whay are you still shooting young bucks?

I hunted with a guy who would NEVER shoot a doe.

His wife would NOT let him put a mounted deer in the house, so his antlers go in a box in the garage.

So why do hunters kill nice, young, bucks instead of the tasty doe standing next to him????? Just to go chunk the antlers in the garage?

Youths killing one is ok cuz they haven't done it much so anything is a "trophy"

IMO, if you shoot a buck, you owe it to the animal to at least do a skull mount, be proud and thankful for this animal. Or thin the heard with a couple does. or if you don't eat it donate the meat. OR just go camping

Same with bobcats

I'm sure I'm posting this cuz I have been chasing these critters for 40 years. I do remember when I was young, if I didn't kill a buck, I felt tons of pressure to kill one, especially if someone else in camp have killed one. I guess getting older, its more fun to watch the animals than have to clean one, then go have a bourbon

I'm not telling anyone how or what to hunt, there is enough of this already

just my opinions or

Why do people shoot young bucks? Probably because it is much easier than shooting an old one. Or they can't tell the difference.

I know a lease manager that has a lease where the members are not allowed to shoot does- he claims that will improve the buck quality. I learned long ago that you can't reason someone out of what they don't reason themselves into.

people have trouble telling the difference between a young buck and a old doe?

those people need lasik not hunting licenses

Impatience, lack of education, simple fact there are large areas with heavy hunting pressure where mature deer almost do not exist. See a young buck with a rack bigger than his contemporaries and he gets plugged. I have hunted with and spoke to several people who simply did not believe in killing does, I think they are wrong, but that doesn't mean anything short of God Almighty coming down from the heavens was going to change their mind.

Why do people shoot young bucks? Because they are there and they taste good. Big horns get everyone excited (even me), but I don't have the trophy rack obsession. My philosophy is based on the reason man has always hunted - to get meat. Predators don't care whether their meat has big racks or small ones. So enjoy the hunt and kill what makes you happy. I will not demean you for being selective in your kill.

And I agree with you

I personally don't understand why people habitually shoot immature deer.

I shoot young bucks if I don't like their spread. We get a lot of funky slick 6s that rarely turn into anything more. I do prefer does for the meat.

I think it's also fair to point out that while you may have an opinion on what should or should not be harvested, you don't get to dictate the personal preferences of others, as long as they're obeying game laws. Even a fairly young buck will often weigh more than a doe, and maybe someone doesn't give 2 squirts of pee about antlers, but want more meat per animal harvested.

To each his own.

Pretty sure you know my opinion on this.

If a deer makes you happy, and you are going to eat it, then I really can't argue with you shooting it.

HOWEVER, last year a guy rolls into the local gas station with a 13" 2 1/2 yr old 8pt. I know where this guy hunts and they are overrun with does. Somebody compliments him on the buck (taken Sunday morning after opening day) and his response was 'Well, I'm not very happy with him, but I hadn't seen any big ones and I had to shoot something. At least it's a buck.'

Depending on your lease if you continue to shoot the young bucks how are you ever going to improve the herd. I know hunters who will go home empty handed rather than shoot a doe. Maybe it is a macho thing.

I generally shoot two does for meat. I hunt year round for a good mature buck. To me the fun ends when I shoot so I would rather wait for that mature great buck and go home without anything than shoot a young deer not at its potential. The pressure to get a buck is immature from a hunting/conservation point of view.

Why are you so worried about what other people shoot? If it is legal who cares. You may not believe it,but there are people who just like to get out and hunt. Not everyone is into horns. There are alot who just want to enjoy their time outdoors and get some healthy meat. Who are you or anyone else to judge another persons deer. I say congrats to them. Nothing worse to me than people who cut down what a person shoots. If they are happy and it is legal , it is good. If you are on a lease that is managed, you go by the rules they set,if it is a family-we are there to hunt and have fun lease, do as the law allows and be proud of it. I will add I haven't shot a buck in so long I don't remember the exact year. We shoot does over young bucks, but that is our choice. If I see another hunter with a legal deer , I congratulate them, whether young deer or old. It's about having fun.

Perhaps for the same reason most beef is slaughtered at around 24 months.

I don't understand the hang up with trophy hunting. So, as with liberals and conservatives, we will never understand each other.

They are either stupid or can't tell the difference between a 3yo. and a 6yo.

That's a rather arrogant statement.

So shoot a 24 month old doe.

If a person is a meat hunter why not shoot does, in most areas they are plentiful and leave the bucks to the guys that do hunt for trophies. Makes no sense to pass up several does to shoot a 2 year old buck just for the meat

Kids, elderly, etc. I can see letting them kill one. I had an uncle whose garage was littered with 2 1/2 year old racks. Asked him why he shot those....."well, we never saw anything bigger". Well yeah, wonder why?

