First Deer - Button Buck
12-16-2014, 10:14 AM
#21
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,359
Choosing to hunt the more challenging game has nothing to do with not having fun with friends and family, "only caring about the antler" or a "guided facility"
Don't let people discourage you from hunting the game you want and having the patience to be successful at it.
A man in pursuit of a wise old mature free range whitetail buck is hunting at its finest IMO.
You can quickly see some people have no idea what hunting mature bucks is really about outside the garbage they have seen on TV.
Setting your sights on a mature free range whitetail buck and having the patience and willingness to put in the work to be successful is very rewarding and a whole lot of fun. Ive spent countless hours unsuccessfully hunting mature bucks and I loved every one of them and when the opportunity presents itself in the form of a buck that has escaped hunters for years that is a feeling that cannot be replicated.
Don't let people discourage you from hunting the game you want and having the patience to be successful at it.
A man in pursuit of a wise old mature free range whitetail buck is hunting at its finest IMO.
You can quickly see some people have no idea what hunting mature bucks is really about outside the garbage they have seen on TV.
Setting your sights on a mature free range whitetail buck and having the patience and willingness to put in the work to be successful is very rewarding and a whole lot of fun. Ive spent countless hours unsuccessfully hunting mature bucks and I loved every one of them and when the opportunity presents itself in the form of a buck that has escaped hunters for years that is a feeling that cannot be replicated.
Last edited by rockport; 12-16-2014 at 11:01 AM.
12-16-2014, 11:15 AM
#22
Spike
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 7
My philosophy is that I choose to shoot a deer for one of two places - the wall or the table, and, table-wise, I'll pass on a 2+ y/o doe. Plenty of button bucks still running around, and you just got yourself some nice veal! Congratulations!
12-20-2014, 04:33 AM
#24
Spike
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: The Granite State
Posts: 4
Many years ago when I was much younger I shot a button buck in Maine while hunting with my dad and a bunch of family friends. At the time I felt really bad and a touch embarrassed that I was with all of these seasoned hunters who had taken many big deer over their lifetime and I ended up shooting what I thought was a big doe but which turned out to be in fact a button buck who lost a lot of size once he hit the ground. Now many years later I don't feel embarrassed and I don't think about how bad I felt for taking a buck out of the population, what I think about and what is burned into my memory is the time I spent with my dad and those other guys. I remember what it was like sitting around at night recalling our days hunt and the excitement that we all felt every morning before heading out. My dad has a bad shoulder now and probably won't ever hunt again and so for me the memory is the real trophy. The memory of your first deer is the trophy not the size of the animal. Treasure it for what it is not for what you feel like it should have been.
Congratulations on your first deer.
Congratulations on your first deer.
Last edited by Hrafn; 12-20-2014 at 04:35 AM.
12-20-2014, 05:36 AM
#26
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,359
Many years ago when I was much younger I shot a button buck in Maine while hunting with my dad and a bunch of family friends. At the time I felt really bad and a touch embarrassed that I was with all of these seasoned hunters who had taken many big deer over their lifetime and I ended up shooting what I thought was a big doe but which turned out to be in fact a button buck who lost a lot of size once he hit the ground. Now many years later I don't feel embarrassed and I don't think about how bad I felt for taking a buck out of the population, what I think about and what is burned into my memory is the time I spent with my dad and those other guys. I remember what it was like sitting around at night recalling our days hunt and the excitement that we all felt every morning before heading out. My dad has a bad shoulder now and probably won't ever hunt again and so for me the memory is the real trophy. The memory of your first deer is the trophy not the size of the animal. Treasure it for what it is not for what you feel like it should have been.
Congratulations on your first deer.
Congratulations on your first deer.
Shooting a doe takes more button bucks out of the herd than shooting a single button buck. I just don't shoot the 2-3 year old bucks. I'll shoot and eat a button buck without a 2nd thought.
12-20-2014, 07:33 AM
#27
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Port Neches, Texas
Posts: 5,514
Congrats and don't sweat it! My first deer was a doe and I remember it like it was yesterday! The big bucks will come with experience! Savor the memory. One button buck does not a deer herd make! I'd much rather see new hunters, especially younger hunters take a button buck or doe than a booner! You see these pics all the time of 8 year olds taking their "first deer," 140+ bucks on more or less canned hunts! That's NOT hunting!
Again, congrats on your first trophy!
Again, congrats on your first trophy!
