kellyprymek
PMA Member
Had that happen this year he was at 8 yards he will go 180 with the broken time a easy 190 plus deer. I passed him. I like to think it was the right thing to do but each person has to decide that on there own. Like my wife said if you would of shot him I would of had to listen to you bitch about shooting him. And how right she is.
MNbuckhunter
Member
I would have to say there would be multiple factors...
1) Age: Do you have history of the buck to have some clue as to how old the buck is? If you know the buck is 6+ years old there is a chance that his rack may be at his peak...
2) Killable: How killable is the buck? Daylight pics often? Or is the buck a ghost? If it is a buck that never sees the light of day, maybe you are best off taking the chance you get.
3) # of Target Bucks: If you have more than a few target bucks you could maybe afford to pass on buck that is broken up.
4) History: Do you have a history with the buck? Cams or up close and personal? If it is a buck that frequents the property often, there is a good chance he will be around next year (assuming he doesn't get harvested by others). If it is a buck that you have very little to no history with, your odds of seeing him again are probably pretty slim.
Here is a buck I harvested this season...
Now check out a couple trial pics of him from a neighbor a mile away in October...
Notice my buck had broken off each of his split brows (3" ea), tip of his left beam (1.5"), his left G4 (2")...for a total of about 9.5" roughly.
I had him rough scored at just over 169", so not broken he would have grossed around 178"+.
TRUST ME, for the opportunities I have I would never even think twice about passing up a buck going over 150" with a broken rack...but in light of others that have greater opportunities at many big mature bucks I would base it on some of the points made above. For me, I knew this buck was at least 7 years old, and his rack actually peaked in 2010. We usually get 1-2 pics a year of this buck on our property (home is about a mile west of us), whereas neighbor gets a couple hundred. Neither of us had a single daylight pic of this buck. Neighbor had 1 single daylight pic of his all of 2011...Needless to say this buck was a ghost. Taken all these things into factor, I would say drill him regardless of the broken tines...
-Mark
1) Age: Do you have history of the buck to have some clue as to how old the buck is? If you know the buck is 6+ years old there is a chance that his rack may be at his peak...
2) Killable: How killable is the buck? Daylight pics often? Or is the buck a ghost? If it is a buck that never sees the light of day, maybe you are best off taking the chance you get.
3) # of Target Bucks: If you have more than a few target bucks you could maybe afford to pass on buck that is broken up.
4) History: Do you have a history with the buck? Cams or up close and personal? If it is a buck that frequents the property often, there is a good chance he will be around next year (assuming he doesn't get harvested by others). If it is a buck that you have very little to no history with, your odds of seeing him again are probably pretty slim.
Here is a buck I harvested this season...
Now check out a couple trial pics of him from a neighbor a mile away in October...
Notice my buck had broken off each of his split brows (3" ea), tip of his left beam (1.5"), his left G4 (2")...for a total of about 9.5" roughly.
I had him rough scored at just over 169", so not broken he would have grossed around 178"+.
TRUST ME, for the opportunities I have I would never even think twice about passing up a buck going over 150" with a broken rack...but in light of others that have greater opportunities at many big mature bucks I would base it on some of the points made above. For me, I knew this buck was at least 7 years old, and his rack actually peaked in 2010. We usually get 1-2 pics a year of this buck on our property (home is about a mile west of us), whereas neighbor gets a couple hundred. Neither of us had a single daylight pic of this buck. Neighbor had 1 single daylight pic of his all of 2011...Needless to say this buck was a ghost. Taken all these things into factor, I would say drill him regardless of the broken tines...
-Mark
Central Iowa
Life Member
I shot my avatar buck last year busted up badly and ended up happy. I beat him on his turf and killed him he was one of two I was after last year and #1 on the hit list.
The second buck I could of killed during late season last year and he showed up busted up and I didn't shoot him waiting for this year. This year he get's poached just as he returned to a huntable pattern and I am unhappy.
No magic cut off do what feels right and be happy. Sure we like the antlers but beating those old bucks is reward enough. Some good points in that last reply. :way:
The second buck I could of killed during late season last year and he showed up busted up and I didn't shoot him waiting for this year. This year he get's poached just as he returned to a huntable pattern and I am unhappy.
No magic cut off do what feels right and be happy. Sure we like the antlers but beating those old bucks is reward enough. Some good points in that last reply. :way:
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SEIowaDeerslayer
Well-Known Member
I feel that outsmarting an old mature warrior is worth more than inches of bone. If he's broken up I'm still going to put him down.
Baby-G
PMA Member
I can give you a pretty good example of letting a buck walk. I could have shot this buck multiple times last year. He lost 12" of beam and G-4 off his right side antler due to injury during velvet. He scored 166" and would have been 178" if it was in tack. It paid off and I was able to shoot the buck this year and he was green scored the other day at 194 4/8" gross. You can see last years sheds on a plastic skull in the picture below with the buck...