Does are made of meat too

you don't owe it to the buck to do nothing but not waste the meat... antlers can go to the dogs for all it really matters if your talking about owing anything to the animal .. id rather shoot a doe either way you look at it but still

I have wondered these same things myself. I'm lucky, my ranch and I set the rules on what is allowed to be shot. I agree with Bobcats too, they are not to be killed on my ranch unless I feel we're getting too many. Lots of Coyotes, Pigs and Does here if someone needs to pull a trigger.

I used to shoot everything. A deer was a deer. I was the oldest son, and the family ate a lot of venison. My nickname back then was "the mad butcher". I have big racks in the house and the workshop and two piles of racks in the barn. I don't need to kill for antlers anymore, so I'll shoot two doe and wait for the big buck. I might shoot a cull buck if I see him. We do have a few.

Last year, when I found the big one, I put the grandson in the right stand and he shot him. Made me very happy. At this point in my life I just want to be in the woods looking for pigs and the evil coyotes. And I want good breeding stock in the woods, which is the reason I let a 10 point walk for 3 years. I wanted him to make it to 12 points, but he never did, so I finally took him.

I want to be like my Dad, who hunted till he was over 80. When he was 80, he shot a monster buck. Made some Louisiana bow hunting record book. He was so proud. And for the record, he'd never shoot a young buck.

I only shoot spike or 2 year old Axis. I don't keep the antlers. I don't like shooting Axis does because they are usually caring a fawn. The hunters I have here pay me by the point. It doesn't matter to me if they have 2 points or 10. I am not in the WT business except for it to pay for me to feed my Ibex.

I can see both sides. I grew up in a you shot the first 8 pt that stepped out and you didn't shoot a doe till you were out of buck tags kinda family. We wanted to shoot bigger bucks and educated ourselves and found out what we were doing was counter productive to it. The problem is when the guy who wants a BIG buck but tags out every opening weekend on a buck with milk on his lips, kinda like the guy complaining on the street corner about not having any money but wont get a job.

We stopped shooting young bucks started feeding, shooting does and what do you know the size of bucks we shot skyrocketed. We eat about 10-15 deer a year, we use all the meat we can flank and in between the rib bones included and enjoy it, I don't have to worry about respecting the animals.

Beef is slaughtered at that age because the ROI on continuing to feed it isn't there-they've reached their maximum $ potential. A 24-month old buck hasn't nearly reached his potential, either in body size or antler mass.

Maybe they don't want to feed a buck for longer than 2 years???

People kill 2 yr old bucks bc it's legal and it's their choice rather we like it or not.

Great Reponses everyone


except DUKFVR

Very true. I like the way you think. Don't everyone become Lemings and have to follow others.

I let my niece shoot a 2yr old buck. it was her first deer. I was super happy. She was happy to know she helped feed her family. She has the antlers in her room. I told her next year she could shoot a doe or a better buck. I want them to always try and do better than a 2 yr old 8 pt. still she is hooked on hunting. I hunt for fun though I rarely shoot anything anymore.

Not all hunting areas are created equal. In my hunting area the State limit is three deer, consisting of two bucks and one doe. (Stupid, but there it is.) Otherwise, I would be happy to leave the bucks to those who crave them.

Hurry up deer season.....

I've got two boys in their pre-teen eating phase. They love venison. My freezer is getting low because I passed on a couple young bucks last year because I that's how I was taught. I'm hoping to see one of them this year. I'm adding shooting lane this year and moving my blind this weekend in 100 degree weather to give me a better chance to see and get some more meat this year. Hopefully with those boys in tow.

if its legal, to each his own, counties that are buck only, sometimes you come home empty, I have been skunked two yrs in a row, waiting for a older buck. this year its going to be different.

I love the old photos of Texas deer hanging at a camp and guys standing around. There are lots of young deer in them photos, and we do not have a deer population problem at all these days. Guys have been shooting bucks at will for centuries, still no deer problem. I have shot a few bucks, but about 20 does to a buck. To me the bucks are for kids and ladies. I get a kick out of getting them a big deer, I enjoy it much more than getting a big buck myself.

Things must be getting slow here on the THF

Do you skull mount does? Why do we owe bucks something that we don't owe does?

I'm making that last sentence my signature line.

