This is me about 10-11 years old. Can't tell from the angle, but he had 2 little nubs pokin thru. The shot looks far back, but I was shooting at about a 45° angle. Biggest and only buck i e ever shot. I'll never forget it. Shot him w/ a .357 lever action. Had buck fever like no other!!!

South Texas on the edge of a small clearing, 20 yards with a bow. No feeder, but over hand-thrown corn.

Tending a doe that was at the feeder.

2010 on the edge of the field about 15 yds. from the feeder. He jumped the fence (we had permission from the owner to hunt his fenceline) and just stood there looking around. We watched him for 10 mins. and he never took a step-until I shot him in the neck. 151 7/8" 11 pt.

Playing mr. Macho ,Drinking Coors Regular with my Fianc'e,( now my wife) in Kent cty. Rattling, with snow on the ground...1997. About 2 minutes into my rattling sequence,he raised up from the salt cedar and started running across the salt fork towards my blind...Then I shot him...There's more to the story,but you get the idea.

Last year, out in the middle of nowhere Kansas, following a doe. Guess you could say trail. There were several at the spot I was huntin.

Followed a doe into a wheat field.

I shot mine on a corned sendero 200 yards beyond my feeder, which was set 200 yards from the stand. Actual yardage was 408 yards. Second biggest buck was on the same sendero, corned of course, at 300 yards.

My mature bucks never came to a corn feeder but would readily come to a corned sendero or road.

However, in the Hill Country, my biggest mature bucks did come to a corn feeder and didn't come to a corned road as readily.

Bow kill, Tom Green Co., October 2010. He was coming down the creek towards mt bow stand. I did have a feeder up. He scored 142 or 144...I don't really hang up on the scores.

This is my biggest it is a Washington State little WT. Had guys pushing a creek bottom and this guy came out at a full run. Took him in the neck at about 100yrds. Dropped on the spot. Little guy but will always remember the back feet coming up and over his head as he flipped. Yes the ugly guy is me. LOL

150 yards from my feeder pushing a doe.

My largest Texas buck was taken on public land along a travel route that deer have used for generations. Being a morning shot, I believe the buck was headed to bed for the day.



My largest out-of-state buck was taken in Mississippi along a travel route in a stand that I put up just an hour earlier. It was an early afternoon shot on a deer that I believe was simply cruising for doe.

Antlers aren't brains. Deer aren't smart. Deer instinctively become more skittish with more pressure. If there is more pressure, old deer don't get seen less just because they are more skittish. They get seen less because there are many fewer of them.

The same 200" buck will still be under your feeder as a 7 year old if you don't shoot him as a 3 year old 150" buck.

I think they naturally grow more nocturnal with age regardless of pressure. They'll show up on the feeders, just might not be when you want them too.

Thank you!

People make it seem deer can solve complex problems and do math equations

I'm not saying deer have the ability to reason but if you say they do not grow more wary and able to avoid hunters as they get older then you are not hunting the places I have hunted. I especially disagree with your last sentence-at my place most of the deer quit the feeders between the ages of 3 and 4.

Pressure will change habits of game, sure.

Bucks that are naturally not as wary tend to get shot, leaving only deer that we're anti- social to begin with

A animal that is an intovert isn't any more intelligent than a buck who is around the feeders.

Much like people, some deer are social, then quit going around other deer, some never were social and some are social till they die of old age.

We've killed chingo's of old 7 and 8 year old bucks under feeders that had junk antlers, no one ever wanted to shoot them cause they were so sorry, they spent their whole lives watching other deer get popped, but they still kept comming back

I believe the original post was not meant to create a debate on the intelligence of deer but to solicit responses to the question asked.

I think that is the biggest body 6 point I have evr seen .

He was 228# before dressed. We have big body deer but not so much on the horns. He was 2.5yrs they figured.

Biggest deer... on a feed line on a sendero... could have killed him many times in previous years under a feeder, in a field, with a bow or rattling.

On a corned logging road that comes to a "T" in front of my stand. He had his head down and was eating like it was his last meal. We figured he either just got his azz whipped (not likely) or just handed one out.

Sounds like he was pretty familiar around the ranch and not real elusive

Out of an oak tree

I hear that is how they get big!!! Better than any protein program