What do you Consider when Harvesting a Buck and Priority Order

When sizing up a prospective buck for harvest, do you have a mental checklist and in what priority order? For example, do you weigh B&C score, age, body weight, # of points, spread of rack, uniqueness of rack, possible tastiness of meat, all of these, some of these, none of these, additional ones, etc. and in what order? For me, age class will always take top spot, followed by estimated B&C score, maybe rack spread, followed by deer body weight, etc. The scenario is assuming a very ethical shot opportunity of course. What is your "mental checklist"?

This is harvesting a deer.

First of all, I don’t call it harvest, but to each his own.
I do like DQ and his threads though so I’ll play along.
Basically, I’m just about like what DQ said he looked for. Add in history with the deer.
I also like a big frame rack and not necessarily a lot of points. For instance, I’ve killed a 181 with 19 points but same year our LO killed a 170 10 that was more impressive. My 159 9 pt with 25” spread was more impressive than the 181 also.

Back at you Free, enjoy your insights on hunting. Majority of my experience, 45 years or so is South Texas and I believe yours is NW TX and now OK, correct?

The last 15 of mine has been mostly in the Cross Timbers region which has some similarities to South Texas, mesquite, prickly pear, but also some differences, Oak trees, cedars, more turkey, tons of javelin and hogs down south, for me more hunting pressure in Cross Timbers especially closer to metro mess, larger deer herd down south and overall, larger avg. racks though not as overwhelmingly so 25+ years ago since supplemental feeding has blown up all over TX, etc.etc.

Back to Topic, mental checklists and order priority, what say the THF???

You got the last two stops right but you left out 40 years of prior hunting.
Hill country around home, then 20 years same family lease Trans Pecos, off to bigger deer in STx when Trophy hunting/game management boom hit, then away from the “boring brush” and on to more visibility outa Albanyy, lower Panhandle then Throckmorton. Now my final resting place is SC Okla.
Way off topic but you asked and it is your thread.

Depends where I’m at. On our place maturity is what I’m looking for, past that not a lot matters.

I hunt in AR counties, so spread is the first thing I have to consider. After that I look at gross score, age, points, and uniqueness of rack...in that order. Nothing else really. At this point it is going to be really hard for me to kill something smaller or similar to what I have killed already unless the rack is unique.

Since I hunt on foot on public land and pack everything out on my back I always consider the pack out. Antlers mean nothing to me, the meat is what I'm concerned with and getting the meat out is where I place my focus.

I have always used a quick mental check list that includes a lot. It also depends on where I am hunting, weapon and how much time I have to hunt. These deer all qualified as shooters for me. Score was not that important as it was more of a look I liked. I hunt where I want to hunt ,shoot what I like, and when I like it..... as long as it is legal or falls under the management program or TPWD guidelines.

STx, thanks for posting all those beautiful mounts.
I may change my mind upon a first hand look but I would say my favorite would be the big frame with the huge brows that’s bottom left of first pic. Assuming his right side closely matches-which can’t tell in pic.
Also the 8 that all turns in with nice brows that’s bottom left of last pic.
Amazing collection.

This is for where I hunt, a 150-160 is a rare find I've known of 3 in about 20 years in my immediate area (square mile or so around me)

1. Mature
2. Unique (heavy dark horned 8, 20'' wide pencil horned 10, unusually tall, etc.)

And that's my list, thats what I will take if we cross paths

Legal ?
Clean shot?
How much sausage will they make ?
Bang….
Where will i hang him ?

Thats awesome ! Lots of unique ones !

Whats up with this guy ? Any chance we can get a closer pic of him ?

Oh wow This guys cool too !

Where do you keep the rest of them?

STX, the words, "we are not worthy" comes to mind when viewing those "walls of horns". Very nice...

Freaking sweet!!!!

Whatever I'm in the mood for as long as it's mature. I also don't harvest deer, I kill them. I don't try to hide behind words for my actions.

Thanks but my mule deer pale in comparison to your collection.

Thanks for the extra pics. I think the pedestal deer to his right is 200ish but this one seems more impressive. Right side seems more impressive than left. My dream deer.

He was my dream buck also with those huge browtines....6x7 typical frame with 9" and 11" G1's, G2's and G3's all over 12", 27"+ and 28"+ MB's and 39"+ of mass. The pedestal buck was 198.7" gross.

that deer is 200. Id have it offically scored.. not Texas BG scorer scored… that guy is always easily 2” low

where is the elk?

Not going to have it officially scored and never had most of them officially scored(except 2 mule deer to verify my score and neither of them were 2" off). I scored that buck and happy with the score.... that is all that matters. Will never be an elk on my wall since I won't ever kill one.

