White tale guys

[rlmmatt]

Our rule has always been if you shoot a buck you have to mount it. If you would be proud to hang either of theae bucks then due it otherwise let them walk. I now only shoot a buck if its bigger than anything else on the wall.
Either way have a good season and enjoy

 

[Frazier]

Let em walk. I’m in the same situation. I’ve got 11 acres surrounded by other similar sized lots that border a big plantation. Have nice young bucks every year cruise through my property come the rut. I wouldn’t mount them so I let them pass in hopes they make it to next year.

My neighbors son has shot a few of them over the years while in high school. I’m happy for him I’m sure it helped him with the girls too lol. Now that he’s off to college maybe one will live!

 

[LCH]

Our rule has always been if you shoot a buck you have to mount it. If you would be proud to hang either of theae bucks then due it otherwise let them walk. I now only shoot a buck if its bigger than anything else on the wall.
Either way have a good season and enjoy

So if you get lucky and shoot a booner, you're potentially never shooting another buck again? Doesn't make sense to me, but to each their own.

Personally, I have a goal of harvesting a buck of a certain age each year. It may be 100" or 200" (maybe someday), but if it's mature I'm going to attempt to take it.

 

[Addicting]

I don’t care about horns on whitetails. A big rack is nice but damn tough to eat. The real questions you should be asking yourself is, how empty is my freezer and which one will make better sausages!

 

[icebreaker12]

If you shoot them only because "the next guy is going to shoot it" you are the next guy...

This is exactly correct.

 

[thusby]

I've spent 15 years hunting whitetails on a family farm that was roughly 400 acres. I recently stopped hunting there because in all those years I had never seen a buck that was older than 3-1/2. I would say probably 50% or better of the 1-1/2 and 3-1/2 deer got shot on opening weekend of gun.This country was all farmland with hardwood draws that you could see a long ways into. There weren't enough hiding spots for the deer.

I had lost access to a property that had some huge, unroaded woods behind it when I was a younger guy. This place supported some really nice 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 bucks. I got to take some really nice deer off that property.
So, my suggestion is to shoot them as soon as possible if you are in semi-open terrain. But if there are some big woods they can escape into, then let them grow.

 

[nwihunter]

I would pass on them until they were more mature, but I pass on 100 times more deer than I actually shoot. All my friends think I'm crazy because the majority of the deer that I pass go on and get shot by the neighbors. I look at it as that if I were to shoot them, they definitely won't get to be big and mature. If you let them walk, there is a small chance.

Kind of like applying for a tag when you have a very small chance of drawing.

I think the same way. I always try to hold out for something bigger than I have already taken in previous years. If I don’t get that chance I have no problem putting doe in the freezer.

 

[NYyotekiller]

I've done the same thing and held out for a bigger deer every year. The problem is, last year I shot one that was 175" so I might not shoot one the rest of my life if I hold out for a bigger one.

 

[LCH]

I've done the same thing and held out for a bigger deer every year. The problem is, last year I shot one that was 175" so I might not shoot one the rest of my life if I hold out for a bigger one.

Yep. My biggest buck was when I was 15, first deer ever. Grossed about 160. I've seen one, maybe two other deer that size while hunting in the 17 years since. Hard to imagine not shooting another buck because I got lucky early.

 

[teej89]

You're neighbor is probably on another forum right now writing up the same post haha!!

To me it's all about the hunt, and the moment it all comes together rather than the inches. I'd rather tell a good story than boast inches.

 

[Chris76]

I agree with how full is your freezer. I love to hunt for big bucks but my main reason for hunting is to provide food for the family and to help people out with some good deer meat that might be a little down the n their luck. If you want to harvest a big buck take the chances on letting them walk if you want meat try to get one of them. It will be diff when your in the tree hunting and one walks up to you. My guess is you will shoot. Good luck and pics if you have them.

