Although not a "trophy," Mark Kayser could not pass on this mature buck as it was very representative of the area. (Author photos)
July 09, 2025
By Mark Kayser
I admit. I have a problem. I pass on good bucks all the time. My affliction arises from my desire to give young bucks time to mature, possibly becoming more than a garden variety copy of most bucks wandering a property. I set a goal to focus on mature, portly deer. That is not always possible, but it’s my noble cause.
The real question for me arises when a buck reaches that magic age of 4 ½ years. Passing on a reputable buck at that age puts you in a flip-of-a-coin situation. Heads, the buck could grow an impressive set of head gear the following year as it matures at 5 ½ years. Tails, it could do nothing and be all it’s going to be at 4 ½ years. Over the course of decades of hunting I witnessed both circumstances, but more of the tail’s version than heads.
Mother Nature plays the pivotal role in whether a buck becomes the next David Goggins or falls into the David Spade category. You simply must look at the human population to understand only a select few have the genetic makeup to be magnificent specimens. The rest of us fit somewhere in the middle and the same is true of whitetails. A select few have the DNA to make the jump to stardom and soar toward Boone & Crockett heights. The rest have a comfortable future of hitting 140 points at the peak of their game.
That’s why passing on a buck is risky business unless you hunt a highly managed and massive property. Even then you risk passing on a buck because of improbabilities beyond your control. Will he even make it until next season? Most of us, me included, hunter smaller properties or public land. Think about each one of these factors as a 3 ½- or 4 ½-year-old buck stands in your sights, and you consider passing or shooting.
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DISEASE Diseases, like CWD or EHD, can easily rob you of a deer you pass on. This deer classically died of EHD in the Great Plains. One aspect almost totally out of your control is disease. Some are common and others may be obscure, but sickness could take out the very deer you passed on during a prior season. Two of the most obvious culprits include chronic wasting disease (CWD) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD). Both afflict much of the country. CWD has the focus on nearly every wildlife agency in North America as it occurs in 35 states and six Canadian provinces. It also is found worldwide.
CWD infection rates between individual animals are low, but in some populations it may exceed 10 percent and even increase to more than 25 percent in localized areas. Some doom and gloom fortunetellers hypothetically see CWD wiping out deer populations when it does reach a high infection rate, but so far that is not the case. Regardless, it could infect that one buck you passed on.
A more common disease that the center of the nation deals with almost annually is EHD. This disease picks up steam in late summer spread by a tiny, two-winged midge. Once infected a deer dies within days, if not sooner. Infected animals develop a fever and hemorrhage internally. These two factors are the reason you see infected deer seeking water and eventually dying along shores, or riverbanks. Like CWD, there is no known cure for the disease. I’ve experienced EHD outbreaks my entire hunting career. Some kill off a few deer and others can easily wipe out 50 percent or more of a population. Several target deer I hunted were found later while shed antler hunting.
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MIGRATION Accidents happen and this buck died after getting hung up in a fence it attempted to jump. Fail! A common factor for young bucks is to disperse from their area of birth. Young does disperse as well, but typically not to the longer distances as bucks. Studies vary, but at least 50 percent to rates as high as 80 percent of 1 ½-year-old bucks disperse. Aggression by mature bucks is the main reason for dispersion. Keep in mind that some whitetail populations migrate annually and dispersion may occur during this phenomenon. Also, population density, region of the country and other elements affect dispersion. Even so, young bucks disperse and they carry DNA, quality or run-of-the-mill, with them on this journey to a new homeland.
Also understand that even older bucks disperse and set up new home territories, albeit a rarer occurrence. Nevertheless, never say never. In the Great Plains I have seen bucks migrate to better wintering areas, oftentimes properties managed for wildlife, and never return to their previous home territory. The same is true of rutting bucks that have magically appeared on properties, me or my friends have hunted. These newcomers, never seen on trail camera or firsthand before the rut, suddenly decide they like the new venue.
Dispersal of young bucks is out of your control, but quality habitat management could be the answer to keeping older deer around. If they do not have to wander in search of winter food, year-round sanctuary and female companionship, then it’s home sweet home. Quality habitat also has a major impact on the next category.
WINTER WEATHER Not as common in Southern hunting zones, the Midwest and Northland experience winterkill with enough regularity to fear feet of snow. Weeks of ice, cold downpours and subzero temperatures also have an impact and the reason deer die is simple. Deer are at their weakest after the rut and as winter revs up.
Mother Nature aids deer to weather a bad winter. You see deer fattening up all summer and into fall. Regardless, the rut consumes approximately 20 percent of a buck’s body mass. That leaves bucks vulnerable as they go into winter and the harder the winter the more vulnerable they become.
Fortunately, not all winters hit with vengeance. Some kick off slow, some end early, some never materialize. A few hit with the force of a 4-month-long hurricane. Those are the killers. Obviously, the weak die first and that includes fawns of the year and bucks worn down from the rut. Healthy does, although a bit weary from the rut, tend to have the best chances of survival in an extreme winter.
