Archery Talk

I hunted here tonight, unfortunately he was here last night.

 

I’d fall out of a tree if I saw that thing walk by

 

@Dangerdave

How bout this guy? just showed up out of the blue...

 

That boy has been hitting either a corn pile, a farmers field, or has a honey hole of acorns with not much competition lol

Or maybe I’m just used to the sad bucks out here

 

Hank the Tank there

 

i agree! I usually get the sad bucks...this is the First pics of him...theres some people down road maybe 10miles or so have gotten some big ones on their property (900 acres) but this first time ive seen one this big on my 4.75 acres since we got here in oct 2021.

 

I got a newbie.

 

Every deer you post is amazing...but I think we're looking at the best one so far.

 

There's God again...wearing a camo hat watching over BHT's deer.

 

If anything like around here a huge amount of acorns. Like you I'd take him. That said in a year or two he'd be a true trophy.

 

Best one so far this year.

 

@buckhuntin-tacoma im less than 3 hours from you. I’ll stop by in the morning for my guided hunt

 

3 hours, where you at?

 

Guys...something we need to be real careful about is this constant quest (driven in large part by social media and influencers) for inches and age class. I see it all the time on FB and IG..."I know he's not the biggest buck.... or "It's only a small 8 point, or "Only a doe..." They are quantifiying their success, which is a shame.

That buck pictured, I'm guessing is close to if not 170" or better. Only 1% of buck may hit 160", 170" the percentage drops even more. It's ALREADY a true trophy.

That being said, I know BHT is retired. Like a lot of us, has killed a shit ton of deer with a bow. The challenge then becomes for maybe a minimum size, or a specific unique animal, one we may have a history with.

Just some ramblings this morning....

 

I've been blessed to kill some really nice bucks in my life, some with a bow, some with a muzzle loader, some with a gun. My dad was a meat hunter, if it was brown it was down. He had a family to feed.

Once I started being more selective, I started killing bigger deer instead of shooting the first thing that walked out, like I had been taught.

Since I've had kids, a son and a daughter, they've both shot deer and don't care how big they are. I don't either. His 1st was at age 7, hers at age 6.

I've realized it's not the size of the deer, it's the memories that are made doing it.

Last year was one of the best hunts of my life when my then 11 year old son and I doubled up with muzzle loaders out of the same blind 30 minutes apart. Something he and I will never forget.

This meant more to me than the 165 1/8 I have I killed with a bow in N.C.





I'm not saying anything bad about shooting big deer, if you can, by all means best of luck to you all

 

In my eyes the true meaning of a trophy deer is simply this, one that you are happy harvesting. As stated above I am retired now for over 2 years and I can hunt as much as I want. I have hunted for over 50 years now and couldn’t tell you how many deer I have taken. I have killed doe’s, small bucks and big bucks and over the years have become more selective.
I’ve reached the point that if I want meat, I’ll shoot a doe and I can be more selective and hunt for a mature 5 or 6 year old buck. I live in some of the best deer hunting area in the country, I’m reminded of that every year by all of the out of state license plates in the area.
Like @rtkbowhunter mentioned above, I do have self imposed minimum requirements and because we try to let bucks get to 5 or 6 years old, we do develop a history with a lot of them. Last year I had a buck that I had been watching for 4 years, he was either 7 or 8. I missed him last year on Oct. 20th, and the neighbors son in law ended up getting him. I was so happy for him that I gave him 2 sheds that I had from this buck.
This post is not directed at anyone particular and I’m not ragging on anybody for shooting what they shoot. Like I said, if it makes you happy to shoot any deer then by all means shoot it and enjoy your harvest.
The one guy that does irk me a bit is the guy that shoots the first 1 or 2 year old buck he sees and then bitches about not seeing any big bucks. The number one ingredient to getting big bucks is age and like it or not if you want big bucks you have to let the young bucks walk.