Button Bucks
 

<font color=maroon> <img src=icon_smile_question.gif border=0 align=middle> I noticed on some of the posts about people taking &quot;button bucks.&quot; Why would you want to shoot one? #1. You've deprived yourself of a mature buck. #2. There is less meat on them. We have a late spike and anterless season here in Texas when we harvest does and tall spikes. I won't get into the shoot/don't shoot spikes in this thread.

Pablo</font id=maroon>

RE: Button Bucks
 

All big bucks were once little bucks. I can't understand anybody wanting to shoot one.

RE: Button Bucks
 

1st of all, i don't shoot one on purpose. but people who do shoot them have their reasons. probably because they don't get to hunt much and 1st deer they see is shot. or it may be their 1st deer that they have ever taken. what ever their reason it is theirs! i'm not trying to be a smartbutt. i'm just trying to look at it from their point of view!

RE: Button Bucks
 

Sometimes when a dear is by itself and you are doe hunting they look bigger than you think an sometimes you might just be hungry

RE: Button Bucks
 

The best darn eating is a young doe, I popped what I thought was a doe at 40 yards that turned out to be the smallest antlered 4 point I have ever seen. Another guy saw him at 20 yards through thick brush and thought he was a she also. Some buttons are shot by folks thinking they are shooting a doe, others are shot because people feel they are inferior genes. The feeling being that a buck with good genes should be at least a spike its first year. Some folks believe in the brown it is down theory also, and as long as it is legal I have no problem with it.

The Tazman

RE: Button Bucks
 

I shot a button buck this year, was I happy with a good clean kill?? YES

Would I have shot it if I knew it were a button?? NO I had passed on a button buck 3 or 4 times already this year.

Was I proud that I shot the button buck? HECK YES Any kill is a good kill in my book.

I can honestly say that in the 10 years I have been hunting I have only taken 2. And both times I was unaware of any buttons until I found him.

Always adding Deer Cam picts. Check often.
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RE: Button Bucks
 

I can see how a button buck could be mistaken for a doe. Personally, I've never shot one, but I've shot does so I guess I've taken that chance. I do know that younger deer taste better than the old bucks, and all of them taste better than antlers.

RE: Button Bucks
 

I WOULDNT SHOOT ONE EITHER,, I ONLY SHOOT MONSTERS..

RE: Button Bucks
 

I have only shot one button buck in 6 years of hunting. I saw it at a fairly far distance, it was trotting through a field. I pulled up my .25-06 and shot. I was tickeled to death. I thought it was a doe, didn't know it was a button buck. I didn't care. It was a deer. I would never have shot it if I knew it was a button buck, but I didn't, so I have NO remorse for my actions.

Good Luck This Season: Buck Magnet
P.S. Only Chuck Adams can sit at home and see deer so get into the woods. =;^)

RE: Button Bucks
 

The first deer I ever shot turned out to be a knot head.Does were open.This deer was on the run when I shot it. I thought I had a nice little doe. I was surprised when I saw the little knots on his head. I was thrilled that I finally got my first deer.Even though it was my first,if I had of known I would have let him walk.I would never intentionally shoot one. Sometimes those knots are invisible.Ruger Redhawk

RE: Button Bucks
 

I personaly will not shoot a button buck, and I won't shoot small does either this lessons the chance of accidently shooting a button buck. However I do feel if a youth hunter just starting out has the opportunity to shoot one they should.

God Bless & Good Hunting
LM/NAHC
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RE: Button Bucks
 

If I have an any deer permit I'll shoot the first deer I see. Meat is Meat to me. Who know if I'll even see another deer throughout the season. Can't be to greedy sometimes

RE: Button Bucks
 

THE SECOND DEER I EVER SHOT WAS A LITTLE BUTTON BUCK.

RE: Button Bucks
 

Maybe deer are different in ND, an alert doe has her tail high in the air a buck has his tucked in tight, even most button bucks. Next time you see a bunch of doe looking deer on the run look at their tails, you will learn to look every time.

RE: Button Bucks
 

I hunted in a club this year that had &quot;doe fests&quot; that is where you have a big doe contest. Each guy puts in $10.00 and the winner gets the pot. The reason they do that is there are way too many does. Several times hunters have mistaken button bucks for does. If you are thinning out the does this is going to happen. I guess it is better to shoot a couple button bucks by mistake than to let the does and bucks in-breed from overpopulation of does.

RE: Button Bucks
 

How about this? Dont shoot any young deer. Be selective even with doe harvests if you can.

RE: Button Bucks
 

I gotta agree with janc because in Maine and most of northen New England we just don't have the deer numbers that other states have. It seems those who say they are selective about the deer they shoot have the luxury of hunting in states where the deer population is high. I doubt many would have those values if you hunted your entire season in areas that has less than 10 deer per square mile, and the success rate is about 10%. Think about it, on the average, if you hunted 10 YEARS you would only have ONE deer. I don't think any of you could ever conceive shooting only 4 deer in you lifetime if you hunted every year for 40 years. ....Just my thoughts.

RE: Button Bucks
 

I shoot any deer that walks in front of me, as long as I have a valid permit. The only exception is if I'm hunting with someone who has rules about what they want shot on their land. I passed up a nice yearling male this year because of that.

Does he have the chance to be a big one? Yes. Would I have shot him on my own land. Yes. I don't really care about growing big deer. There are plenty of deer, big and small, here in S. IL.

To reply to Pablo:
#1 I don't care about &quot;depriving&quot; myself of a potential big deer- they are aplenty. If I get one, fine, if not, fine, I'm not here to farm them.

