I checked a trial cam yesterday and had this buck just a few yards from my stand. I say he’s a 3 year old and a shooter, my dad and brother think he’s younger and should be left alone. Just curious about what you guys think.
Where I live 9 out of 10 would shoot him. Personally if you have enough land and you know he will survive, let him go. He has a better rack coming next year. I think he is 2.5 or 3.5 years old. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
I believe you shouldn’t hunt to satisfy anyone else but yourself. Unless there is some type of agreement on managing your area, you should feel confident in your decision and shoot when you’re ready.
I don’t get into the whole antler thing, and it’s not me shooting or letting him pass, but my opinion, 2.5 yr old. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We have multiple bigger deer on camera and more tend to show up as the season goes on and we do not care about antlers as far as score goes. That’s why I mentioned his age. We tend to have a lot of these scrubby mountain bucks who have larger bodies and small antlers and I thought to take him out of the gene pool
Brisket and neck development may seem to be that of a 3, but belly and backend say 2.5. 2.5 is my final answer on age. But on shooting an animal, it's opportunity and personal decision... Unless you're on private land with rules or hunting high fence.
This is the biggest we have here so far, but like I said it’s still early for this property also I have one camera that’s been unchecked for about 3 weeks I think
For more context this is a lease near our house that’s about 120 acres. My dad, brother and I have shot our share of young deer and have a soft rule about only killing older deer. We would be happy for each other no matter what size/ age the deer is and all is in good fun. Also I appreciate the growing sentiment about shooting what makes you happy vs what others think you should shoot