Guys kill young bucks for a lot of reasons. I hunt for both meat and antlers and yes my preference is that everyone would wait and take only mature bucks but that's just not what most people hunt for. And most simply have a tough time NOT shooting a buck if they think it might be a "good one". And average joe doesn't hunt on land that produces even 140 class bucks...not necessarily because it can't but because it never has. People simply don't know that it could if effectively managed and then if they were willing they don't trust the neighbor would let the young 8 or 10 walk and live another year so instead of chancing it they shoot it. And then there are the guys that hunt for meat and simply don't care about antlers. I've heard some guys like this literally say they like taking young promising bucks to prevent "trophy hunters" from getting it. Like I said there are all kinds....

and there we go...not passing judgment but this to me is just human nature. I spend a lot to deer hunt each year and I definitely don't want to get skunked!

Right on brother! I personally don't shoot young bucks, but my problem is why do some head hunters think that their way of hunting is "the right way" for everyone. I love big antlers but I know lots of folks who love 110" bucks. Who am I to tell them what makes them happy!

Boom!!! Nice Sneaky I love it!

I leave the mounting of does for the bucks.

I new to deer hunting and my opinion my be different from people that have seen 100's of deers.
I shot one buck so far, on Valentine's day 2017 (managed land). It was. 4 1/2 9pt that might of been a little over 100 on the charts. It was my first buck, and although it was a cull, I was extremely happy with him. If I somehow get a green light to take a mature 10+, I would have to make sure he was 5 1/2+. Yet that was a managed high fenced private ranch.

This year I'm getting am itch to hunt more. It's kind of like a disease that clouds my thoughts at random times of the day. I will be trying public land. I imagine it will be real had to find a legal buck, much alone let one walk because he is 3 1/2. He might be the only one I see all year on public land. With that said, I also imagine that my standards may chamge if I got a decent legal buck, even if he is younger. That next buck might have to be bigger/older than my first on public lands.

Guess what I'm pointing to is there may just be am evolution of a hunter. That the hunter that hunts just a few times a year will have different standards than someone who is out there every week. Same goes with new hunter verses a seasoned vet. I am not one to judge what others do with their shots, as long as it's legal and the meat is eaten.

Nailed it.

A lot has to do with the area or property you are hunting. To kill big mature bucks you have to have them in the first place, and also have lease members and neighbors that are willing to do the same by not shooting young deer.
You can do your part to try and break that cycle by passing on those younger buck and only shoot does, but don't look for instant results.
You can talk to your neighbors but I know from experience it doesn't always work, but at least you tried.
I've found that it's not enjoyable to hunt on a place that you are forced to have to judge what the other lease members are doing.

I just don't shoot them if they are young the neighborhors would enjoy it more if they do get him

A lot goes into the answer. The biggest thing I see a lot of hunters miss the boat on is finding a place to hunt with like minded hunters. A trophy hunter has no business on the old traditional meat lease and likewise the old style shoot what ever is legal guy will be like a turd in a punch bowl on a trophy club. There is a place for either style of hunter to pursue deer how they see fit, but they mix about like oil and water.

Good answer.

Had a cousin that was also a life long friend. We hunted and fished together and shared a lease for many years. Cousin would literally kill every buck on the ranch, but as long as he lived would never kill a doe. Needless to say, every few years we would run out of bucks and have to relocate our operation. He just never got it.

Jack

I just got off a place in Val Verde where there were numerous deer seen on camera that were 7+ years of age (low fence 3000+ acres)

Whom ever leased the place the previous 18 years were very selective and it showed in the age group and quality of the animals


I'm hunting further west (about 2 hours further) this season and it couldn't be any different. All the preaching "shoot mature bucks" hasn't made it in that area yet because you'd be hard pressed to see bucks in the 4-5 yr old range (I hunted there from 1996-2014)

I'm not disagreeing with you, but I do find this a little puzzling.

Most people exist somewhere on the spectrum between an extreme trophy hunter or a pure meat hunter. I.e. we are going to fill our freezers every year, but we'd also rather have nice bucks to hunt. I've never been with trophy hunters who didn't have plenty of doe to shoot and didn't do so on occasion. I guess what I'm saying is this -- why can't meat hunters just shoot doe?

bc not every county allows you to shoot doe all season some are only for a week or so. What if you can't hunt that week or you don't get a shot that week but later in the season you have a group of young bucks showing up regularly, you gonna shoot a young buck or nothing that season? Some people would rather have the meat over a mature buck. Not my preference but I can shoot multiple doe a season like most.

EarnestT wrote "why can't meat hunters just shoot doe?"
That is where the rub comes in...

Earnest, although I am an avid hunter, my perspective is from that of a landowner.

