# Shooter??



## Let72 (Jan 17, 2009)

What do you think? Is he a shooter or a year away?


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## BassSlayerChris (Aug 9, 2010)

For me thats a taker. However most of the people here whom have taken lots of bucks would say give it a year or even two.


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## BassBlaster (Jun 8, 2006)

I have a 9 point hanging out at my place about the same size as this one. I'm giving him another year. This is the first time I have been able to do that. Prior to this year I have always been stuck on public land. Hopefully I see him next year!!


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## BassBlaster (Jun 8, 2006)

BassSlayerChris said:


> For me thats a taker. However most of the people here whom have taken lots of bucks would say give it a year or even two.


I havnt taken lots of bucks and I said to give him another year. The biggest buck I have taken is about the size of the one he posted. I have just come to the realization that it makes no since for me personally to take small bucks just to fill a buck tag. I'm not gonna take another buck till I get a shot at something bigger than I allready have. I can fill the freezer about any day of the week with does. This is just my personal opinion though.


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## floater99 (May 21, 2010)

give another year,shoot a doe and have GRILLED LOINS.


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## catfish_hunter (May 31, 2005)

Its not a bad buck, and if its private land where you can manage it, I would leave him go for another year. Once the ruts kicks in you will see bucks that you never seen on your cam, id be willing to put money on it. And you never know what might come walking thru on a hot doe!


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## pj4wd (Dec 9, 2009)

It's a nice lookin buck and will be better next year, but it would be tuff for me to let him walk, the situation would have to present itself then I could honestly answer that question.


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## GotSpaceOnMyWall4U (Oct 6, 2010)

Goodlookin' buck my friend!!! In my stand id def pass and lettem go another year and possibly 2. idk your situation on acerage, style, feed,...... but def let him go another year before you putem on the buck'O'bob. GL


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

it would help to know if it is public or private land. if hes on public land, hes getting a pointy stick thru his side. if hes on private property that nobody else hunts and i knew some bigger boys were around, id probably let him go, notice i said PROBABLY.


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## Let72 (Jan 17, 2009)

It is private land (100 acres with corn fields & some woods) and land owner only allows a few bowhunters so there is a decent chance he will make it another year. I have never killed a buck with my bow so it will be VERY hard to let him walk if I get the chance......


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## Carpn (Apr 5, 2004)

It up to u not us. If he is big enough for you to be happy with him then by all means shoot him. Not everyone has the same standards. Asking on a open forum like this you are gonna get variety of answers based on each persons standards.....When what it really comes down to is what will make U happy.
My "guess" is that he is a nice 2.5 yr old....I personally wouldn't shoot him...But early in my bowhunting career I woulda jumped all over a buck like that.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Carpn said:


> It up to u not us. If he is big enough for you to be happy with him then by all means shoot him. Not everyone has the same standards. Asking on a open forum like this you are gonna get variety of answers based on each persons standards.....When what it really comes down to is what will make U happy.
> My "guess" is that he is a nice 2.5 yr old....I personally wouldn't shoot him...But early in my bowhunting career I woulda jumped all over a buck like that.


My thoughts exactly!! It is your call.


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## mrtwister_jbo (Apr 7, 2004)

i would let him walk if i was using my xbowbut, if i had my recurve i would shoot him in a sec since i've never got 1 with my recurve lol
thats just me if it was gun season an i had my shoty or muzzle he walk but if i had my redhawk or blackhawk i would poke a hole in him
twister
ps 2 each his own,last yr i passed on alot of little bucks so hopefully it pays off this yr(i hunt mostly privite land)


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## Bonemann (Jan 28, 2008)

I always make my decision when it's in front of me in range


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## Stripers4Life (May 2, 2007)

wrong post


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## Stripers4Life (May 2, 2007)

