Shooter or Not? Plus an Oddball.

[dirt road ninja]

I think he is 3.5 and would gross out in the 125ish range. To shoot or not to shoot. When I see a shooter I know it right away. If I have to think about it let it walk. If you go for your binos first, probably not a shooter.

[hookedspur]

The reason I would shoot it in a Heart beat is thats a WV Buck and they average 18 mo. old in my old home state ,and hardly ever get that big .
Great Buck for down home Deputy .

[tomstopper]

For me he's a definite shooter! At this point in my life I really don't get much time to deer hunt so I've been shooting the first legal buck I see. As far a scoring him, I'm not sure , but I'd love to see him when his velvet drops. Regardless of score, he'd have a spot on my wall if he gave me the opportunity at a shot.

100% No matter what they are all beautiful creatures from God so they are all trophys in my book.

[longbeard11]

The reason I would shoot it in a Heart beat is thats a WV Buck and they average 18 mo. old in my old home state ,and hardly ever get that big .
Great Buck for down home Deputy .

If people would pass them up they would get that big and bigger all the time. If its on a private farm and you feel like you can pass him and he is gonna stay right there definitely do it, on public land i would be pulling the trigger, its all in where you are. 
Getting bigger bucks to hunt though first starts with you, if you have the mentality here that "well if i dont shoot him then someone else is going to so i better shoot him even though hes 1 1/2 or 2" then you will never ever have good bucks to hunt. Trust me, bucks will make it if you pass them. I have been passing on good 3 year old bucks for several years now on my farms in WV and they will make it, but you first have to give them a chance.
Where is this buck located?

[Deputy 14]

Here is my dilemma with this deer. First, I've never killed a deer this big but I've let deer like this walk in the past, but hunting in a better area, where I'm at this is about as big of a buck as I've seen. Secondly, this deer is on semi-private land, If he stays in the woods im not too concerned with someone killing him, but if he makes his way to the strip mine on the other side of the ridge he'll almost certainly die. I would be more than happy to take this deer but I would like to take him as a mid 150s next year if he makes it.  Yes, I am horn hunting, I very rarely eat venison other than an occaisional roast or jerky, I do however make sure that none goes to waste.  I've lost all interest in shooting 5 points and spikes but will never think less of someone who does. Oh well enough ranting I guess we'll have to see what he looks like from a tree.

[lightsoutcalls]

I don't live on one of the Kiski's farms, so I would shoot that deer all day long.  Hunting is what you make it.   I hunt to put meat in the freezer.  I just cooked the last of the steaks left from my 2011 deer on Sunday afternoon.  (They were might tasty with a steakhouse marinade, a few bacon strips laid over them and a combination of white oak, cherry and honey locust smoke....)  I'm hoping to take 1 or 2 does in early archery season and may hold the other tag for something exceptional.  If a deer like that was the first thing to walk past my stand, I would do my best to put an arrow through him. 
I have one buck mount on the wall, but don't hunt for the purpose of decorating the walls.  If you have the time and deer to pass something like that up, you are truly blessed.  Be thankful that you even get to see deer that size, much less struggle to decide whether to shoot them or not.

[longbeard11]

Here is my dilemma with this deer. First, I've never killed a deer this big but I've let deer like this walk in the past, but hunting in a better area, where I'm at this is about as big of a buck as I've seen. Secondly, this deer is on semi-private land, If he stays in the woods im not too concerned with someone killing him, but if he makes his way to the strip mine on the other side of the ridge he'll almost certainly die. I would be more than happy to take this deer but I would like to take him as a mid 150s next year if he makes it.  Yes, I am horn hunting, I very rarely eat venison other than an occaisional roast or jerky, I do however make sure that none goes to waist.  I've lost all interest in shooting 5 points and spikes but will never think less of someone who does. Oh well enough ranting I guess we'll have to see what he looks like from a tree.

I understand where you are coming from. As a horn hunter though, passing a deer like this is just a chance you have to take. One of the best quotes ive ever heard in deer hunting was "you will never shoot a 150 or 160+ class deer if you shoot the deer when he is 130 or 140" It just cant happen. If you want to shoot the real big buck you have to let that buck that has the potential to get there walk.
I hunt several big farms where i feel like i have the luxury to let good 3 or 4 year olds walk to make it to a mature age, do all of them make it even then? NO! but that is a chance i am willing to take and it pays off for me, i get a chance at a big one every year, whether i make the best of that opportunity is up to me, but thats the only way you will have chances at big deer, let the younger ones with potential walk.
Sometimes its tough to do, and i understand your delima totally, but this buck in this pic has tremendous potential to boom into a stud next year with a good drop tine so for me he would get the pass. What part of WV are you in?

