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RE: I have a problem with this
 

I agree with you there, I feel that knobbies should be let walk, around here most camps have a 50$ fine to members if they shoot one. They are easy to distinguish and they are the future of the herd. My 2 cents.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

How can you tell the diffrences Between a BB and another yearling doe

RE: I have a problem with this
 

I don't think that a person should be punished for taking a button buck. Everyone is at different stages of the game. While a button buck may be sub-standard for a trophy hunter, it may be a trophy for some-one else. Yes it is the future buck for a trophy hunter, but it also may be a meal for a hungry family. I personally will hold out for a more mature buck. But at the same time I will be happy for the guy that doesn't get that many deer to take one. The guy that took one with his son is teaching him the valuable lessons of hunting and life and death. That child is just as much the future of hunting as that button buck is. The child has just as much chance as being a lobbiest for hunting when we are old and grey as that button buck has a chance at being a trophy. On another note, bucks will grow better racks after they have wintered well. The feed needed to let the bigger bucks winter well is better if there are less mouths to feed. Just a thought.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

If you want to hold out for bigger bucks then good for you, but i dont think anybody has the right to make other people hold out. I shot the first thing that walked under my stand this year, and it happened to be a 6 pointer. If it would have been a button buck i wouldnt have known for one thing until it was down, but the only regret i would have had was that a bigger one didnt walk in earlier. In the area where we hunt usually there are a lot of deer, but the last two years it was slow, i was the only one that even got a shot at one. my brothere just got a quick look before it ran off. If you dont go by its brown its down, you will be hungary. From my experience it is nearly impossible to tell a button buck from anything else unless you have a lot of time to look at it, or if it is with another deer. It will most likely not be with another deer because if it is near the rut the mother will have kicked it out. Carpmaster you must have some AWSOME eyes if you think button bucks are easy to distinguish. Me, i have less then perfact eyesight, and i hunt in thicker woods, it is nearly impossible to impossible to tell the differance between a button buck and a doe fawn or a less then mature doe.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

sharpshot has hit the nail on the head on this one. i have accidentally killed 2 this year while i thought i was filling my limit of two deer during muzzleloading season. it is almost impossible to tell that one has nubs on its dagum head i dont care how good ur eyes are man. yea after walking up on both of them i regretted it instantly. and one of them was with 5 other deer....so i dont think that a button being wtih other deer maters....it was jus tbad luck that i picked it out instead of a scrawny doe.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

I think that there are cases to be made for each point. If a hunter is at an early stage in his career than any animal is and should be considered a trophy. If a hunter is out for meat then, likewise, any animal will do--although the hunter might better benefit from taking a mature doe if possible--which will usually be larger than a button buck. and if you can not distinguish between the two than accidentel shootings of buttons confused with a doe are bound to happen. I know I have accidentally shot them before (thinking they were a doe). However, I know some hunters where I grew up (WV) and still go back to hunt will take a small--SMALL--buck over a doe anytime--as a better trophy-and they may do this every year-and to my way of thinking they don't do this for any other reason than to prove they are successful whitetail buck hunters---Get your buck? Yeah, got my buck. (although he was a 4 inch spike). It really doesn't prove anything--the small bucks are usually the dumbest of all deer.--mature does are much smarter--although more plentiful. These are usually the same ones that complain about the quality of bucks they see--you can't shoot a big one if you shoot a little one first. and you can't always have big ones if you kill the majority of little ones. I'm just saying that a doe is every bit as good a "trophy" as a small buck--so (If you have a choice) why not let the small ones go and possibly get big--sorry--1 more point--It is awful hard to be a sincere trophy hunter when you know that everyone else in the area that you hunt would shoot the deer that you are passing on so IMHO group cooperation is the key.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

I try not to shoot one. .Comes down to if you DO NOT want to .ID your target before pulling the trigger or release. Especially in bow it is not difficult to ID a button.During gun it takes a little more patience ,but a button of course will be smaller,stubby nose and most the time have been kicked out of mommas herd. So they are alone.When ever I see a small deer alone and acting stupid I check it out real close before shooting

