How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

Scott's thread was/is interesting (re: P&Y buck). Kudos to you guys who've taken them.

How long had you been hunting before you killed your first 3.5yr old buck? 4.5yr old or older? How old were you?

Just a theory......we'll see how this goes.

To also stay with Scott's theme....let's limit this to bowhunting, only.

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RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I had been hunting for....5 years before I killed my first antlered buck, a 2.5 y/o 8 point. But I just killed my first mature buck last year, a 4.5 y/o 8 point, and I've been HUNTING for 18 years, but BOW hunting for 5.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I didn't age either of them. My taxidermist jawbone aged, both.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

well this guy might be 3.5, but most likely a 2.5
i wonder what he would score at 5.5:eek:, still very proud of him, no matter what the age
i was 14 when i killed him

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

never mind then, you changed it to bowhunting only, after i posted:)

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I hunted 18 or 19years for the first and I was 30 or 31.:)

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

This coming season!;)

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

Same age as in Scotts post. Two weeks shy of 35. At the time I'd hunted for 25 years. For the first 24 years I shot the first buck I had an oppertunity to shoot. The first year I decided to hold out for a P&Y, I got one. He was at least 4 1/2.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I was 30 when I shot my first mature buck with my bow, the taxi aged him at 7 1/2 and I had been bowhunting 8 years at that time and here we are 5 years later and haven't gotten another one. I had a run af bad hunting land, till two years ago and they are very strict about the age that can be harvested,This Year Looks Good Though!!

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

How long had you been hunting before you killed your first 3.5yr old buck? I haven't shot one yet. I won't shoot a 3.5 unless he's 130+. I've had numerous chances at taking 3.5 year olds that were border line P&Y bucks but elected to pass on them. If I would of chosen to shoot the 1st 3.5 I had in front of me I would of been 17 years old. That would of been 6 years into bow hunting deer for me. From 12 years old to 16 years old I didn't care how big they were, I shot any buck that walked in front of me. 17 years old is when I started to pass up the little guys and try and match my old man. Man it took me 16 years to do it, I suck I think!![8D]

4.5yr old or older? 22 years. I've also passed on smaller ones that I think were 4.5.

How old were you? 33 years old on the 4.5 year old. This last fall.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

man you gotta love that pic of Gregh!!!

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

Sure is a sweet buck Vab!! Thats one of my favorites of his bucks!!!

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

The buck in my avatar I'm told, was 3 1/2 years old. If this constitutes mature, then he's my one and only mature buck so far. I got him in '06, I was 49. Damn, I'm old!;):D:D

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

EI...great buck BTW.

How long had you been bowhunting when you took him? It's important to what I'm trying to find out.

thanks.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I was 22... I started "hunting" at 17 even though my mother forbid me to hunt until I was 18, I had to sneak at 17. Her roof her rules type of deal.

I was allowed to sit in the woods, use treestands etc.. but not allowed to have a weapon in the woods be it bow or gun. I had "scouted" and sat in the woods for deer since I was around 14 though. There were no hunters in my family and she thought I was going to shoot myself :eek:

So, to wrap my reply up, I was 22 and had 5 years in the woods with a weapon chasing deer. The buck was 3.5 years old.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

2006 for me, 19 years. If thats not the mark of a professional buckslayer, I don't know what is.:D[8D]

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

Damn I really rambled on in my previous post, sorry guys!![8D]


GMMAT you are an exception being you say that buck of yours is a 4.5 and you've only bow hunted a short time. Not many people can say that.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

Sorry Jeff, I forgot that part. I'd been hunting for about 32 years! Damn, I'm old.:D:D

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I was either 15 or 16 and arrowed a 3 1/2 yr old buck..grossed exactly 160 P&Y. My 2nd year of bowhunting.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

Hey 3.5's are tweeners even if they gross 160! thats it, I am moving to Kansas! LOL ...

I didnt arrow a 4.5 year old buck till I was 29 years old..

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

Thanks, Schultzy...

