Shooter or no ???

[FredRog72]

You made the right call in my opinion. Congrats on a very nice buck!

 

[1jamey]

That's a nice buck for any ground. I will say if you have him aged it may surprise you. 3.5 is my low end guess. Congrats

 

[easy45]

Something about him made you want to shoot and got your heart pumping, never be sorry about killing one because that's just disrespectful to the deer.

 

[wsm]

I would have taken him ,congrats .

 

[Ski]

For me, having hunted 35+ years and being blessed to kill many deer, I enjoy the process of chasing mature deer. And while it's not "all about the inches" I do enjoy setting goals for myself...and make no appology for it.....but everyone's goals are different. As far as competition....the only competition I have is with the buck himself....don't worry with what others think....hunt hard and hunt your way and enjoy the process.

That's a very good statement. It closely mirrors where I'm at. I hunt the oldest deer in the place I hunt, and that doesn't always equate to big antlers. It doesn't even always equate to old age. Truth be told I have to adjust my goals & standards every season to hunt what's available.

 

[KPH]

I would have shot it and never looked back

 

[REM7]

If your happy with him no other opinions matter. Cant live life on "what ifs"and "maybe next year". Fine buck if you ask me.

 

[cbhunter]

Looks like a 3.5-4.5 yr old plenty mature enough, what ever makes you happy is what's right.

Although tough to tell, that was my first thought as well. Thats not a young deer and likely would have always been an underperformer.

To the OP, have no regrets brother. But I do understand the feeling

 

[philsanchez76]

I agree 100%, i pray that the Lord blesses you this year with your best yet!

Well your prayer worked! I shot my best buck this morning!!

 

[cbhunter]

Thank you all, u all have made me feel better about my decision. I agree he is a decent buck just not my best to date. I always try to do better than my previous best, guess i just set my standards a little too

Thank you all, u all have made me feel better about my decision. I agree he is a decent buck just not my best to date. I always try to do better than my previous best, guess i just set my standards a little too high.

"Always do better than my previous best" will eventually make it impossible to kill a buck. But I know exactly what you mean because I used that thought process before. Nice thought in theory. I even told myself i would quit mounting deer that werent better than my previous best, well i broke that thought as well. Its all about the experience of the hunt and if it gets your blood pumping in the moment, have no regrets after that trigger is pulled. Congrats man

 

[whwood21]

A classic beauty, I would have zero regrets. Being a pressured area, his chances of making it another year were slim. He's a winner for that area

 

[Ski]

Well your prayer worked! I shot my best buck this morning!!

Then post some pics!!!

 

[philsanchez76]

Then post some pics!!!

Hahah. Thx for calling me out. Posted him in another separate thread but here ya go. Thx for the support y'all!

 

[Ski]

That's an awesome flier!!! Good job to both you and OP for some awesome TN bucks!

 

[philsanchez76]

That's an awesome flier!!! Good job to both you and OP for some awesome TN bucks!

Thx and thx to @walk it out for the prayer!

 

[walk it out]

Well your prayer worked! I shot my best buck this morning!!

Never doubt the power in the name JESUS!
Congratulations buddy, very nice buck!

 

[Duck dogn]

You done great

 

[Omega]

Hahah. Thx for calling me out. Posted him in another separate thread but here ya go. Thx for the support y'all! View attachment 61463View attachment 61464

Man, I would have let that one walk, imagine what he could have been in about 10 years...jk Great buck, congrats! I too don't get into the whole should I have or should I not have. If I decide to pull the trigger, I thank mother nature for her bounty and enjoy my venison.

 

[JKC]

He's a good buck. Don't kick too hard. I hunt small farms and we let nice deer walk some times. We have hunters all around us. But in the last few years there are some that gets through. What I am trying to say is with all the shooting some will make it to next year and be really nice ones.

 

[walk it out]

Thanks to all and to clarify, about my moto of (alway trying to kill better than my previous best) I only base that off of the prior year, not my all time best. That would set anyone up for failure sooner or later lol