im thinkin this will be a nice PA buck this year, but do you guys think hell grow alot more?
(http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj123/jonahhorst/MDGC0019.jpg)
for me probably not, id let him walk and take more pics of him
Only you can answer the question of weather he is a shooter or not. You buy your own tag, not anyone else. If he is what you want, then take him. But most of all, be proud of whatever you decide to harvest.
He still has some growing to do. Not a whole lot, but a little. Now lets see some ground pics!
Well better wait for the season to start first. :bigsmyl:
Mike
If you buy the qdma line about "its all about mature deer", then no cause he is way less then 4 to 5 1/2. If you hunt for yourself and its a deer you want to shoot, then yes.
well we try to manage the deer, and keep them around so they grow to be mature, but the problem is if i let him walk, the guys on the next ranch will kill him.
Two words ... MEAT HUNTER!
The only way I'd let this fellow 'walk', is if my freezer was full, and I didn't have anyone close by who wanted/needed some fresh venison.
You can't control what the guys on the next property will do. You can only control what you do.
There is a 100% chance he won't make it to maturity, if you kill him, now.
Does that make a hill of beans difference, to you? I don't know. None of my business.
Shoot whatever you want, and have no regrets.
If the guys on the next ranch kill him, he'll be just as dead as if you killed him.
If you want to shoot him, because he might make it to the next ranch and get shot by them, then you have the wrong mind-set.
If you let him walk then he'll have much more of a chance at living on your land than getting to the next property and being shot.
Is he a shooter? Personally, yes, I'd shoot him in a heartbeat.
"do you guys think hell grow alot more?"
He's going to be a high racked six point and isnt going to get much bigger, not this year atleast. IMO
Good luck.
If you do get a chance at him and decide he's a shooter, we'll want to see pics!
Kid
Personally, if he walked in front of me and looked the other way, well....that wouldn't be good for him.
However, if he was standing next to a fatter doe or buck, he would walk. That is, providing the other deer offered a shot. More meat!
I just want the groceries and a peaceful day in the woods.
-Charlie
I'd take him. I judge my own trophies and don't care what "experts" think. If if was a good hunt he's no less a trophy than a book buck.
QuoteOriginally posted by acadian archer:
I'd take him. I judge my own trophies and don't care what "experts" think. If if was a good hunt he's no less a trophy than a book buck.
My thoughts exactly! :thumbsup:
Dude they are all shooters aren't they?
Very few garrantee's in life but if you kill him when he's small he will never be big...
however only you can say at the moment of truth if he's what you'd like to shoot.
I sometimes let the little ones walk more now than when I was younger BUT if my "go" button goes off when the time comes I'd shoot it all depends on the moment for me
Shooter is in the eye of the beholder
it will never be a shooter... deer cant shoot.
I hunt for meat, headgear is just a bonus IMO
I would have already killed him before he started to get tough. :bigsmyl:
I would not care if deer never grew antlers myself.Would not be nearly as many people in my way when I went hunting if they just stopped growing the darn things. :biglaugh:
A 6 point your worried about dropping!?! Man you've been watching too many hunting shows! Unless things have changed dramatically since I hunted the lower 48 that is a very respectable buck. Besides you can't eat antler and the young ones are much better table fair. In fact with moose I only draw on spike forks, I'm 42 and I've broken my back twice packing out 900lbs is no fun! I'm headed for the north slope to harvest Caribou in 8 days, we are allowed 5 animals in the area I'll be hunting. I hope to be coming home with 5 animals with racks like that deers, feeding the family comes first my ego last!
I'd be proud to take that deer.
I would not shoot it - but only because I have the unofficial world record for shooting 6 and 7 point whitetails; and I want a doe more than I want another 'less than 8 pointer'. That is just me- I have been seeing several 8 pointers and 10 pointers that are already bigger than the buck in your picture.
I don't believe anyone would slight you for shooting it! As mentioned it looks like it will be a genetic 6 point for ever... if it gives you a shot- take it.
The only way I'd shoot him is if he was in range!! But I'd respect somebody not shooting him, to each his own.
