunters. A good bit of that has changed in many areas and more people are interested in allowing bucks time to mature, the peripheral benefit being increased antler size.

I stopped hunting white tail bucks in 2005, I could not find a way to get antlers tender enought to eat. It is good to see more people being more responsible about what they kill.

Here is a buck we let walk for 2 season before killing him last year



Here is 2 years of the same buck, we did not really "let him walk", I just didnt know anybody with a tag. Hopefully I can find him this year as a close friend has an archery tag

2 years ago...




Last year...




Here is another buck we let walk last season, he is on the hit list for this year

You guys are killin' me with those pix.
But keep 'em comin' cause I take a lot of killin'
+1

GWB

Boy!!
I wouldn't let a bunch of those bucks "walk"!!

I let a buck "walk" when I know he has a lot of growing yet to do.

The big 8 point on my trail cams has been an 8 point for a couple of years. If my mobility-handicapped buddy doesn't get him this fall, I will try to do it later in the season.

While I will late white tail bucks walk, I would have a real hard time letting a muley buck walk, especially since I do not get to hunt them very often.

Muley bucks impress me, white tail bucks don't. My biggest Muley grossed 170, netted 163+.

Drummond, Thank You for posting those pictures Sir.

Sadly just today less that 2 miles from my place I saw a dead whitetail buck, in velvet, an 8 pointer with horns just wider than his ears, good mas for his size, hit by a vehicle.

Nice body size.... What a waste...

quote:

Actually I didn't shoot anything big the last four years. I shoot a lot of management and cull bucks. I've got deer that are just as big on the wall so I'm hoping one of these will make a jump. I enjoy taking photos.

Great deer and pictures. Thanks for the info.