What are some of the ways you differentiate between a buttonhead and a doe(besides seeing the bumps on the head)?

Well if you could get them to lift their leg it would be pretty easy<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>.

LOL SCBUCKHUNTER....that would make it easy. I have a friend who just started deer hunting last year and he wants to avoid shooting another button this year. His problem is he shoots to quick....I told him to invest in a good set of binoculars.

Your friend needs to spend some time in the woods learning to judge the size of the deer he is hunting . Button bucks are quite a bit smaller than a mature doe . Every season you see people shooting fawns and then leaving them in the woods because they don't want to tag them . Thats the kind you have to drop a dime on when you see it .I know its more for a phone call now so I just dated myself. LOL
Binoculars will help but you need to be able to judge the size as well because they all look the same without the spots ,some are just bigger than others .

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I would agree with Greg as that being the easiest and most accurate with one exception, I killed a big 10 pointer in the UP of Michigan back in 1990 that had a real short snout maybe 2&quot; long, damn thing looked like a Rottweiller with a rack. Even the butcher who initially stated &quot;There is no such thing as an ugly deer&quot; Conceeded that it was the ugliest deer he had ever seen once looking. The horns are on the wall and the memory is there.

10 Pointers

I dont' know about you guys but even after many years of hunting I still have a hard time truly identifying a button buck when they come through with one other deer(usually their sister from where I'm from) Late in the season here in Wisconsin you will see fawns running around without the doe because she was shot early in the season. When that's the case the Button buck often times looks much larger than the other doe fawn. I've made the mistake of shooting the button buck before and I'm sure I'll do it again. Everyone I've hunted with no matter how long they've hunted has shot a button buck. I guess that's why there's no such thing as shoot and release.

I will admit it is hard to tell the difference. But always identify your target before you shoot it. If the deer doesn't look much bigger than a dog, don't shoot it. You can also sometimes catch a glimpse of body parts. In some cases that is easier than seeing the bumps on their heads.

What scbuckhunter said was funny, but it is also true. If the deer is walking away from you or is broadside and you are in question, take a minute to look for his balls rather than for his ribs. This helped me pass on a button buck earlier this year.

RYAN SMITH

One of the easiest ways is to look at the area between the ears. The young buck will have a flatter, wider area than a young doe.