Hypothetical Question 2

[BigFoot]

Rules are rules, we all godda follow em or risk the penalty. For most people that would be termination of the lease.

[Chance Love]

On your place I'd let him walk. He still has a few good years left.

However, on my low fence lease I have a self-imposed rule of 8.5 on trophies...but on a buck like that I would shoot him even if he was still sucking milk from his momma!

[super_dave]

If it's your place, and YOU like him take him. He might wind up in a fence dead or run himself to death chasing does or get locked up with another buck and die. It's a chance that you have to decide to make or take.

Having said all that, next year might not be so good with rain and you might end up with a 155 double drop.

I just want to have a place one day where this might be a problem.

[Tx625]

let him go, would honestly rather see him not get that big again than wonder for ever about how big he could have gotten.

[Shurshot]

Pass.

[FCTrapper]

You have a ranch management plan that allows your best trophy bucks to get to 6+ years old before they are eligible for harvest.

It has been an amazing rain year.

The good young buck you have been watching has bloomed from a very nice typical 160" 10 pointer with no trash as a 4 year old to a 180" 10 with matching double drops as a 5 year old.

Do you let him go another year?

It would depend on how many 180s we have under our belt. I'd bet we would smoke him then move up our standards. The double drops do have a little more of an enticement factor though. Its almost the same with 160s and 170s. Once you kill a couple its time to move to the next level.

[rtp]

Rules are rules and sometimes there are exceptions. I personally would shoot the deer on my LF place because I dont "have one of those". Now to be a complete hypocrite, I wouldnt let anyone else on my place shoot him though. I have lost/never seen again, many outstanding 5.5 and 6.5 yr old deer over the years. This one would meet his maker if he walked in front of me.

[randal]

I would be mad if he got an exception because I hate when people want to change lease rules in the middle of the season.. I would want my lease to be you can vote to change rules the first week of August.. After that, no rule changes or exceptions until next August.. If it was voted that weekend to shoot then I wouldn't care..

[SB09]

To me that's part of the management program. Assuming the surrounding places are of similar management techniques, or you have him high fenced. Who's to say that we don't have another excellent rain year and him get closer to the 200 inch mark?

[millman]

I am sure the right answer is...."the management plan" should always be fallowed. And if my plan was working to the point I had those kinds of bucks running around I could probably bite my lip and walk away(probably is used loosely I believe).

Seeing as my place and plan does not......I have never shot a double drop......it would become my favorite trophy on the wall.

[Sika]

On your place I'd let him walk. He still has a few good years left.

However, on my low fence lease I have a self-imposed rule of 8.5 on trophies...but on a buck like that I would shoot him even if he was still sucking milk from his momma!

lol..good answer!

Rules are rules but if I were calling the shots, I like the idea of setting a goal to harvest him with a bow. He would likely make it another year.

During bow season, I had a nice 9 pt buck that I believe is 5.5 or 6.5 years old at 15 yards but he never presented me with a shot. I would have whacked him given the chance! A couple weeks ago, I had him at 75 yards and my rifle was in reach. He got a pass.

[jshouse]

On your place I'd let him walk. He still has a few good years left.

However, on my low fence lease I have a self-imposed rule of 8.5 on trophies...but on a buck like that I would shoot him even if he was still sucking milk from his momma!

no kidding...i like it but thats getting mother nature a little too involved for me

LF i would take the buck, HF i would pass.

[TexasTK]

To many variables to say. If you let him walk and he breeds say two does and they each throw four fawns two of them bucks. Say you have a 50% fawn crop that leaves one buck fawn. One year does not make much difference so if the deer floats your boat and you own the property or you get a pass from the lease manager then I say shoot him, with a bow of course.

[STXJunkee]

He gets Smoked. We all manage our land in hopes harvesting the deer of our dreams. This sounds like a once in a blue moon deer of your dreams to me.
With that being said if this is the first mature deer >160" ever seen on my place, he probably dies of old age.

[JAGR]

I would kill him as an exception to the rule.