As far as the growin alot more goes hes not going to this year. He is about maxed out the antlers have lost the big mass at the tips of each point that they have while they are growing so i would say hes about done for the year. as far as a shooter i probably wouldnt but i stand i could chance at shooting a wall hanger here plenty of does to loose an arrow on if im wantin meat.
No, he's not gonna grow much more....just a little more length "tipping out"
As far as being a shooter...only you can answer that
QuoteOriginally posted by Onestringer:
Dude they are all shooters aren't they?
couldnt have said it better myself. :readit:
Should be tasty why not ! Any Deer with a bow is a trophy !
I'd shoot him. Pic is huge by the way, you may want to reduce it before it gets yanked.
What you see is pretty much what you'll get as far as size goes.
Would I shoot him? Depends: early season or late, seeing other more mature bucks or not, wanting meat or not, number of days left to be out hunting, etc. Way too many variables to draw a conclusion here. All I can say for sure is that I'd be more likely to take him with my bow than with a firearm.
To me most any deer can be considered a trophy when you get them into arrow range by your own wit and hard work.
I've made a career out of shooting 1 1/2 bucks. Took my first buck that was 5 1/2 years old last season, the wife won't eat it. She said "why didn't you get one of the good tasting ones?" Now that I have the "buck of a lifetime" out of my system it's back to does and young bucks. Can't eat horn. Any critter with a stickbow is a trophy, if that fella was the right distance and angle he'd be done and I'd be darn proud of him.
Swamp buck I know exactly what you are talking about with the go button. I swear I can be going to let a deer walk one second and 10 seconds later something takes hold of me and I am shootin. Like said before shoot what you want and I doubt he will be much bigger this year. But in 2 years he could be a deer I would spend a lot of money to mount just never know for sure what he will do. There are some big six points out there.
Last night as I was flingin a few arrows I realized that I needed to amend my post to read...
"Shooter is in the eye of the Bow Holder"
That is up to you! For me he will walk,hes no more then 3.5 years old.He will get bigger but not this year.If you hunt in a spot where thers a lot of hunters there a good chance he will get shot.GOOD LUCK! :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
In todays society we all get wrap up in the bigger is better mentality to a degree. Most people do not have to harvest a deer to survive but there are those of us who have to hunt to survive. If I hunt ,I kill and eat. It is a personal decision. I have shot big deer and tons of smaller ones. I still have one or two teeth left so there will be more of the smaller ones for me. If it feels right for you take him if not enjoy the moment and don't worry about the other.
You got teeth left, Jeff? Last time I seen you(last August) I for shure figgered you for dead 'fore Spring!
Looking forward to seeing "Ole Toothless" at the TBG Satiday night.
If so many people just meat hunt why don't they just shoot does and ugly raghorns?If they would do that they would still have plenty of meat and the trophy hunters wouldn't have to cuss about passing up young pretty bucks just for someone else to shoot them,saw off their horns and nail it to their barn.If you ain't gonna mount it please shoot a doe.I definately wouldn't shoot him because he has potential,he is a clean racked young deer that will make something nice if he lives long enough.
Any legal deer is a shooter for me... Once I have meat in the freezer I will let the small bucks walk. Does are always in trouble!!
John III
Leatherneck said it best shot what you want and be proud of it.
i'd be proud to get'em
The only reason you're asking is due to the magazines, shows, and vids out there showing every buck on the ground is a hawg...
Let that go and enjoy the moment...
To me, it's the day. Sometimes a buck like that may take an arrow. Somedays, I may kill the doe right in front of him, or wait for the buck behind...
You knew the(your) answer the minute you saw that pic.
Enjoy your season.
Happy hunting,
Jason
QuoteOriginally posted by Arrowhead80:
If you ain't gonna mount it please shoot a doe.
I can guarantee, with near 100% certainty, that I will never have a buck mounted. So I should be shooting only does??
Maybe I'm reading too much into your post or maybe I need to wait for the coffee to kick in, but much of the flack hunters take from the general public is because of trophy hunting and the "need to shoot a big one" mentality.
