Originally Posted by
BarnesX.308
It's extremely rare for someone to shoot a booner once. Twice, is like lightning striking. Are your standards going to booner or nothing for the rest of your hunting career?
Even on the hunting shows, they're happy with 150 class deer.
I would say that if a 165" buck walked by towards the end of the season I may be tempted to pull the trigger. I am also always in favor of taking a character buck that may not score quite as well, although a young buck with lots of character (drop tines, extra junk) would still get a pass.
I am much more happy to get a good picture of that 160" buck and let him walk while I wait for a chance at a 170+ buck no matter how many years it will take. But with the quality of bucks in my area, I could see getting a booner every 5 years to be a reasonable quest.
I am also fortunate to get to chase around 200"+ mulies each year with my bow so not taking a monster whitetail each year is not that big of a deal to me. I am quite happy with tag soup every so often.
I am also a big supporter of the line of thinking that big bucks don't have an opportunity to get big if they are taken before their prime. The 150"-160" bucks must be passed on if there is any hope of seeing 170" bucks in the future.