For landowners and lessees with extended year agreements, habitat management helps minimize the pain. Food plots with crops to stand above snow cover, such as corn (need a lot) and brassica are ideal. Turnip varieties also provide great energy if not covered in feet of snow. And where legal, supplemental feed goes a long way in keeping deer fat and sassy until spring.
That all goes out the window while hunting public lands or properties where you have no say in management. All you can do is pray and hope you do not find the rack of the buck you passed on while spring shed antler hunting.
NEIGHBORS Although you may have a great relationship with your neighbors, they still might be tempted to shoot a deer you passed on. Like control of winter weather, what the neighbors do often falls out of your realm of influence. With a large property, say 3,000 acres or more, the neighbors do not matter quite as much, but hunting smaller properties, less than 600 acres, neighbors affect the survival of a buck you are considering passing on.
Don’t worry, it’s just not your problem. With approximately 6 million deer taken by hunters in America annually the problem occurs everywhere. A buck you pass on private property could rut to a public parcel and get shot, and vice versa. Most unneighborly love occurs during the breeding season, especially as bucks take those extended 3-day jaunts from homelands to hopefully find a hookup on the greener side of the love fence.
And poaching could also be a problem, especially if the unethical population of hunters know a certain property holds trophy deer. One whitetail study focusing on hunting pressure by the Noble Research Institute Agricultural Research Team was monitoring a group of collared bucks in southern Oklahoma. In a 2-year period poachers skimmed 14 percent of the bucks from that study area including a 170-inch trophy. Data from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources places poaching at approximately 8 percent. That’s 7 percent too much, but still, something to consider if you pass on a buck.
As more landowners become savvy to wildlife management, the issue of neighbors shooting a deer you passed on becomes less and less. Even so, you always have to consider the factor of who is hunting across the fence. Reaching out to neighbors and floating the idea of a neighborhood deer management plan for mature deer is a worthy goal. At the same time, consider a neighborhood watch where everyone stays alert to the presence of poachers. A quality hunting app, like HuntStand, can help you track down those neighbors for management success. An army of neighbor trail cameras has the power to help manage and discover trespassers.
PREDATORS Predators, like coyotes, could easily rob you of a buck you passed on. Finally, deer face many dangers besides the previously listed threats. Predators present a real danger to whitetails year-round. Coyote populations have spread nationwide and mountain lions are strengthening their foothold in many areas where they were previously exterminated. Mountain lions hunt deer year-round, along with other prey species. They do have large territories so hopefully if a mountain lion moves in it will not affect hunting long. If they do show up, expect deer to be skittish and alert. Since mountain lions cache their food and make mounds after bathroom breaks you can put the clues together if deer begin disappearing.
Coyotes also hunt deer year-round, but have the greatest effect on worn down winter deer and spring fawns. Some winters are hard on coyotes and deer alike, but resilient coyotes pack up to take advantage of weary deer. Lone coyotes also prey on deer. This winter I watched an adult coyote take down an adult deer and kill it all within three minutes. The deer you pass this season could become coyote scat later in the winter.
And of course, you may never know the full potential of a buck fawn, but coyote fawn predation has been steadily increasing across the country. Rates of predation vary depending on habitat, coyote density, deer population and other regional factors. Despite a wide playing field, research has coyotes eating up to as much as 80 percent of a year’s fawn crop. Conditions like that make a healthy whitetail population nearly impossible. Where black bears roam the menace is doubled by their stealthy pursuit.
Another predator you may overlook is your automobile. On average, there are nearly 2 million animal collisions each year with the bulk being deer. It’s difficult for any deer to walk away and recover from a high-speed collision.
Lastly, consider that even deer are prone to accidents. You may pass a buck and it becomes entangled in a fence or caught in the crotch of a tree while rubbing its antlers only to hang itself. Rare yes, but not out of the equation.
Only you can decide if you should shoot or pass as each hunting scenario differs. As you ponder the pressing of a trigger, take into consideration all the factors. Will this buck be around for another year? Would you be pleased with the hunting experience and a freezer full of venison? Don’t get a headache, but prepare yourself on whether to pass or miss out on an opportunity, possibly forever.
Mark Kayser
Mark Kayser has been writing, photographing and filming about the outdoors with a career spanning three decades. He contributes hunting content to most major hunting publications in America. Today his career also includes co-hosting popular hunting shows such as Deer & Deer Hunting TV on the Pursuit Network and Online. He also blogs and is busy posting his hunting life on social media.
Mark grew up in South Dakota in a family that did not have a hunting background. Despite the lack of hunting guidance, Mark self-taught himself how to pursue whitetails in the Midwest cornfields and across the Great Plains. His passion for elk hunting was curtailed by the ability to draw tags while living in South Dakota, but a love of the West spurred him to move with his family to Wyoming where he launches DIY, public-land elk hunts annually, most with a solo attack in the backcountry.
Mark enjoys hunting all big game, coyotes and wild turkeys, plus he has a shed hunting addiction. When he is not in pursuit of hunting adventures, Mark retreats to his small ranch nestled at the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming to spend time with his wife and faithful border collie Sully.
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