[Deputy 14]

Im in Boone county. That is where this buck is. I've hunted mostly in Logan county the last 10 years and it has kind of spoiled me. I've let several deer like this walk without picking my bow up. Unfortunately I've lost all that property to hunt. My biggest problem is I k ow that the chances of killing a 160 or up in this county is slim to none. Of course I'm not going to complain because I'm truly fortunate to have had the opportunities to hunt and have saw some true giants. 

[hookedspur]

The reason I would shoot it in a Heart beat is thats a WV Buck and they average 18 mo. old in my old home state ,and hardly ever get that big .
Great Buck for down home Deputy .

If people would pass them up they would get that big and bigger all the time. If its on a private farm and you feel like you can pass him and he is gonna stay right there definitely do it, on public land i would be pulling the trigger, its all in where you are. 
Getting bigger bucks to hunt though first starts with you, if you have the mentality here that "well if i dont shoot him then someone else is going to so i better shoot him even though hes 1 1/2 or 2" then you will never ever have good bucks to hunt. Trust me, bucks will make it if you pass them. I have been passing on good 3 year old bucks for several years now on my farms in WV and they will make it, but you first have to give them a chance.
Where is this buck located?

Your 100% right ,,,,,,But they dont stay and we cant talk anyone into the ,lets let them mature idea ,or we would .

[Kywoodsman]

Looks like a 3.5 year old to me. Probably score 120-130, hard to tell though until he sheds the velvet. He will probably be around 150 next year but if that dear walked in front of one of my stands he would probably get to take a ride in the truck. I'm all for passing up younger bucks to let them grow and have had to eat several buck tags throughout past seasons because of that but some deer just stick out to a person as a buck you just really want to to shoot and deer with a lot of character like that always seem to get me all fired up for deer season when I see them or get pictures of them. If this buck does that for you and you would be proud of him then by all means, take the shot. To me the situation and the memory you will be able to cherish forever afterward has far more value then the net score of the antlers on top of the bucks head.

[ferocious calls]

He is a very nice deer. I would take him first chance available, but I'm a meat hunter that traps. It would'nt be the biggest buck I've tagged, just the next. 
I get concerned for the longevity of hunting when we call it a sport and put so much emphisis on antler size. I hunt because I'm supposed to, and for food.
Sure I like seeing big bucks but, truth be told the younger ones taste better. Shoot a bruiser in mid rut and my dogs even have a stuggle making it taste good. I have never found a receipe for antlers, even B&C sized ones.
If you can't bring yourself to killing him I will be in that area with a tag this fall, we'll get him off your mind and into your freezer if we can. Unless of coarse, if you want to let him grow tuffer on the tooth. 

Hang in a tree, watching all season, legal bucks passing by seems like a huge waste of time and opportunity to me. I guess having once been addicted to antler size and pursuit of the big one myself, I understand the mindset but have gotten over it.

[longbeard11]

never really understood this, "you cant eat horns". Sure you cant, thats why God made does. Instead of shooting a young spike buck or fork horn buck just to say you shot a buck and "oh hes young and will taste better" why not shoot a doe? I will never understand that.

That being said, there are some bruiser bucks in Boone county, you definitely have a chance to kill a stud over there in that part of the state.  If he sticks out to you like the others said and hes the buck you want then by all means take him, or if I knew that he was the biggest buck on my property i would put an arrow through him.

He is a very nice deer. I would take him first chance available, but I'm a meat hunter that traps. It would'nt be the biggest buck I've tagged, just the next. 
I get concerned for the longevity of hunting when we call it a sport and put so much emphisis on antler size. I hunt because I'm supposed to, and for food.
Sure I like seeing big bucks but, truth be told the younger ones taste better. Shoot a bruiser in mid rut and my dogs even have a stuggle making it taste good. I have never found a receipe for antlers, even B&C sized ones.
If you can't bring yourself to killing him I will be in that area with a tag this fall, we'll get him off your mind and into your freezer if we can. Unless of coarse, if you want to let him grow tuffer on the tooth. 

Hang in a tree, watching all season, legal bucks passing by seems like a huge waste of time and opportunity to me. I guess having once been addicted to antler size and pursuit of the big one myself, I understand the mindset but have gotten over it.

[turkey slayer]

 

He is if Im the one in the tree !!!

[strutnva]

shooter

[ferocious calls]

Ahh, I do shoot does. I once, as I said, was caught up in the ancient addiction of the horns. Life has taught me there are much more important things to get all excited over, other than having to shoot only old, mature tuff bucks.

I think bulls go for burger or dog food don't they?
I can't tell you how many times guys(horn hunters) would try to give me thier meat a year later to feed my fox herd. This to me is wanton waste, and to them a real Trophy to hang on thier wall and feel accomplished. This is so sad IMO. 

Can anyone tell me the proper age to let the bucks live to? At what age are deer raised for meat, harvested?