Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Would you let him walk or pull the trigger?

I would shoot, at my leases anyway

I'm shootin.'

He'd be in the sights.

Depends on your lease, surrounding pressures, goals winter mortality risks etc.

He is likely not topped out yet (or at least what I see from the picture body wise) but man he is pretty so...

If he has a g4 on his right side (can't tell from pic) he will likely touch the high 130s possible 140.. I would guess 4.5 yr old. But all this is just a guess from a single picture so it could be off.

Any more pics?

Here is another angle

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/galleries/12448381#Post12448381

I will also add we've got him on camera since early season and he's run down a bit from the rut. I'm glad he's breeding.

I hunt public land in Ohio----I'm shooting.

I'd have to light him up. But I've never hunted on places that I saw lots of grown deer. I have hunted in the Texas Hill Country where you see lots of deer but not very many with any age.

Young deer...probably 3.5yrs old. Needs at least two more years to be a really good one. Let him spread those genes around. 10 pointers don't grow on trees. powdr

BANG! What was the question?

Old70

relatively young deer... that said, I'd shoot him in SC

That reminds me of my oldest son's 1st buck when he was 10. Two bucks came in and a smaller 6 point walked immediately to his shooting lane.

As I was saying, "Hold off, the bigger one is right behind him," his gun went BOOM. Dead 6 point- he wasn't waiting.

I would shoot without second thought. I'm primarily a meat hunter, and hunt public land. So, something like that would be a real trophy to me.

In CT he'd be down

Boom!, just Boom!

Id let him walk without a second thought as I think he is a 4yr old so he needs another year, but it depends on the size buck you are happy with....Good luck....Hb

I'd shoot in a hart beat.

In Tennessee? If you're not shooting then you have one heck of a place. He may well look like a 3.5 year old to some but I'd bet if you pulled his jaw-at least in the part of TN that I hunt, he'd most likely be 4.5yrs old.

I wouldn't shoot him where I hunt in MS and he's a 3.5 yr old class buck there. If he makes two more years he'll be special. A buck living an extra two years where I hunt (the first morning I ever hunted there two bucks were laying by my parking spot, heads gone and still steaming. Discouraging...) what you end up shooting has so much to do with where you hunt and how it's hunted around you.

I want to shoot deer with some age on them but if you're holding out for a 160" in an area that historically has never kicked one out be ready to not pull the trigger very often.

^ this right here!

It’s a hell of a trophy to me.

He’s 4 and a half. He won’t get a day older though if I get a shot.

He would be a shooter around here...

Yeah he looked 4 to Me but Hey, if your happy Im happy for ya...Good luck....Hb

Depends on the location...

Private land, depends on the owners goals/ directions. On family land that guy is a walker, but I've shot several 8 points older than that guy as cull bucks. 10's and above we check age reeeeeeal goood before pulling the trigger on. Good genes are hard to come by. Skinny 10's get passes usually...


Public land, bang bang bang.... aim for leg bones if the angles aren't good =]

I hunt in a QDM area of the state. Bucks have to have at least 3 point on one side to be legal, if you have a two buck license, then your second buck needs at least 4 points on one side.
Took a nice 8pt. this year, 18 1/2" spread and estimated live weight was 210lb's + ( est. by DNR Biologist) they said between 4 1/2 & 5.
This was taken on small private property surround by 1000's of acres of National Park.
He was lucky to have lived as long as he did.
Yes, I would have shot that buck.

I have the biggest tract nearby and it’s not huge. The point is there are lots of places to hunt nearby and no one else is using trigger control on him.Plus there are hundreds of trail cam photos and he’s the biggest by a long shot. I’d love to have him live a few more years and spread his genes. However, he’s too good to pass if given the opportunity.

He'd be hanging on the meat pole.





P

Hard to let that one walk, but going away always looks bigger. Probably a 3 1/2 , but certainly hard to pass.

B A N G !!! more than likely.

Circumstances, situation, land control etc could change that.

If OTOH, I didn't feel it was likely to have another opportunity - BANG !

Jerry

Definitely a shooter buck where I hunt.

Haven't seen one that good this season.
I'd shoot him..........twice

We had one this year almost identical to the buck in the photo and our neighbor shot him. If you hunt small parcels of land, ours is 85 acres, you shoot him or your neighbor will.

I have a override switch in my mind that controls my trigger finger sometimes it gets a glitch but it would have went off on him

We hunt two places. Our home is on 43 acres and we have another 147 acres that's half an hour away. Most of the land bordering our farm and home is hunted. He'd be the best buck either of us has taken, so yeah, we'd shoot him and get to look at his head every day shortly thereafter.

Last season, i hunted this guy out at our farm through bow season and up until the last day of rifle season - saw him once, moving at 250 yds and didn't have time to get on him. We knew he made it through all of our hunting seasons because we got him on trail cam in March, but we never saw him again either while hunting or on trail cam. Who knows, he may still be out there.

For us, at home no question he walks. At the lease where the genetics are not as good, he walks too. Have seen plenty like that this year so far. Not quite old enough for us and the deer pictured is not old enough for us either.

That said its not my call and not a question I would ask of others. Make a decision and run with it.

The one good thing about not shooting is he is out there breeding more hopefully and getting older is at least a 50/50 shot.

After careful analysis of the body size and rack formation I would absolutely have a panic attack and shoot the first opportunity I had. Truthfully I would just say to myself, that's a big un and drop the hammer.

I’m shooting no doubt. I don’t need to ask anyone what I consider a shooter. Not that deer anyway.

I dont get it, why post the thread then?.......Hb

A lot would have to do with what I wanted for that piece of land as far as herd management goes, public land I'd bust him, but, I havenet hunted public land whitetails for over 25 years or more.

I would definitely shoot. I am a meat hunter and he's got plenty of meat. The rack is a cool bonus.

Shoot

Shoot!!

Personally, I hunt meat. That guy would soon be in my freezer, no doubt about it.