#2 Less meat-so what? I'm not hunting to survive. I like venison and want all I can get, but I'll take any I can get.
I know a lot of you here don't agree with that, but that's my opinion.

BTW, the button I took on opening day, tasted GOOD!

RE: Button Bucks
 

<font color=maroon>There have been interesting comments made. Hope I didn't offend anyone. I realize that it's hard to pass up one if you don't have the deer numbers and there is a lot of hunting pressure. Jimmy S, that's 1 deer per 64 acres. That sounds like West Texas except you have a lot of wooded country. That's tough hunting. We're fortunate down here to be able to be selective and I feel bad if a young deer is harvested.

If you can be selective, my recommendation is this: Make sure of your target. If you can't decide, don't shoot. You'll get another chance.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Pablo
</font id=maroon>

RE: Button Bucks
 

IMO...unless it's your first deer, just shoot a doe...QMD is a good thing to practice if you're after mature bucks and big racks.
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RE: Button Bucks
 

since i have recieved some heat for shooting the button buck this year, i must make some things clear. first, i am only 15 and usually pass on small bucks, so i do my part. second, we are losing the land to builders and there is only like one piece of land 3 acres in size left to hunting, for 1 more year. why should i let this button buck go if i need the meat and i will not benefit from it growing up next year or the yer after that? since i was 10, i have hunted on this piece of private land. this year i have to find a place to hunt and if i dont't i refuse to deer hunt on public land. so, this may be my last year hunting for a year or two, and those tenderlins are just toooooo good to pass up. so anyone who has got a problem with that, i dont care.

RE: Button Bucks
 

here the rule usto be 1 in above the hair line. It has changed to 5 in above the hair line. there were alot of does being killed with the one in rule. Now to me young deer seam to be tinder than and older deer. And when antlerless days ae in or AL tags . sonme time you cant tell our does and butto bucks are about the same size every onece in awhile the does will be biger. But if the deer is leagle i dont care what it is.

RE: Button Bucks
 

One thing to remember, there's no real need for QDM in the low density areas mentioned. In the vast majority of areas with 10 deer per square mile, there's a good buck to doe ratio. The serious hunter will always find his older bucks, and the one week a year guy may or may not. Anyway, there's no real need to let every bb grow up, the land can only hold so many. Shooting a buck fawn does no real harm, except to the guy who shot it, for next year. And if he's happy, so be it.
Letting buck fawns go is more for areas of high density, were a large number have to be killed, and a large number are. That's when you get the 15:1 buck to doe ratios, because guys shoot the first thing they see, and where the protection of young bucks is needed.
In aeas where there's a lot of deer, maybe 25 or more per mile, shooting a bb is foolish, because you can ge a doe easily enough with a little patieence, and anyone who says they'll take a bb over a 10pt is lying. Why not have the best of both worlds?

RE: Button Bucks
 

I'm a meat hunter and so are my hunting partners. We start the year off looking for a large buck or doe and slowly work our way down in size until the end of the season. If a button buck walks by through November he is pretty safe with us. However if its in the last days of December he will be going into the freezer and the same goes for a small doe. We're able to shoot 3-4 deer each year so we don't have to be as picky about the size.

RE: Button Bucks
 

its hard to see the buttons i shot one this year by mistake.

RE: Button Bucks
 

My family don't care what other hunters shoot, thats their business. What we do is send antlered for first and second choice. If we miss the drawing there is always left over doe tags. We compete for antler size amongst ourselves. Look at my daughters deer pictures and you can see who won. We see up to 10 bucks most days.

RE: Button Bucks
 

I'll usually shoot a spike if I see one. I believe in the genetics arguement in favor of removing them. But spikes are quite rare where I hunt, most 1.5 yr. olds are 6-8 point crown or basket racked. So we can sure spare the rare spike. But I've never yet shot a button buck. I may have been lucky or it may bedue to the fact that I don't shoot small does either. Where I am the chance usually comes along for a adult deer be it buck or doe.

RE: Button Bucks
 

I would let the button bucks walk if I was sure it was a button buck and not a doe. It IS hard to tell sometimes.

RE: Button Bucks
 

I've shot one thinking he was a she during anterless season didn't feel bad at all.We do let spikes walk on our land if we can see them.

RE: Button Bucks
 

The very first deer I shot was a button buck. That was 28 years ago. That was also the last button buck I shot. Lucky? No. Selective? Yes. If I'm not sure, I will not shoot. That's me. Other people have their reasons. If it's someones first deer then I don't have a problem with it. But man, there are so many seasons and days to hunt that you CAN be selective.

RE: Button Bucks
 

Greets,
Well, unless it was really close to the end of the season, I would probably let a button go, IF I knew it was a button. I have taken a button on my one and only doe tag, it was late in the day, half way thru the season. I was headed for the truck after another unsuccesful hunt, and spooked what I thought was a pair of does, They were at a dead run around 20 yards out and headed across in front of me into the trees fast, missed my shot on the lead doe, she was the biggun, so I swung back on the smaller one and shot. He tasted deliceous!!!

Just my uneducated opinion!
Terry

RE: Button Bucks
 

I would shoot a doe over a button but I would not fall into a deep depression if I killed one button buck. Especially if I didn't shoot a buck that year. I would have taken out a potential buck if I shot an 8, 6, 4, spike or button. I like hunting deer, though, not farming or breeding them for competition.

Scott Meier
White Oak Lodge

RE: Button Bucks
 

What I meant to say was: Our policy is, if we know it's a button buck, we let it walk. There have been about 3 instances in the last 15 years where a button was shot in doe season. Of course we'd rather take out a doe, but it happens. The pride of getting a deer usually helps with the guilt of shooting next year's buck.

Scott Meier
White Oak Lodge