What is a shooter buck in your eye's & why ??

[MXZ]

OK this is not a trick question

, and I'm not looking to start a war

of words. Just thought I'd ask being from a poor deer quality state like Vermont

...
* A shooter buck to me depends on where
I'm hunting , most of the time it's not in Vermont

so it would be a 125 class buck & up.

The reason is I have taken many deer in my life and now I enjoy the thrill & pressure of hunting the older bucks. If
I want a meat deer I'll shot a doe

.
Best Of Luck To All This Season & may each of you harvest a buck that meets at least your min. standards !
A huntN friend from Vermont...MXZ

 

[SD Buck]

Any buck you would mount.

 

[BW]

MXZ, Deer quality may be just an individual perception. If one has deer to hunt and enjoys hunting them. Who is to say what good quality is?

Quality and the hunt is in the eye of the beholder. When I started bowhunting deer in Iowa around 1970 I thought we had good quality deer hunting then.

Now? My perception these days may be that we are just going out and killing what we want without really knowing what hunting is.

Someone else's perception may be different. My opinion of a shooter is anything that brings challenge, enjoyment and satisfaction for the individual hunter. There is nothing wrong with anything hunted and harvested within the law.

Me personally, I hunt very much as you do. I shot 3 does last year and let everything under(and over

)150" go. But I do not expect everyone else to hunt like me. (if I did I would say there should be no wheels in the woods) oops!

If you are headed this way, I'm thinking you would have to stay locked in the camper or motel to have a low quality experience.

Good Luck and be safe!

 

[TallTines]

A shooter buck in my eyes is any mature buck. 41/2 and up. I love the challenge of going into an old boys home and taking him on his ground. there's nothin better. I try letting all 3 1/2 and under go so they can live to see bigger days. That is of unless they're sportin a booner rack already.

 

[okla hawkeye]

I try to shoot deer that are at least as big or bigger than what I have already gotten. I have progressed thru the 120's and 130's .Its hard to let them walk by now. I don't always estimate perfectly though. Got my eyes on a good 150 deer this fall.I have him on video when I was doe hunting last year. If I get him ,I know I couldn't let another 150 walk by.I am picky but not THAT picky. Hi Gary,(MXZ) remember me? How did your hunt go last year?See any big ones?

 

[Shredder]

A shooter in my eyes constitutes a buck with several seasons under his belt. Score doesn't matter too much due to the fact that not every deer will reach booner status, ever, but draw the line at 140 and above. 4-1/2 years old and over is the goal I try to set.

 

[MadisonB&C]

Rack size doesn't really matter if the buck looks to be 4 1/2+ years. It'd probably take a 150 inch deer if he's 3 1/2 years old, and I'm gonna do my best to pass on any deer that looks 2 1/2 years or younger. So for me, it's age over rack.

 

[MXZ]

okla hawkeye ,
Refresh my old memory.
Ya had fun on all 3 hunts, Give ya a quick run down .
Ont. We had snow for most of the hunt
and it started out kinda slow only saw 4 deer first 5 days one small 6 point. On the 6th. day I took a nice 10 point 125 class 225lbs .There were 3 of us
hunting on this hunt Bob took an 8 point last day buck. Chuck was shutout with no chances, he did not see a shooter all week.

Illinois : What can I say this was our
best season we had six in camp and 4 good bucks were taken.
The weather was great over all,One of my friends who had never taken a buck out side Vermont shot his biggest buck ever it missed P&Y by 2 inches..9point.
I need not tell ya he was really pumped up.Well he turned around during shot gun and crushed his best buck ever by shooting a 150 class 10 pt. with a kicker making him an 11pt. This really made my trip to see him have such a great hunt. Bob did not get a chance while he saw 3 shooter bucks he never got a shot. Chuck well lets just say he had his chances and saw more large bucks in two weeks than you would even hope to see in a full season or two...and for some a life time.
One of the other guy's hunting with us took a great high 130 class P&Y . And yes those P&Y gods saw fit to allow me another P&Y... I took a great 160 N/T 10 pointer that had 3 kickers making him 13 points, It was an outstanding day in the stand for sure. I took him out of the same stand that I shot a P&Y out of 2 years ago. At about 7 yards..
It's all happen in a manner only deer hunters could belive..but it kinda long story..
Iowa : Well while we had fun on this hunt we did not manage to hurt the deer
herd. Being our first trip here we used up 2 days finding out where we could hunt and 2 setting stands. We both had a lot of fun and saw some good bucks while hanging stands. I past on a 120 class 8 point, that was really the only thing close to being a chance I had. Chuck saw only small bucks. We only had
2 day of hunting time. We lost 2 to weather mostly high winds 35 to 45 mph.
thought it was going to take me out of tree and ship my butt back to VT.
Well we did not draw Iowa this year so I'm still working on getting over that loss !!! We are going to
IL. again and currently looking for another state that we can hunt P&Y quality deer and get tags over counter...maybe next year the Iowa Gods will be good to us...
Can't wait to get back to Iowa and give it another try now that we got our feet wet..... Don't forget refresh my old memory....A huntN friend MXZ ( Gary )

 

[BW]

Ditto on the bruisers regardless of rack size. I reluctantly passed an early Oct. dusk shot opportunity on a 130" buck last year that had to weigh close to #300 on the hoof. There are not many of that size of buck out there. It is truly a blessing too see them.

 

[Pupster]

Mine is ever changing, meaning one day it might be a 140+ one day it may be a doe. For instance last year was the first time I'd tried a decoy, I've bow hunted for 20yrs and this was the first time I employed this strategy. A buck came out and I grunted him to the decoy and shot him. He was roughly 130", not the biggest I've ever shot but one of the funnest! So I say if it gets your heart racing and it feels right I take the shot. I've got no one to impress and I have to live with what I shoot.


Good luck to everyone this season!
Pupster

 

[Liv4Rut]

my dad and i like to go on first impressions, if you see a buck and istantly think shooter or just know its a no doubter then take him. if you get a second guess, like well maybe he will do, then we let him walk. thats just what we do, good luck guys on the upcoming season!!!

 

[muddy]

a shooter is when i get up to the deer, be it a buck or doe, give it a good pat on the shoulder and silently tell it "thank you". the experience makes EVERY deer a shooter.

 

[livtahunt]

a shooter is what i'll settle for if i dont see the monster i hold on to my tag until the bitter end of rut weather it be a large doe or decent buck between 120 or 130 but i make every effort to get that 150 or bigger

 

[Ghost]

A shooter buck should be what each individual hunter is happy and proud to harvest, and this is different for everyone.

I also believe that the hunting experience is about a lot more than the size of the rack. Sure, we all want to shoot a big mature buck that scores high.

I try and hunt what I feel is the most mature whitetail that my area has to offer. This did not happen over night. Each hunter must go through a progression of learning and figuring out what makes the hunt enjoyable to them.

I hate the idea of young hunters reading and watching all the big buck hype only to set unrealistic expectations for themselves and have a disappointing season because they were holding out for a buck that did not exist in their hunting area.

I shot a 135" buck this past season I would normally have not considered shooting. However, after grunting this deer in and having him come in with his ears pinned back and neck hair all bristled up there was no doubt at that moment he was a shooter buck for me. It was about the thrill of the hunt and I was happy to have shot.

Each hunter must take a hard look inside and decide for themselves about what makes the hunting experience enjoyable for them.

Sorry I got so long winded.