broke rack, pass?
Whitetail Deer
So you have a great buck come in but he's missing a big part of his rack, do you pass him or not? He meets every thing else you are looking for, ie, mature and would be your biggest or close to if he wasn't broke up. I'd pass but could see if you didn't want to. Kevin
if he gave me a good shot opportunity i would take it...assuming of course what was left of his rack met my states antler point restriction.
Hard pass for me. I’d take my chances with him making it through to next year.
Not a chance I’d pass. He’s still the same mature buck that you may never get a shot at, again.
Venison. That's what I am after.
Shoot him. I could rebuild points if I wanted. Would likely display him as he is though.
Definitely hard pass but I’m with T-Roy ^^^
Since my sons dog.gets the antlers, Im Shooting
No problem for me shooting. I don’t get to shoot many animals so i take it when I can get it.
A great buck is a great buck; scars tell stories.
Im passing all day everyday. I'll wait until he's full racked or only missing a point. More days in the tree and the chess game continues.
Depends. Did I miss the doe he was following?
It actually happened to me once during the last week of a January when a buck I'd been hunting I named Big Red had freshly shed one side but I didn't know it at the time... I hunted this big red 5x5 in Geauga county all season then one day trailed him in about a foot of snow realizing he was in a small patch of cover I knew very well in which I had a treestand... He was one of those real pretty red colored bucks and he was traveling with three or four baldheads at the time... This buck was a huge 170+ class smooth 5x5, an enormous deer, and I do believe he was a Booner at the time... This was mid-day on one of those cold, crisp, calm, rare sunny January afternoons and knowing the patch well there might be a chance for a push so I went and got a nearby buddy and explained to him where to and how to walk through this patch... Sure enough he pushed them right to me... Usually a plan like that doesn't come together but this time it actually did... Here they come running straight towards me and I instantly see he's now one racked... They stopped and paused right right in front of me well within my bow range looking back... It was a split second decision at the time for a shot... Believe it or not, I can remember the cold, the snow, the sun, and looking down on him a mere few yards away against the bright white background is still burned in my memory but I don't remember if I took the shot... I might have... Heck it was 36 years ago because I know the year was 1988 because I had just received my custom Bighorm T/D recurve in November 1987... Wish, I'd have kept notes back then... What I do remember was I never cut a hair on him... I had a lot of pleasure hunting that great animal, it was good times back then... I actually blew a chance at him earlier that season when I had him directly under my treestand, but thats's another story... This was on my co-workers buddy's family farm they allowed me to hunt and he used to tease me of the big bucks he'd see while my vehicle wasn't there...8^) Unfortunately that buck was road killed on the state route at the far edge of the farm the following season during peak rut... He said there were pieces of broken anthers scattered along that road as big as his wrist, and he was a big man... Big ole farm boy.. I about cried... I didn't even get to see that deer dead... A few years ago I was in the area on a trip to Mentor Headlands and took a drive by... The place and all around is now developed with half million dollar homes, it's gone... I about cried again... Man, I miss that farm...
Back to the one-rackers...8^) The attached photo of this half rack 4x had been around since mid-November I let pass... This is last photo received 11 days ago just 2 days before our statewide gun season opener so I suspect he got blasted...
I would not pass. I was hunting an Indian Res years back and had a GREAT 4 by about 30 yds from me. It was a tank but one side was gone. I let it walk and have regretted it ever since. It was a very nice buck and I screwed up letting it go. Thanks for reminding me!!;)
Pass. I’ve done it a few times. I’d do it again.
Seems a shame to kill a big buck solely for the meat. There are plenty of other deer for that. I’d tip my hat and say see you next year.
I agree Whatthefoc, except for button bucks... Studies indicate over 60% of buttons disperse from the area where they are tagged and radio collared in late winter, meaning you are saving deer for your neighbor or folks miles away... I'd rather shoot a fawn this time of year that is near the mother's size and in which she is already bred being a productive animal where as the fawns won't likely produce for another year... 6 - 7 month old tender fawns are about the right size for one person to handle too...
I Have passed deer up for it before , and will prob do it gain
nah, I wouldn't shoot a shed buck, either.
I would pass and have passed on similar bucks before. See ya next year, with any luck.
PA is a one buck per season state but I can kill doe to fill my freezer.
depends on time of season and what else i was seeing in the area. opening day, it's a maybe either way. after the first week of the season, i'd drop the hammer.
i learned a long time ago to never pass up a good bow shot. i'm not a trophy hunter and never hunted an area known to produce a lot of large bucks.
