3.5 or 4.5???? and i am guessing 135 or 140 tops.


whats yalls opinions guys???


http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad277/mhbaseball_2009/188.jpg

i would give him one more year. I think your right on saying he is a 130's buck. Nice deer but hold out and you will be rewarded.

I've never killed a buck that big, so personally I would shoot him!! But he might be a monster in a year or 2.....How big is your place? Will your neighbors shoot him? If you think he would be able to make it until next year without getting shot, it would probably be worth the wait, I just don't think I could!!!

You didn't tell us much about your place so I would have to say, "it depends". Personally, I don't get to worked up about a deer that I'm seeing on a game camera because it can be "here today and gone tomorrow."

I live and hunt in country that is very fragmented, my guess would be that the average place is 100 to 150 acres. It still great deer habitat but it is getting busted up. I happen to have 640 acres but that is what I'm surrounded by. Even with my "vast acreage", I still say that the buck that I'm going to kill lives somewhere within 6 miles of my place. The rut really makes these deer wander. If I was confident that the buck had chosen my place as a core area and I had enough does to keep him busy (a given buck really doesn't breed that many does), I would leave him alone another one to two years. I take as much pleasure in growing a nice deer, may be more than killing deer.

I would take a lot of pleasure in specifically hunting his running mate on the right side of the first photo frame!

Low to mid 130's.

I lean towards 4.5 or 4.5+

I would have to know more about your area and your goals to give you advice on whether or not to shoot him.

That is the problem lol. Between me and my uncles land we own about 60 acres together. We saw him alot last year on camera but never saw him during the year. I killed what I think was the dominant buck in the immediate area and I think this one will become the head honcho for that area. There are ALOT of deer in the area, too many does and alot of young bucks. Every surrounding place around me is hunted and if one of them sees him THEY WILL SHOOT HIM NO DOUBT IN MY MIND, but then again he made it to this year without being seen. The deer usually stay within 2-3 miles at most because they have all they need right there: heavy cover, water, lots of does, and corn/protein feeders and lots of food. I want to let him go but it is going to be hard passing him up with all the small acreage around me with alot of hunters. Probably the most important piece of info is there were 3 bucks WITHIN A MILE AT MOST that were shot that scored 133,135,137. Mine was 137(5.5 years old) and 20 5/8 inches inside w a split brow tine.

why would you let him go ?

Shoot em!

4.5 year old 8 point. Probably not gonna be much more. IMO

Bang

Buck nuggets-shoot if you like him .

Agr

Agree. He's not ever going to be a monster, he's probably maxed out his potential, so I would harvest.

Nice heavy bases it looks like. Good luck!

He would be on my wall.

Here's the question. You hungry or not? That should dictate your answer.

Oh ya, and he looks to be over 13" so you better bust his arse if you see him. Sure don't want him spreading any genes.

Can you imagine him bred with the right doe???????

Let's see, he could be on my table and on my wall.....friggin' easy decision for me.

Yea I got him alot on camera last year so hopefully he did his share of does lol. Yea he is great for our area and I am leaning towards taking him but I am having alot of different answers on age. If he is 5.5 or older i want to take him but if 3.5 or 4.5 I want to let him get one more year of growth. i actually sat in the stand the other day and he was half [censored] chasing one particular doe around when it was just him and 3 does at the feeder. It was weird for it being beginning of september. He was probably doing it just messing around because he knows he can lol, probably being the dominant buck or one of them

dead deer walking

Matt, that deer is at least 4 1/2, I say 5 1/2. I dont think he will hit 140 because he is on the narrow side and his brow tines are below average. The excellent G2 and G3s, mass and good beams put him around 132. Nice 8 anywhere. The answer to your question is there is not a wrong one in this case. You have every reason to shoot him based on your given situation and every reason not to shoot him because he would not be a career deer for you and maybe if you give him another year he might be a career deer for you. You win either way you decide. Good situation to be in. Good Luck.

Gorgeous 8 pointer. I would say 135 to 140 class 4 1/2 year old. Very nice tine length. I would pop him in a heartbeat.

x2 exactly, if he has only gotten that big in 4 years he is more than likely not gonna put much more. Dont get me wrong i have seen deer turn around dramatically in a year but odds are he will not.. So I say SHOOT HIM

Hope this buck is on the tip of a couple of age classes that are coming up through the ranks for you!!!

If that's the biggest deer on your place... and he's a 4 year old... that's just fine if you are building a herd.

The first time my place was flown in like 84 they saw ONE mature deer with 10 points...

At 4.5 you take em.