When do you make the decision to shoot?
 

Do you make that decision before you enter the woods or do you decide later? Unless I meet up with a big old bruiser, I seem to always make the decision after I see that deer. My decision is usually based on how I feel at that moment. Do I want to kill that animal or let it walk? Of course there have been years when I let a doe or young buck walk only to have the season end without filling my tag. That's OK because I never regret the reason for letting that deer live.

For those that say: "If it's brown, it's down", then your mind is already made up. If you are more selective, what makes you decide to take the shot or not and when do you make that decision?

The largest part of my decisions are made in my garage.

I look in the freezers and check the supply of venison.

i'll 2nd that!

Matt, does that mean you will then shoot any deer? Fawns, button bucks, etc or will you wait for a legal adult deer?

I have yet to get a deer (After 2 seasons of hunting). I have seen quite a few in my stand. I will only shoot if I think I can hit it in the lungs. I let one walk at 60 yards because I was not comfortable with the distance.

well usually i will go and shoot the 2 biggest ones right off the bat...bucks or does dont matter unless its in the law in the area im in....this year i was in the contest so i was tryin to impress and ended up with just a doe ..lol...i let a 6 and a few others slide lookin fer a 10 point that i never ever saw..thinkin he didnt make it...but i know that 6 is still there and cant wait to see him again, as i let him go both rifle and bow season waitin on a non-existent 10 ...so my answer is, one time I was in a contest and let a few slide, but that is history.

im guessin bow or shot gun?

i always set out with an open mind, if given the appropriate shot opportunity, i ask myself "should i take this deer?" i never set out saying "i will shoot the first deer i see"

I don't hunt the "woods" I hunt the open prairie. We can see deer from 2-3 miles away. We size them up long before we do the stalk. Sometimes the stalk could take 1-1 1/2" hours so we make pretty well sure what the beast looks like before we go on that kind of adventure.

When I say to myself...........Wow, that's a shooter !

I leave the house hoping to take something, but ultimately make the decision in stand based on what i see and if a good shot is possible.

sometimes before i enter the woods i have my mind made up that i will take ANY legal deer, and sometimes i have a SE STANDARD for a deer, like say a 100 + ound doe ( i guess her weight of course ) or a 4 pt or better, or 6 point or better or whatever, then here are those times, in those certain spots that i have a more legit chance of an awsome buck, that i set higher standards, like no does and a buck thats at least 6 points and ear to ear width antlers ( 14 or so inch spread )


the MAIN thing that goes into my decision is what is in the freezer already and the area i am hunting ( high/low pressure, good/low quality deer overall )

I follow club rules which are a buck with at least 2 points on 1 side. I don't care how big or small he is, if he's legal I shoot him without hesitation.

Great question, One I have thought about more than once,
But for me, I am Deer hunting, not deer looking, so for the last few years I have generally taken the first deer that comes along, (excepting fawns). I have some nice mounts and have been accused of being a "Head Hunter" but looking through my journal I can prove that to be false. another factor to consider is that a young doe is about as good eating as it gets, some of of those bigger bucks can get pretty strong. Doc

For me, it varies. Early in the season, I'm looking for a wall hanger and won't make the decision until I see the deer. When I have two days or less, I'll look to take any mature deer.

Well #1 of course they have to be legal. #2 They must be carrying some meat on them. #3 Generally a nice doe is the first kill of the season.

And from there out bucks and does.......no fawns or buttons.

If my heart begins to race and my legs drop out from under me, thats when i know its my time to shoot that deer.

I know before I enter the woods...

We have 3 farms and kill 40-50 deer a year but believe it or not, I pass on a ton of deer each year...I have times that I am big buck hunting and times that I'm deer hunting...I've hunted over 40 years so I probably enjoy it more than most simply because I don't feel any pressure to kill anything...

Typically, I kill does in September, October and December...November is for bucks...But...I'll change my plans real quick if I'm in a tree and have a couple of bucks cruise by...Seems that some days are buck days, then I'll hold out...

I always start the bow season looking for a big doe, but as nov. 1st rolls around the does get a free pass and my focus get to a nice buck. And always the last few days of each season i will take any legal buck but little spikes.

I had a great year a few years ago. I let a ton of deer walk and by the last week of shotgun season I had nothing. As I was in the stand, this deer came walking right at me. My first thought, nice doe, oh little spike oh, he has tines.... Turns out to be a little 4 point. This deer was only 30 yards from me when I first seen him, and I was happy to have him.

at gun camp (only a week) I would get drummed out of camp if I let anything walk. Our gun season is only 2 weeks and most guys can only get the 1st week off so we shoot all we can and split everything evenly.
Keep in mind that we don't have overpopulation problems up here, its one tag/hunter and a draw to see if that deer can be a doe.
Archery I won't let a good opportunity walk because I'm new to it and only have a couple under my belt, and again the deer aren't plentifull.
So, I guess I'm "if its brown its down", but not because of lack of ethics or determination, I put in a lot of time and effort for my bag of venison.