My favorite buck so far had broken off half his rack. To me he’s the same old buck I was hunting before it was broken and it just adds character. I’ve had people ask why I didn’t pass though. To me I can’t understand why it’s even a question.
No pass. When hunting in MN the opportunities were few and far between. I shot a buck that dressed out at 198 lbs. one side of his rack was a mess. like maybe he was hit by a car and that side never grew normally. It was ugly but I still have the rack. The bonus was all the meat. Granted, the meat didn’t taste near as good as the antlers would have, but I choked it all down anyways!!
A few years back I was after this big 5 point. Large typical left side and just a flat blade on the right. When I finally got a shot at him, he had broken off the right side. I let him walk right past me and never saw him again.
Not a deer but same situation. I never even considered passing on this big old Wyoming bull despite the fact that he had completely broken off both of his front points and part of three more. Passed on opportunities on several nice younger bulls with prettier 6x6 racks earlier in the hunt and was glad I did. He now hangs on my wall “as is”.
Zbone what a great story. Really nicely described and shared. Thanks.
I personally would pass and hope for next year that the buck would still be around. I would rather shoot a doe for meat and herd management than shoot a mature buck with a missing or broken up antler.
I'm curious; if he was a trophy to you yesterday but broke off a point or two overnight and now he isn't a trophy to you... is it just a measurement or inches thing?
I shot this one in Kansas in 2017. I rattled and he came in and ripped open a scrape at 20 yards. When we caped him out his neck was all bloody where you see the 2 marks on his neck. He was the biggest bodied buck I have shot.
Great question. I had it happen two years ago. Buck came by with most of his left rack missing/broken off. He gave me a nice 20 yard shot which I gladly took. I got 165 pounds of meat out of that deer, largest one I've ever taken. A trophy is a trophy, unless you're hung up on a score.
Private land or Public land? Big difference
I have let them go a waited until the next year,sometimes it works out sometimes it doesn't.Also theres a difference between a deformed buck and a broke buck.
Passed up a SD buck this year that I rattled in. He had a nice 4 point side and the other was just the base. Not sure if it was busted or just grew that way. If I hadn't already shot a deer for meat, I'd have probably shot him. But at this place he has a chance of surviving to next year so I let him go.
that a nice Bull Elk i would have shot too
So.....it's the same mature buck. Only difference is part of the rack is missing. Someone mentioned passing would allow the chess match to continue. Really? Will he be smarter with his rack intact? It was already check-mate if you had the shot opportunity at an unsuspecting mature buck.
To each his own. I'm dropping the string. Deeming him not worthy because his rack got ****ed up, well seems ego driven.
Pass for me. I've had this exact scenario play out multiple times and I've passed each time. I understand those who don't choose to pass too, but that's no my choice.
Definitely a pass for me. I won't shoot a velvet buck either. In both cases I am looking for something that I can hang on the wall that shows the animal at its prime of the season (a rack that the buck worked hard on to polish up and is not broken up).
Lots of picky shooters in this group.
Olink, you’d let him walk?? I shot this one just minutes after sending an arrow thru an elk.
I've evolved as a hunter. At one time I had a goal of shooting a buck, then I had a goal of shooting a 10pt'r, then I had a goal of shooting a 12pt'r, etc. As I met goals I moved on to new ones. When I was wanting a 10 I suppose a broken up buck wouldn't have met that goal, but... I never passed on bigger goals to shoot the current goal. I my goal ever becomes scores or inches I'll probably pass on broken racked bucks.
KHNC……..the problem with that is???
Seems to me shooting him even if he’s broken up, is every bit as ego driven as letting him walk.
Pass
I did shoot a real nice buck years ago quick shot, didn’t see he was busted forward of his G4 on the one side. Probably 150s buck intact, sub P&Y now, nice deer, but a let down I didn’t see the other side at the time of the shot.
If I see it, he’s getting a pass. Deer are not my freezer filler. I much prefer elk so if I’m killing a deer I want the fully Monty.
I’m passing. The older I get - you’re right KHNC, the pickier I get and there’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t need to kill a deer every year. I’m long past that stage.
100% Hard Pass - not even a hesitation
It would be a pass for me.
Done both....passed a dandy 5 x 0 whitetail in CO on Halloween, probably woulda been an easy 150+ if whole .....zero in this case. Regretted it later in the season, although at the time I thought it was the right thing to do.
