huntn freak

w/ a bow nothing under a 2 point with a rifle nothing under a 4 point!

OHarcher

My personal goal is a 16"spread 8pt.I will not shoot anything smaller.
Although I did see a great big 6pt this year that I had to talk myself out of shooting,hoping he made it through the season.

8PT

Antler size has nothing to do with it for me. I don't need the ego fix. I hope my state never manages to pass an antler restriction rule. Venison is some of the best tasting meat there is and the younger ones are the best tasting.

Straightarrow

8pt

I wanted to say something about your comment, "I don't need the ego fix".

For most of us, going for big bucks, has nothing to do with our ego. We like the challenge shooting a big buck offers. The sense of accomplishment on doing something difficult is very rewarding, and without any doubt, shooting older bucks is a more difficult thing to do. First, there are fewer of them and second, they are much smarter.

I have nothing against a meat hunter, but would not want people to get the impression that trophy hunters are egotistical, because they trophy hunt.

jetblast

First off, I haven't found a way to cook them horns so they are edible. So on that note, anything that is legal with a bow. After meat is in the freezer at an acceptable manner, then I will become selective. To each his/her own.

bogobble

Wolfen, here's my reason for makin a difference in private and public land.
on our lease,(private) where i do most of my huntin, the law is three points
on one side. this is what we need to grow bigger bucks, and since we're paying
$160 a member per year, we DO want bigger bucks. besides, it's the law!
down in the NWR(puplic) i hunt, there's a different law. the three point rule is not in affect. any deer is legal, even spikes. now, I get no kick out of
shootin spikes, I'd just as soon shoot a doe. but, if I ain't seen a doe, and
aspike walks by, seein as how I ai'nt payin to hunt in the NWR, I may shoot
one for the meat. if this don't make since just disregard this post<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

Two Beards

Minimum on any land I hunt(public or private) would be 125-130 and that would only be late in the season. We let a lot of decent bucks walk...and let 'em grow If we need meat we shoot a doe.

TB

shed

I hunt public land only and choose to harvest &quot;mature&quot; bucks and bulls or I will purposely harvest a doe and cow for the meat. My motivation for letting immature bucks/bulls walk is two-fold. I am not gonna b.s. anyone,I love matching wits with big mature bucks or bulls and I do like quailty racks in relation to my area. Second and not least important by any means, I care about the over all health of the herd. Killing the young bucks/bulls and not harvesting does/cows accomplishes nothing. Infact, it weakens the quality of the herd in many ways and decreases opportunities for future good hunting.

As far as putting a 125 inch minimum on what you shoot and what you let pass... I believe that &quot;size standard&quot; are relative to the area your hunting. For example, a 125 buck in Florida would most likely be a mature deer and a quality one at that. (Heck a 125 buck with bow is good anywhere! But in other regions a 125 inch buck could possibly be a young buck....say 21/2 or 31/2 years old. Depending on what you consider mature. For me I try to hunt 41/2 year old bucks, but often have harvested 31/2 year old bucks. My reasoning for setting a standard at 4 1/2 is that most bucks skull plates reach full growth in their 4th year. I am fortunate to hunt public ground that offers a good age structure, not high in deer density but good over all age distrubution.

IHW,
Shed

MJL927

The situation usually dictates it for me.

This past season, I was watching a large 8 point out in the field when a smaller 4 point buck appeared under my stand outta nowhere. At that moment, I became selective and chose to wait for the larger deer. He unfortunately never came in. On another day, that 4 point might have walked under my stand and I would have taken him without hesitation.

My plan just about every year is to wait for larger deer for the first few weeks so that I can enjoy being out there. From there on, my standards progressivly go down as the season wears on! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

I apply for antlerless permits each year so I try and fill those tags too. I let all yearling deer walk without exception.

-Mike

bigcountry25

I'm not a antler hunter. I will shoot any deer that gets in range. Some may frown on this but I think we put to much into the size of the deer after all it's deer hunting not antler hunting. Don't get me wrong if you like to wait on that moster that is fine but I know people that look down on a person that takes a yearling deer. If just comes down to what you prefer. This is how I look at it, &quot;if it's brown it's down&quot;.