Not where I'm heading with this....but I appreciate the kind word.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I had been bowhunting 18 years. I was 31.
I think another important tidbit should be the number of years that a person hunted before they even attempted to pass on a young buck.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

From 12 years old to 16 years old I took any buck with head gear![8D] 17 years old to now (33 years old) I've been passing on the little guys.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I've been hunting 15 years, the last 5 with my bow. I have never killed a mature buck. Only 2.5 year old 7 and 8 pointers. I will be 34 this year.

Brett

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I am very fortunate to have access to some great land. I started bowhunting when I was 14, Took my first 3.5 year old buck (a 4x6 grossing about 130) when I was 17. I took 2.5 year olds every year but one untill then. My first 4.5 (or older) buck with a bow was when I was 22.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I killed my first buck when I was 14. It was a year and half six pointer. I didn't kill another buck until I was 22 simply because I passed on every buck until I got a shot at a P&Y. So it took me 8 seasons to kill my first P&Y buck.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

Maybe this year? I will have to wait and see what shows up.

That being said, I am not limited by a deers age or antler growth as to what I will shoot. I am not a "trophy hunter".

A side note to this is, I did take a 3.5 yr old buck at age 12 with a 20 gauge shotgun at 30 yds (on the ground). I guess if I had been bowhunting that would count.

LT

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I killed my first buck in my3rd year of bowhunting at age 37. He was at least 4.5, probably older, never really aged him.

I had gun hunted for 21 years before I took up bow hunting.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

Same answer as in Scott's thread. It was just a matter of deciding that's what I wanted to hold out forand then Go Git-R-Done!!;)

I had probably hunted 10 to 15 years.

I took the 1st animal for several years and in the process learned how to Kill an animal. When you get a chance at a Mature Buck last thing you wanna do is Blow it.

Dan

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I just have a theory (hence the reason for my post)....

I think that people who start bowhunting later in life (and again...it's just a theory) achieve success on an accelerated curve than those who begin at a younger age. I think this is true for many reasons. One....maturity. Two...."means" (ability to afford all the equipment one wants and needs). Three....Ability to gain access to better land/purchase land/lease land.

That was the reason for this post. I was trying to test this theory of mine. I'm not sure what I've learned, so far....but I'll be watching to see all the posts.

Do you agree or disagree?

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RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I dunno. The down side to starting later in life is family. The younger guys have MUCH more time to devote to it.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

Does it really matter??

I did not know another Deer hunter when I started much less a Bowhunter. So I am sure my learning curve was slower than young guys today.

Successful Bowhunting is about One Thing!

TIME SPENT IN THE WOODS!!

You make your own Luck to a huge degree. Sure Nimrods kill Big Bucks every year, but year in year out the guys who are successful over the Long Haul put their time in.

Dan

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

It can go either way in my book. I started hunting at the age of 14. Killed my first buck with bow that season. A basket rack six pt. at that. From then on I passed up every buck that wouldn't score over 130". I blew a ton of chances until I was 22 and killed a 153" ten pt.

I was lucky to have a father who took bowhunting very seriously and taught me a lot. He seriously would've frowned if I would've kept killing 1 1/2 year old bucks. Yes, maturity has a lot to do with being sucsessful. I really believe in that. But, I took bowhunting just as serious as any 30 yr. old man when I was 17, 18 and 19. I think it just has a lot to do with when you started and how you were taught.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

I can agree with your theory Jeff, especially the "means" part. I'm working minimum wage to finance all my hunting this year (and the past 2 years).

Now in my case, I have been bow hunting for 2 years. I'm 100% self taught (my father is a gun only hunter and he rarely goes out), and my cousin who i look up to taught me how to shoot.

My first year i shot a 1.5 year old 6 point. And last year i shot a mature doe. So in 2 years i have 0 mature bucks.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

Disagree. Too many variables. What if he had a good teacher?! [8D]

Although I told him to shoot any deer in order to get a few under his belt, my son decided to hold out for a mature buck.

His first deer.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

There's always a few exceptions

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

True. As you mentioned, it can depend on how you were taught. The exceptions may not be that few.

RE: How old? How long? First "mature" buck?
 

A lot of impact comes from friends and hunting partners as well. I know lots of guys who see their buddy kill a nice buck and they automatically change their outlook so that they can kill a bigger buck. Their are way too many variables to list impacting what somebody will and will not shoot.