wobblegobble
Well-Known Member
I know each man's trophy is his own idea but what classifies a trophy in ya'lls book? For me a deer over or at 130 inches or older than 4 years old is a trophy.
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER A TROPHY BUCK?
- Thread starter wobblegobble
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deerhunter10
Well-Known Member
Any mature deer is a trophy to me. As far as racks go, I get very excited at the 140 plus in Tennessee. That's a big deer in tn.
tree_ghost
Well-Known Member
Pretty much my stance as well
quackaholic
Well-Known Member
I personally think any Pope & Young qualifier is a trophy. But also add a qualifier that I'll shoot whatever strikes my fancy at the moment. Not many deer where I hunt, so being real picky isn't an option. So most any 2½ plus is a target.
BSK
Well-Known Member
If it's 120 or up, I'm probably hanging it on the wall.
On this little farm, we get a lot of pressure around us, any buck 4.5 or older is a challenge and I consider to be a trophy. Despite having plenty of good ag crops, acorns, and the few that manage to get a little age it is very rare we get pics of or ever see a deer that goes over 130. A deer with 120 inches here would be a trophy in my eyes.
This buck was 5.5
This buck was 5.5
BSK
Well-Known Member
For us, a 120 buck is the average mature buck, so that makes it a trophy to us. Now we certainly see and kill bigger bucks than that, but a 120 is rare enough to be considered a trophy.
quackaholic
Well-Known Member
Reminds me of an article by the late Jim Dougherty. He said that too many people are of the idea that anything less than 125 isn't even a trophy, but the truth is most bowhunters will rarely encounter that caliber of deer in the wild. He would regularly shoot 100 inch 8 points and be glad he did.
wobblegobble
Well-Known Member
mayberryrick
Well-Known Member
That's what I was wondering haha
5-1/2 yrs
They're all trophies
bowhunterfanatic
Well-Known Member
Just curious, how many 5 1/2+ do y'all average a year?
30-06 type of guy
Well-Known Member
For me on public, around 120" and up is my trophy goal.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
I don't excited about the rack any more unless its above 150. Wall is full, I'm unlikely to ever shoulder mount another whitetail, I'd rather my guests kill the big racks.
I'm happy to shoot any buck that is 4.5 and has an intact rack. I consider them a 'trophy' grade when they get over 215lbs, but I'm really looking for the 225lbs and up bucks.
I'm happy to shoot any buck that is 4.5 and has an intact rack. I consider them a 'trophy' grade when they get over 215lbs, but I'm really looking for the 225lbs and up bucks.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
Same. But I'll go down to 130" for the area I hunt being a really big deer
Kevin Snook
Well-Known Member
Actually any buck I kill is a trophy to me.
Especially one that I've hunted for awhile.
Especially one that I've hunted for awhile.
Mature bucks here might make 120, most fall short of that. Every once in a while we get an exceptional for the area buck that pushes or even surpasses 130, but they are far and few between and with not a lot of land we usually just catch one passing through on cams and never see it.
Amazes me how some with even smaller properties than ours can kill 130 plus deer year after year. Location matters a lot. Have to have realistic expectations about where you hunt. If we held out for 140's or even 130's here, our freezers and walls would stay empty. None of mine have ever been officially scored, but I have managed to put just two on the wall, in 30+ years hunting this farm that I think would be real close to 130.
4 1/2+, I like a high scorer but they are few and far between. Mostly the scrub bucks make it to maturity in my area. People will shoot the young bucks that have potential all day long in my area.
East Tennessee public land, so 2.5 year old and up are trophies for me. Used to be any buck.
Ditto! With that said, I typically target a buck to hunt that is mature (4.5+) and gross scores 130"+ here in SW TN. Of course, if I am aware of a 140-150" buck in the area, I will target him, but that is not the case year in and year out. I average a buck kill every few years, so eating buck tag soup comes with the territory for me and my approach, and I am fine with that.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Our Top 10 bucks all-time start at 123. Our Top 20 bucks all-time start at 114.
Our family hunting property is for entertainment purposes. Most family come in from out-of-state and their entire deer season for the year is 5-6 days at the beginning of MZ season. As of last year, we've killed 109 bucks, most of them 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 year-old bucks in the 80-110 range. Few (if any) of the family are interested in trophy hunting (waiting on big bucks). Basically, we often have a big buck or two, but no one ever kills them. Except me. All of the Top 10 are mine, and most of the Top 20 are mine. I'm one of the few willing to hold out, but even then, my standards are low. I hunt for fun too. My standards are: 3 1/2+, has to make the Top 20. Of late, I can usually pull that off the first week to 10 days of the season.
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1 good shot
Well-Known Member
The last one. When I lose the excitement over getting a deer, It will be time to do something else
Same here, you know those older bucks as soon as you see them. They move and behave different than other deer,
We saw this one once. He looked like a sofa with about 130" of bone on his head. He appeared and then did the old Homer Simpson back into a thicket .
My goal is 5 1/2 or older. Score doesn't matter. Yes an occasional 4 1/2 does get killed
