Joined
·
4,483 Posts
Last weekend I had a bit of a page turning experience while out hunting on our lease.
As a bit of background, we lease a pretty nice property in an area that has a good number of deer. It isn't a trophy rich area like some parts of the state but the hunting is good. Our lease was logged in the summer of 2007 creating drastic changes to the habitat on our property. We didn't do much with it before the '07 season because the logging wasn't even over by 1 October, we just hunted it as it was and tried to roll with the punches as they came at us.
Summer of '08 my brother in-law (who I lease with) and I decided to take advantage of some of the open spaces created by the logging and put in a few small food plots. Also cleared a few walking paths, put up trail cam's, I did some fence maintenance, etc etc. Basiclly we became much more involved in making our hunting property better and making the most of what we had.
I have told myself for a few years now that I was going to pass small bucks on our property and try to let them grow. I have passed some along the way but also have caved when a shot too good to pass up would present itself. This year we had lots of trail cam pictures of smaller bucks and a few pics of some nicer bucks as well. I once again told myself that I would be passing the small ones, but this year I was sticking with my plan!!! Or at least that's what I was telling myself...
Fast forward to my hunt on the evening of November 1st. I am sitting in a stand overlooking a small plot and just enjoying the evening. Last week I sat here and saw decent 7pt, confirming that nice bucks are around. Tonight a 4pt with a nice little rack for a 4pt comes in from behind me and comes right to the plot with no hesitation and starts munching away. I told myself "no" right when I saw him but now he is standing at 6yds slightly quarterd away with no clue I am there. I could feel the temptation building as I focused on the perfect shot that I could easily make. I told myself "you said no, now stick with it. that is just another small rack for the garage wall. NO". After three minutes or so the deer got nervous and walked off. I hung the bow up and felt no remorse or regret. I wasn't even shaking or nervous after the encounter. I was proud of myself for passing the shot and even more proud of seeing all the work that my brother in-law and I did pay off. It was just as gratifying to see that buck eating in our plot as it would have been to harvest him. Then to top it off my brother in-law sat the stand the following night and saw the same buck in the plot again. That is exactly the type of experiences we had hoped for when we put the plots in.
I think this experience and the way that I felt afterwards has helped me turn the page a bit in my development as a "let 'em go, let 'em grow" hunter. To see your hard work pay off and to then stick with yourself and show the willpower not to cave in, very rewarding.
I am sure that a slightly larger buck will come along and present a whole new challenge within myself to let him walk but I am more confident now than I have ever been that I can continue to do it.
As a bit of background, we lease a pretty nice property in an area that has a good number of deer. It isn't a trophy rich area like some parts of the state but the hunting is good. Our lease was logged in the summer of 2007 creating drastic changes to the habitat on our property. We didn't do much with it before the '07 season because the logging wasn't even over by 1 October, we just hunted it as it was and tried to roll with the punches as they came at us.
Summer of '08 my brother in-law (who I lease with) and I decided to take advantage of some of the open spaces created by the logging and put in a few small food plots. Also cleared a few walking paths, put up trail cam's, I did some fence maintenance, etc etc. Basiclly we became much more involved in making our hunting property better and making the most of what we had.
I have told myself for a few years now that I was going to pass small bucks on our property and try to let them grow. I have passed some along the way but also have caved when a shot too good to pass up would present itself. This year we had lots of trail cam pictures of smaller bucks and a few pics of some nicer bucks as well. I once again told myself that I would be passing the small ones, but this year I was sticking with my plan!!! Or at least that's what I was telling myself...
Fast forward to my hunt on the evening of November 1st. I am sitting in a stand overlooking a small plot and just enjoying the evening. Last week I sat here and saw decent 7pt, confirming that nice bucks are around. Tonight a 4pt with a nice little rack for a 4pt comes in from behind me and comes right to the plot with no hesitation and starts munching away. I told myself "no" right when I saw him but now he is standing at 6yds slightly quarterd away with no clue I am there. I could feel the temptation building as I focused on the perfect shot that I could easily make. I told myself "you said no, now stick with it. that is just another small rack for the garage wall. NO". After three minutes or so the deer got nervous and walked off. I hung the bow up and felt no remorse or regret. I wasn't even shaking or nervous after the encounter. I was proud of myself for passing the shot and even more proud of seeing all the work that my brother in-law and I did pay off. It was just as gratifying to see that buck eating in our plot as it would have been to harvest him. Then to top it off my brother in-law sat the stand the following night and saw the same buck in the plot again. That is exactly the type of experiences we had hoped for when we put the plots in.
I think this experience and the way that I felt afterwards has helped me turn the page a bit in my development as a "let 'em go, let 'em grow" hunter. To see your hard work pay off and to then stick with yourself and show the willpower not to cave in, very rewarding.
I am sure that a slightly larger buck will come along and present a whole new challenge within myself to let him walk but I am more confident now than I have ever been that I can continue to do it.
