what is the smallest buck you will take
 

I dont know if I did the right thing or not. I could have had a four pointer by now. He was a good size for a four pointer. I sure hope he makes it till next year. What is the smallest buck you will take? Myself nothing smaller than a six pointer.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

My lease has a 10 point min. that is unless we judge it to be a buck past his prime.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

on public land the bucks are pretty much anything goes.....but on my land it has to be at least a six pointer.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

i think it all depends on the hunter. a trophy to one person or should i say a big deer will probally be small for someone else. if you are happy with it take it who cares what anyone else says.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

It depends on the hunter and where you are hunting, in my opinion. I finally got the guys in my group to let the spikes walk. I don' t plan on killing anything less than a 6 point, but with less than a 200 acre plot of land, there' s only so much you can do. If the deer is a healthy looking two and a half year old, I' ll probably take him because I like the meat.
Somebody who owns 1,000 acres in an area where big racks are prevalent, I' m sure the bar is raised considerably ;)

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

Much of the land I hunt we shoot 15" and better, but I have a lot of land I shoot whatever I want. I give away a lot of deer and if I want one to give away one I will shoot it whatever it is on those areas.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

It depends on the animal. My first buck was a small basket racked 6 point but he field dressed nearly 200 pounds we assumed he was an old deer. We now have a spike with 16-20 inch spikes running on our farm. This is his second year as a spike so we are all trying to get him.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

if he' s legal I' ll take him.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

I get only one either sex tag per year and I will not put it on anything but a mature buck in the 150B&C class.If I really want the meat I will shoot a doe the last evening and use a supplementary doe tag if it is valid for that zone.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

at least 3 points on one side...thats the legal size for arkansas

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

If I shoot a buck, it' s the first one to come along ;)

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

at this point of the game, if its Brown, and Within Range, its Down. But, As far as Reg Bucks go, If its Legal its gettin shot at...:)

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

If its legal and seems to me to be worth shooting at and in range its going to get shot at, i wont shoot at a spike unless its got some real good mass to him, so its a large spike and above. love to eat it so any real;y good sized one will get a shot takn at..

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

Depends on where I' m hunting. In FL, basically any legal buck is dead meat. In GA, however, our lease has a 6pt/15" rule. Of course, if I go to a guide, it' s his rules.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

It is up to the person holding the tag to decide what standard they should adhere to and nobady else. Personally I look for a min. of 150 class B&C deer and maturity level is a factor as well. However in the past I have taken deer that were over the hill and fell short of my min. standard and have also passed young deer who would be in my min standard. I often let me heart tell me if I should shoot or pass, again a personal choice. As long as you are happy in your decision that is all that matters. Yes I have thought about why did I pass certain bucks in hind sight but you never know what is around the bend and it is all part of hunting but I have never regretted a decision I made wether to shoot or not too. To me success is measured in many more ways then a notched tag, it boils down to personal satisfaction:)

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

so very true--rght on-:)--

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

Not rippin on you Skeeter...simply using what you wrote as an example.

I' m glad that we are all getting touchy and feely on the board. It seems like every poster is putting those statements in kind of like a disclaimer. " It' s every person' s right to shoot what they want....It' s America" . YAWWWWNNNN he, he just kidding..well mostly.

My min is 16" .....8pt. But like Skeeter said, if the buck seems to be really old I' ll take him.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

I look at rack size and " maturity" to make the decision. A buck over 140 inches is awfully hard for me to let walk. In the areas I hunt it usually takes a really big 3 1/2 or a 4 1/2 to be that big. I recently shot a 135 class 8 pt because he was very massive, several stickers, gray face and a big body so I deemed him " mature" . Mature to the tune of 215 lbs dressed. He was only a 16" wide 8 pt which isn' t a " trophy" in many peoples eyes but he certainly fit my " mature" criteria.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

A five pointer. It is the smallest legal buck here in my section of PA. I am not picky this late in the season.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

Depends on the mood I' m in at the time. Generally in my main hunting areas, I' m not wanting to go below an 8 with a 13-14" spread.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

8 PTS. NOTHING UNDER 16 INCHES INSIDE BUT HAS TO HAVE GOOD MASS

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

well my lease has to be at least a 12pnt due to our awsome game management. all of our members wear a special suit developed in our lab by the scientists and physicist' s that we hunt with. last year i think almost all 27 of us scored 14pt and above.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

We attempt to have an 8pt/outside the ears (15-16" ) standard which has worked pretty well. Granted, mistakes have been made but for the most part this eliminates the shooting of 1 1/2 year olds, and each year we know that several 2 1/2s make it through the season as well. A 154 3/4 net 11pt. was just taken this weekend by bow. He was aged at only 3 1/2. Only one of the other area farms has this rule, so many of " our" bigger bucks get shot on other farms. We are ok with that because for each mature buck taken another young one gets to live and another hunter starts thinking about holding off on a small one for the following year.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

Stump, no need to explain, I won' t deny it is a general almost a stamped statement but the basis I believe in " Personal Choice/Satisfaction" is the key element to deciding your min. standard or setting your goals for a season. Who am I to say your wrong for shooting the deer you did, if your happy that is all that matters. Simply, live up to your own standard not somebody elses.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

I have been struggling with the same issue. . . .Some out there state any Buck is a good Buck. I hope to pass up a few and hope others will too, then next year we get the big dogs. Still hard not to shoot when you get one in your sights. I had to think a while before I took this one last week.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

I take whatever taste better ,Or what I when doing Damage management I take what I need to take to get paid,and donate the meat.

Up to 229 deer this year,and they are still all over the place.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

My ex-hunting group (I moved) in Northern MN implimented the same 8pt/outside ears rule that we have here in Wi three years ago. I just got an email from my brother-in-law about their opening weekend. An 9 and a 10 that both greenscored at roughly 155, and a 13 that greenscored 182. Last year a 13 that was 188! Three years of holding off on the 1 1/2 year olds, plus some 2 and 3 year olds made it through. Now they have trophy bucks running around and everyone is very happy. Even the old guys have a renewed excitement about hunting. That first year is the hardest. Most of us ended the season with an empty tag and empty freezer. Now that first year is looked back at as a blessing. Some guys will still end with an empty tag, but their hopes of seeing/harvesting a big boy are much higher than ever. The meat hunters are happier shooting a doe now than they were before.

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

I pass up all 1 1/2 year old deer and the vast majority of 2 1/2 year olds as well. I try to not shoot anything smaller than 8 pts with a spread at least to his ears and decent mass. There is no written rule on the property I hunt, but that' s the agreement between all of the seasoned hunters. We have one kid who will be going into his 2nd year of shotgun hunting so he' s still shooting anything with antlers. :D

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

I passed on two 4 pts. last year (both legal in Ms.) I' m hoping one may be a 6 pt. this year, which I would take, if lucky. When you only hunt on 100 acres, selective choices are not an option. There is a lot of competition on the adjacent land. But I may take a couple of does for meat.

Russ

RE: what is the smallest buck you will take
 

i have always found it that you have to cook them antlers a very long time to get them tender enought to eat if the deer is a good sized anmial it is going to the freezer just my 02