Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting I just don't care how old a buck is

This "book" that you speak of should never be a measure of success.
In many instances, it's a measure of whether lady luck has sided with someone or not.

Mr Bird, thanks for your input and reasoning.

I have had a ‘little’ support here on the ‘fire’ per shooting FAWNS, to be pointed —DINKS.
Whether fawns or young ( small ) bucks they CAN’T grow UP after being kilt ‘.

It makes NO sense to me to kill fawns OR small bucks. You or someone else stated the obvious earlier. Older deer yield MORE meat.

I don’t want to be misinterpreted, I’m NOT a trophy hunter !!!!!! I’m a miserable failure - 45 years of deer hunting and 0 book trophies.
Wherever I hunt I want bucks to be bigger and more of them. Killing nubbins REDUCES the number of antlered bucks where you hunt.

I don’t think that should be hard to comprehend.

Thnx Again

Jerry

This "book" that you speak of should never be a measure of success.
In many instances, it's a measure of whether lady luck has sided with someone or not.

I've never even had a buck's rack measured.

ME EATHER IF IT IS LEAGLE AN I WANT TO KILL IT I WILL F SHOW HUNTING

Mike -

""A 30-30 is all you need, if you use a 30-06 you'll just hit a tree" -My Grandpa"
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I have been proving that wrong since 1974. The last time I hunted OR shot a thutty- thutty was 1973.

My sig line WILL say, " I never wished I had more arch in my bullet path."
I've been thinking about that since the first time you quoted your G pa. I don't know of 1, single, advantage having steeper arches in trajectory. I don't try to shoot over limbs, bushes, or rocks.

I have never seen a flat trajectory to be a hindrance or handicap.

Just trying friendly reasoning.

Your Friend

Jerry

In Colonial times there were hunters. Folks that were good at it,and provided for the encampment or settlement. Woodsmen. Now everyone with the means to participate in "hunting" wants his or her bit of control over the outcome. When I was young it was all about success. If you weren't successful every year,you weren't a good hunter. News flash. Not everyone is. Just like Colonial times. So,through time we have groomed things to make it easier for everyone to be successful. Like it or not,it was monetarily driven.

The video industry was the best thing ever to help drive the new age of hunting. Everyone wanted to be like Wilbur,or have their "Monster buck moment". Cameras,tree stands,video equipment,calls. All being dragged into the brush. Deer have been groomed for size,shape,age base. All to satisfy our burgeoning egos. Millions of dollars a year dumped into the "sport" of hunting.

Now anyone can do it. So all we have left is judging each other. The age of the deer isn't the real question here. It's the approval of our peers. Again,thanks to the hunting video industry.

Being on the back side of it all now,"old". I hunt to be a hunter. Never used an elevated stand or camera. Not going to start now. It's not about deer age or size. It's not about filling the freezer. It's about squeezing some enjoyment and quiet time out of life. Rest assured,if my loved ones were hungry,deer would die,regardless of their size or shape. I know how to do it. Hey,I use to watch hunting videos you know. Deer weren't put here for me to "manage",but somehow I manage to get my share.

Get up. Get out and hunt! Concern yourself with your own ethics and peace of mind. The rest is bull chit.

Concur, but "tag soup" is not a good excuse to shoot a young buck, except for those at subsistence level. For them, whole different standard is in play and I have no qualms whatsoever.



Obviously the old saying is too subtle and whistled past the point. Restated - quit shooting young bucks. They cannot grow up to be a big deer, whether body or rack size, if they are killed when they are young.

Yes, totally understand about limiting the population to the carrying capacity. In most scenarios, but not all, the most effective way to reduce the population is to reduce does. I've been asked to help cull does on a large property, over 10,000 acres, a few times when they were having a hard time hitting the required numbers to meet the management goals. We'd shoot and fill the back of a pickup bed with does, take them in to be cleaned, go out do it again, and again. Sounds like fun, but it turns into challenging work in a hurry. None of the meat went to waste. It was given directly to families in the area who were quite happy to have it. Same goes for pigs most of the time.

Without question, management criteria need to fit the specific locale, but rarely does that warrant shooting young bucks by which I mean fawns, one and two year olds.

As for kids having fun, the ones that hunt with me follow the same criteria as the adults on the property. They have plenty of opportunity shooting does and every pig we see. If they shoot a buck, they know they met the same standards as the grownups.

Never heard any of them complain and they seem to have lots of fun being treated like a grownup. Have heard a few grown men whining, and I'd prefer that my nephews not grow up to be those men.

My then 11 year old nephew shot his first buck, which was a mature 10 that went 148" and 220 pounds. Right place at the right time for sure, but the foundation for success was the property owner not letting people shoot the young bucks. It was a relatively small property too, just a few hundred acres of mesquite in the middle of a some big ag fields. The deer had lots to munch on at night, and spent the days in this wooded property. So even on smaller properties, letting them grow up can pay dividends.

Spikes are worthy of a thread unto themselves, but the spikes I see all are yearlings and I give them a pass.

If I need to put meat in the freezer, it is whatever fits the management goals for the property with few exceptions, such as shooting a buck with a broken leg this year.

I have hunted on two properties where they wanted any deer seen shot to bring the numbers down, but those were very unusual circumstances.

One of the better criteria put in place on one NWR where I used to hunt was the "earn a buck" rule. Hunters had to bring in a doe before they were given a buck tag. Worked pretty well at cutting numbers.

To me a meat deer is a medium sized doe.