mauser06

ok this year was PAs first year for ARs..they didnt apply to me and i could shoot anything i wanted that was a deer..and was tagged with both a buck and a doe tag so i was good..took my doe then a basket rack 6pt buck..about 10inch spread..(i had to measure to prove mine bigger than my friends lol) not a terrible first buck exspecially in PA....he was AR legal for that area i hunt...next year the ARs dont apply to me but i am going to start bowhuning and hunting alone so i will have alot more time to hunt and locate bigger bucks and all that fun stuff that comes with taking a nice buck...bow season runs from the first saturday in october i think clear untilsometime in january i think so i got alot of time just after school..plus saturdays and " sick" days lol..i should be driving by the secodn or third week of bow season so i should be mobile...if not the area here has some nice bucks i can walk to..but ARs say 4pt to a side...i think it would be kinda neat to set the bar at my buck this year and say none littler...which when ARs apply to me shouldnt be a big deal...but for that one year i have a chance to get another buck under my belt regaurdless of size..but i took 3 does and a buck already..i dont feel i need more deer under my belt and will have 3 doe tags next season for varios areas so i can use them to get a bow kill under my belt...i think thats what im going to do and start becoming more selective...i really want big racks on the wall...just something about them antlers...so magical the way they make you feel...what would you do? i do see myself as a more of a trophy hunter in the future... start now??

timbercruiser

Just please yourself and have a good time, as long as it is legal. A trophy to you might not be the same to someone else. One thing about it though, all big bucks were once little bucks.

deershed

Any deer taken with a bow is a trophy!! You' ve got a life time to be selective so go out and enjoy.

cwilks15

Do what your heart desires. To me just being in the woods is magical. To take a nice buck would make it even more so.... We instilled an eight or better on our 170 acre plot where we have a management unit that has to have 3 or more points on one side for your first buck and then 4 or more on one side for the second tag. I really like that and have been seeing bigger bucks already in just the two years it has been going on. I have really enjoyed holding out for bigger deer just to beable to see what is out there. I haven' t got that wall mount trophy but some day it will happen. I will just keep taking does to help with the population until then.

Shoot Straight!!!!

stuckinthereeds

Just go with the feel of the day. I have let trophy bucks wander by because I just felt like it. I think sometimes we have to let the big ones go just to remind us what the wilderness really means to us

IL Trophy Hunter

Become selective if thats what you heart is telling you. I don' t know about in Penn., but in the Midwest most bucks only have to live to 3 1/2 yrs to be huge!!!
Every young buck that you shoot is guaranteed not to make it to that age. Espescially if you have a limited number of buck tags per year. Why shoot a 1 1/2 during the first couple of weeks of the season and then be done buck hunting for the rest of the season. Lot' s of people would be amazed at what would walk by next if they were just patient. Of the big bucks I' ve killed several of them came by me after I' d already passed up 2 1/2 yr olds that were just not quite P and Y caliber bucks. No each his own though. Keep tagging does to keep your skills sharp, and then when that buck of a lifetime comes along you' ll be ready. Keep it fun first and foremost!!!
Good Luck.

Hawgz

Just because you have to use a " doe " tag for your button buck doesnt make it a doe You have to let those buttons walk if you ever want to get a bigger buck

skeeter 7MM

I can see your struggling with two factors the feel of the rack and wanting to elevate the standard. Being your young and able to shoot whatever, in now way does that mean you should or have to! It also doesn' t mean that you shouldn' t! You have lots of time to grow into a Trophy hunter or whatever you desire. First and foremost do what will make you happy. It must be fun or their is no point doing it!

I agree, shooting small bucks will never allow you to get a big one! It is a choice you have to make and often it will be made at the time. Even with a minimum standard their may be opportunities that meet your orginal goal, but something tells you to let it walk! That is part of trophy hunting & hunting in general.

Have fun and let your heart make the choice of what is right FOR YOU!!!!

mauser06

thanx guys...i think for the first bow season i will be pretty selective and see what i am seeing...take a doe or 2 or 3...and get good at bow hunting and see what happens...i do think i will hold myself to the AR standards until after rifle season..which leaves me with late bow season...by then i will have a ton of hours in the woods and chances are i will probally have a buck by then...i used to be happy as could be with a big fat doe...but that 6pt made my whole year...i will still be happy with a doe anyday..but man antlers do something magical...and hunting alone makes me happy...when i tag a deer it just makes it all so much better...im so excited to be starting bow hunting...that gives me so much more time than the normal 2 week rifle season...and i already know where 2 bucks that are AR legal now living behind my house i can walk to....i cant wait..its going to be a blast...when everyone else is sitting at home doing nothing i will be in the woods..i love being in the woods...just being able to rest and relax and get away from it all..that does enough for me...seeing and taking game makes it alot nicer...thanx guys...

Buck Magnet

Hey mauser,

If you want to go for bigger racked deer, do what I do. Take the first buck that comes by that is bigger than your previous deer. In 7 years of hunting, I have shot 6 bucks. My first was right at 100" , then 110" , 115" , 130" 135" , and 143" . This year wasn' t the best for big bucks around here, well, thats not true. It was great in some of the areas around here, and just so so in my honey hole. I decided to break my rule and was hunting for anything that was Pope & Young. I got close with two different P&Y bucks but couldn' t connect, so, this was my first year without shooting a buck. It was actually kinda nice, I didn' t have to gut a buck or drag him out [:-][&:]

Whatever you decide to do, make sure it is what you want. If you want a little tip, try to harvest your three doe with your bow before drawing back on a nice buck. I get pumped up when a doe comes in, but man, when a buck comes in it gets ten times worse.