You see a good buck come out of the tree line. He's not running but he's not stopping either. He comes 50 yds, stops, looks over his shoulder and keeps moving. Goes another 30 yds stops, looks back, keeps moving. He's not in a huge hurry but he's not stopping except to look back. He's not a monster but he's a good deer. You don't see any other buck coming out of the tree line but this one keeps stopping to look back. You have nothing in your freezer so far this year. He's about to disappear into the opposite tree line and you still haven't seen any other deer following. Do you take the "buck in the hand" or wait for a bigger one to "emerge from the bush" knowing that there may not even be another buck?

Bang.

Steady squeeze.

Me personally, I wait for a bigger one to "emerge from the bush" knowing that their may not even be another buck.

Kill the deer you want to kill. As long as your happy with it, that's all that matters.

Let the buck go and shoot the coyote behind him.

Depends where I am hunting for me.

[quote=MS_Hunter]Kill the deer you want to kill. As long as your happy with it, that's all that matters. [/quote

Yes but if there are 2 bucks standing in a field you can evaluate them both and probably 100% of hunters will shoot the bigger buck unless there's something wrong with him. I dare say that 100% of hunters will do this 100% of the time, but in this scenario you have a deer that acts like something is following him and you have no way of knowing whether it's an even bigger, better buck or a coyote or a mutt that got loose from up the road. So if you shoot the first buck and one twice his size steps out of the tree line 2 minutes later will your satisfaction with the buck you killed be diminished by the knowledge that you could have killed a monster had you waited 2 more minutes?

You shouldn't worry about what other hunters do. You have no control over that. Shoot for yourself. You know what is your concept of a shooter. For me it's a mature buck. You can only make yourself happy.

It's all in what you want...."what ifs" will always haunt you. You have to make a decision based on your wants and the known knowledge. So like I said....kill the ones you want to kill and let the rest walk.

I don't make management decisions based off what's in my freezer.

How big is the first buck?

I disagree Smells. A lot of hunters shoot deer based on age not necessarily inches. A lot of hunters on here would pass a 140" 3 year old and shoot a 130" 5 year old if both were in the field at the same time.

I will say this. Shoot what makes you happy but it gets easier passing up smaller bucks the more you do it. If you want to kill a fully mature deer you have to let some of the younger ones pass. If you are happy with just shooting deer then just shoot. Do what makes you happy.

if he is mature , he'd be dead before he got in the field good .

I would shoot if I wanted to kill a deer, it might be an old beagle dog behind him and they don't eat very well.

At this point in my hunting career, I am going to shoot the first buck I see, as long as it meets my clubs rules (6 pt or better). Any buck I kill this season (if I am that lucky) is going to be huge accomplishment for me and will be mounted/euro, a trophy.

Ok this seems like maybe it's about to turn into something I really didn't intend.

Just thought it would be a fun "what if" question. In my view there is no wrong or immoral answer.

I wasn't really seeking guidance because I already know what I would do. I hunt meat first and horns second. I would watch both that deer and the place he emerged from for as long as I could and still execute a good shot on the first deer. If the original deer got within 30 yds of the opposite tree line without anything better showing up, I'm putting him down. If a better deer shows up 2 minutes later, oh well that's the way it goes.

Now if the circumstances are different and my freezer is already full, well then maybe I roll the dice and let him walk in hopes of taking something better. If nothing else shows and the deer gets away it's not the end of the world and I probably have put together a good piece of a pattern anyway and maybe the next time the environmental conditions are the same or very similar I go back to that spot and see if he shows again.

If the first deer is a shooter by my standards he will be shot when he stops the first time...possibly before he even stops.

Shoot to thrill , Play to kill !!!!

Shoot because he is probably trying to elude a dog coyote or hunter.