To shoot or not QDM- Picture of deer, should I shoot? I need advice. This is my first year with a trail camera and we caught this deer on film (err SD card!). The rack isn't huge, but is very unique and my cousain who is a die hard optimist and says this is just one year away from being a true monster! However we hunt in a super high pressure hunting area and only have 200 acres (100 cover, 100 fields) surrounded by other hunting parties on all sides. We didn't see this deer last year, why should we be so confident we're going to see it next year on our property. If I have a clean broadside shot I'm not sure I can passi it up. But I'll be hearing my cousin's dissapointment while I"m taking aim... he looks good from behind...but the front pics make me even wonder...start to regret this trail cam thing. In the old days we wouldn't have so much time to think about this stuff. I'm taking a vote...shoot or wait?
That's a young deer, depending on where you are most likely 2 1/2 years old. I don't know your situation but I know if I owned 200 acres I'd be praying he makes it another year or 2.... If he stays healthy he should be huge!
He looks older than the 2.5's around here, where are you located? The next to last pic makes him look young, but the others....not so much, IMO. He's very unique, I'd probably shoot him.
Yup this sums it up but if it was on my property I would wait 1 more year he looks young.IOn the other hand if this is your biggest buck then give him the shaft,
We're in middle Wisconsin. He would make good company with my two biggest bucks, probably a tie (probably same age) but this guy has odd points all over and two "figher jet intake" holes, one on each main beam... We've always hypothesized that deer don't really live on our property...that we are more of a pass-through zone ...but who know we make all kinds of uneducated theories about hunting...we convienient change them to favor what we need
what Scott said ... however if he were to come by MY stand ... I would throw an arrow his way ... I'd prolly just nick him, but he would get one heck of a cut
I'm not sure I could pass on him as he'd be my biggest, one of the reasons I wouldn't mind getting a cheap make-do cam. Get a pic of a bigger one and it can help curb the temptation. He's definitely a nice deer now, but the potential to be something special is there as well. On a side note, that buck needs to teach some things to the rest. I don't think you could ask for a better series of pics to get a good look at the head gear.
This is for sure, I realized a few years ago that I was shooting smaller bucks to just to show the other hunters in my group what I saw...share the deer with them. I started carrying a small camcorder and recording the smaller bucks and other deer, and it has become a tradition to sit around after the hunt and share videos of what we saw. It has made it MUCH easier to pass on mediocre deer becuase I can still show my buddies how close I got. Also getting the camera out and in record mode, removing lense cover etc. is a good practice for moving while there are deer near me. The trail cam just takes this to the next level. It would be easier to pass on this guy now that everyone has seen him, especially if I got him on video and showed that I could've shot him...but then I'd be riddled with thought about the neighbor shooting him or getting hit by a car. I can't win either way, with all my bucks, even the biggest ones, I go through a small sadness afterwards thinking nobody will ever know what the deer could've been.
I'm gonna agree with the common thoughts here. He's young, he's cool, he'd be nicer next year. BUT, your 200 acres aren't gonna hold him. We have 175 so I know your plight. If he trips your trigger, kill him and give no thought to what others (your cuz) thinks. Good luck.
I really doesn't matter what any of us think....you need to decide if this a buck you would be happy with...if the answer is yes then you should take him if given the opportunity
My opinion...shoot what makes you happy. I also wouldn't base my decision on what other hunters might do. If you shoot and kill it, its 100% dead. You can't reverse that. If you choose not to release an arrow, he has a chance. If you would be happy to kill him...then kill him. Its just a deer.
I can understand both sides, yours and your cousins. If he lives to next year, we will likely grow, but, he is nice this year. I would shoot him. I know others that would not, in hopes of 'next year'.. If he does it for you, shoot. It really doesnt matter what anyone else thinks.
3 1/2 year old.....if it makes you happy---knock him down He is a 3 1/2 year old. It is my experience that maturity comes after 3 1/2 years old and a buck will put the most inches on during the 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 year marks. If you decide to shoot him remember he is not coming back to the woods to grow bigger. He is what he is.....if he makes you happy when he is alive don't complain about the ground shrinkage when he is lying dead at your feet. That is what I tell everyone that I take hunting....."I don't mind what you shoot as long as you don't complain about it after the deer is lying dead." So far I have not had to worry about it as people start to really think about that phrase. I took on the phrase after the 2005 season when I was put into the same situation. A friend and I had pictures of a 8 point which had a 4 inch droptine. We made a decision to let the buck go if seen. While the buck was not mature he did have a droptine, of which 1 in 15000 deer have. He came by and I could not resist and I shot him. Do I regret it today....sure but only because of the potential missed by letting him grow. Was my friend mad....sure but he got over it. Did I make the right decision....well I have a droptine buck hanging on my wall today which satisfies me.