Generally speaking, the trophy club does a far better job managing a deer herd. Balanced population, near carrying capacity, healthy age structure, better fawn recruitment...... And yes, the trophy hunter usually has ample doe to harvest each year.
There is a genesis that not all hunters go through concerning deer management, and most trophy hunters are much further along than the old school meat hunter desires to go. Nothing wrong with either group, but they have conflicting goals, and don't fit with in well in each other's camp. As a landowner who has had to sort through more than one conflict among hunters, I have come to the conclusion, if you want to see the best and worst of an individuals character, spend a year deer hunting with them.

At my lease in fisher county I have seen way more bucks than does.

We wait on a mature buck but by late December we will shoot a young buck before we shoot a doe.

It depends on where you are hunting.

Besides, I dont care wjat other people do on their own land if they are within the law.

Hunted in Louisiana with family. They shot every legal deer that stepped out on 2400 acres of land. They have been killimg 50-60 deer a year for the last 25 years.

I didnt like it so I stopped hunting with them. Its their lease, if they are happy it is no one else's business.

Fisher, being a one buck county, I think everyone sees way more bucks than does. I know we do.
A lot of folks tag out with one buck and then kill 4 does.

Why can't meat hunters just shoot doe? Well some LF places have 200" deer so should we all be holding out for a 200" deer? Hell no! Believe it or not we all don't have the same definition of a trophy and some folks just don't care. I hunted a 1000 acre place for 9 years and we all let younger bucks go but had neighbors that didn't. Their land so none of my business. Antler restrictions helped a lot and we had lots of 125" 3-4 yr olds that were going to be really nice bucks in a yr or two. Then sorry boys we want to hunt the place and we were off.

Have seen this a ton. A group is really patient and only shoots a deer or two over multiple years. Just when they are ready to start reaping the rewards from their efforts the landowner wants to go a different direction.

Another words thanks for paying me to manage my property im now gonna go get more money.

One mans trash is another mans trophy.

I let a lot of good 3 1/2 year old deer go last year. Now landowner turned my 300 acres of wooded creek bottoms to 300 acres of grubbed up grassland.

Drout hit us hard and deer were finally making a good comeback.

Exactly, I wouldn't put in a lot of time trying to "manage" a lease with a year to year contract, just for that reason.

I'd pay my money and shoot legal deer and be happy, but wouldn't try to manage it

Now I remember why I haven't logged in to this site for a while. So many critics. I only shoot "dumb" deer. Got to keep the gene pool in check.

I won't shoot a young buck. Doe get a pass on our homeplace too.

"Meat" hunters that shoot young bucks are just hunters with no discipline. The use the "meat" hunter tag it sounds better to them than yearly young buck shooter.

Hunters who disagree with other hunters who do not share their big buck obsession have every right to their opinion. Stating their disagreement is fine. However, when they make insulting comments in a forum they are just posters with no discipline. Feel free to call me a young buck shooter, or a meat hunter, as you wish. Either way is fine with me.

Post about shooting young vs. mature bucks, or HF vs. LF are a beat down. I can promise you that I will not
lose one ounce of sleep worrying about what someone on this forum says about how I choose to hunt My lease or property.

I have owned my ranch for 19 years. During that time, I have shot maybe 3 or 4 bucks, but without exception, I have taken a doe on opening day for 19 years straight. My sons/grandsons and others have also taken a few bucks and occasional does.
For some reason, I now have an overabundance of bucks, the ratio is out of whack and the bucks outnumber the does by 2:1. This is a LOW FENCE ranch. I have instituted an 8 points or better rule and still get a proliferation of 4 and 6 point young bucks.
Neighbors also shoot 8 points and up. I cannot explain the ratio disparity, but I am happy with it.

Is it really "meat" hunting if what you shoot HAS to be a buck? Sounds more like a buck hunter.

The State harvest limit for the area where I have a lease is three deer - two bucks & one doe or two does & one buck. I usually take two deer a year because that's about all I need. Some years I take three if I ran out of meat from the previous year, or when I want to make a giant batch of jerky.

Our club discourages taking does because our herd is still recovering from years of low numbers because our pine tree plantation was close to mature with little undergrowth. Third row thinning two years ago on part of the lease and clear cutting last year on other parts remedied our low browse problem and we will likely be able to increase our doe kill next year.

If I like the way a buck looks, I'll shoot him. He might be bigger next year, but if I'm happy with him now, why wait?

Here is my question:

If a person isn't going to mount him and he isn't a cull, why shoot ?

This isn't a trophy hunting question, it's more of a greed question.

I know a lot of guys who kill a buck just to say they did. This isn't directed at you just the scenerio presented itself thru your ?

Great post!

