nice buck, congrats ! key word there...younger deer. I think there should also be an age clause that supercedes that inch minimum, IF...... that deer is of an "over the hill" age, his chances of ever growing bigger antlers than he already has are slim. to charge extra for that is bad business. did this outfitter have any trail cam pics and pre-instructions on what deer are shootable or not ? he should have given you some "guidence" not just land to hunt on or.... I could be wrong
Glad I read that you sign a legal contract before I told you to tell the outfitter "pound sand." Congrats on the nice buck!
The problem with that is it opens the door to people misjudging a deer's age. Judging a buck on the hoof at the moment of truth is tough even for experienced hunters. Many people who hunt with outfitters don't have much experience in hunting older age class animals, or hunting at all. Now this doesn't apply to ALL people who hunt with outfitters, but a fair amount of them. Expecting someone to judge a deer's age who may not have shot a lot of deer is a difficult thing to do. Sitting behind our keyboards and looking at trail cam photos it's easy to say "Oh, he's mature and on his way down hill". Being in a stand in a new place for the first time and having a buck run in on you and expecting someone to age him with any sort of accuracy is pretty close to impossible.
Measure it sooner rather than later. Unless the outfitter said it needed to be official drying period.
beautiful buck... regardless of score. i'd pay the extra $500... esp if he was my biggest. It happens... looks mature... that's all i'd care about on a trip like that.
Congrats! Bummer about the 500 but in the big scheme of things it's the thrill hunt that counts. Rules are rules. You'll get a bigger one next year!
No I did not, picking him up from the processor tomorrow and I will probably measure him then myself. I appreciate all the positive comments guys, you're right, my memory and that buck are worth way more than $500!
I think it's awesome that you got a really nice buck! Congrats man, you should be proud! Now it's hard to put myself in your shoes cuz I don't judge scores on bucks all that well, but I would be really hesitant about shooting a buck if I had to score one over 125. I mean in the back of my mind of every buck I see I'm thinking, man is he big enough? When normally hunting I know right away whether I'm gonna shoot and no question on the score. Knowing the stiff penalty I'd be probably too cautious to the point where it wouldn't be that enjoyable for me. But that's me. Congrats on your trophy, he is a really nice one!
CONGRATS!!!!! A $500 "reward". You are paying for the feeling you got when you let the arrow fly. It might have been an expensive deer, but now you know what is right under 120". He has good mass but not time length or number of points to meet that minimum. You did an excellent job though.
I agree with all of that also, same as judging inches on the hoof, it does take experience, and all the more reason the outfitter should offer some "guidence" (guide), not just land to hunt. if he doesn't want you shooting certain deer, show pics of the shooters to his clients. if he's not doing that, I'll assume he likes that extra $500
Congrats on the buck. But, it looks closer to 110"-115" than 125". You will owe the outfitter the $500 I am sorry to say.
When I went with an outfitter a couple years ago - they had a spread minimum. It was my first hunt where I saw actual deer, big deer, close. So, needless to say I was in more awe then anything. The buck I shot was legal - but I would have never guessed it. Congratulations on your deer! Did your Dad get anything?
Great buck! I don't think he will be close enough to score 125 though. Although that depends if it gross or net score.
No way an outfitter can show clients the shooters only. Just isn't practical. He does what most do, and the only decent way to control the quality of deer taken, a minimum score. I run a lot of cameras and never get pictures of all the shooters. Outfitters are covering a lot more ground than I am. He doesn't like the $500, he likes to have mature bucks with high scoring racks on his properties so he can make much more than the $500. Busting on the outfitter is pointless. He is just running a business and has a clear set of rules to follow. No different than having to wear shirt and shoes to get a cheeseburger at McDonald's. That type of arrangement has been around since outfitting in big buck states started. A lot of private landowners and leases operate under very similar conditions.
Congratulations on your deer! Did your Dad get anything?[/QUOTE] Not yet, it's our last day here today, fingers are crossed. He ended up passing a borderline buck the day after I shot mine. It's been slow the past few days with the hot weather, but he is sticking it out and we're having fun!
Looks a lot like a buck I took a few years back...believe it came in just shy of 120. Awesome buck none the less though and congrats!
Looks like I would be out 500$. I never saw one that big so I would have a smaller bank acct. Fine deer ether way congrats.
