Was hunting the other day. Told a buddy I only saw a button buck. I’ve never even considered shooting one. But he posed the idea that a button buck uses an antlerless tag, like a doe. Not a buck tag.

What’s y’all’s thoughts?? Because I think he might be right. I still wouldn’t shoot one.

If the antler hasn’t penetrated the skin I think it can be tagged as a doe. If it’s broken skin it’s a buck tag. But I could be wrong. That’s just what I was told growing up. I’ve never come across the situation as I try my best to really look and double look before taking a “doe”. I’ve had several friends make that oops, but I never asked how they tagged it.

Antlerless is just that, antlerness.

I made that oops nine or ten years ago hunting a wheat field and took a 200 to 300 yard shot on what I thought was a doe and it was a button buck. I used a doe tag as the antlers hadn’t come through the skin. So your buddy is correct.

Your buddy is correct. I’ve got a big doe with a single button buck fawn that is huge-I’m hopeful he has good genetics and makes 5+ years.

X2

Yep, it's all about whether the antler protrudes through the skin or not. It has nothing to do with sex. A doe with antlers gets an antlered tag and a buck with nothing protruding through the skin gets an antlerless tag.

No such thing as a doe tag there are antlerless and antlered

Why kill a fawn...not much meat...

That’s what I thought.

My license says Buck or Antlerless.

Who posted the shirt of "Killing tomorrow's trophies today" ?

It happens. My 12yr old sons first "doe" had balls. Just used his antlerless tag and moved on.

I have a friend that hunts near Fredericksburg that has shot 2 antlered does in the past 40 years. They had all of the doe equipment showing, but also had antlers, therefore a Buck tag had to be used. Your friend is correct, no hard antler, then an antlerless tag is used.

Pretty clear in the outdoor annual.

It would be antlerless. Just why shot a young deer unless your really needing the meat. Even though not much meat there.

There can be a lot of reasons. For me, it was buck fever. I had never seen a buck to shoot before even after hunting years, had never even shot a doe. We were on a little piece of land that we'd been taken to on a day lease. The "guide" was on one end of the sendero, me at the other and my Dad down still another sendero. A doe and a nubbin walk out, I shot the nubbin. Remember, I had never shot a deer period so just had the fever bad. After I shot, the guide came over and really chastised me and said I shouldn't have shot the deer and my father was going to be really disapointed in me and get all upset, that I had let him down. Understand other than getting to heaven, the next important thing in my life has always been to make my parents proud. He literally brought me to tears as I thought I had disapointed and upset my father. That's the memory of my first deer and it's not a good one. Fortunately when the hunt was over and my Dad came to the stand, he didn't react anything like the "guide" said - he acted like the great Dad he still is and congratulated me on my deer. If my Dad had been like that "guide" I probably would have never hunted again. But he wasn't. The next year I got my first 9 pointer. I've never shot another nubbin buck and never will, but won't chastise someone that does.