In one year he'll be nice..... in two years he'll be real nice! Seems to have some decent genetics. His rack is real uniform and tall. Could be some potential, depending on a few factors like, genetics, habitat, nutrition.
If you want to kill trophies year in year out, then you must manage your deer herd. Ideally you would only kill deer for 3 reasons. 1. To harvest a mature trophy animal. 2. To thin the doe herd (meat time). 3. To harvest animals with poor genetics or undesirable traits. (old mature buck with small, thin rack.) Because aging a deer is very difficult with just glimpse's, you should try your best to keep an eye on your herd all year round, trail cams make this easy. Scout and scope is also a great way to obtain information. You will soon begin to "know" your herd, who's in it, how old they are, where they bed, where they eat etc., etc. By doing this you can then assess your hunting situation on the spot, and decide weather or not to make the kill. It has been said that a successful season begins when the last season ended. 
Bucks peak out at about 5-6 years old. This is when they are fully mature, and still in the prime of their life. They then begin to decline, not only body size, but antler size as well. If a 6 year old deer had that rack, than he should be removed from the breeding pool. However this deer appears to be young maybe with awesome genetics 1.5, but realistically closer to 2.5 years old. I would grant him a free pass. You want to give all your bucks a fair chance to reach maturity. The next couple years are going to be some of his fastest antler growth years in his life. If given the time to mature, you may be asking us who the best taxidermist is, rather than too harvest? or not too harvest?. So let him walk, and wait for his daddy. And if this is what your trying to do, then check out QDMA.com its a wealth of knowledge. You may also want to get in touch with the other people who hunt this land, and see if they have similar hunting goals. It's always easier with more eyes and more hands to help.
Besides, it's a good idea to wait for the rut before you take a buck, reason being that hot does will bring in mature bruiser's for miles. Big old mature deer got that way from being smart, and during the rut they put down their defenses and become far less skiddish. That's your best time to get a mature deer. I can say with confidence that most of the slob mature bucks are taken during the rut. Good luck


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## One Legged Josh (Jan 27, 2008)

I would take him, or the neighbor will.....:!


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## Let72 (Jan 17, 2009)

Thanks for all of the input. Hopefully I will have a chance to make the decision. Stripers, good info, thanks.


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## Ted Dressel (Dec 16, 2006)

Since it is on private land I would pass.I also would talk to the other hunters so you all are on the right page about it.


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## Weekender#1 (Mar 25, 2006)

U really think the neighbor is going to pass on a buck, go ahead and you will learn some stuff that is not in the books. For me the best time to get a buck is the first two weeks of the season, then they get really spooky til rut, then it is a crap shoot. I am 55 years old and still get a thrill out of every buck, to many, many hunters a fawn is a shooter.


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## ttomcik (Feb 9, 2007)

Nice buck, but if ya want to get the big ones you have to pass on the smaller ones he looks like a 2 year old.


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## GotSpaceOnMyWall4U (Oct 6, 2010)

I agree if its your first buck with your bow he is respectable. You obviously are in a good spot and all. Do you happen to know (do your homework) on what other bucks are around? He may be the big daddy but he may get his nutz nipped by many others.?.?.? I respectably dissagree with weekender on his position because monsters roam the woods in the rut!!! in my opinion you have a much larger buck that will make you happy and you wont have to ask if he's the one lol GOOD LUCK MY FRIEND and post pix when you gettem'.


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## Weekender#1 (Mar 25, 2006)

Ya know every deer darn near would be bigger next year, so why do you do what you call hunt, You are a nature watcher. And that is fine. But if you wait till they are bigger you can always wait until next year or the year after. My thoughts are every deer is a trophy not that I have shot a yearling in many years but if I would shoot one this year it would be a trophy to me. Screw everyone else and our opinions. Some one that says something like that may have never killed a deer yet or have many hours in a tree.


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## timmyv (Apr 26, 2006)

Never killed a buck here...Shoot em! hahahaha!


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## Hetfieldinn (May 17, 2004)

I can count the number of bucks I've shot on one hand. I'd take a plump doe over that one. When I walk up to a buck that I just shot, I want to be able to say 'that's a dandy', not, 'I thought he was bigger', or 'I should've waited'.

These are purely my personal thoughts. I have no problem with hunters legally harvesting bucks of any size. If they're happy, I'm happy for them.


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## Poohflinger (Feb 2, 2010)

Kill it!!!!!


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