My heart rate. I'm out there to kill a big bodied, mature, heavy horned buck with tall tines and a good spread. Each year it takes one a little bigger to get my heart rate up. The great memories, thrilling stories for me to retell, excitement to be relived, etc. comes from the good bucks, not from shooting does for food. I do sometimes shoot does for the freezer, but it does nothing for my hunting satisfaction.

Where are the stags? Btw, you should have a spotted pig up there.

Bunch of giants, STX. Curious how many of those are LF vs HF?

Now you got me curious as well.

I look at the antlers first try to determine how many points and how wide. Are the brow tines long, short or does the deer not have them. Age and size do come into play as well. Like most the antlers and size of the deer overall makes a difference as well. Having said that I have 2,10 pointers on the wall and an 8. The 8 pointer probably means more to me because of everything involved when I did get him.

Two different hunting criteria between WI and TX

In WI its all about winning the Big Buck Contest. Winners only, and that means something different every year.

In TX, I'm looking for certain stags that I'm tired of feeding. After stags, it's mature does with no fawns. To shoot a buck, it has to be special. Wide, tall and good mass, something that probably won't improve much more with age. Such a buck I have not found yet

We can all agree that STX Ranchman has a magnificent display of many trophies but let's bring this one back to topic, "do you have a mental checklist when decisioning to kill not harvest a whitetail buck" and what is on it and order of priority. What say THF???

I have shot five true trophies on my lease during the 17 previous seasons. One was somewhat of a consolation prize as he was the fourth best buck in the pasture that season. Sausage is sausage and we engage in a bottom up mentality with the intent on leaving the future to the better looking among the herd. Neither management "trophy" buck or taking a true trophy every year is just not my style.

I'd still like for him to answer DocHorton so we can fully understand his perspecitve. Of the mounts displayed, were all low fence?

Think we know what the answer likely is but who really cares...

Age is the utmost priority with me, especially on our MLD ground. I don't like shooting immature bucks, as I'll shoot a doe before doing that.

You may never be able to understand his perspective. Never have I seen such an experienced, focused and all consumed outdoorsman.

thats not perspective. He has two 200” LF Texas deer. One he passed as 4 year old and killed as 7 year old, thats a perspective.

That pronghorn on the wall, he passed 5 bucks to find right age, That was 5-6 year old pronghorn, which is decline for pronghorns, thats perspective.

His last mule deer was 187. He passed it two years in a row, thats perspective

Not to answer for him but the question both you are asking isn't about perspective in what he takes, he wont shot young and will eat tags. He drew the epicenter of Mule deer tags in TX and ate it because they didnt find a mature buck, they saw big 170 plus but not mature. Thats perspective

Ranchman's individual perspective is not what I was asking to, it's the THF's "mental checklist"......

Stxranchman I have been impressed over the years at the frequency that members have acknowledged your prowess in our outdoor passion and I must say these photos give credibility to their acknowledgement of your expertise!!!!

However I do question your engineering judgement as I believe a collection of this magnitude could seriously compromise the structural integrity of your home, I have attached a picture of my best where consideration for the safety of my family was a priority




All kidding aside you are an amazing dude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And when provided, it's relevant if they are a breeder, high fence ranch manager, purist, meat hunter, or a mix. We talk about where we hunt, when we hunt, if we feed protein, cotton seed, bow, rifle, etc. Someone posts a target of a really tight group and willingly provides the range, rifle, load recipe and optic. A wall of trophy deer, HF/LF is a relevant question that shouldn't require an explanation or apology.

Of course it is. You aren't the arbiter of one's perspective.

Then don't answer for him.

Obviously he has a wealth of experience killing big deer. I'm sure there are others who are curious of the type of hunting he does and how he does it, if we are to learn something. It is relative to the discussion in this thread.

for bucks, age it as being fully mature, then determine whether it would be classified as a trophy or a cull by the antlers ... as my dad used to say, "you can't eat the horns" ... also depends on where I am hunting as I have a number of places I hunt from east to central to west TX, all have different categories and body size aging differences.

On my place it's all about age. I want them 6.5 or older. I did pass on a buck this year that met the age group but was lacking in antlers and I was lacking in give-a-dam on a cold wet day. If intact, he wouldn't have scored in my top 5, but would have been a pretty 13" wide 125" Mills county 10 with nice chocolate antlers. However, his right beam was broken just past his G3 (and later re-broken just above his dog catcher). He was with a doe and didn't notice me drive up for several minutes. I stared at him, he stared back. I had a rifle but not a knife in the truck and it was about 30 minutes to last light. I'm 95% sure if I'd had the knife, he wasn't broke up, and it wouldn't have been raining, I'd have shot him simply because he was a healthy, heavy, mature whitetail of which I'd have been proud.