RE: I have a problem with this
 

i try not to shot BB i took a big 4 point buck ( it took me and a friend to get on the atv at lest 150 pounds guted ) the next day i saw a small 4 pointer like 15 feet from me i let it pass and then i saw what i thought was a doe killed it turned out to be a BB if i saw it was a BB i would have let him pass for next year's kill

RE: I have a problem with this
 

There are many good points in the posts above. However, I feel confident saying that there's very few people, if any, on here who hunts just for the head gear. We all eat the meat, and that's the real trophy (just like hillbillyhunter1 mentioned). I let BB and small head gear walk if I can help it. In Georgia we can legally take 10 antlerless and 2 antlered deer. I'll shoot a doe in a heart beat for some meat. I shot a deer earlier this season and I felt sick to my stomach when I saw the knots on it's head when I got to the deer. (Not all the time can you tell a difference) But that feeling only lasted about a week. That's when the meat processor called for me to pick up my deer. When I cooked up some cubed steak that night I felt a little better.

I hope we all find get our trophies this year.:D I'm still working on a nice sized buck with nice sized head gear.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

i just dont shoot fawns or lone anterless deer and i have never had to worry about shooting a button buck.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

If it is legal I have no problem with someone shooting one. I don't shoot them as we try to shoot mature bucks or does. I turn my scope up to 15 power and look at the head, you can tell if you look. Besides they are small and if you look you can tell they are immature.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

Opening week of our bow season I watched three deer feed there way to my stand. The only shot I had was at 30 yards and I took it. I walked up to my "doe" and my heart sank. I let anything under a six walk unless it is an older deer on his way down. I ask anyone who hunts this property to do the same and I would have been mad as heck if anyone else had did this! It happens to most of us. I have good eyes and I couldn't tell.

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RE: I have a problem with this
 

What do you care what another hunter kills ?
It's the shooter's business , and only his , what he aims at . People like you act like they own the deer . Grow up , not everybody hunts like you .

RE: I have a problem with this
 

I passed a buttonbuck and a 5 pointer opening day of firearms season in Illinois on Friday. My uncle killed the buttonbuck 30 minutes later when it walked past his stand. I let him walk because I was hoping there was a bigger deer behind him, not because of the "trophy" he may or may not become. My uncle was pleased with his deer, that is all that matters.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

If you are on private land with limited hunters and can manage the land you should care what is killed. If these variables don't work then its hard to say that BB wouldn't get killed as a spike the next year. But you could really consider the fact that if you want a mature deer, no matter where you hunt, you need to let the young ones walk.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

I've been hunting for 9 years, and killed a Button Buck in 2002. Killed a 3 point in 1997... and a nice sized Spike in 2000, and a big Spike this year. Think this one was 2 1/2 years old. 150 pound range. I shoot whatever I see. Last 2 years I only seen 4 Deer. I'd shoot a bigger Deer if I had my choice. But I shot a samll Doe Fawn on opening day, and that's the only Deer I'd seen all day. Went back after bringing that one in, and missed a bigger Doe. It was smarter and stayed behind a group of Tree's. I went again on day #3 and shot the big Spike, it came running by with a big Doe. I did'nt even notice the 7" Antler's until he was laying on his Side. Would'nt of mattered though. Someone had shot it a day or two prior about 6 " above a hind hoof. [8D] :)

RE: I have a problem with this
 

I nailed a button buck in PA last year. I thought it was a doe..until I went to gut it and it had a pecker.

If I knew it was a button buck... I would have let him go.

In PA and NJ a button buck is considered an "antlerless" deer.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

I personally don't believe that accidentally taking a button-buck is such a terrible thing. I'm not advocating that you go out gunning for them, but hear me out.

During their first year, button-bucks are run off by their mothers. They usually end up miles away. This is called dispersal and it occurs with almost every living thing on the planet. This keeps that little buck from breeding with his mother, sisters, aunts, etc. Therefore, that little button-buck will most likely never be seen on your property as a mature deer.

