Not the Biggest one I seen.......

[Moosie]

So... Looking back over my Year and Past years I started to wonder. I shot a Nice Idaho Buck this year, but 1.5 hours earlier I saw a Bigger one that I didn't (Actually couldn't because it was running) shoot at. I also shot an OK NM buck this year, But passed on (OK, Didn't take the opertunity to shoot "at") some Bigger ones earlier on.

I've ready many a Stories on the net this year about "this buck wasn't the biggest" or "My bull was the smaller of the two".

Just wondering if more often then not people end up shooting "Not the Biggest one I seen......." ?

 

[TheTone]

Last year I saw about four whitetails bigger than the one I ended up getting. Two of them were on private land I couldn't hunt, one was seen as it was hightailing it into the brush while driving one day, and the other was seen while I was trying to fill my doe tag a week later. I would say most years for me are like that, usually see at least a few bigger than what I end up with.

 

[supersider34]

I have seen it happen. I was wondering the same thing also. But know alot of people in the beginning of the hunt have higher standards. In a good unit.
Could be shot was bad or couldnt get close enough. Shot didnt feel right. But have also seen guys take shots way beyond there shooting on a huge buck only to spook it out of the area never to be seen again. I glassed a guy shooting at a bedded buck across a canyon that he had plenty of time to work over to it. Chose to shoot and reload twice only to have the buck gone. When I talked to him later said it was not him shooting. Brother ran into him the next morning and he told my brother he hit and knocked down a monster at 150 yds and when he got over there it was gone. It was around a 700 yd shot.
But think it happens as you said Oscar though. Have seen it alot this year over that.
My standards are a 160 + buck. To me though I just like seeing pics of harvested deer whether they are monsters or whether they are small. Field photos and stories bring good memories for the future. Got to love being in the field.Hunting with family and friends or just being outdoors is what its all about.
I have had the oppurtunity to harvest a couple of my bucks with my brother and my son. Listening to them tell the story is well worth the hunt to me. My brother has archery hunted with me every year except this year as he took a nice 160 class buck with his rifle on opening morning this year. Now helping out a friend that is on my speed dial on phone to call when I find bucks. He wants a wall hanger.
I can say as you posted moosie that I did not take the biggest buck I seen. It just seems to happen this way. Just keep them buck pics coming whether huge or average. Love them pics. Also glad to see everyone having fun out there.

 

[schmalts]

yep, i saw bigger ones while hunting WT, and messed up. Mule deer i saw a bigger one while packing mine out.. Elk hunting i only wanted and held out for the big boy, and of course ended up not getting him, but did have an opportunity that just didnt go as planned. I did pass up a couple smaller bulls that may have went P&Y but i was really into the big boy 4 days in a row so it was easy to hold out.

 

[BUCKSPY]

If I didn't shoot the biggest one I saw, it was because I screwed up or missed. I'm not one to lower my standards as the season progresses because I know what I'm looking for and I know what they look like. I shot a buck I "settled" for back in 1999 and was bothered by the fact that I was dissapointed when I walked up to him. I said that I would never do that again and I would rather go without than kill a buck or bull that would not meet the standards that I had set for myself. Its my own personnal choice and believe everyone has the right to make his or her own choice on the kind of animal the will take. However, I don't believe that a person should kill a animal just to live up to the status of being a successful hunter and to kill a buck just to have killed one. Thats one of the reasons quality deer and elk hunting is so hard to find. They don't get big unless they get old.

 

[BCBOY]

Just finished up the season yesterday. Got to eat tag soup this year. Not because I didn't see some incredible bucks, but because I set some goals for myself and the Big 'uns needed to be extra BIG this year. Ended the season off feeling great though. Did lower my standards just a tad yesterday by putting the stalk on a high 180 class typical. Figured with only a few hours left he'd do. Did a stalk on him blind and of course he wasn't there anymore when I finally got up the mountain. On well, he wasn't the Big Trashy one I was looking for anyways. Had an incredible season. Got to see my buddies hammer some monsters. Of course, as the story always goes, the Biggest one got away. Only saw him for a split second in some very thick timber and what I saw was a Jaw Dropper. Hopefully I'll be able to find him with the video camera this winter or at least find his sheds.
That being said, I have lowered my standards on several hunts in the past. I also consider myself a meat hunter. There's been times I've held out hoping for a monster and have cut my tag on a little buck on the last day of the trip because I like to have meat in the freezer. This year I was fortunate enough to have a moose so passing on big buck after big buck was a lot more easier.