Good news is he's still alive and is now in my top 2 known targets for next year.

For me

AGE
The Look of the rack - don't like too many stickers nor pencil horns; value symmetry overall
Body size
Total BC

ohhh so its not about his perspective its about yours…. he has never posted a perspective in picture or take, with preference to either. He is obviously indifferent which is no secert. That wall isnt weighted either way FWTW

so what does a fence have to do with his experience or perspective then? does it degrade the deer he has taken that dont fit your mold? Does it make his experience more or less note worthy? your point in bring it up is to do what to his perspective or preference?

Wrong. I know my perspective, it's interesting to know the perspective of others. Had his point of view been close to my own, I would find it more relevant to how I hunt. There's no need to defend him.

"There's no need to defend him." Yeppers, pretty spot on there.

its not solely in defense of him, its everyone including myself that posts a perspective and then is challenged with trifling “relevance” questioning.

if the fence isnt the preference for the poster then its not part of his/her perspective. Age, history, size, time limit that perspective or not….. if I post a spike obviously age and score wasnt preference.

every hunt my perspective preferences changes due to location, time, freezer level.

Whether it is trifle is your subjective opinion. To me, it is important. We discuss all types of methods on all topics here and this one has hit an obvious nerve with you. Assume we're talking about fitness. I have an approach. Someone my size is benching 1.5x what I can do. I ask him about his work out plan. He tells me he's on roids. I stop listening. I don't judge him, I just can't learn anything from him.

How mature?
What is the bucks potential?
Has it reached its potential?
How does the bucks potential impact management goals where I am?
Do I like it?
Big mass gets me paying attention.

Who gives a shyte about whether a deer came off a low fence or high fence? Unless you’re trying to pass off a deer into a book or contest that wasn’t killed under the parameters of the organization then does it really matter?

Someone kills a big deer the first question is “was it high fenced”? Trying to find some way to discredit the hunter and the deer. Whitetail deer hunters are the outdoor equivalent of a bunch of overweight women sitting in a hair salon talking trash about other women for no other reason than jealousy.

My trophy room is full of animals that were shot under low fence, high fence and some no fence at all, I display them because they were good hunts not to have an evaluation done by some stranger to see if it was a legitimate kill or not in his opinion.
.

My perimeters on killing a deer or any other animal for that matter is strictly “ is killing this animal going to bring me joy, before, during and after “. If the answer is no, then I don’t shoot. If yes, then I do.

It’s that simple.

Yep, don't need to be real complex. if it takes four shots to get the rattler, then so be it.

exactly my point. It’s not about his preference, its yours, thats why you are asking. It relative to only how you view those animals, not his perspective or preference.

That was a $12 rattlesnake

Ok, you're right. Until you explained it to me, I didn't know my motivation for asking my question.

Why don't you answer those questions for yourself and decide. And why are you so concerned with what I, or others, think? Is he your Uncle or something? I didn't ask you.

He could be the greatest whitetail hunter of all time, or he could be some guy who inherited O&G land from his Daddy and just hunts in his own private pens. That's why his perspective and experience matters to those of us who may or may not hunt like he does.

If I post that I can run a 4.9 second 40 yard dash that would be really slow for WR, but really fast for an offensive tackle. That's why perspective matters. You are smart enough to understand this, even though for some personal reason you don't like it.

Terry Jones would be proud.

hell you should asked everyone on this thread that post a deer even more questions, like how much does their leases’ cost, how many acres do they own and or lease, what do they pay per acre, What’s their net worth…lol Thats next right? How else you going to determine their worthiness of any title or image thats relative to you.

oh wait I forgot I thought this thread was about individual preferences in what they take, not your parameters of accomplishment .

Man, this thread got AIDS fast. WTH. And people wonder where a bunch of our posters have gone. SMDH.

Like Magic Johnson, we can keep it alive

Back on topic guys, internal checklists, what's on yours????

Age is #1
History is #2
Antlers is last
Don’t worry about meat as I donate or find another home for almost all if my whitetail.

We’ll have a couple shooters each year. These will all be deer 6.5 and older. I’ll pick one or two that I want to go after and I’m usually shooting does unless it’s that buck. My buck this year was 7.5 and we had on cameras for 3 years, I had seen him in person multiple times the prior year, as well as the day before prior to shooting him which told me he was back on the ranch. He was a deer that had a distinct time when he came on the ranch each year so I wasn’t going to hunt for him til he started showing up. Prior to that I was hunting another 7.5yr old that looks like he will make it to 8.5 unless something changes in the next 3 weeks.