This. I hate the term "meat hunter"....it's 2017, if you need meat then deer hunting is probably the most expensive meat you will ever buy. You can buy filet mignon's by the truckload for what it costs to hunt deer. Quit calling yourself a "meat hunter" to make yourself feel better, how about saying "I'm just an immature deer hunter".

Helped you out a little.

In my case, any buck I kill is at least getting a euro mount done. I haven't killed a buck in 5 years though. Only seen one that I wanted on the wall. But I don't see a ton of bucks at our place.

Call me an opportunist.

There are no deer heads on my walls, nor do I want any. There's a fair amount of immature buck meat in my freezer though. And I thoroughly enjoyed hunting them, and thoroughly enjoy eating them.

News flash Doc!!! You don't get to decide how other people hunt or what they feel by shooting a young buck! Does a young buck have meat, well then I'm a meat hunter if I hunt and kill one. Right??? People that call meat hunters immature hunters are usually the ARRAGANT ones that feel they are superior to others. Usually city folk that grew up with money not understanding that to some folk, hunting is way more than a status symbol!

I can go on Ft Hood kill a buck and process it myself for under 100 dollars.

New flash, Booner, if I want to call them "immature deer hunters" I have the right to do so because that is what they are. If the fact that I won't kill an immature buck makes me arrogant, then I will gladly be called arrogant the rest of my life and most guys who deer hunt that aren't beginners feel the same way.

I never said you couldn't do it, or that I was better, but let's call a spade a spade. Does have meat too, but if you're killing immature bucks for meat then it is what it is.

Unless you are hunting with a sharp rock, naked, from a tree limb, and you walked to get there, it cost you way more than $100.

My point is there are many public land hunters that aren't spending thousands of dollars every year on a lease and feed. For those that spend a lot of money on hunting the meat hunter term makes no sense but lots of people hunt public lands and family land for way cheaper than people who lease and some of us kill better deer than the guys who spend thousands

I've stayed out of this thread because the title doesn't apply to me. But now that I've read through the comments my take is to each their own as long as it's legal.

The ethical part of it is personal to the killer, and what others think isn't what's most important. Having the right to legally kill game is.


Now if your my neighbor and you kill young bucks I would most likely high fence my side of the fence to protect the young bucks born on my side of the fence.

Well you are from Louisiana!

I can kill a buck and put him in my freezer for about a 25 cents. And 25 cents ain't much in my book. I don't shoot young bucks because I prefer to eat doe and yearlings. But if someone else wants to do it well that ain't none of my dang business. Trophies are in the eyes of the beholder!

Yes sir!

I hunt a section for free, me and my 2 kiddos, so the argument that deer is the most expensive is way off. I buy a super combo, shells, and 2 youth licenses, so $150 maybe for the season there. Processed 5 deer last year for $300 and got over 200lbs of meat. That's $2.25 a pound. I could add 10 feeders and expensive blinds to run the price up I guess, but there's no need.

If everybody would stop worrying what everybody else shoots we'd be better off. I've watched 3 yo 130 class bucks camp out in my wheat only to get whacked by they neighbor, and here's the shocker....I wasn't mad. He wanted the buck and he was happy to have it and got it mounted so I'm happy for him. I'll shoot what I want, within the law, and not give a dam what people think or call me. I suggest y'all do the same, you'll be happier.

They taste good as Fred Eichler would say.

I shoot what ever makes me happy. I could care less what age the deer is. I dont understand the hang up on shooting a old buck. Nuff Said!

On average, the cost of deer meat is higher than most. There are exceptions, but the majority of hunters in Texas do not hunt on a free place, public or Core Land. Most have feeders, some kind of stand, guns, gas, etc. that would be added to the cost.

I agree 100% with your second paragraph. People sure get butt hurt over what someone else has to say if they disagree with it. At the same time, people are really quick to jump on the "holier than thou" train, so I can see where it ruffles the others. Ah, the joy of random people in the dog days of Summer waiting on hunting season

Those who shoot the young bucks because they can and do enjoy the meat are not the same as the individual who really enjoys seeing a buck with a nice rack. Two different peoples with different viewpoints.

The "meat hunters" (those who generally shoot any deer without regard to age or conservation/numbers), are the first ones to get butt hurt & whine when their neighbors high fence them out.

"I used to shoot 5 deer a year on muh 20 acres, but ever since those jerks high fenced on my side, I don't see any deer. What about muh freezer!"

That's why there are so many high fences around.

Did you shoot the deer with a gun and scope? Did you hunt from a deer stand or blind? Did you drive to the lease? Do you have an ATV? Do you have camo clothes? Do you have any feeders? Do your kids have guns too?

