I am in your boat too. At a fairly young age I have already killed a 171, so I consider that my buck of a lifetime. I am going to try like hell to better that, but I won't be mad if I don't. Not many bucks this big are killed in my hunting area either, but a couple bigger ones in recent years have been taken. The possibility is there. My goals now are just to become the best hunter I can possibly be. Size makes no difference to me as long as it is a big mature whitetail buck. My goal this year is a 3 year old, and I hope to bump up to 4 and 5 year olds as I get older and better. I see it like this, whether its a 5 year old 135" with poor genetics or a 180" with great genetics, none the less, its still a five year old whitetail buck and winning that battle would make me proud no matter what he scores.
My trophy standards will change from year to year based on the hit list bucks I have and what I've taken in the past. I want to continue challenging myself and raising my standards, but ultimately cannot hold out for deer that aren't around. Ultimately it comes down to what makes me happy. This year I'm really holding out for 145+ and its feasible right now as I have a few over that running around this year. BEyond that m standards are based on age s I will only shoot 3.5's or alder. I'd shoot only 5.5s if everyone else would too, but thats not the case as of right now.
For me, a buck of a lifetime is one that will feed my family until next year. If we are talking antlers I think 150"+ would be sweet.
My buck of a lifetime happened in high school. It was a 125” deer that I stuck the second day of slug season in SW MN. The time and energy I put into hunting that deer, my parents coming out to my stand afterwards to congratulate me and take pictures, are all things that will not be soon forgotten. With any luck I will someday shoot a bigger deer than this, but I can't imagine anything could be more memorable.
Gosh I feel so left out! I've never even seen a deer 125 plus. All this 150 to 200 talk, maybe I should hunt by you guys! Anyway I think I'm happy with any buck I shoot regardless of size.