^^^^I like Smokeys checklist. Although, Im pretty sure hes passed a buck before that met that checklist(maybe this year). So why would he/you pass a buck that meets your criteria?
Ill answer for me. When I posted on this thread about my checklist I was in a little rush and there was one I left out. Even if Ive got a legit shot at a buck that meets all my criteria, there would still be a reason I would pass him. If I thought there was another buck that was better on the property. I dont have to kill the very biggest buck on the property but it is always my goal.

Age...I want a mature deer.
Rack...uniqueness, I like big deer but to freeranges post way up there before all the attempted wiener measuring occurred....sometimes smaller measuring deer can just look better and be the one that tickles my fancy. I really like big 8's for example...I'd rather have a 130" 8 than a 140" 10.

FWIW (which is really nothing)...I'm 100% with Bobo on this topic and I'm not all in on high fences either...but I don't care where any of y'all shoot your deer and think the context around here makes it very disrespectful to even ask. My unsolicited 2 cents since everyone has a few.

First is age; we are trying to shoot 4.5 and older.
Second, is the rack bigger then one we've shot before
If no to 1 & 2, is it a spike or cull we want to get rid of

If no to all 3, we pass and shoot a doe instead. They're easier to gut.

Yep them 2 turn my clock freerange. Brows are excellent on both.

Agree with the harvest BS.

Kill, kill, killlllll, is that better??? Was just using my best wildlife Bio speak, lol....

No one else posted pictures of a wall of giant deer, Bobo. If they did, I might have asked them a question that I thought was relevant to their experiences and perspectives. Big or small property, what someone feeds or doesn't, what part of the state they hunt in, etc. are relevant and influence a hunters perspectives and experiences. What someone does on a large HF in South Texas doesn't all apply to someone hunting a smaller LF place in East Texas if we are going to learn and apply it. Surely you get that.

At any rate, I'm sure STX can speak for himself without your input...no doubt he's seen the question. His individual preferences and experiences are exactly why I asked it, not sure why you can't see that or understand it after it's been explained 3-4 times by two people, with multiple examples. I think the real reason is you just don't want to, and I guess that's your prerogative.

I seriously doubt STX cares what I or anyone else thinks about his wall of trophy deer, and you shouldn't either, but yet here you are continually posting and worrying about it. In fact, I specifically made two complimentary remarks regarding his deer and experiences. I respect his opinion and knowledge.

If its legal and I like it. Nothing else matters

his perspective? He killed it and posted it. Obviously he doesn't care where it died, you said it your self. you are the one that cares and has to know, so that you can determine the value of the animal via your criteria. That’s my entire point. If some one cares enough to kill a deer, mount a deer and share a deer it met all their perspectives when they pulled the trigger. That what this thread was about. If someone has over a 100 mounts on a wall their hunting priorities are probably higher then yours, its that simple. Means isnt a factor in priority.



this below sums up why you are doing your best to degrade others. you said it not me.

Where are we at with the terminolgy ? Is it harvest or kill ?

"Kill" for me. "Harvest" is a cave to the loons.

2x

X3

interchangeable. harvest to eat, Kill to kill to eat… no appeasing anti’s with vocabulary, they dont care what you call it

I just realized I always say “took”… dont know why

I harvest my garden. I tend to say "got" or "took".

I think we should start a poll .
Took/take
Harvest
Got/get/git
Kill

Are there anymore ?

Shot

up

wow I cannot believe I missed this thread until today!

Stxranchman clearly has lived his life focused on whitetail deer and knows more than all of us - his display of deer is impressive whether LF or HF - I have nothing but respect for him and his collection.

My goal after hunting for the past 60 years is that my favorite is whitetail - however I also have sought out many other animals from antelope to Africa to New Zealand to British Columbia etc. My goal was to take the biggest and best trophy of each species I could take.

So my collection is more condensed so as to hang on my wall the best I could take of many different animals/species. I never had any interest in mounting huge numbers of deer - that is just me and to each his own.

As far as DQ's original question about whitetail - depending on what your goal is - meat, horns of any size, or trophies - in my case trophy level LF bucks - so my process is to first identify the deer from years of camera pics and videos - then determine its age - once it reaches the minimum age of 6 it becomes a potential shooter - deer may end up being taken at 7-8 years old and that is ok - let them grow to their maximum -

He’s not gonna answer you 2 little whiners so get over it… I wouldn’t if I was him because what you think about what he kills doesn’t matter to him nor should it…. If it were me I would tell you it’s none of your business….

Doesn't matter anyways, I don't think either DocHor nor S&W will ever be able to fully comprehend what he brings to the table. I know I have a hard time keeping up.

Hud, I appreciate those South Texas pics you give us every once in awhile, takes me back in time some.

x2. I’ve hunted with him in multiple states, there is no keeping up.

I don’t think I like to do anything as much as he likes to hunt deer.

true story.