At 22, there's no way in hell I would have a sh*t eating grin like that while holding that deer, much less have my picture taken with it - because I had more sense than to shoot it.

But I guess the grin isn't because he shot the deer, its because mommy and daddy have let him go through life so easy and he knows it. Apparently he has no shame. Wonder if they bought the AR and can for him, too. Men four years younger than him are getting killed in war. I guess some just don't grow up.

I have an easy rule of thumb.. if the deer is shorter than the grass around him/her... it should be left the hell alone.

My impression is that he owns a nice gun and should know what the heck a "spike" is. I tell people, kids and guests hunt with someone that knows what is up and what is down until they can prove they know too. Tell them the kid no longer can hunt alone. If he was not alone, then the person with him also cannot hunt alone.

And tell them they can pay a fine, or show a recent receipt for an eye exam and new prescription glasses. :P

Russ

To be clear, that is his old man's hog huntin' rig. The kid pretty much doesn't hunt, as you can see by how somebody pointed out how he has the muzzle pointed at himself.

one deer is just one deer. I would be on the side of that deer was a 1yr old 4pt. and would not consider that deer a cull. I would be inclined to give a lot of lee-way to a child harvesting their first deer. one deer just isn't going to make a difference in the mgt and itd mean the world to that kid.

I have to say though I dunno that I'd want my sons first hunting experience to be with a machine gun. its the great outdoors.....not Afghanistan.

lol...I figured, just was tryin to be funny. FAILED. oh well.. heh

Still, like others said it is a great time to teach them AND to get the point across.

I had a woman that comes out to my ranch shoot a button buck once thinking it was a doe. My point, while attempting to be humorous as well to not hurt feelings, is to point out that size also plays a role in defining what to take and while a doe may be cull-able, if it does not reach a certain height (the grass)...then does not matter what it is.. it needs to age.

This is Texas. There are very few places around where we hunt where the deer would be old enough to cull and still small enough to look like it should have spots.

R

22 is old for a kid.....but its still taking people hunting. there's worse things the boy could be doing.

I say give the man a break. If it's his first buck and he is proud of it, then so be it. That is not a cull though and should go towards his old man's quota.

Neither. And now they will never know if that yearling could of become the largest buck deer on the lease.

Am I the only one that saw pigtails on this kid? Or is that part of his beanie or photoshopped?

Part of the beanie.

I have a picture of a 45 year old man with his first buck. It was a main beam 10 pointer that was showing possible kickers on his G2s, a 1 1/2 year old deer.
I would rather him take that no brow tine yearling buck any day. That would be a cull on most leases that I have been on.
And if someone is going to screw up and and shoot a border-line buck, that is the one to do it with. It could have been a basket 8, or any deer with actual brow tines. I would call that one "almost a spike." I have seen way too many main beam 10-12 pointers with no brows.
That being said, if the lease rules are clear on what a cull is, then he should not have shot it. But I wouldn't be too upset about it.

Was the young man happy with his deer? Was that the only young buck on the lease? Was that the last and only buck on the lease? If not and you feel you have to say something, take the time to educate them by showing all the physical features of a young buck, how to age by toothwear/eruption and physical shape of the young buck.
On the last ranch I managed that would have been a cull buck by definition, no questions asked It won't be the end of the world that buck was killed. The way I view it, is that killing that buck left more food for the rest of the herd.
BTW he could have been older than you think if he was born in October 2013 and that was his second set of antlers

Could've been born in Nov and that was his first set of antlers...future 220" typical.

Yep I'm gonna take the high road and educate him on what the land owner is looking to remove.

The lack of brow tines is fairly common in our neck of the hill country woods. With all the 2.5+ year old spikes running around out there this buck should have walked. IMO the kid just shot the first thing he saw, dang impatient millennials.

I've seen worse mistakes....

Hmmm, just like that and POOF it's gone.

To be honest.. it is NOT the kid that needs the lesson, it is the dad. HE should know better. I had a guy that brought a kid out to the ranch. The guy had been wanting an Axis. The rule was, no-one shoots an Axis buck that is not an adult and part of the 4 main people who help keep the place up. He let the 14yr old kid shoot an Axis buck, and a nice one.

My issue was not that the kid shot an Axis it was that the guy LET him. Sure, he goes, "I could not tell him no.. he has never shot a deer before".. well, then you break him in with letting him shoot culls etc.. it is not an excuse. Does that make me a mean person? NO. I have to enforce the rules with my guests and I own the place.

The father knew the rules and broke them. Good for the kid and I would be happy for HIM.. but the father needs to learn that if the kid could not tell the difference, he should not be hunting alone. If the kid was not hunting alone, then the dad is responsible, or should be.

Russ

When I hunted it Texas, Taylor county was a 2 buck county. But we had a strict 1 buck only rule. If a guest shot a buck, it came off your quota. Make the Dad pay for the mistake so he can educate his son on the rules.

Yearling or not, that deer had no brows, probably never would.

The spirit of the kill consumed him, Ive seen worse. Im sure theres more left to hunt. Not all of us are trophy baggers. I try to keep em over 4 years old though.

I don't know about "never" but no brows are culls on my place along with spikes.

One deer won't affect anything anyway. My daughter shot a yearling fork horn last year because she wanted to and I didn't see a point in telling her no, just one deer and she wanted it, so why not. Wasn't her first or her biggest but she wasn't looking for a 160 6yr old. She likes hunting, killing, and eating deer. She gets this far away look when me and my son talk age class, gross score, and book deer....She always asks, "why can't y'all just go hunting and have fun, without all the extra fuss?"

Geezus. Machine gun??

I like the fact that the kid is happy. He doesn't hunt much and we have hunters denigrating him about a yearling buck?

Yes it's a learning op. But you don't teach a newbie by jumping his case.

In case you guys just woke up from hibernation, we need all the hunters we can get right about now.

And it's better to make a mistake on a deer you don't have a lot invested in isn't it ??

I would say the deer was probably the boys first and the dad wanted to see his son get the deer. Was it inferior....maybe. Not a major factor to me.

Yup. We have seen plenty of mistakes made over the years when a kid (or an adult) shot something that he/she shouldn't have. They usually get a pat on the back and a "good job!"
We always make an effort to teach them what they should and shouldn't shoot. If they need a reminder or another lesson, that comes later. Let them enjoy the moment.