Arrowed a great Coues buck busted off above the brow tine on one side. Doubling the intact side...he'd be a 114" B&C caliber buck. Always happy he is on the wall and I get to admire him. Was near the end of the hunt and on public lands.
Definitely a pass for me today. 25-30 years ago, I would have been shooting.
Broken up rack i would pass, deformed rack i will shoot. For me i can basically shoot does so i let bucks walk if i can.
I would have to pass, sometime you get luck and he makes it till next year and gets bigger. Sometimes its a little smaller. And sometimes he gets wacked by the guy down the street.
are you hunting the buck or the rack?
its the same buck, you outwitted the same exact deer broken tine, tines, part or half rack ... still beat that buck and shot him
some people would pass, I very likely wouldn't. I saw a 1/2 rack buck 3 years ago I'd have greatly loved to have taken, a 180" buck that had broke his one side off just below the brow .... I did not get him, but wanted him
“Seems a shame to kill a big buck solely for the meat. ”
That just doesn’t process for me.
In The Beginning, Hunting was All About Food. I definitely understand that. I understand Hunting For The Sake of The Hunt.
Passing up an animal WITH a broken rack is one thing; passing it up BECAUSE of a broken rack is entirely different, and frankly, it’s objectively a perversion. In the literal sense. Look it up if you have to.
Michael’s (2017 KS) deer is a stunner, IMO; I can easily imagine what he looked like intact, and what else is left to the imagination is far more interesting than “perfection”….
"KHNC……..the problem with that is??? Seems to me shooting him even if he’s broken up, is every bit as ego driven as letting him walk." T-Roy
I didnt say anything about egos. I pass deer all the time, for different reasons. Ive shot broken rack bucks. Some ive have the taxidermist fix a tine, others I left as is. I have also passed broken rack mature bucks and broken rack young bucks. I never make up my mind on passing a mature broken rack buck until the exact moment I have a shot opportunity. If I have the right feeling, I shoot it. If i dont, I wont. Nothing to do with ego. Not even sure why you said that part. Nothing wrong with shooting a buck you've hunted all season , broken rack or not. Hell, that one guy on here shot that 200" buck after it shed its antlers. Fortunately, He found the sheds too. Did you comment about his "ego" on that thread? Or did you do the right thing and congratulate him on a job well done? Because I assume you would have passed him without antlers. Even knowing it was an old mature warrior that you had chased for many seasons. Still the same deer, antlers or not. Although , having the recent sheds certainly helped the decision im sure.
"We never have good bucks so I shoot the first one I see."
Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy. The half rack always gets a pass from me.
Corax, u calling me a pervert? If so, we are in agreement.
I answered the question as if this were a BIG old warrior in my back yard and I’ll have the opportunity to see this deer again. I like having a few big bucks around. Call it trophy hunting if you like, but it is possible to covet the antlers as well as the meat. I’ve never killed a ‘trophy” buck that wasn’t also consumed.
So I’ll let the big shed buck walk, like sowing a seed for next year. He is special to me - but incomplete without the rack. The second his rack falls off, he has won for this year. I have my own set of values - not trying to convince anyone else. There are plenty of other deer to make sausage out of.
The heck with holding out for next year. I'm waiting for the guy he was fighting with. ;-)
Yes, another reason I passed the buck I described above was I had a few more days to hunt and there were much bigger bucks around.
“The second his rack falls off, he has won for this year.”
I can totally get behind that.
Nope. I'm killing him. A buck is the same animal between his ears, same challenge, same reward, same meat, same/same everything regardless of whether he's busted up, or perhaps shed one or both antlers. In fact, a real argument could be made that he's more of a challenge after his antlers have dropped. But all that antler stuff is fluff for others. I'm not your huckleberry there. Only reason I look at antlers before I make the shoot/don't shoot decision is to ensure it's legal prey as prescribed by the powers that be.
"Olink, you’d let him walk?? I shot this one just minutes after sending an arrow thru an elk." Yes I would let him walk.
"...what else is left to the imagination is far more interesting than “perfection”…."
Well Corax, This bull should be right up your alley. Pretty much everything is left to your imagination.
KHNC……the “ego” comment wasn’t aimed at you. It was in response to bowbender’s comment. That’s why I started a new paragraph. Maybe a Snickers would help…
Agree with WhattheFOC. I’ve got my own standards of what I will or won’t shoot. I wouldn’t give a pinch of dry dog $hit for what some guys think.
t-roy, in a pinch I'd shoot dry dog shit ;)
I'd shoot him. We don't get many opportunities in my neck of the woods.