I'll be the first to agree that a hunt isn't about THE KILL, time spent with mother nature, family and friends is EVERY BIT, if not more important to me. BUT, if you ever walk into the woods with the weapon of your choice, you should have ALREADY made the decision to take an ethical shot on a legal animal. If you ever wake up facing the delima of weather or not to shoot then you have already wasted even the time it took to set your alarm. This is not to say you wake up and decide not to take say a 130 or better or the first 100+lb. doe whatever parameters you have set stick to them by any means, but you should have that decision made before you even go to bed the night before.

early season i'm looking for something to put on the wall, near the end i'm looking to fill the freezer! the decision is made before i head out.

I enjoy being in the woods so much that I don't have to shoot anything or see anything to enjoy myself. Seeing some deer is a bonus. Getting to take a mature doe or a nice buck is just a grandslam.

I have had many deer in my sights some less that 5yds away only to let them walk. Let them grow and get bigger, the whole experiance of me having them that close is rewarding in knowing that I am doing my part in being stealth and also allowing them to mature.

As a relatively new hunter (2 years), I generally enter the woods with a,'if its brown its down' attitude. I want an early kill to put some meat in the freezer and to take the pressure off. However, when I sat for early archery season this year (3rd week of September) I made the decision that I would only shoot unaccompanied does and let a couple does with spotless fawns walk by. I also let a spike walk by later in muzzleloader season because I knew there were bigger bucks in the area (none of which I got a shot at) and because I already had a deer in the freezer.

Crossbow (Barnett Wildcat)

^^^ you made a good choice on passing that one.
-Jake

I don't know how good you are, but me I wouldn't think of shooting a deer out that far with a xbow. And by your answer, I think you believe the same. Just too much noise to make it that far without the deer hearing it and moving.

I shoot a xbow and only shoot out to 40 yds, personally. :happy0001:

I've been Deer Hunting for over 30 years now and have shot several nice Deer over the years,so now I pass on the smaller Bucks in hopes of them getting bigger the following year.When I go out on opening day/weekend of Rifle Deer Season I hold out for a nice Buck that is at least 7-Points or bigger,I had a Young 4-Point Buck walk around my stand last year and watched a nice 8-Point Buck make a scrape and work a licking branch about 120 yards from my stand....I would have shot him but too many tree branches were in the way for a good clear shot and I was hoping my Friend would get a shot at him since he was cruising through the woods towards his stand.About 30 minutes later I ended up having a nice 9-Point Buck cross behind my stand and I shot him,after that I'm looking for a nice large Doe to shoot with my Bonus Tag.I have shot several nice Bucks over the past few years so I'm happy with getting a nice Big Doe for the meat or sharing it with Family and Friends,I also Bow Hunt so that gives me even more time out in the woods to Deer Hunt,I finally shot me a nice young 6-Point Buck with my Bow in 2006 so now I'm trying to get a larger Buck or a nice Doe,I won't shoot Fawns or Button Bucks with a Bow or Rifle and I have shot some decent Bucks that were running with and tending Doe's and I could have shot the Doe too...but I let them go because I figured they may be carrying the Bucks gene's and will have a Fawn or 2 later in the year! :party0005:

if i have to second guess myself on wether or not its big enough, its not big enough OR if its a shooter and i cant video... im not shooting. IMO

2 1/2+ year old bucks (say 100+ inches, basically no baskets)
OR
1 1/2+ year or older Does (100+ pounds dressed weight)

They risk their health everytime they walk in front of me, just depends on the mood:)

Don't grocery shop when you're hungry....
 

I've been fortunate enough to be to draw extra doe tags outside my combo license. So what I try to do with some help from some farmer friends in the area, is shoot two mature doe real early in the season. This always helps me with my decsion making the rest of the season. Now I'm not worried about meat as much, and can try and stick with my self imposed rule of shooting a older mature buck only. I'll tell you what though, it's hard not to shoot that 6 or less with my bow, because any horned buck is a good buck with your bow. Having that meat in the freezer helps a whole lot.

First clear shot that will allow me to put a bullet through the vital area. But I don't shoot at running deer at all. No good at it.

Shots down my way are seldom over 200 yards, so distance has not been my problem. It is stuff in the way ... brush, reeds, trees, creek banks, etc.

if its under 155-160 i dont shoot

At IMB Outfitters we have a 125 inch minimum, so I stick to those standards. If our clients have to abide by it, then I will too. As for meat in the freezer, any good doe just may end up there.

If I grab the bow from the hanger the deer is big enough. I go off of initial reaction. Typically anything over about 155 will have me grabbing my bow.... As far as does, some days I will go out with the intention of shooting one and other days you just never know...