whitetailsoldier

NO they don't change with age.... but you can see what you got. You don't know if that little 8 point will ever be anything more than just an 8 point with spindley horns. The big thick 10 pointer is a known commodity..

_____________________________

I don't give advice anymore. You're on your own.
I'm Number One on several lists... get in line

Because he was let to live how many times he get it on??
probably alot more than if you shot him as a spike

KBacon

Whitetail soldier... why do you shoot such little deer????

My largest buck to date before this year was a 9 pointer that was the 1st deer that I ever killed back in 1995. It was a 6 pointer w/ a few extra brow tines.. might have went 80-100".. now I have to measure it to find out.

The last couple of years we've been putting out game cameras and getting pics of the deer on our property.. we've got several 140+ class deer now. I had a perfect opportunity at a 130+ class buck with my bow.. had him broadside at 25yds. Decided not to take the shot... we have a one buck rule here.. and I didn't want my season to be over the 2nd week of bow season (middle of Oct.).. So I decided to pass. We have larger deer on camera.. but after that I kicked myself every day for the rest of archery season. Everyone I showed the trail cam pics to said that I was stupid for not shooting him.

Here's the pic...





Well.. 11-18-06 was the opening morning of firearms season. And we go down to a buddy's cabin that backs up to a punch of public ground. I've never killed a deer down there. We get up and head to the woods.. I go to a spot thatthe owner of the cabin has killed deer from before.. He tells me where he has a stand... got out a little later than I wanted.. Take a nice 3/4 mile hike back into the public ground. Got in a little bit of a hurry and didn't find the stand. I find a nice spot that I can see quite a bit and snuggle up against the base of a tree. About 7:30 the shooting starts.. nothing really close to me.. but decided I'd count the shots just to pass the time. About 8:00 I could hear some rustling heading towards me like something's feeding.. then I have a group of 15 turkeys come through.. So I watched them walk off. About 9:30 I radio my father.. and tell him that I had counted 66 shots already... he then tells me "The only shot that matters is yours!" Then I didn't hear another shot.. well about 5-10 min later BOOM!!!.. the shot rang out from my 12 ga Browning BPS..

And I took this little deer... weighed 185 lbs field dressed. Green scored 152 3/8 gross and 148 2/8 net. The deer does one of those mule kicks.. and then falls to the ground.. then tries to stumble to his feet a few times as he works his way to the bottom of the ravine between where I'd shot him and where I was sitting on the next ridge over.






So... whitetailsoldier.. why do you shoot such little deer???

Oh yeah... I shot the 1st thing that walked in front of me while I had a gun in my hand...

GregH

Age has the biggest impact on antler (horn) growth.

davidmil

When ask if you ever shot a big buck you replied...

Heck boy, my hunting partner put more meat on the ground(2 of them bucks) within 20 seconds. And you're going to come in here and want to ridicule and tell people what they can and can't shoot? And you're going to come in here and try to shame people for killing legal animals they choose to shoot. Give me a break. You should really get off your high horse and enjoy the hunt. Stop worrying about what someone in Alabama is going to shoot. What irks me is people that are obviously not the sharpest tac in the woods trying to tell me what I can and can't do or should do and they're hundreds of miles from my hunting grounds. If a deer strikes my fancy I shoot it. IF he doesn't, I let them walk... and I do that alot, but on my schedule...not yours.

dukemichaels

I thought this thread was over...

whitetailsoldier

mobow

Sorry, I didn't read 120 responses, I'm just gonna say this, then I'm done.....


NOBODY ON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH HAS THE RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT DEER I SHOULD OR SHOULDN'T SHOOT!!!!!

Nor do I. IF somebody wants to wait for a mature 10 pointer, more power to ya! But if I wanna shoot a yearling 4 point.....I gotta tell ya, if it's legal, I'm shooting and I don't give 2 shakes about what anyone thinks about it.

There, I'm done.

whitetailsoldier

118
whitetailsoldier
1627
1/10/2007 9:09:29 PMHave a good night!

Doubled 150

KBacon - I'd let that trail cam buck go as well. That buck you got is a looking animal...congrats. Great pics to.

BTW - Shoot what makes you happy.

Davoh

This thread is a farce!

Sitting in a stand waiting for "YOUR BUCK" is not hunting either....

Nowhere in the definition of hunting is there anything mentioned about trophy managment. Sure if you don't shoot the little ones, they will grow. But considering most of us hunt as much for food as we do for sport?????? Ya can't eat antlers boys. I'll take 50 lbs of tasty venison over 200" of bone any day.

My wife shot her first deer this year. 1 1/2 y/o spike at about 75 yds with a .308 my uncle loaned us so we could put meat in the freezer! I didn't take anything because we already had meat in the freezer. Even though I sat and watched a BEAUTIFUL 120" 8-point for 20 minutes. Not that he wasn't good enough(God knows it's the biggest deer I've ever seen on our place), but because the ranch rules stated spikes, does, or 10's or better.

Many MANY years ago, Texas A&M University(one of grandfathers of "Trophy Management") concluded a 5 year study of (I forget how many) bucks(under large pen captive, nutritional supplement care) that were spikes at 1 1/2 years of age. Not one of them produced more than 6 points at the age of 6 1/2 years. I'll try to search it up on the web to verify my memory.

Who are you to decree what exactlyHunting is and is not?

Anyone who says my wife or I are lesser hunters can :x my @$$!

I'm about fed up with the holier than thou BS around here.