My point is that all of that stuff costs a lot of money and it is unlikely you are deer hunting without some, if not all, of those things. When you add it all up, that deer cost you a lot more than $2.25 a pound. Most people aren't lucky enough to hunt a place for free. I really don't care how you hunt or what you kill, but hunting is not a cheap sport any way you slice it.

Bought my gun almost 20 yrs ago, don't even remember what gave for it, and the kid's I got from a pawn shop for less than $300 a piece. I don't run feeders and have one pop up, but kill a bunch of them just sitting on the ground, no blind or feeder in sight. No atv, and my lease is less than 10 miles from the house. I get what you're saying doc, lots of guys are $10,000 into a trophy lease, but I'm not and I don't spend that much hunting deer. Willing to bet I spent more duck hunting last year than I did on deer.

Calling a man names because he shoots what he wants on his place is ridiculous and childish, period. Half of what's said on the forum wouldn't be said face to face. Everybody is tough behind a computer screen. Y'all keep arguing over stuff that doesn't matter is my point. Lots of these "future trophy" 2 yr olds that people get bent about won't break 130" ever in their lives, so whys it matter? It's just a deer.


Come on deer season!!!

Well, sounds like you are the exception, you're lucky to have that option. Not sure what you mean about calling names, but I agree that deer season can't get here fast enough.

I shoot young bucks because I want to drive DocHorton crazy.

Nowhere in this thread did I say I care....I just said to call it what it is. As long as I don't hunt with you and you want to kill scrub deer then go right ahead. It's the mentality of just wanting to kill something for "meat" that I've moved on from. I like the challenge of wanting to hunt something bigger than what I've already killed, I guess it's just a personal thing for me to try to be a better hunter and manage my property to grow bigger deer and kill a mature buck. I can buy steaks if I want meat and they taste better anyway. I deer hunt for fun, the challenge, and to be in the great outdoors with family and friends. Killing a scrub 6 or 8 point doesn't excite me anymore.

I'm confused. Why does wanting to hunt something bigger than what you've already killed make you a better hunter?
It seems to me that makes you a better livestock manager, or a better trophy collector.

I've moved on from shooting deer at 200 yards with a 25-06 to shooting them at 50 yards with a .54 caliber flintlock. I don't think that makes me a better hunter - just one doing something the way I enjoy doing it.

Given that hunting in the modern world is a recreation, not a necessity, how I go about it and what I choose to kill requires no justification. Nor do your choices. Don't demean mine and I won't demean yours.

Have you ever tried to strictly hunt a mature buck? There's a reason you see less of them killed than 2.5-3.5 year old 6 and 8 points, they are harder to hunt and there is less of them around. It usually takes more time, effort, knowledge of patterns, scent control, stand positioning, etc, so yes, if you can do that it makes you a better hunter in my opinion. Anybody can sit and a stand and kill scrub 6 or 8 point bucks all year long. Sure, you can get lucky and go kill a monster the first morning, but that is not typically how it happens. It's not "wanting" to do it, it's actually doing it.

Same as people who work a job and make $30k a year versus someone who works the same job and makes $60k a year, or a golfer who shoots 80's versus one who shoots in the 70's, or baseball player who hits .300 vs one who hits .260, or the guy who kills big bucks with a bow vs someone who does it with a gun at 200 yards, or the business owner whose company has profit of $100k versus the business owner whose company has profit of $1.0 Million. It is harder to do and they are better at it. Typically it takes more skill to accomplish the more difficult task. I've never been satisfied with not trying to get better at everything I do, and that includes hunting by doing something that is harder and more of a challenge.

And you and others in this thread are awfully sensitive....I didn't demean your choices, I just refuse to call people meat hunters because I think it's a silly term used for justification by people who kill small deer for whatever reason and I don't have to agree with it, just like you don't have to agree with me.

In my experience killing mature deer is much more about patience than how good a hunter you are.

I definitely agree that it typically requires more patience, but maybe that is just a trait of becoming a better hunter.

Hunting where there is a lot of them also helps

"Stuff that does not matter" statement, is not true for all of us. What is important to one may not be to another.

Clearly, but as long as someone is obeying the game laws, no one has the right to dictate their own preferences or priorities on others.

Also, you can be a "better hunter" who kills big racked mature bucks by shelling out the dollars at a high fence trophy ranch. (Sorry about that, I'm feeling pissy.)

I didn't want to add another variable into this thread....but I'm not a fan of pen hunting and even though I could pay and go and kill a 200" deer, that doesn't excite me either. The biggest challenge in that is making the money to write the check.