I took a really nice buck last fall with my muzzle loader. One antler fell off on the death run. The other as I went to hold him up. He was literally minutes from dropping them when I shot…. And I kinda wish he woulda dropped them just before he popped out so he could’ve won for the year. Still tickled to death to be able to get him, but he was so close to winning for the year….
As far as half or broken racks, well I’ve shot a couple. Happy I did. Big mature bucks. Think one was 255 live and the other 242 but that was mid December. He was a giant.
Not sure I’d do it again. Sure do like seeing them get bigger.
Nope. No pass. No guarantee there will be a next year.
T-Roy, gotcha. I see BB post now. I didnt see his previous ego comment. I usually go with Dark Choc M&M's over snickers. :)
No Pass Shot a Half rack 7pt Bull elk 2 years ago. The glory of a full Big rack is nice but not necessary.
When I lived and hunted property that I owned in southeast Iowa I was faced with this predicament most seasons. Lots of mature bucks.. They engaged in very violent fighting each year during the rut. By mid November most mature bucks had busted racks. I chose to pass bucks that had seriously busted racks. Let him go and with a little luck you’ll have a chance at him next year but with an even bigger rack. I also chose to pass all bucks that had shed one or both antlers.
Interesting answers here. Some guys would shoot a big shed buck and have nothing to commemorate him but the sausage. Others would pass on a 190” whitetail because he’s in full velvet. I can’t comprehend either. :) Different folks, different strokes.
Probably pass. But definite game-time decision for me. Lots of factors to go into it. I might pass him up one day and kill him the next.
If i have one in the freezer then yes. Empty freezer nope.
“Well Corax, This bull should be right up your alley. Pretty much everything is left to your imagination.”
Yep, and if I were in an OTC unit on Public (which is the only way I’ve ever done it), the only thing holding me back is the shot angle. Looks like a legal 4-point; the fact that he looks busted off on the left side doesn’t faze me…
That said… If I were to run across that bull on the first day of a long-awaited trip, I might just hold off, because one year in ML I tagged out at noon on the opener and absolutely gutted a 12-day trip. But that was back before bonus cow tags for archery. The way things are now, I would seriously consider going for the bird in the hand and I could run into town for the cow tag and continue to hunt….
I’d pass myself and have on two bucks that I was hunting in the past… Interestingly, I shared one of these stories with a gentleman who worked for one of the big camo companies. -He gave me a hard time about it and said that he’d shoot that deer every time, however seemed rather dumbfounded when I asked him if he’d still shoot him if he broke/dropped second antler and he was 100% sure of the deer.
My general position is that I go after mature bucks for the rack and venison is a nice product on the side. If I’m meat hunting, I’ll target either a doe or a misfit dependent on the situation.
Thanks Bou'bound...
It's kinda heart breaking reminiscing of properties lost...
I would not shoot a buck that has shed. Like someone else said, he won that year to me. I have shot bucks with broken tines but at some point I pass. I passed one of the oldest bucks I’ve ever seen in the suburbs of Cincinnati about 20 years ago. I heard him fighting with another buck. I’d never heard so much racket. When he emerged from the brush he had one beam sheared off right above the pedicle. The other side had 4 heavy short tined points. I let him walk. To this day I am not sure I’ve even seen a buck that was that old and that massive on the hood.
“Seems to me shooting him even if he’s broken up, is every bit as ego driven as letting him walk.”
How so? Well, to a point I think it’s all ego driven. I mean look at our yearly elk pole, Whitetails pole….
But still, if a buck was worthy at 7:53am in the morning, returns at 4:05pm with a busted rack, how is he less worthy? Other than a visual indicator.
FWIW, I love looking at buck some of you guys shoot. There’s some real slammers in there.
“To a point, it’s all ego driven” That’s kinda what I was getting at.
I’ve killed a few pretty decent bucks over the years, so don’t feel the need that I have to kill a buck to be successful, plus I’m blessed in the fact that I own, as well as my dad owns several hundred acres of very good deer hunting property in Iowa. I spend a tremendous amount of my free time on habitat improvements on the properties, which I enjoy ALMOST as much as bowhunting. I glean a tremendous amount of satisfaction in doing what I can, to help to get a buck to his full potential (antlerwise). Letting them walk, food plots, mineral, TSI, sanctuaries, etc. If a buck that I’ve been after walks by me and he’s busted up, he’s no less of a trophy to me, but he still gets a pass, and I get a little bit of satisfaction in knowing that I probably could have killed him, and might still, the following year.