Just my 2 cents.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

Personal choice is personal choice. Not everyone has the same values and I'm not going to fault someone for harvesting legal deer. In our state they say we have twice as many deer as we should and we need to drastically reduce the herd. I got no beef with anyone shooting a BB. I realize wannabe rack hunters try to preserve as many deer as possible, but in a reduction you either shoot the BB or a mature doe. And either way you impact the future.... everybody knows that much.

Its 6 to one, half a dozen to another.

Just because some are trophy driven does not mean everyone is...

RE: I have a problem with this
 

Kill what you want, as long as it is legal. The people saying they cannot tell a little yearling buck from a doe really bothers me! Don't you spend ANY time in the woods, looking at animals? Body shape, movement, coloration! Don't these mean anything to you folks? Or do you belong to the "There's a deer!" BANG! group? How many of you carry binoculars and use them?

RE: I have a problem with this
 

sometimes there just isnt enough time to figure out what it is. I spend quite a bit of time in the woods and i cant tell the differance, not that i really care. I would really like to know how many people can tell the differance.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

I pass them whenever possible. if its got a flat head, i dont shoot. round head is a doe. i got one here yesterday because we were trying to get some does so we could get ouru buck tags and i really didn't try to shoot him. i was disgusted but oh well, one a year isn't going to kill us. i heard they make up a good percentage of the harvest here every year. most of the time i just pick out the mature does so i dont have to worry about shoooting a nub.
slayer

RE: I have a problem with this
 

I think you do belong to the "theres a deer, bang" group. Personally if I dont know what kinda deer I'm looking at, then I dont shoot. Its really that simple. If he/she runs off, o'well I'll get them next time.


Theres a thing called Binoculars, get a pair. Its really a very amazing "gadget" you just look through the eye piece and bang, you can tell if its a bb, doe, or 160"+ buck.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

I personally think that the magic of a huge buck is in it's rarity. If everybody let little bucks grow into big ones where would the thrill of the big buck be? There is way to much emphasis put on "trophy" bucks. I would say that somebody shooting a button buck on public land is as much, if not more then a "trophy" shot over a feeder. Some places import genetics, manage mineral and plots, establish feeders, use high tech digital cameras instead of scouting, then go sit in a heated treehouse with a high powered rifle and shoot there engineered 160" buck, big deal. Here in Montana baiting: illegal, Dogs: illegal, electric calling: illegal, digital camera scouting: illegal, as well it shoud be.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

So what if someone belongs to the "there's a deer...BANG" group? It was said earlier that it's nobody else's business. I spent about 8 years learning to hunt deer on a less than excellent 40 acre place before I shot my first deer, and I had that attitude for a while, but I was no less a careful hunter than the next guy. I was just ready to get my first one. After plenty of sweat, time, and effort, I got my first deer...about a 115 lb 8 point buck at less than 10 yards with a muzzleloader. You can bet I would have taken it if it were a doe or even probably a button becuase I had both tags and was a young guy hunting hard for my first deer. In the three years after that I have taken 3 more deer for a total of 4 deer becuase I finally learned how to get 'em, I found some better places, and I had a little luck thrown in. My best buck is still a 128 lb 7 pointer that I got this year, and I am happy to have him in my freezer. Trophies are relative to who gets them. Last year I pulled up to the the check station with a 94 lb doe. I was a happy guy becuase it was the first deer that I scouted, hunted, and drug out myself without other people around. It was a darn cold day and about the windiest day of the year, and I got myself sick from being outside hunting and tending to that deer, but I went out that day becuase I had that gut feeling that could fill my doe tag, and I did just that...now that is a trophy story and it would be the same if I had walked up to my doe to see it was a button buck. Good huntin' to all and fill your freezer with what suits you this year.

RE: I have a problem with this
 

My team is called "DOEmasters" ... 'nuff said...