ShedderKG
Active Member
I guess I would say depends on your situation. Are you hunting a larger track with better opportunities to keep deer on your farm or are you hunting public or a high pressure area? I have not shot any big deer so it would definitely be tough for me but can understand if some of you guys passed on a busted deer like that. I also feel if you get a big mature buck close enough for a shot and stay undetected as you let him walk by, you technically outstmarted him but just did not shoot. Tough one but can understand both sides
Haha! Now that's just not fair! :way:
Passed what would have been a solid 170 class this year, saw the good side all the way in and was getting pumped, once inside 20 yards I realized his right side was gone after the brow, he got a pass.
HorseDoctor
PMA Member
As I have ZERO interest in having one scored "officially", I would shoot him. I know a taxi who is pretty damned good at reconstructing a broken rack. Only he & I know which ones were broken. He re-built some 21" on my 2011 buck. It looks good enough that it's still in his showroom.
I just shot a 6 yr old 8 pointer on new years eve his g3 on his left beam is gone. I've known that since November and I watched him for a good 20 minutes before I pulled the hammer back and dumped him.I'm completely happy with him.
To each his own, I've passed younger deer all season that would score way way higher than this guy. it's all dependant on each person, their thoughts and availability of other bucks in the area and the possibility of a broken buck being back next year.
Getting to know a particular deer, building a history and ultimately outsmarting him on his turf means more to me than inches
To each his own, I've passed younger deer all season that would score way way higher than this guy. it's all dependant on each person, their thoughts and availability of other bucks in the area and the possibility of a broken buck being back next year.
Getting to know a particular deer, building a history and ultimately outsmarting him on his turf means more to me than inches
Anyone need a visual of this scenario? Reading this brings back nightmares!
Hunted this deer for 2 years. Found his set of sheds and became obsessed!
I finally put all the pieces of the puzzle together and figured out where he was hanging out. My heart broke the day i saw him show up looking like this. Long story short, i passed him. A week later i watched a client from out of state arrow him at 8 yards and hit him high. I have over 40 hours looking for him since. No pictures, no sheds, no sign of him..... So to answer the question, i will shoot next time!
Hunted this deer for 2 years. Found his set of sheds and became obsessed!
I finally put all the pieces of the puzzle together and figured out where he was hanging out. My heart broke the day i saw him show up looking like this. Long story short, i passed him. A week later i watched a client from out of state arrow him at 8 yards and hit him high. I have over 40 hours looking for him since. No pictures, no sheds, no sign of him..... So to answer the question, i will shoot next time!
mplane72
PMA Member
Even if I had the set up where I felt that the odds were good for the deer to survive to the next year, which I don't, I am probably going to take the shot. I don't mind a busted up rack as long as it still looks good. Based on the OP's scenario I would be tickled. Your biggest buck is still your biggest buck busted up or not.
camo658
New Member
I would have to say there would be multiple factors...
1) Age: Do you have history of the buck to have some clue as to how old the buck is? If you know the buck is 6+ years old there is a chance that his rack may be at his peak...
2) Killable: How killable is the buck? Daylight pics often? Or is the buck a ghost? If it is a buck that never sees the light of day, maybe you are best off taking the chance you get.
3) # of Target Bucks: If you have more than a few target bucks you could maybe afford to pass on buck that is broken up.
4) History: Do you have a history with the buck? Cams or up close and personal? If it is a buck that frequents the property often, there is a good chance he will be around next year (assuming he doesn't get harvested by others). If it is a buck that you have very little to no history with, your odds of seeing him again are probably pretty slim.
Here is a buck I harvested this season...
Now check out a couple trial pics of him from a neighbor a mile away in October...
Notice my buck had broken off each of his split brows (3" ea), tip of his left beam (1.5"), his left G4 (2")...for a total of about 9.5" roughly.
I had him rough scored at just over 169", so not broken he would have grossed around 178"+.
TRUST ME, for the opportunities I have I would never even think twice about passing up a buck going over 150" with a broken rack...but in light of others that have greater opportunities at many big mature bucks I would base it on some of the points made above. For me, I knew this buck was at least 7 years old, and his rack actually peaked in 2010. We usually get 1-2 pics a year of this buck on our property (home is about a mile west of us), whereas neighbor gets a couple hundred. Neither of us had a single daylight pic of this buck. Neighbor had 1 single daylight pic of his all of 2011...Needless to say this buck was a ghost. Taken all these things into factor, I would say drill him regardless of the broken tines...
-Mark
X2...............:drink2:
gundog870
Premium Platinum Member
Kaare I always forget that to exclude those with Worldclass deer under their belt!!
I personally have two opinions. Right now this category would put this deer in the high 180's for me. If that was the case I certainly would not kill a 180 inch typlcal missing both his G'2s etc. I just have no interest in it and it would be a real heart breaker. I have only been in this situation once and he would have been 170 ish and was busted down to low 150 ish maybe lower. He just looked rough. Im not one for fixing antlers either so maybe that has something to do with it.
As far as a giant non typical like 200 ish that has 20 inches of kickers and junk busted off, to be honest I dont think that I would notice them enough to pass him. A broken beam halfway out I would pass in a heartbeat but it would hurt a lot.
I hope that I never get put into that situation again. To me it almost feel like shooting a buck that has dropped one side. It would definitely depend on the deer and what they are missing.
For example the 168 that was missing 9 inches and most of that being in his brows... Would have been dead before I even noticed. :way:
Just thought this would be a fun discussion.