Do you set an age limit? I couldn't, I don't care how old a buck is... If he doesn't have a rack I like I am not interested.
Generally I won't shoot a buck anymore unless he's 4.5+. That said, there is one buck that showed up this year that could be 3.5, but I believe he's 4.5 that I will shoot. Now, not all of our bucks have great genetics at the cabin here in WI and there can be some old bastards without much of a rack. This dude was easily 4.5+ last year and when I saw him I would have killed him, if he would have given me the shot. At the time, he was the second oldest buck we knew of on the property. Not a big rack, but an old buck.
I will have to report back to this thread when season rolls around because i am pretty sure that my father won't hold off, then we will seen how accurate everyone is.
Does that bucks rack make you happy? Most everywhere has older bucks that don't have big antlers. I get pics, glass or see older bucks every year that don't pack much heat, especially on the public tracts I hunt as it is very poor soil quality there from the strip mining, no agriculture and next to no mast. With that said, some of the bucks in those areas reach beast mode, and those are the ones I am looking for.
No idea what you're trying to get me to say Scott. His age makes me happy. If his rack doesn't make you happy, I don't care, I'm not hunting for you. Fact is, and I've said it a billion times, I don't care what anyone shoots. If they want to shoot a spike, good for them. The original post you quoted me on was an observation I have. A large percentage of hunters believe that all bucks will become giants if they get "another year" on them. Just like a lot of people still believe the old wives tale "once a spike always a spike." Also, a lot of places will never have bucks with big antlers. I remember an old member getting crap here by a few people for the 100" buck he shot that was aged at 4 years. People were trying to tell him that it was aged wrong and it was only a 2 year old buck. Fact is, a lot of people believe that big bucks live everywhere and it just isn't true. Remember, you live in Ohio, where slobs can and do grow. But, if someone in say NC wants to chase trophy deer around them, age is the true measure of a trophy to them. As their deer will never grow racks like yours can. After all, a 5 year old deer is a 5 year old deer, no matter what's on his head. The boner for monster Mid-West racks has ruined the idea of hunting for a lot of people.
I don't give a **** about net score either, or any other score for that matter. I was simply responding to a thread. What matters is what you want to shoot. Score is BS anyway. There are 140 inch deer that are way more impressive than 160 inch deer. It's all about what you like in a rack. I personally would not shoot an old deer with a small rack because....guess what, I like big racks!! In our area, there is no cross tagging for bucks, so shooting a small racked old buck doesn't interest me because it is the only buck I can get that year. Is it more imressive to shoot a 5 1/2 year old small buck than a 3 1/2 year old big buck?? Probly. But by that logic, you would be just as happy shooting that old long nose trophy doe, which is just as impressive. Hunt what you want, and shoot what you want. Different strokes for different folks. MN
You are reading me wrong smalls..... All wrong. I am asking if his rack would make you happy, or if you would only shoot him because he is an older buck? Nothing more or nothing less. If you reread my post without any preconceived notions, you will see I was agreeing with you about not all old bucks having big racks. I reread my post a couple times, did I type it wrong and still don't see where the misinterpretation is / was?
So... why did me posting a couple pics asking about a score develop into this?? The score I was asking for was to see how close I was to what other people thought, instead it blew up into all this. Old bucks versus big rack, B.S. My only argument is this If a 2 1/2 year old dear walks by as a 180" deer will you shoot it, Hell yeah because as soon as it walks in front of anyone else they are going to as well, we dont hunt several thousand acres where they don't see other hunters, So to base it purely on age in our situation is foolish. Now thats not saying a 5 1/2 year old deer with small antlers is not a trophy, because it is, anywhere, but I will not burn my tag on it unless it was the last week of late season, to get it out of the herd.
Maybe I am, but when I answered your question about setting an age limit you questioned if his rack made me happy. I thought I had already answered that, as it didn't matter what his rack was because he's an old buck. Therefore, I was trying to figure out why you were bringing up the rack and if you were fishing for me to say something in particular. BTW.....good to see you again!
Because, that's what happens on forums. Threads bring up other topics and they morph. I could morph the conversation further and pick apart your last statement about "getting the deer out of the herd." But, I'll save that for another time.
I see, somewhat. I understood you would be pleased with the buck because of his age. I was just curious if his antlers would also make you happy or if it was strictly age. Your criteria is absolutely your business and yours alone, I was just trying to peak into your thoughts on him outside of his age.
At the time last year, the only thing I cared about what his age. I hadn't hunted our family land for years because I was in Canada. My time was extremely limited last year and all I cared about what killing a mature buck. It never happened, but I would have been pleased to kill this one. Again, his rack didn't matter to me, but I wouldn't have been overjoyed with it. Now this year, we have a handful of bucks that I know of that are over 4.5 that have bigger racks. If that dude walked by this year, I probably wouldn't shoot him early. If I didn't have pics of those other bucks, I would shoot him. If that makes sense.
No Prob. I only mentioned it twice because another member had a different opinion on it's size. I was just explaining where I came up with what I thought it would score. The only reason I mentioned it the first time is because in a "how big" conversation that seems to come up a lot. "Is he a p&y or not"? I can see how it seemed that way though. No worries. MN