These aren’t “unpressured” deer, either. I have 20+ guys that bowhunt the properties around me. The furthest distance on my property from an adjoining property is about 500 yards, so the likelihood that a buck that I pass on, will end up on another property at some point is pretty high, and my neighbors are far less discriminating than I am. I know if I shot the buck, he ain’t gonna make it to the next year, but I take my chances and keep my fingers crossed that he doesn’t get shot. Lots of times they do, but a few DO make it through.
He ended up scoring about -7…..
He ended up scoring about -7…..
Lest anyone thinks it’s totally about the size of the rack, this was Chiquita.
That's a trophy T-Roy!
What abou this guy; shooter? He's got the width that a lot of guys like...
Not many deductions, so he’s got THAT going for him ;-)
Lol, pretty even from side to side!
I love that one's drop tine!
It takes quite a few years for a deer to grow some serious head gear. Would NOT shoot him. That goes for public or private. Maybe I never see him again. Oh well! Plenty of other deer in the woods to fill the freezer with. If I don’t get a crack at a big one I’ll just shoot does.
Is Broke Rack Pass anywhere near Brokeback Mountain?
Pass every time. I only hunt public so I am very used to passing on the vast majority of bucks if I expect to take a shooter. Two years ago I passed on a 160” but was rewarded two days later with my dream 195” buck. I only had one tag left so I’d never even gotten the chance to see the big one if I’d not passed earlier.
When I was a young man I was more picky about racks.
First it was high, symmetrical racks with thick tines. Then the larger racks with some inside spread became more my speed. Now I'm less picky. Anything from buttons to half-racks is fine. ;)
I shot at one one once that was missing the entire right side. The only reason I shot was that we had that right side in possession. He had broken it off in a fight with another deer, and it was laying in the farmers yard. The fight happened right outside my bedroom window at about 2am. My brother shot the other deer that morning, a nice 6 x 7. Truthfully the broken one was probably a bit too small to shoot, but it would have made a nice story had I harvested it.
Several years ago I had a great buck coming in, I was excited and ready. I'm a ground hunter so being at eye level I couldn't appreciate the fact that he only had one antler. The antler he did have (right side) was immense, the left side was completely missing. I was disappointed and I left him walk. He was definitely not a young deer BTW, and I wondered if he had survived because of his... antler.
SoDakSooner, that would have been a winner in my book! Sometimes a deer is a trophy because of the situation or the story, rather than the antlers. I've filled several tags on bucks smaller than I wanted that season just because the nephew and niece were staying with us and I wanted to get them in on a blood-trail, or because the buck decoyed in so cool, or because we had one of the kids's friends hunting with us and he'd never been part of a kill before. LOTS of reasons to shoot a deer other than perfect antlers.
From the thread on Pat’s magazine article..,
“Be interesting to hear if any of you ever had a similar situation and considered gluing a shed back on a buck that shed early!”
So do we know where Pat stands ? I don’t recall when/how that buck lost the one….
If you're looking for a specific buck, and this isn't him let him pass. "ya can't kill the big ones if " etc,etc. I passed a solid 10 point in the opening minutes of gun season because he wasn't the big one. As it turns out, my neighbor killed him a half hour later. What's good about that is that he saw the one I was after shortly after he killed the one I passed. As far as I know, the big one is still on his feet with 5 day left in the season.
I was after a certain buck and killed him on Christmas day once. When he hit the ground off popped an antler. He had been gored by another buck and had green puss oozing form 2 deep wounds. I Glued the the antler on with white epoxy. Still like that 23 years later. Would have shot him had the one antler already been missing also. He was the one I was after.
It is the same deer, same challenge, regardless of rack damage, or loss.
You guys do realize you are entitled to do whatever you choose right?
Pass?....no problem your choice. Shoot?...well heck yea why not, your choice.
The only problem i see here is ego.
But i will say the "hunting for meat is wrong" crowd....yea your gonna have a problem with me.
I pass on my share of deer....until i want deer meat. I never did acquire a taste for an unfilled tag.
Easy PASS! I usually have to make this same decision atleast twice per season here in KS. I want that buck to be in all its glory when I kill him. So, I PASS and thus roll the dice hoping he makes it thru to the next year!
