mauser06

as the season dwindles down, do you "lower your standards" any?? (IF you have standards for buck size)

just curious...no wrong answers...just out of curiousity

this year, i really didnt have standards..was hunting my first bowkill...first legal buck that gave me a shot was fair game...though when that 12-14" wide 8pt came out of the thicket at 10yds opening day, i immediatly said PASS..then looked him over better and said nevermind! hes mine! all that thinking caused me to never think about putting my arrow on the rest and blew a picture perfect shot...

not dissappointed a killed a smaller buck...i had a much better shot at the buck i did kill, not that the shot at the bigger buck was HARD..15yd shot, hardly an angle at al, but i had only a hole to shoot through to get to the vitals...10" hole..but a hole between brush and trees none the less..so anything could have happened...

next year i think im saying "nothing smaller than last year" and sticking to it throughout the season...atleast bowseason...but then again a 10" wide main frame 6pt aint much to top to some of you guys lol..figured that is a good starting point in my quest for larger antlers..

alot of you may be in a similar boat as me, not super good hunting land and hunting land that recieves ALOT of pressure and most bucks get taken from it yearly...so i can see why lowering standards would happen...

and some people simply dont care about the size of antlers...they arent WHY i hunt, but we ALL like bigger racks...

txjourneyman

I plan to not shoot until I see something bigger than my current best 84". I have passed a couple of small bucks since I killed it 2 1/2weeks ago. However I honestly just don't know until I'm in the stand and he offers a shot. No telling what may happen then.

Kojak248

I'll lower them some, but not too much. I usally try for a 10 point, 150 class buck. But if I haven't found one or the season gets close to the end, I'll shoot an 8 point. I've shot quite a few bucks so just shooting something for the sake of filling a tag doesn't thrill me. Don't get me wrong, I love venison, but between my dad and I, there's plenty of deer meat to eat each year.

Scott/IL

My standards stay the same until I approach the end of my vacation time. I set out to not shoot anything younger than 3.5...however if I don't have one put down by this weekend, I MAY shoot a 2.5.

I can't really say until I see the deer and come to the point. I know of one 2.5 that I have been watching on regular basis the last 2 years from one certain stand. He is off limits in my mind just because he almost always comes in to the setup.

burniegoeasily

Here we go agian.

burniegoeasily

I go for the babies. If they are not nursing, I wont shoot them.

JoeRE

Yep...because in the end I am hunting for meat. After week 3 of Nov I thump the first 2.5 year old buck that walks by and get that 90 lbs or so to fill the freezer....It has happened several times. By then I am enjoying being out there a bit less....so to me it is pointless to continue.

r33h

If a 150 class walked in front of me...I would take it super quick. There aren't a lot of big deer around where I hunt, so what is considered small to you guys might be average for me. I am after a 8 point, which is the biggest deer that I have seen on the property since I started hunting there five years ago. However, like txjourneyman said, all things are subject to change when out on a hunt and the deer is standing right there.

cooter144

A buck that gets a free pass from me early in the season will also get a pass late in the season.

I would rather eat tag soup than shoot a buck that I won't be happy with.

ICALL2MUCH

Right on cooter!

Standards are standards. If you lower them, you will not be completely happy, IMO.

A seasoned hunter shooting young deer isnt doing the right thing, IMHO.

Shoot deer that have the same experience as you in the woods. If you have lots of experience, shot a deer that is old, if you dont have much, shoot little ones until you become experienced.