dbHunterNY

you're in Ohio but no pressure or anything. haha congrats to your little brother. looks like he's got a happy entourage too. gotta love it when youth hunters fill tags. thanks for sharing! Good luck!

IMO "no mans land" doesn't exist when you hit a lung, high, and from elevation. there's a good chance you've hit other stuff. it's a dead deer on the run. problem is depending on how much you pushed or the deer's desire it can go a really long ways. one lung hits I've seen to live are hit low at a steep angle. both high or low can get greasiness fat on the arrow. just my experience. no mans land to me is backstraps further back behind the diaphragm. you're between the spine and the intestines but in meat. I've seen deer walk and act normal hit there with a 3" diameter hole in them. only to be taken weeks later during regular gun season.

looks good.

I've used pump, semi-auto, lever, and bolt to hunt deer with. a short throw bolt gun can be fast too. recoil levels the playing field a bit when it comes to speedy follow ups.

don't want to high jack this thread but selective dog breeding is more controlled and comparable to high fence deer operations than free ranging whitetails. results deer breeders get are equally incredible too. half genetics are coming from doe. can't look at a wild doe and tell what kind of antler genetics it's carrying. also you're always having an influx of unknown genetics from borders with different harvest requirements. you have spots that aren't accessible to hunters, both due to geography and privilege, that will protect "scrub antlered bucks". well known ranches down in texas, under the most intensive trophy management of free range deer you can have, say it takes them around a couple decades to see any noticeable increase in average antler size when looking at harvest data on paper. high grading is real but can be minimized to the point it's negligible or basically non existent. well thought out based on harvest data is the way to develop them, including evolving them for an area if need be like most states with them are doing. people grow divided and don't accept a QDM tool once someone tries to use it for TDM (growing trophies based on inches). I don't know of many hunters who'd be at a loss due to antlers taking a 6.5 yr old, 200+lb, "scrub antlered" buck. they'd probably just think of it as a gnarly old cool buck, a trophy in it's own right.

....and all you'd know for sure is that he'd be passing on big bodied genetics. for all you know he could have injured pedicles or even injured soft antler early in growth. the later being the case he'd most likely have sizeable rack at that age given that area. not as common but have seen before where a younger buck breaks both antler beams off with splitting down into the pedicle. even if he had bad antler genes as you elude him to have, his spread genetics would as much impact as a drop in a swimming pool.

follow ups are different and I think out of context with the original post. I've had to follow up a shot and basically put it square on the front shoulders to put it down quick. lots of meat wasted and both front shoulders completely blown to pieces for the bone turning into shrapnel. I didn't like it but didn't want to lose it and have it suffer.

that's kind of in line with my point. if you've subconsciously been conditioned to not take the shot then there's a good chance you won't. shorter amount of time you've got to make a shot happen or longer it's been since you feel you would take a shot like that then there's more of a chance you won't shoot.

my dad was an influence in me chasing whitetails. he doesn't hunt much at all anymore. I have a feeling my daughter might re-ignite the flame. his first grand kid. he still pays attention to what I am doing hunting wise. he's really only been a gun hunter too.

things happen so quick you're not thinking things over, your reacting based on previous practices or inclination. if you've made it a point not to take that shot in the past you'll probably just watch it run away bouncing through the cross hairs. if you've done it in the past or simply shot at deer you'll do the same. that's what I think.

that's why they call it the moment of truth. lol mature buck is one thing and then what we're talking about is a whole something else. Based on past experience, I'd still probably let it walk, but I'd be full of crap if I said it was a no brainer and didn't lose sleep over it.

stop promoting the spread of evidence mature bucks exist! first rule about fight club. don't talk about fight club. I did but 2 wrongs don't make a right.

no he didn't.... if you're feeling an urge to take a marginal shot on a deer of that caliber then you should take up my offer. you'll lose less sleep... well maybe not. the hunting world will be in a better place though.

anyway you put it.... no. that said if someone is torn and on the fence, PM me. i'll ask to bring a case of beer and dinner. you can still on the couch and look through an unmounted scope at my buddy's deer to fill the need. hell if you bring a gift card for his other half he might even let you shoot it with a rubber band gun. haha

he's really only going to take a trail. you backed out right away so he shouldn't be far. with snow like that it's perfect for still hunting, especially wet stuff. I'd grid the area again, go slow and just hunt. bring binos. meat is a different issue despite its cold but you'd get peace of mind from recovery. you should be able to see where you walked. love hunting in snow.

yup long time.

i wonder if it's farm raised whitetail and not really redstag? I've heard most commercial venison is redstag for some reason.

the marketing photos look good but why do i feel like some teen will cook it to clank doneness?

when I processed the deer just to be safe I did what I always seem to do when it happens. I filleted a thin portion of the hind quarters off that was exposed to the inner cavity. heart and liver was left in the field as it was already sliced into pieces before i opened her up. i don't eat liver anyway. heart always disappoints me when i can't take it home for the grill though. there seems to be a consensus with what we're all doing.

nice recovery and buck john. congrats.

last years deer meeting with DEC tagging along they brought up bobcat and this year they went off on a tangent with fisher as a focus. so I guess something might be coming down the road but DEC makes every road pretty long.

nice journal so far Matt! congrats on the freezer meat. venison tacos are ridiculously good... and a ton of other stuff that has ground venison. I grind up at least 60lbs of it every year. our man substitute for store bought meat.

we save quite a bit of money from store bought meat and have an abundance of doe so I'm happy to take enough to fill the freezer. if that weren't true I'd probably never bring myself to kill one. to be honest I get enough from the encounter and archery shooting wise I've got trophies to fill the trigger finger needs. you definitely have shot a lot of deer so far this season. even cooler thought is you've taken us all there like we were sitting next to you each time. someday i'll get more into taking photos of my encounters. most likely when my wife and daughter get into the field.

I'm sure it's been asked here, but what's your favorite smoker (plug-in). Pro and cons? I've been thinking if I should get one. Charcoal smoker seems to be a PITA to maintain temp versus a plug-in electric one I need to baby sit less.

I agree with you. that said nothing with deer is definite. weight can vary especially depending on the time of season it was harvested. we've had confirmed 2.5 yr old bucks range from 120lb to 170's. 3.5 year olds from high 140's to high 180's. I've seen an ohio 4.5 year old rack no bigger than the second photo for whatever reason. it dressed out just over 200lbs and jawbone was obviously older.