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Trail cam

I suspect I would shoot.

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.

He looks like a very nice 4 yr old to me, he is a beautiful buck with loads of potential so it would be a shame to take him now when he is only a year away from being a beast, but keep in mind that very few hunters will let this deer walk.....If it was Me id let him walk without a second thought but its your decision and in the end it really just depends on what caliber buck you want........Good luck......Hb

The difference one year can make on a buck from 4 to 5 can amaze you.I saw one on a ranch I guide and hunt on go from a body weight of around 140lbs and a rack that would score around 125 inches,to a body weight of over 200lbs and a rack that will score over 150 inches.This buck is not on feed just native forage.

Bang!

NO

Bang, Bang, Bang!

KC

Me too. That must be on some kind of private ranch for it to even be a question. (Unless the OP meant from that angle. No, I wouldn't take and arse shot.)

It depends on your area. If you shoot them when they are little, they don't get to be big. I passed a 10 last year that didn't give me a good shot angle. I've let little ones go thinking that they will be really good in a year or two and they walk two hundred yards and someone else shoots them. I don't hunt that kind of an area any more.

Still an hour early. We can shoot 1 hour before sunrise.
But if I see him during legal time, I'll kill him.

Yes.

I hunt heavily hunted public land in Pennsylvania. The antler restrictions have helped buck mature some but I have only rarely passed up a legal buck here. Early in the season I am a little bit picky but once rifle opens I take what I can get. If I pass on a 6 pointer the next guy will shoot it. If I owned a couple hundred acres here, I would be picky and let the bucks grow more.

No "right" answer, just options.

Where I hunt, we can pass on such a deer, let him grow and see what he'll do. We have a secluded situation, prime Delta hardwoods, good food sources both natural and planted.

If there was hunting pressure and he was going to be shot if I let him walk, I'd drop him.

But, I agree with posters. He's going to grow, he's probably 4 1/2 and will be a big, mature buck with an even better rack in a year or two.

Observations indicate that native WT's reach their prime around 6 or 7 yrs of age, based on trail cams and following certain bucks over time.

DF

Depends on the situation. I videoed this 4 yr old 8 point, probably around 145", this past weekend. He saw me on the ladder stand and froze. I could have shot him as easily as I videoed him. He's fairly well protected from being shot, a similar buck at about this stage of development at 4 turned into a near 200 class trophy at 6 and was harvested.

If you can manage them, then managing is the way to go. If just out in the woods and this one comes by, he's in the cooler.

BTW, this photo is an iphone shot of the TV screen as we were watching the video. Thus you see the Nov date and the quality isn't the best.

DF

DF, that is a spectacular animal. You are blessed to have that kind of opportunity to let him grow.

Yes, no doubt a blessing.

Even though a tall, wide rack looks pretty flashy, it takes a whopper of an 8 point to score 150. That one doesn't make it, maybe 145 at best.

I've seen main frame 8's add points as they mature and turn into real trophies. This one has that potential...

DF

Here's an iphone shot off the TV screen from a trail cam shot of this trophy. You can see reflections of the camp windows. At 4 this one looked very similar to the 8 pt. pictured above. At 7 he was in the 200" class, was harvested two years ago.

He had walked under a ladder stand where my bud's daughter was sitting. She said he almost gave her a heart attack, thus his name, Heart Attack. She's the one who eventually shot him, he hangs on her wall.

So, the point being, if you can let them grow, keep the neighbors/poachers, etc., from shooting them before they're ready, one like the OP posted has potential. Just needs time. Unfortunately, time is something they all don't all get or can get.

DF

Dirtfarmer:

I don't dispute your analysis of the score on these two bucks, but, it points out the huge differences in regional growth. Up here in Canada, a 4.5 yr old would easily be 200 lbs and most would crowd 250. If the racks in your pictures are 150"-ish, these deer weigh 125-150 lbs? If I saw a rack that proportion to a mature whitetail around here, I'd probably poop my pants! We have "rights based" harvesters here who can LEGALLY night light and don't pay much attention to private property. Not that many 6-7 yr old whitetails here.

Only thing I can add, is in areas you think he'll get shot across the fence, I learned a long time ago, that if I shot him, he sure wouldn't live to breed and if I let him walk, at least he had a chance to keep breeding and living. A good deer breeding is also a plus. Maybe even more so down the road than shooting a decent one today.

But I totally get that some areas are different than others.

We are lucky we can kill culls and does and I'll shoot does all day long for the freezer and never even have a desire to shoot a buck unless its a cull or huge. And I"m probably maxed out on the huge part so I'll likely shoot culls and does the rest of my life.

Definitely give him a pass. And when you do, send him over my way, as I'd drop that sucker in an instant.