Why does everyone seem to care how old a deer is? If I see a buck I want to shoot, I don't care if its 2 or 10 years old.
It's the new measure of how good you are We have age standard Location standard Public VS Private standard DPSM mile standard It's time you get with BBM, you are not living up to the hype
Because AGE is the great equalizer, for hunters who live in states where bucks cant grow to 200"... At least thats that ive been told and read... I might be hunting for a mature buck, but if i ever see a 130" 2.5 im shooting...no questions asked
It's like the George Foreman Deluxe Grill with Vegatable Steamer ...originally a good tool, that's out reached it's goal.
when I grab a pack of meat outta teh fridge I can't tell the age, also can't tell if its a buck or doe... cuz the only reason it matters to anyone is so they can measure their pernis against everyone elses...
So, as long as you seen a deer was at least 3.5, living in dense cover, with DPSM of 5, on public land, you're good
My sentiments exactly, whichis why I stay out of the "who's deek is bigger/older" threads. Oops. I meant deer :D
I agree 100%. If I like how a buck looks and kill it...why should I give a dam how old some test says it is after the fact? It's still the same buck that i decided is a good deer.
This argument works both ways. If it doesn't matter to you.. so be it. For me.. I like to know.. it matters to me. The real question should be.. why do you care what another cares about? I don't care what.. where.. or how old you shoot. And you shouldn't care what.. where.. or how old I shoot. If a discussion comes up that anyone doesn't like or care about.. we should all learn to just ignore it. Not look at another with judging eyes.
Let me add on a serious note, I am very intrigued with the age of deer in differenet locations. I find it cool at deer from the same state, same age can be so different. The things I mention about public and DPSM really do interest me, because learning to hunt the MI I have learned nothing about deer. For me it's about educating my ignorant self from years of knowing nothing. If a 150'' 2.5 walk by, I think in all honesty most of us would shoot it. I know I would, but I have set a goal to try and shoot 3.5 and above. The more pictures and ages I can get and see here, the better I will be in the woods. I am going to send the jaw bone in on the buck I just shot. I know what I guessed, but I would like to know.
Whoa there, I'm not judging anyone here. I'm just curious why people seem so obsessed about something that was virtually a non issue a decade ago. I don't care what anyone shoots or passes, makes me no difference at all.
And this is very similar to how I see it. I know that taking a deer at age 3 is counterproductive to the kind of whitetail I wish to see. I simply cannot judge what a 3 year old is in the field unless I am always learning. My shed collecting.. jaw-bones.. friend kills.. etc.. are FUN to me. If it's not your bag of tricks.. why do you care what I do. I don't what you do. Unless you kill 2 year olds.. then complain when you don't see 4 year olds.. then I casually laugh at you. Hey.. I'm just being honest.. and borderline prickish.:D
I think you misunderstood the context in which I was writing.. perhaps I should put more smilies at the end of sentences. That way we all know I'm NEVER in a ominous mood.. which everyone always seems to think. But.. if it made no difference.. why even start the thread? Or.. do you just like asking rhetorical questions?
For me it was more learning about what I did not know. When Uncle Trigger whack his buck they were all talking about age and culling. I remember being part of those coversations ten years ago, because I did not know. Pretty much every "fact" they stated was wrong, and those were the same "facts" I stated ten years ago All joking aside, I think the age thing is a sort of a limpness test these days. I use it for sure, when I look at others bucks from other states, I also look at the things I listed, but I do it to judge where I am at against my goals.
Things change i guess, I didnt hunt a decade ago, but alot of the guys i know and are on the department with did (more so then compared to now), and the mentality was if its brown its down. And deer drives. Around here, there have always been HUGE bucks, because if a deer made it past that 3.5 threshold back then (80's through about 2000), he usually ended up dying of old age. Very few bowhunters, and only a week of gun season. In my township of Chatham, its the younger generation (mine ~ 2000's) that has brought in bowhunting besides a few hardcore older gentleman. Id would say that no management was done up until about 2004 in my township of Ohio. And now most guys pass up anything smaller then 120". Creates a very nice setting for seeing mature (3.5+) whitetails. To each his own.
