What size buck do you shoot???

[certified jumbo]

Just curious what everybodys personal thoughts are on what you shoot for bucks??? I personally believe its up to the individual on what they want to shoot, trophies are different for everybody and thats perfectly ok. For me, I now wait for bucks over 110 inches, generally where I live I find that to be a 3.5 year old deer. What are your thoughts???

Also, I have some great cam. pics, but I can't figure out how to send them, would someone want to send them for me??

[Mark Christianson]

Send them to me.

[email protected]

[Froggy4371]

With the area we hunt we have second crack at any deer. I have no problem with taking a doe and new kids anything with antlers but I try to let any thing that looks like a first year rack go. I know that does not sound like much but we have such pressure here that if a buck can make it past the first year the next time ANYONE probally sees him and is able to get a shot he is a 3 year buck. The second year racks just do not exist. I have about 8 bucks under my belt and all but two are atleast third year racks and one is a fourth year. The two first year racks are my fist bucks. One with bow one with slug gun.

As stated every deer should be a trophy or you might as well quit hunting.

Froggy

[thewalleyeguy]

Anything under eight gets let go.

[almostthere!]

The smaller, the tastier. I like fawns; could careless for antlers.

[certified jumbo]

I agree with you on the fawns, I always take 2-3 with my bow. They are very good eating and they generally provide you with lots of shot opportunities.

[HunterLee]

I am holding out for the monster this year as i have 5 or so that are ten or better picked out. usually i let anything under 8 walk and those 8's have to be big. I have 3 and half months with the all season license so i wait and shoot does till i get my buck. Hopefully this year he is a 12 and very wide and tall. How wide do you think they are when the look wider than there butt. He also was very big bodied as he made the 10 pointers with him look kinda dinky.

[Gordie]

I'm still looking for that big rack you know wall hanger 8point or better but will settle for does because no matter how long you boil them horns they just dont taste so good. I've shot spikes thur basket 8s and I'm not ashamed of it. Just getting to see deer can be trophy like.

[Mark Christianson]

I decided to change the title a little bit so we dont have to listen to the old "horns dont taste good, so who cares" responses...

Seriously, if I have the bow in hand, my standards are lower. I have not harvested a buck with antlers, so if I see a 6 pt in range, I will probably take it. Probably....

I have not harvested a buck with antlers while holding the muzzleloader. I would settle for a small 8ish point rack with that. But that depends. Is it the last day of the ML season? I might stoop to a 6 pt.

No forkees with bow or ML for me though. That much I know.

With the rifle, its got to have minimum 8 pts, and at least ear width and some tine length or decent mass.

Just me, and my goals. We each have our own personal goals.

[Gordie]

I know its the age old horn response could'nt resist. but accually this year I'm going to bow hunt have'nt done it in 20+yrs so any deer will do. never shot one with a bow. as for rifle I'm going to hold out for 8pt or bigger same goes for muzzle loader until last day of season.

[harvey lee]

I believe it is personal choice.I shoot does to eat and with a bow will only harvest a Pope&Young or better.With the rifle it is only Boone&Crockett.I have deer hunted for many many years and shot alot of deer so a smaller one doesnt do anything for me.Now,for a guy that has never shot a deer or it doesnt matter what he shoots a buck or smaller one to me would be just. Any deer with a bow to me is a trophy.Its all what a hunter is looking for and personal choice.It use to be I had to shoot a buck,any buck.Now I only care if its a big one and if I dont shoot a buck with a gun or bow that year oh well.

The area I hunt is private property and hunters are controlled so the bucks have a very good chance of growing older.This makes it much easier to be picky versus some overhunted areas where you may see only one buck for the season.

[BLACKJACK]

It depends on whether its early season or late season. Early in the bow season I'll let a fork or 6 point walk, but that same buck the first week in November might get shot. Depends whether I have a doe in the freezer yet, and whether I've seen any big ones while hunting or on my trail cam. As I'm writing and thinking about this, last year I didn't get a deer with my bow, I may take the first one that comes along that doesn't have spots. The horn hunters will disaprove but most deer hunters realize that any deer with a bow is a trophy. Then again if I shoot a buck right away, there goes my fun of hunting the rut the first week of November. Mmmm, I need to think about this.

Slug hunting is only a two day deal, and I hunt with some meat hunters, if its brown its down. And frankly, I like venison, I like getting those nice white packages of steak and sausage back, I'm ok with that.

[EXTREME]

I am probably going to hold out with the "stick and string" for a 3 1/2 yr old buck. I will shoot a doe in the first week of season though. Always need some fresh veni for the family. If I haven't shot anything with a rack with my bow; I will take a 8 pt or bigger with my rife...if I see one. Getting pretty excited; should be a good year. PS shoot those does!!

[archerystud]

I'm usually looking for something that would at least be in the 125 inch category, but it also varies based on the deer. The buck I shot last year doesn't score all that great but he had very long main beams and a 21 inch inside spread. Taxidermist figured him at 4.5 years old.

I'm hoping to raise my standards a bit and my dad and I just bought 120 acres. I know the deer won't "stay" there but it's river bottom property with very good cover all around. I'm hoping in a couple of years I can get some more mature whitetails in there.

[BobT]

Jumbo,

I'm curious. How do you judge that a rack will measure over 110"? I've heard about proposals to make laws to this effect and I can't imagine how it could be regulated.

Bob

[certified jumbo]

Thats a very good question, basically its just a quess, I feel though if I see a deer clearly I can quess within 5-8 inches of what it would be. Where I live most 2.5 year olds are in that 70-90 inch range, which can be detected easily when they walk by in bow range, 3.5 year olds generally range from 100 - 130 inch range. So basically its making a split second decision when you see them. But you never now for sure. I also have pics of a lot of the deer and we've kinda pre determined which ones were going to shoot.