 

[Preacher shaner]

Ok on the meat side of this. I live right on the OH and WV line. Like 2 miles from the OH river. So i hunt WV gun season for meat and i like to shoot them with a rifle. You can kill i think 2 bucks and 3 or 4 doe in WV and i hunt OH for horns.
Now i have a farm i can hunt about 45 min from me that last year there was a big like 170esh ten that no body got.

 

[rlmmatt]

So if you get lucky and shoot a booner, you're potentially never shooting another buck again? Doesn't make sense to me, but to each their own.

Personally, I have a goal of harvesting a buck of a certain age each year. It may be 100" or 200" (maybe someday), but if it's mature I'm going to attempt to take it.

If i get lucky enoigh to shoot a booner then ill take that into accout but to date ive shot nothing close so im not to worried about that going into the mix. I never even looked at that angle of it. Appreciate the thought though, it puts a smile on my face

 

[thusby]

No one has ever stopped hunting because they shot a booner.

 

[bushman13]

But plenty of people subscribe to the method of only shooting one if it is bigger than the last or a mounter. It has to do with what stage of hunting you are in in your life and also the availability of whitetails in general. Why shoot horns for meat when the doe is right around the corner? How many 2.5 year old eight points do you need to shoot? In my experience, for a lifetime hunter, there are defined stages of whitetail hunting. As a kid or teenager, it's brown its down. In your 20's and possibly 30's, a "mature buck" (2.5-4.5 yo) will do every time. The next stage is simply letting almost all bucks walk, except ole mossy horns. To me the last stage is the most enjoyable because observation of the deer and the enjoyment of the situation becomes the focus.

No one has ever stopped hunting because they shot a booner.

 

[jmveverka]

The key is to shoot what satisfies you - whatever satisfaction that may be. This may be dependent on the situation, on your friends and neighbors, your personal goals or values or any combination of those. Whatever your belief system though, the key is to not judge anyone else's style. I am almost 40 and have been hunting for 28 years and I will still shoot a fork horn buck on occasion. Some days I may let it pass, others I may take it. A lot of factors go into it. Meat - the national forest I hunt is pretty much buck only, there are only two days a year I can shoot a doe, so for me a young buck helps fill the freezer. Availability/Density - maybe I have not seen many, if any, bucks so I will take the first legal one I have a shot at. Opportunity - on an out of state hunt my plan is to fill a tag, I travel so rarely to hunt and have to invest a high percentage of my time and money when I do, so I don't plan to come home with "tag soup" I plan to come home with stew meat, and steak, and ground. I've never had the opportunity to hunt an extremely target rich environment so I take what I can get. If that deer comes in and makes your heart race take him. If he comes in and all you can think of is he could be good next year, then hold off. One of the great things about hunting is how personal it is, the experience is never the same for any two people so take the deer or don't take the deer and be proud of what you accomplished.

 

[bushman13]

Good points. With the availability of deer leases back east, I always mistakenly surmise everyone is hunting private.

The key is to shoot what satisfies you - whatever satisfaction that may be. This may be dependent on the situation, on your friends and neighbors, your personal goals or values or any combination of those. Whatever your belief system though, the key is to not judge anyone else's style. I am almost 40 and have been hunting for 28 years and I will still shoot a fork horn buck on occasion. Some days I may let it pass, others I may take it. A lot of factors go into it. Meat - the national forest I hunt is pretty much buck only, there are only two days a year I can shoot a doe, so for me a young buck helps fill the freezer. Availability/Density - maybe I have not seen many, if any, bucks so I will take the first legal one I have a shot at. Opportunity - on an out of state hunt my plan is to fill a tag, I travel so rarely to hunt and have to invest a high percentage of my time and money when I do, so I don't plan to come home with "tag soup" I plan to come home with stew meat, and steak, and ground. I've never had the opportunity to hunt an extremely target rich environment so I take what I can get. If that deer comes in and makes your heart race take him. If he comes in and all you can think of is he could be good next year, then hold off. One of the great things about hunting is how personal it is, the experience is never the same for any two people so take the deer or don't take the deer and be proud of what you accomplished.