I personally do not really care how old a deer is until after I tag it. Makes no difference in the world whether he is 3.5 or 7.5 to me.... I base what makes me happy by history with the animal (if any), the experience and his size...... Not how old he is. If he is 7.5 years old and his rack doesn't get me pumped up, I am not going to attempt to put my tag on him. If he is 3.5 and a slammer than the "game" is on... Sure age is cool to know after the kill, but is useless to me in defining a shooter buck. Odds are I will most likely never shoot a 2.5 year old because it takes a nice set of bone to get me excited... But never say never...? How do you feel?
A shooter buck is one I look at and think "damn" In my area, that translates to "mature", usually over 3.5 (not always though). I like to say that im holding out for a mature buck, because it sounds better then saying im holding out for a buck that makes me think damn :D You better bet the farm a 150" 2.5 is getting shot at, and the 100" 7.5 isnt.
I feel the same way as you Buckeye. If the hunt was exciting and I am happy with the appearance of the animal...what else really matters? Anyway, the bucks on my wall don't just have nice headgear...they were all 200+ lb dressed animals with big necks and thickly muscled throughout. So, i'm not too concerned that any of them were too young to kill.
When im in the field, and see I a buck that I dont have to look at and try and guess if he is a shooter, then thats good enough for me. I will take a buck with a 130 rack even if he was a 2.5 old versus a 110" run down old gramps that might be 5.5 plus. Im all about rack size, after all, when its on the wall thats what everyone looks at is the rack. I have never had one mounted and left the jaw bone in so people can see the teeth :D Dont get me wrong, im very intriged what age they are after I have one down. knowing that later does help me in the field somewhat. But when the body size makes you say woah then its indeed mature, rack size or not. Bone all the way baby!!
Couldn't agree more. Honestly I suck at aging a deer and could really care less. I look at inches and if I feel like shooting it or not based on what I think is a shooter. I can tell 1.5 and 2.5 pretty good. Once it hits 3.5 + i could care less because the rack "usually" dictates I want to shoot it.
Sure I like big antlers, but I really like older bucks. Could be because there are so few around here. I would much rather kill a 110" 5.5 year old buck than a 130" 2.5. Those big, old bodied bucks really impress me. Again, could be because I never see them in person.
I agree 100%. To me, its about the rack....and though my area has smaller racks, its unlikely that a buck I'll shoot is less than 3.5. Could be though, and I don't care!
I agree with your assessment buckeye. While I pull a jaw bone on every doe that I kill at the request of the local game biologist, (he is tracking doe age/weights), he could care less about any buck data. Therefore, I have never bothered attempting to age a buck after I shot him. I think the two bucks that I have killed this year were a 3.5 and 4.5, but that is based on my assessment of the bucks' physical attributes. Heck they could both be 2.5's or 5.5's, really doesn't matter. I've already shot them. Now, if when I make my field assessment and I think a buck is a 2.5 will I pass? If he is a 125", yeah I'll pass if I think he is only 2.5. But if he is 140" plus,(not likely to be a 2.5 but theoretically speaking) I am not going to worry what age he is.
I tried understanding the field aging thing just because it was the cool thing to do. Never once in a tree have I ever considered or cared how old a buck was until after the encounter was over & I'd take a lame guess at age to tell people I saw a XX inch X year old.
I'm the same way, sorta. The vast majority of the bucks I see, I won't shoot...so I do try to evaluate them at that point. On the bucks I have shot...I've never tried to figure out how old they were first - they were big enough rack wise to take.
Anymore I have actually cared less about age, several years ago I would actually think about it... anymore it just seems to take away from the actual hunt for me. I may be the only guy who has transitioned from the brown its down to the "trophy buck" back to the brown its down mentality. I just honestly couldn't care less anymore about how old a buck is.... I am so happy to just go sit in a stand and see a buck (any buck) and have my heart start pounding... it is something that 5 years ago didn't occur. I would be happy to see a buck, but if it wasn't a "shooter" I would remain calm, now.... no matter what the buck is, my heart pounds wether or not I actually decide to take the shot or not. I passed a few bucks up this year that were bigger than the buck I ended up shooting, but it just didn't "feel right".... when my buck came in everything felt right... my heart was pumping, the way he came into range was exciting, and I loved the hunt... that is what truly means the most to me know. I couldn't care less about the age or antlers, it's all about the experience... it may sound like a cop-out to alot of guys, but its the truth. If I "had to" shoot a big buck this year I would have hunted a different property more than the two sits that I had, but it just didn't mean anything to me as I just didn't "feel it" while set up in those woods.
Our good friend Mike may not dismiss any buck another hunter takes in that age group, but even he likes to shoot one with a nice rack... Remember him passing Schaffer? The 8" spread buck in the video? 'Crick wrote everything I needed to and saved me some typing. :D As well as most of the other guys...
True dat.. true dat.. But I will be the first to admit.. he was my first passing of a 3.5 yr old whitetail. But if he was a 4 or 5 yr old.. it would have been lights out. I like to think I'm evolving as a hunter too. Nowadays certain 3 yr olds are off limits to me.. and hopes are that within the next season most every 3 yr old will be off limits to me. That's just evolution I think. I want to take more 4 yr olds.. and I know I can't do that if I take 3 yr olds. I'm getting older.. Lol... with kids on the way in the near future I'm gonna stop jumping to new properties as much as I have in the past. My first buck was a 3 yr old this year.. and while happy with him I am.. as he will certainly make a fine meal.. I am honestly disappointed in myself that I took him. He had potential. But I'm still too weak on those.. but getting better. I admit my own faults.. my years in the woods have put some vanity in me. I wanna give the buck every opportunity to grow now. I still have great respect for any hunter who takes a 3 yr old or older.. just I want more now. Getting back to the original Q.. I enjoy to age the deer well before I even pick up my bow. That's just the way I am. Give me body mass and weight anyday. Nothing like taking a 250+ pound whitetail.
I agree with everything you say Mike... except I've almost got leaving the 2.5s alone while you're working on the same with 3.5s... :p A couple more of them and hopefully it'll be completely out of my system. :D
I hunt by age for the most part. We scout looking for older bucks. I would really like to shoot a 4.5 or older buck and that generally is the goal every year. Rack size definitely comes into it as does history. But for the most part age is the starting point. This fall I hunted a 3.5 year old hard because his rack was damn nice. I can imagine how big he would be next year but he was in a bad area and probably won't see next year. Had I not missed he wouldn't have seen next year !! He is the first 3.5 year old buck that interested me in the last 10 or so years. I don't feel I lowered my standards and could care less. I just would rather see him on my wall then someone else's. I passed a 5.5 year old buck this fall that I would have shot if he was in velvet. He looks great in velvet !! He doesn't have a great rack with short tines although his brow tines are good. We have 3 years worth of history with him. 2.5 sets of sheds to boot over the last 3 years. Now I have trail cam pictures of him with his big arsed neck. I would probably shoot him now if given the chance again. I don't regret passing on him earlier. The only thing that has changed since the last encounter is his big neck. If he had a busted up rack I wouldn't even give him a thought. I"ll shoot what makes me happy at the time. Tim