[SpecialK]

I hunt for food so I shoot does and as others have said they are all trophies to me. I hunt on private property as well and there is only one buck on there that I would shoot anyway. It's in a heavy harvest area so I am hoping to load up the freezer with doe meat this year.

[CANOPY SAM]

For me, it's really a matter of how much time I have to hunt.

If I've got four days to hunt the North Dakota prairies I can spend some time looking for a good 3-yr old buck, filling a doe tag as the opportunity presents itself. If I've got one day left of four and haven't filled the tag I'm probably going to drop the first decent bodied animal with horns that I see. If I've got two days to hunt, and a buck and doe tag to fill I'm not going to be too choosy. I just look for big bodied animals.

I simply can't afford to buy tags that I don't fill, neither financially, nor time wise. We eat lots of venison every year. If I could spend more time in the field I would definately invest it toward a bigger "trophy" animal.

I've hunted deer for the better part of 25 years, and last year my son and I finally bagged a nice ten-point buck. That was the first really outstanding deer I've harvested.

[snapcrackpop]

I've got two goals for this season.

1)any deer with my two boys along.

2) the "big one" I saw last year

[Code-Man]

Nice goals. This is my first year that I have a black powder and I can shoot 3 deer during rifle season so I am hoping to shoot 3 does if I'm fortunate enough and then after that I hope to shoot a deer with my black powder. If I get a buck I get a buck but if I get 5 does I don't care. They all taste the same. I haven't commented on this topic yet and I just want to say something.

Everyone has there own view/opinion on what they should take and what they should leave. If your on state land take it but if your on your own land let those little ones go bye. Some of the best maanaged lands I have ever seen they wont shoot any buck less then outside the ears. They have a rule that if you shoot a buck less then outside the ears you pay each group member 100 bucks and there are 6-7 group members. So there thinking is when you shoot a buck your going to end up paying a good chunk of change to get it mounted which is what they wanted the land intended for. I don't support them 100% but they have rules and they follow it and I think that is the important part of it. Find some rules for where you want your land to go and work hard to incorporate it (Food plots/taking only does for a year or two).

my .02C

[Walleye Guy]

This is my first year bow hunting and through a stroke of luck and a business deal I have access to a large tract of land that has been managed as QDM for 11 years. I will be shooting the first decent sized doe I see to get on the archery board. Assuming this happens I will be holding out for a trophy buck for the remainder of the archey and shotgun seasons. Shooting small bucks is frowned upon no matter your past success or current harvest standards.

In Wisconsin I rifle hunt on state land and can buy antlerless tags for $2. I have shot enough 2-8 pointers in the past so I will be holding out for a nice buck here as well. I will be filling antlerless tags whenever I get a chance as there are an abundance of deer in the area I hunt.

I endorse shooting any deer your are happy with hanging from your tree, eating or hanging on the wall. To each his own.

Be safe.

WG

[tjm]

Opening weekend bow season new state record after that size drops fast

[EXTREME]

If Brian lets me on his land on opener...it will be my name on the new state record ; then it will go down from there. Probably have to run fast if I stuck an arrow through the deer that he claims to be seeing!

[CodyDawg]

BobT

None of the proposals use B&C score for determining a legal buck. Some have what is called antler point restrictions, which means the number of points on a side (i.e. a minimum of 4 points on at least one side-think 8 pointer). Thus you will not have to worry about judging a B&C score on the hoof. Although it is not hard to become fairly accurate just by looking at a deer with a known score and guessing before you look at the score. If you look at 30-40 deer this way, you will be fairly accurate in your estimation. Going to the Deer Classic will teach it to you in an hour or less.

[Jeremy Donabauer]

Hey Ole you big stud. I am holding out for the one that I saw on July 1st at our spot. Got a great look at him for 10 mins with the spotting scope at 300yds. We've been seeing a bunch of shooters but time will tell. Send me them pics. I have seen the ones you sent PK- put me on that mail list.

To answer the question, in WI this year I will try very hard hold out for the buck we've seen until mid Nov. In MN I will shoot if he goes 130" gross or better.

JD

[BobT]

It would certainly be more realistic to use the points as a standard than estimating a score. I don't know if I could agree with you as far as learning to estimate a score by looking from a distance. Some people maybe can do this but I would guess that the average hunter, especially a new hunter or someone with less or no experience, would have a very difficult time being even remotely accurate up close much less from 100 yds away.

Bob

[Mark Christianson]

A lot of people have a hard enough time guessing scores with a rack in their palms..... Now add in a deer on the move or at a long distance....

No way would it ever work.

[tjm]

Extreme

You best be down for opener cause once those beans turn he's long gone.Been down this route 1 to many times with big bucks.Beans turn there gone for greener pastures.Long time until rut kicks in so my guess is about a week to put your arrow into 1 of the 3

I'm in Texas until monday nite.Wed i'll bring the new hunting shack down.So all you need is a pillow/hunting gear

Just got back from shooting a couple hogs.102 degrees out i declined to shoot more then 1 it was way to hot out.I did manage to see a scary lookin yote he was on the move after some lil pigglets

Just remember eye for an eye so i'll be up looking for whitey

[EXTREME]

I'll probably be there. Sounds like fun...although it is a little warm. mmmmm BACON!!

[BLACKJACK]

I've read more than one article where it explains that antler point restrictions don't work, that some of the western states that have had them for years are eliminating them. Why would MN want to goto a strategy that has failed elsewhere?