Strange that none of the people, that seem to think all deer will be great bucks if let live long enough, have commented on my deer picture. Their silence is very loud. miles
Miles, that photo of your buck spoke a lot to me, and I applaud your attitude. A few years back a yearling bull elk running this area was wearing a very lopsided set - normal vs. measly. We watched him grow over the next two or three years and he became a FINE bull - very big and well-formed like the others in these parts. However, that rack always was odd - got to be heavy six one one side but scraggly on the other.
Normally I don't hunt this unit because it requires muzzle loader but decided to try to nail him for the meat in the Fall. Maybe some of my impetus was to "cull" him to help the pool - can't claim that but it would have been a good thing as well. But, I did not draw the needed tag for that hunt.
The following Spring while chasing wild turkeys I came across his carcass near a spring just a mile or two from our Campfire site - shot in his prime and left to die - entire elk left for the scavengers and the rack undisturbed. It was sickening in the moment. Who knows whether a rack hunter saw the good side, downed him and then walked away when he saw the other side - or if it was done as a "culling" act. Either way, the waste of that meat was bad news. Enjoy eating that nice buck.
