Buckeye....You live in OHIO. Never lose sight of that fact when you talk to the rest of us about why we're not successful (or your theories about why we don't fit your criteria).
For those of us not living in Ohio......isn't the size of a particular buck relative to the state and even the woods we're hunting? there was a 130" deer killed about 10 miles from me, last year. Besides that deer.....I'm telling you that I didn't see.....either on the hoof or harvested (lots of guys share photos at the bowshop) a bigger racked buck than the one I killed.
I used to liv ein Charleston, SC.....and I fished a lot, there. Do you think you and I want to swap "Big Fish" stories?????
A mature buck is a mature buck.... I never said a buck has to be XXX inches big to be mature. A racks size is relative to where it is from.
If you reread this post it was about placing the blameon ourselves rather than something else if we don't fill our tag. Not about you or anyone else shooting a mature buck with a big set of antlers.
And I never said I wouldn't shoot a mature buck. There ARE mature bucks in my woods. I shot one, last year. If I want to, this year, I will.
In my situation....I can only say that if I don't kill a mature buck this year.....it'll be because he isn't there.....or he doesn't offer me the opportunity.