Who knew deer hunting was so complicated.

Doc most "meat hunters" are exactly that!! They will shoot a doe or a young buck because they taste good and it's legal! Your opinion and your "way" of hunting doesn't mean 2 chits to me or the majority of other hunters.
And your analogy of deer meat being so expensive is assanine! Yes it is very exspensive for most people, but including a vehicle price is ridiculous! I'm sure they would have transportation regardless of whether they were hunting or not.

And it will hopefully make you smile that I do NOT shoot young bucks but I dang sure ain't going to call people names that do!

Money equals opportunity equals big bucks. (Most of the time) and usually not related to skill sets.

Your tags. Your bullet, your arrows your dead deer

Y'all are agruing over dumb stuff. Family, friends, campfire and grilled meat!(.. from 6 months to 80 , blind crippled or crazy)

Having fun is all that matters. Everything inbeween is just a preference.

Totally agree. Shoulda known better that disagreeing with people would get them so butthurt.

You should just face the facts and deal with it...I'm a better hunter than you

Of course you are, you're easier to conceal

A lot of it is luck! Having a good place to hunt is another big piece of the puzzle.

Yep!!!

Right on BoBo! Having fun and NOT worrying about what other people do is what it's all about. There are way too many folks that just can't comprehend the 2nd part of that sentence!

I hunt young bucks because I like shooting spikes. As far as hanging each one up, I have my first buck, my first 10 and my best buck hanging above the fire place. The rest are in the garage or shed. Besides, you can't hang anything on a doe head.............

There are also many others that get offended simply because someone disagrees with them...

Killing "A" mature deer is luck. Killing mature deer year after year takes more than that.

Yes sir that's for sure!

True to an extent depending on the quality of the place.

Man, this thread has provided the most fun a guy can possibly have while sitting in front of a computer in his underwear sipping Scotch.

I disagree!!! I am going to be like everyone else and post the exception to prove my point. Lease was $1250

Do you need some deer "only" bullets......

Everyone is at different points in their hunting career...
For me, being a relatively new deer hunter I struggle to age deer. I had a 6 point on my camera this morning and could easily tell he is young. But there is a 4 point that looks older but I can't tell how old...


So I would skip the 6 pointer but if I get late in the season and haven't seen any older bucks that 4 point looks tasty

LMAO!!

These threads are always entertaining....what some folks just can't get their head around is there are a LOT of good hunters out there that don't give two chits about antlers. All they care about is the meat and will shoot the first deer they see, young or old doesn't matter. Trophy hunters will never understand this.

So they pass up big does to shoot a young buck with less meat????

I like to think of myself as a trophy meat hunter. I like big mature deer but I haven't killed enough or big enough deer yet to pass on a 4 yr old stud. I also primarily hunt Ft Hood public land and have passed on many young legal deer that most public land hunters would prob shoot. I killed a 6 yr old 8 last yr that only scored about 115 but he was a trophy to me bc of his age and I don't think he would have gotten much bigger. I killed a 4 yr old 130 inch 10 point the year before that if I was on a lease I would have let walk and prob would have been a stud with 1 more yr. I didn't have to kill them but to me they were trophies and the meat was delicious. Its hard to pass up a nice deer on public land when you are surrounded by trigger happy hunters. We have had 10 illegal young deer killed in the last 3 yrs under 13 inside spread in the area I guide in. This is after we preach to the hunters over and over to make sure the buck is clearly 13 or better inches. Some have been 10 inches or less wide and clearly illegal. I will never understand why these people shoot these bucks year in and year out screwing future hunters by removing future legal deer from the herd. If I was on a lease I would specifically look for a lease that had fairly strict management rules bc I would want the most for my money and passing on nice 4 yr old bucks would be much easier.

Yep. Oil and water...you can kill them young or you can kill them old, but you can't do both. You can feed them, take video, or photograph them, but you don't own any of em till you put a tag on it. The deer are owned by Texas and they set the law and sell us the license. Both groups are legal, and neither is wrong, they just have different goals that don't work with what the other group does. The groups generally segregate themselves but where they have common property lines, sometimes hard feelings develop. The trophy hunting segment is the minority and it's up to them to find a place where they are not at odds with the surrounding hunters. Not all properties work for low fence trophy management regardless of who hunts them, due to the neighborhood. Just the way it is.

No, they shoot the first deer they see. Young or old. It's not how I do things, but that's their business not mine.

Not all counties allow does all season, its not that hard to understand why some people who have limited hunting opportunities would shoot the first legal deer they get the chance at. Not something I would do but makes sense for others.

So they are seeing more bucks and less Doe ?

