Xtec Shooter

to their season goals ALL year long and just don't whack something in the last week of the season to fill a tag? I suppose that this applies to bucks in general because that's what seems to happen the majority of the time. "I wouldn't have shot him, but it was the last week of the season". Stuff like that. This question isn't meant to make fun of guys that elect to shoot younger deer. Just curious who sticks to the goals they set in the very beginning of the season.

Myself? I will shoot any doe that walks by(with or without fawns in toe) from opener until the end...excluding the rut, I won't shoot a fawn until the end of Oct and am holding out for bucks that I believe are high 130's and up. I stick to these goals all season long. Even if I have some tag soup at the end.

mnbohunter

My freezer is pretty bare now so the six point I passed up is looking pretty tasty. I'll still probably pass up the same sized deer again next year.

newman1

Well last season i stuck to my goals and ended up having leftover tag soup for a week T his season i will be taking your aproach and shooting the first doe i see, but i am not sure i will if she has fawns in toe.

HAZCON7

I stuck to my plan but came out empty handed.
Had several opportunities at younger bucks but was waiting for a few of the older deer I had been hunting.

Ended up with only a doe this year during shotgun season.

Another plan I have stuck with is 1 shot 1 kill. While friends of mine were shooting at any deer that walked by (and missing I might add) I shot a total of ZERO arrows this year at deer. If it isn't a perfect shot opportunity then I won't shoot. In the end I held to my morals and shot at 0 deer while another friend of mine (Who doesn't attend this forum) fired off several shots last season to come home with the same 0 deer. Some people never learn.

Double Creek

I don't necessarily set goals, but I do have standards. My standards are the same from opening day to the last day. If the deer has a decent rack(100 or better) I will usually bust him. I have passed a few bucks that were over 100, but not many. Depends on timing of year and situation. I will not shoot a deer under 100, anytime, ever, unless it's a cull.

adams

I stick to my game plan. Put a doe or two in the freezer so I don't starve the off season away and look for a good buck to stick. If I don't get a good buck to offer a shot I'll just shoot a doe.

To me, little antlers look better roaming the woods then they do on my wall or in a pile on my closet.

rybohunter

I don't lower my standards "just to shoot something". That said I did shoot a buck a bit smaller than I wanted this year, but it was because of the character in his rack(a droptine). I shot him and still had TONS of time left to hunt, and even had a couple bucks bigger than him in range after that, but he was a rarity for me and still an ok sized buck for my area.

johnch

I stuck to my plans of shooting a freezer deer then working on my buck.
I did just that ,I got the doe 3 day of season the buck was in the 8 point or better then I got an other doe

JimboHunter1

I agree with Double Creek- I also set standards... My standards stay the same whether it's the first day or the last day. Standards are standards.

Buck Magnet

I can't really say that I stick to my "goals" as my "goals" change from day to day! In the early part of archery season, I passed on a 8 point that would easily have scored in the 115"-120". I knew there were bigger bucks and it was early! Mid-way through archery season, I saw a very nice 8 point (only scored 100") and I was ready to take this buck as we have been watching him for the past several years and we didn't think that he was gonna get much bigger! Well, I didn't harvest him, but my best-friend did that evening! Latter part of archery season, I had several more encounters with decent sized young bucks, but it was the rut and I knew that it was my best chance at one of the big mature bucks that I was after! Then rifle season started and I decided to hunt with my bow! Well, I hunted the first week and a half with my bow until Dec. 9th! I went out with my bow in the morning and didn't have any luck. I came home mid-day for a break and decided to check my foodplot and while there, I saw a buck get up and limp off! He was injured badly, so I had to change my goal from taking a deer with my bow to putting down a injured deer with my rifle. I went to my house and grabbed the rifle and headed to the woods. After a couple hours of sneaking through the woods, I found him bedded down and was able to take him.

I can't set a limit on myself because when hunting, everything changes day to day!