original:kevin1
It's none of your damned business what someone else shoots, elitist a-holes like you piss me off, not everybody hunts for the same reasons you do jerrkoff. [:@]
Easy there big fella.....might want to consider decaffinated.
It is my business when it is my farm and I have invited guests. You are still missing the point I am making. If you want to disagree, fine. Just make sure you know what you are disagreeing with.
All I am saying is if given a choice, and at our place we have enough deer that you do, don't shoot the 2 1/2 yo 8pts that are only 90-100" deer today, shoot the little 4 point or spike if you must (or want to), but leave the 2.5 yo alone.
Why is there anymore satisfaction in shooting the two 2.5 yo 8 pts I showed than the little 4 or 5 pt? Thats what I am asking?
original:Phade
This post just may be the most poorly thought out one I've seen in a long time here.
Your theory of "potential" on these young deer is so wrong that it's sad it's being propagated.
The LARGESTfactor of the deer that you deemed to have less potential were victims of a late birth date, and vice versa for the larger racked 1.5's. Science has proven time and time again that they not only catch up, but in many cases become studs. Even though you noted science behind this, it doesn't make it any better to assume that the larger potential deer will be bigger, and thus bank your harvest decisions on that. If you shoot are younger deer, regardless of antler size, you are still shooting a younger deer - bottom line. At that point, it doesn't matter because YOU don't know what they COULD become. A 1.5 is a 1.5....is a 1.5.
Phade, I agree that science says that the little 4 pt or even the spike in my kill photo, if given the chance MIGHT be the next B/C deer in 5 or 6 years. However, if forced to pick one to cull out today, the law of probabilities still tells me they are the least likely.
Take 100 first grade boys on the first day of school. A few could actually still only be 5. Some will already be 7. Most will be 6. So there is probably a 18 month age window which percentage wise at that time in their life is pretty big.
But given that, I'll bet you that if you take th 10 tallest boys and the 10 shortest boys and then re-evaluate the same group of boys when they are 18, that there will about a 80% of the tall boys are still the tallest and the other 20% are average and not all the way down into the shortest 10%.
Same with the short boys.
Remember, the premise of the thread is "If you must shoot a young deer.....then which one."