Mature buck poll
- Thread starter hbg1
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BSK
Well-Known Member
I generally only shoot one buck a year (self-imposed limit). So much would depend on how inferior his antlers are. It would also matter how late in the season it is! Post-rut, BANG! Opening weekend of MZ season, different story.
TN Larry
Well-Known Member
It depends on the situation for me and how inferior his antlers are. If anytime before 12/1, then no. Mid December is a maybe and late season is a probably.
Edit to add: If now considering 110" of antler, this is not much below the average for my area so changes things a little. It still depends and a maybe anytime before 12/1 but a probably anytime after.
Edit to add: If now considering 110" of antler, this is not much below the average for my area so changes things a little. It still depends and a maybe anytime before 12/1 but a probably anytime after.
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Omega
Well-Known Member
I hunt numbers, if I need 1, 2 or even three deer I get what ever I see as long as they are out of spots and not a button. For the guys that pay for the processing, I do try and make sure they are big bodied deer, to make it worth it for them.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
All day long. I LOVE to kill the old bucks noone else wants. If it's mature and less than 120in, it's a cull on my places.
Now same mature buck and 125in, I'm passing. Save that for someone else for what might be their biggest buck ever.
Problem I have is my neighbors high grade all the 110in 2.5yos 130in 3.5yos we pass up, so the only deer hitting maturity are the ones at the bottom end of the gene pool. We have the genetics to produce 150 to 170in deer... but in reality our area realizes a bazillion 130 class deer. Most of those are 2.5 and 3.5yos.
Now same mature buck and 125in, I'm passing. Save that for someone else for what might be their biggest buck ever.
Problem I have is my neighbors high grade all the 110in 2.5yos 130in 3.5yos we pass up, so the only deer hitting maturity are the ones at the bottom end of the gene pool. We have the genetics to produce 150 to 170in deer... but in reality our area realizes a bazillion 130 class deer. Most of those are 2.5 and 3.5yos.
Saggy fat belly, big necked, loose flabby brisket , im in
no matter if its 75 in 110 or 140!
no matter if its 75 in 110 or 140!
Mature is mature regardless of the rack so if I knew he was fully mature I'd have no problem burning a second tag. That said I normally kill 1 buck if that.
Mr.Bro
Well-Known Member
No "ifs" here.
No I would not.
160 in with spots and yall guys say your not shooting. Don't believe it.
No I would not.
160 in with spots and yall guys say your not shooting. Don't believe it.
I would aim for the spot in his shoulder
deerhunter10
Well-Known Member
Yes 10 percent and no 90 percent of the time. If he is a deer that we have a history with that has never put on any inches possibly. We are blessed with a lot of acres and several farms. Theres year i wish we could get management tags this year being one of them. Would be easier if he was a cool deer with some trash or something. We actually took a mature deer off the shoot list this past week. Pretty sure 4.5 and pictures had him bigger racked then he actually was. With racks seeming down across the board this year most of our 4.5 year old deer have been taken off the shoot list. While I think a mature deer is a trophy it's hard for me to burn a tag on a 110 inch deer personally and I'm different then others the later in the season it gets the easier it is for me to pass them as the major hunting pressure is done.
Depends. I've already faced this scenario this season. If I've seen other mature bucks I may choose to pass and wait for one of the other ones.
tree_ghost
Well-Known Member
I'm taking him with my longbow yes
I'm passing him with my compound.
Love it or hate it, my personal goal in hunting right now is to kill the largest racked mature buck I can find. I set the goal of a 160" in Tn and accomplished that this season. I have passed 2 other deer since I shot that one in August that were in the low to mid 140's inside bow range. I have set my mind on killing one particular deer as of now and if I do I think I'll have a Tn B&C typical….
I'm passing him with my compound.
Love it or hate it, my personal goal in hunting right now is to kill the largest racked mature buck I can find. I set the goal of a 160" in Tn and accomplished that this season. I have passed 2 other deer since I shot that one in August that were in the low to mid 140's inside bow range. I have set my mind on killing one particular deer as of now and if I do I think I'll have a Tn B&C typical….
It would really depend on the situation. Younger me probably not but now most likely . I know some go strictly on age but not me . History with why his headgear was less than it should be , historically always less, injury , etc . Some keep telling me there's no such thing as a cull for those that quality manage their deer herd should cull something like this but i don't have proper tools to do this . In the past I've tried to not shoot the younger bucks but time is slipping away from me .
for those that quality manage their deer herd should cull something like this but i don't have proper tools to do this . In the past I've tried to not shoot the younger bucks but time is slipping away from me .
backyardtndeer
Well-Known Member
Depends on the situation. I have let two bucks that I think may have been 4.5 walk this season. I had already killed one early on in the season, and my wife also killed one, so it's not like we are short on meat. Hoping still to get my son his first deer too, so that factors in. If it was the last day of season and I was convinced the deer would never amount to anything better than it was while i was watching it, I might squeeze the trigger. Honestly can't put myself in that moment without physically being there. I can say though that the two I shot with my phone camera earlier this season just didn't trip my trigger.
I've seen 3 mature bucks this year. First was Oct 8th. 8 pt,130"+- 6.5 year old deer. I gave him a pass because I only get 1 buck in Ky (1 buck limit works). Oct 30th I passed up a 4.5 year old 8 pt that would be lucky to hit 105". Nov 22nd I killed a 129" 11 pt. I had zero history with that deer but I believe he was 5.5. If I had to do it all over again I would have shot the 6.5 8 pt in early Oct. I have history with him and I would've been just as proud of not a little more.
If I was in TN with a 2 buck limit then I would hunt age mostly.
110" isn't SMALL to me in TN
Most generally yes regardless of antler size. But I passed a 5yr old buck twice this season because he had a broken antler and I'm fairly sure he'll survive to next season. But normally yes I shoot mature bucks even with little antlers. Killed one this year that probably didn't hit 110", but he was old.
Southern Sportsman
Well-Known Member
Good point. Mature but badly broken antlers, no. Mature but below average antlers, yes.
What all of the guys above said.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
I'm shooting him
Edit to say…..if he is all broke off from fighting and maybe half rack, I'm not shooting. I passed our biggest one on camera in 2021 due to half of his rack broke off. If it's just a genes issue, I'm shooting
Edit to say…..if he is all broke off from fighting and maybe half rack, I'm not shooting. I passed our biggest one on camera in 2021 due to half of his rack broke off. If it's just a genes issue, I'm shooting
