RE: Big Buck Barometer
 

Amen to that, I call them Ghost Bucks here in MI, and they are alive and well!!!!

There are bucks the live breed and die on our farm, and I never see them.

RE: Big Buck Barometer
 

I'll try to keep this short and simple.....

I get a kick out of these threads where guys from different parts of the country are arguing about xxx" deer and why they can/can't kill them. Way too many people on here are a little dense to the fact that big racked bucks don't live everywhere. Why is it that we keep putting xxx" on a trophy buck? In fact, age is what makes a deer a trophy class animal.

Personally, if Jeff kills a 110" 5.5 year old in NC and Greg kills a 145" 3.5 in Il, Jeff's deer is way more of a trophy.

Seriously, why is it so hard to understand that it is all about location? Seriously. Once more, seriously.

I would be interested to see in this fall's contest the age on the deer that are being killed and how that relates to location/region.

One last time.....age is a bigger determining factor in a trophy than rack size.....plain and simple.

RE: Big Buck Barometer
 

If you had a 200 inch 4.5 year old and a 140 inch 6.5 year old side by side in easy bow range, which one would you shoot?

I assume the "bigger trophy", the 6.5 year old?

Not me ;)

RE: Big Buck Barometer
 

Not my point Scott....I would definatley shoot the 200" buck....I've admitted that before in other threads.

My point is that some guys think a xxx" buck lives everywhere in the country. To me, if we're going to compare regions, age is a better determining factor than rack size.

RE: Big Buck Barometer
 

Dan...you seem to (OK...you DO) agree with someone who I respect a lot....and wrote this, recently. Kudos.

Scott: There's no wrong answer to shooting either one of them. But the same type question could be asked of you....if we simply leaveALL the inches of antler out of the scenario.

Which is a bigger "trophy".....a 1.5yr old or a 3.5 yr old (or insert any age discrepancy you feel bolsters your argument)? I would "think"....to the "true" "mature buck hunter" (and not the antler hunter).....the age class of the deer would detemrine the answer.

If you're an antler hunter.....you can leave the maturity of the animal out of the equation. You just happen to live in an area of the country where the two aren't mutually exclusive......but rather go hand in hand.

Edit**

Also..HOW MANY people can say they've shot a 6.5yr old deer.....v. a 4.5yr old?

RE: Big Buck Barometer
 

You start to realize these things when you hunt in an area that has a huge range of rack sizes in all age classes....

I have seen 5.5 yr old bucks up here that would score 80" and others that would score 160"+. Now, and I'll admit it, because I'm an antler hunter I won't shoot the 80"....I'll hold out. Does that mean the 160" buck is more of a challenge to kill? Hell no.....he was just belssed with better genetics.


Edit: I read your quote after I typed this.....I thought you had quoted me and skipped over it. I agree with that author 100%.

RE: Big Buck Barometer
 

I think we're bickering over terminology here:

When I say "representative deer" - for my area - it's a 1.5 year old scrubrack 3x3 - or smaller.

When I say "top-end deer" - I mean a deer that will put you on the leaderboard in the local archery contest. Not the biggest deer in the county.

When I say "the biggest deer in the township/borough/zip code" - I'm talking about a deer that will virtually guarantee you victory in the local deer pool.

When I say "the biggest deer in the county" - I mean exactly that.

The biggest deer in the state - is the biggest deer in the state.

The state record - is the biggest deer ever harvested in a state.

Every township has a big buck, and every county has a lot of townships. Every state has a lot of counties. So, if you look at it through this lens, it seems that there are a lot of big deer in every state.

But hunting them, realistically, is another thing. In my area, the biggest deer in the township is probably a 140. The biggest deer in the county is probably a 160. That said, if you shoot a 115" buck, you'll probably finish in the money in the local bow pool. That's usually around 100 local entries.

So, if I hear a guy in Fayette County, PA say that he's holding out for a 140 - it's a laugh. If past history is any indicator of the present, he has a better chance of being struck by lightning. Let's just say, for the sake of argument that a certain township is 35 square miles (that's about average). 35 square miles is 22,400 acres of land mass. Do you have any idea how hard it is to see, locate, and dial-in on that particular deer? It's a magnanimous commitment of time and effort, topped off by some VERY long odds.


Brace yourselves and open your minds, because His Majesty is about to take you down a road that you've never been down...






Mathematically, if your range is 30 yards...

KILL ZONE= 3.14 x 90 ft (squared)
KILL ZONE= 25,434 square feet

So, if you're hunting a 22,400 acre area....

1 Acre = 43,560 square feet

So, if an average Township is 22,400 acres....

43,560 x 22,400 ACRES = 975,744,000 SQUARE FEET



That means that, at any given time, your odds of having the biggest buck in the township WITHIN 30 yards is:

25,434 / 975,744,000 = .000026

.0026%

That's what I'm trying to say.

RE: Big Buck Barometer
 

Hey king.....

Are your odds the same of shooting that lion.....because he resides in your township?;)

As magnanimous as your odds are.....they're assuming you could hunt anywhere you pleased.

RE: Big Buck Barometer
 

Shoot me for saying this but I think it would depend on location..... I think a 2.5 y/o MI public land buck would be more of a trophy than a unpressured midwest 3.5 y/o....

Now back to the inches ;)

A 200 inch deer is very rare... No matter the age class..... A 140 inch deer is not near as rare... Again, no matter the age class.....

Regardless of age class, the 200 inch deer is more of a trophy to me as it is much more rare.

In either of the above scenarios, age was not the determining factor for "trophy" statusto me.

I can agree however if there is no freak status to either... A 5.5 y/o is more of a trophy than a 3.5 y/o. Point conceded.

Is a 6.5 y/o NC buck more of a trophy than the 4.5 y/o Hanson buck?
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RE: Big Buck Barometer
 

"So you're saying theres a chance?" [8D]