Skinner, most trophy hunters do understand that. That is where most of them started. I think some of them struggle with realizeing that sometimes they need to pick up and move to a situation that is better suited to what they want.

I usually see 4:1 buck to doe at my lease in bandera. don't know where the does are at but its a buck haven

that said....there is always a cull if I feel the need to shoot

False argument Bobcat. At least it is for my hunting area. Our club has 19 years of kill records, ageing and weighing every deer we kill.

A young doe (1.5 years) averages 80-90 lbs. Those 2.5 years or older generally fall in the 110-120 lb. range. In those nineteen years we've had exactly three does that exceeded 120 lbs., with the heaviest being a 5.5 year old that went 132 lbs. Offsetting that, we had a 6.5 year old that was 95 lbs. Deer have different body styles just like people. Some of our herd is short bodied regardless of age, some long bodied.

Our average 2.5 year old buck always exceeds 140 lbs. The heaviest killed was a 205 lb. 4.5 year old seven pointer.

"Trophy" is in the eye of the beer holder. Hunt what you want be thankful for what you get. If you're not proud of it then keep it to yourself. If you kill one just to brag about it it's just killing. If you don't have a good thing to say about someone else's "trophy" don't say nothing at all.

The contradiction in that statement is as rich as 4' up a boars a**. It's also incorrect. If you kill a buck just to brag, you in fact did still hunt it.

I ain't wading through six pages of malarky if this is a representative post.

I would also disagree with some above's statement that there are more meat hunters than trophy hunters. Most hunters would prefer to shoot a nice buck. Regardless of the fact that they also fill their freezers. So in fact they place a higher premium on a trophy.

I used to be an elitist who wanted others to value antlers as much as I do. But I've learned over time that is a foolish and counterproductive idea. If hunters really care about hunting they will quit cannibalizing.

I don't care if you drown fawns in a swimming pool or run yearling bucks down with a Buick. Just hunt and let others hunt to their preference.

Yeah, but you've got to have money to drown fawns in a nice in-ground pool. Us average Joes have to drown our fawns in cheap Walmart above grounds.

I personally use the 12 dollar plastic kiddie pools.

bath tub ...

I can't agree with that. A bath tub is not of sufficient volume for consistent and humane kills. I don't understand why some guys persist in using small volume when there are so many better choices out there.

I like the challenge of being undergunned and could care less if the animal suffers.

Rancher, I agree that most hunters would prefer to take a trophy buck but that does not make them a trophy hunter. The low fence acreage where buck harvest is skewed heavily to mature deer are special places and hunting privileges on those properties are coveted. The reason the majority of properties don't have that is the majority of the buck deer are killed when they are young. In my eyes there is nothing wrong with that but there aren't many mature trophies killed like that either.

I have no clue what our 2.5 yr old deer weigh .

I do know our mature does will outweigh a yearling buck.

You don't have to be a trophy hunter to want to see how much better a buck will be in 1 year. Just say'in.

I shoot whatever I want. When someone else starts paying the taxes etc., then I might pay attention to them. But until then I will eyeball the first ones that are dumb enough to show him or herself. When I think it is big enough most likely will be on the way to the processor. Then I am finished for the year.

Well there you go! Paying the property taxes is the reason I lease it out.

will another yr make it taste any better? If not why would a meat hunter wait another year.

Exactly, 90+% of folks who claim to be "meat" hunters would let a buck walk if they knew they'd get a shot at him in a year or two. Even though they'd have to grind the meat to make it palatable.

I would not even consider getting on a lease unless they had strict age and antler restrictions.I like deer meat also but that's what culls and does are for.......

bout what everyone says until its a month before season and no lease yet lol

Over population to carry capacity can lead to 2-3yr old deer being the heaviest in the herd..

I "trophy" hunt so I can spend more days hunting. If I shot he first 8 point I saw it would be over way too soon!

I pull the trigger on deer and hogs to make sausage. I go in the woods for myself as much as possible.
It takes just as good a shot for a doe, as it does for a "Trophy" buck. I'm happiest when there is smoke rising out of my smokehouse.

Oh joy, yet another "I hunt this way, so you should too" thread, accompanied by the "you aren't a XYZ Hunter, you're a ZYX Hunter...lets call it like it is" crowd

Some folks worry waaaaaay too much about what others do on their own property/lease. Unless it effects you, take care of your own crap and don't worry about what they do it ain't that hard, folks. As long as they aren't effecting you, they're legal, they're following the laws of our great state, and they're out in the great outdoors enjoying hunting, is anything else really all that important to where you need to belittle what they choose to do? I think not