The whole QDM gets to me too. Some of the dumbest bucks I've come across have been on QDM properties. They keep running across hunters who don't threaten them, then become accustomed to them and stopped running away - just like my 'yard deer'. As a deer ages his body will get bigger, but not necessarily his antlers... I've been watching a 4pt for years. He's starting to gray in the muzzle now. There are some spikes running around here that are in their prime too.
I'm in this for the challenge. Whether that challenge is to chase a particular animal (did that for 2 years starting when the deer was a yearling!), get within range of a big buck or fool an old doe (the hardest imo) doesn't matter.
Off to get another cup of java...
No one can tell you what a shooter is. That's a personal decision.
Shooting all does can get you in trouble.Di it long enough and you will sit many days and start wondering where all the deer are. :D You need a balance in things.I am hunting new land this year.Not a lot of deer from what I have seen so far.I will take two or 3 deer this year for the freezer.Depending on what kind of numbers I see will decide what I shoot.If I see numbers od does I will take some.If not many like I think I will kill only bucks,button bucks and fawns.Kill one mature doe and you will have 3 less deer next year.Kill two bucks and you will still have one more deer next year than you have now.I like hunting where I see deer more often than not no matter if I decide to shoot or watch.The always kill does for the freezer thing does not always work to that end.Those big does are the ones that spawn those big bucks some are looking.Use good judgement if you are in this stuff for the long haul. ;) jmo
There is something about antlers that draws most hunters to hunt whitetails. We all know that you can't eat bone, but that bone is somehow symbolic of the hunt. Each antler is different and unique. If you are like me, you can look at a set of deer antlers on the wall and recall the hunt in finite detail. You can take them down and trace their curved surface and notice the bark or clay still embedded in the bases and if you are lucky your olfactory senses might even allow a brief scent of pine or cedar that will sharpen the memory of the day.
When you shoot a doe it serves a management objective, provides food for the table, and affords a satisfying and necessary hunting experience. But... Does the experience of killing a doe honestly equate to that of killing a buck? For most hunters the brutally honest answer would be no. If it did, more does would be killed each year and far more small bucks would get a pass.
I have hunted with literally dozens of people that swear each year that they are going to hold out for a mature buck only to drop the string on the first legal buck they see. That spike or forkhorn comes into range and the desire to inspect the antlers just a little closer takes over. The lure of the tangible trophy, the antler to fondle, the ornament for the den is like a siren's call. Despite what you have heard, size does not seem to matter at all!
But, the good news is that's ok. There are far too few hunting seasons left in your lifetime to worry about meeting someone else's trophy standards. Shoot what you want to shoot. Pass on what you want to pass on. Take the time to enjoy the hunt to maximum potential every time you go afield.
If it was the last day of the season I'd say hes a shooter.
QuoteBut... Does the experience of killing a doe honestly equate to that of killing a buck?
I guess that depends on who you are and how you hunt.To me it is about the hunt more than it is about the animal.My first deer with a longbow was a small yearing.I was more excited about it than any buck I ever killed.The same goes for a young buck I shot running a doe with my first bamboo/backed osage bow.We all hunt for different reasons but in all honesty if I could not answer yes to your queston I would not be hunting.Just me of course.I certainly do not care why or what others do..just don't want them thinking there idea is my ideas of how things should be. ;)
Horns are always important...that's why guys shoot little bucks...'cause they want the horns whether they mount the critter or not. They WANT to be able to say "I got my buck". Yep...ego counts. If horns wern't important hunters would just shoot does and leave the horns to somebody else that valued a little buck.
It's human nature. The very first record books were drawn on the walls of caves. If horns wern't important there wouldn't be cave drawings of the hunt with pictographs of critters with huge horns. It's genetic...nothing you can do about it. It's what makes us run...
Bringing us up to date if horns wern't important the "hunting industry" would have dissappeared long ago and this web site would not be in existance. The industry sells the dream everyday. It is a proven fact that horn porn sells just like the other kind of porn...that remarkably nobody buys or looks at either.
Anybody that says they don't dream about putting a tag on a record class deer is a liar, just the same as...well...you know...the magazine hotties. Everybody wants that bone and some will pay dearly for it. What is it worth to you?
