RugerM77.270

I just want to see what makes a buck a shooter to you. I am not interested in hearing how the other guy is wrong becasue he could care less about antlers.

For me I want a deer bigger than the one I already have on my wall. He is a good sized eight point and my first buck. Now this is not a strict rule for me it can vary as my mood varys.

Example: A week and a half ago I had spent the entire day in the field and and an hour before dark my fiance called and told me to go home I wasn't going to kill a deer anyway. This on top of a hot day inthe field and 7 miles of scouting put me in a "if it walks it drops" mood just to show her up leading to the call back that I had just shot a six point.

So what is a SHOOTER BUCK to you?

BE NICE BOYS?

BrentH243

Where I hunt (private land in Mid-Michigan), I am generally looking for a 2.5 year old buck or older. I saw a buck with 11 points this year, but he was definitely only 1.5 years old, so I did not shoot him. A 16" spread with some mass and some tine length is what I have my mind set on. In my personal situation, I would rather go 3 years without shooting a buck and getting a nice one the 4th year, than shooting a small 6 point for 3 consecutive years. I love venison, so any doe with a button buck fawn will go down in early and late season.

RugerM77.270

Good answer.

npaden

It is easy to say "bigger than any that I have on my wall", but it is more difficult than that for me anyway.

For me it depends alot on where you are at and what your expectations are.

IfI'm on public land DIY'ing a shooter buck generally is any decent mature animal. I was happy to shoot a decent 21" spread and 21" tall 5x5 mule deer in Montana a couple weeks ago that scored 145" after passing up close to 20 fork horns the 3 previous days of hunting. If I had been on a private land hunt in Montana or Wyoming for Mule deer I would have expected to shoot a much bigger animal and probably would have passed on that buck.

On the land that I own I'm hoping to shoot a mature whitetail buck. I just bought this land this past spring, and I've actually never shot a whitetail buck before so anything I shoot will be the biggest whitetail buck I'll have ever shot, but I'm wanting to wait for a mature buck (3 1/2+) this year. I don't really care that much about how big it's antlers are this year althogh I would expect them to be in the 120" range. As I get more familiar with the area I would hope to see some larger bucks and since it is a 1 buck county I will probably get more and more selective as time goes on.

The temptation that I have on shooter bucks is wanting to come home with something so as it gets later and later in the season it is more and more tempting to take a buck that you might have passed up earlier in the year. You can somewhat justify this on public land, but on private land letting that buck walk generally will mean that you can get a crack at him next year when he will be even bigger.

That's what makes a shooter buck to me.

Steve863

Well, I am not so fortunate where I hunt since hardly any doe permits were issued again this year. I wasn't lucky to get a doe permit but DO want some venison, so any buck over 3" of antler will be a likely candidate to get shot. Meat in the pot is more important to me than antlers on the wall that will serve little purpose other than to collect dust.

buffhntr

I want a buck bigger that 140 That is a goal I have personally set I will move it higher next year. I believe you need to push yourself to get better

USAF_hunter

A mature buck. 3.5 or older. I don't have any want to kill anything younger for bucks. I have no bad feelings for anyone that does.

travisville

I haven't seen anything bigger than a spike since my first year hunting so I don't really have any standards.

Centauri

To me, bigger than the one you got.

Kathwacckkk

Personally, if I am not going mount the deer (~$500.00 for a good mount), then I let them go to grow. However, if it is an animal that is at least 4.5 years old, then it has probably reached it's max potential and should be targeted. With the amount of deer in southern Michigan, I have a hard time taking a young buck when there so many does out there.