The only question you have to ask yourself is can you live with the decision? Will you be proud to say you killed that deer regardless of what anybody else thinks?
I have a 10 pointer mounted that many hunters will never see in the woods let alone tag. It serves as a reminder that killing is easy, living with it is far more difficult.
FeelTheHunt,
Without being critical of what you and others have said, I thought I might add my comments to the discussion. What just about everyone else has being talking about is a personal code. They are either describing theirs, or telling you to define and stick to yours. I would counsel the same thing.
In answer to your question, no, I would not shoot that buck. It does not meet my personal code as a shooter yet. If I am going to shoot and tag a buck, I prefer them in the 4 and 1/2 to 5 and 1/2 year old range. I have killed older bucks, but they are few and far between in my area.
I look at deer in my hunting area as an investment of sorts. Like investments, I think a longer term approach is beneficial. Not much invested in a year and a half old spike buck but the long term benefits will never be realized if it is killed. Older bucks (yes, with larger antlers) have a greater return on investment but are riskier to realize as they get older. You need to decide what it is you're in the game for. Are you satisfied with small, quick returns or do you want larger, long term results for your efforts?
Now, I am not a financial type, but I think the analogy fits. The idea of shooting it now because someone else will get it later seems to be like selling short, getting yours, and getting out, so to speak. If you have a desire to kill a big, well antlered deer, let him walk. I think in another two years he will be a dandy. True, you are running the risk that someone else might kill him, but is killing him now so someone else can't, really a good motivation?
I think there is a difference between "Trophy Hunting" and "Hunting for a Trophy". I like to hunt for big deer. I consider it a great accomplishment to kill a buck with big antlers and memorialize the experience by availing myself of the talents of a skilled taxidermist. There is no need for me to kill a small, young or otherwise non-trophy buck. I think that if a deer is a shooter on the last day of season, it should have been a shooter on the first day. I do kill does whenever I have a tag for them, but my buck tag more often than not goes unfilled. I hunt with a rifle, a muzzleloader and my bow, and have the exact same preferences for which deer I would kill for each. What is it you are hunting for? Not why are you hunting, but what do want to get out of it?
The sun rises are pretty, the woods are beautiful and I love just being outside doing things away from civilization, but make no mistake, my purpose for being there is to kill an animal. Without this specific motivation, it is simply an expensive walk in the woods. Like many have said, I don't have to kill something to enjoy the hunt, but I have to be there to kill something to have hunted.
Enjoy your hunt.
OkKeith
I don't hunt with a tape measure.
I wish the hunter's names were not put into P@Y and B@C record books.
QDM only works for those with large tracks of land.
SHOOT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
excellent post kieth...
Colt...
What you say simply isn't true. QDM works regardless of the how much property is involved if everybody in the area has the same motivation. From your post it is obvious that killing something is more important QDM. That's okay...it was for me to at one time.
As for the record books...even the cave man had his name on the wall. They didn't know how to write "thor" but they knew how to draw stick figures and you can bet each cave man know who was who.
Scarne, that's a big "if". I would love to practice QDM on my place, but it's just too small. The deer roam over several of my neighbor's properties too, and they seem to shoot everything they see. I still don't shoot the small bucks, but I don't expect to see them again, either. I prefer to eat does. I haven't killed a buck in several years, holding out for a bigger one. I guess I'm practicing QDM for my neighbors!
Great post Keith!
Shoot him :bigsmyl:
If he's what you want. Not me. I'd shoot a doe for meat. I don't need anymore basket racks laying around. His antlers are barely longer than his ears.
Don...
The world if full of "if's". One thing is certain "IF" you do nothing you will get nothing. "IF" you don't plan with your neighbors then nothing happens. Just as "IF" you shoot a little buck he will certainly NEVER be a big buck.
"IF" a hunter says they are meat hunters then there should not be an issue with passing up small bucks so those interested in bone can have what they want as well.
But that is seldom if ever really the case for the meat hunter. They want the bone too.
Agreed, Scarne. That's why I let the little ones walk anyhow, even though I might never see them again.