Do you shoot small bucks ?

[fasteddie]

I certainly have and I don't put down anyone that does during bow season as any deer you can take with a bow might be a trophy to that person . I have some antlers in the garage no no mounts .

Last year I passed up shots on some 4 and 6 pointers knowing that there were much larger bucks in the area . If a doe had come along , I would have dropped her . Well guess what ! I ended up taking a button buck that I thought was a doe and never filled a buck tag last year . I didn't feel bad because I was spending time outside and saw some gray fox , red fox , turkeys , racoons , etc .. Any time outside is quality time .

[rock]

i have since 07 last year i passed up 14 different bucks

[Larry]

Most of the time no (that’s my choice I’m not force to) but on one farm I hunt the farmer doesn’t do nuisance permits but he expects us to kill deer.

[rock]

correct my post i have not since 07

[wellsley]

That depends on what you consider small. I try to shoot 2 1/2 year old bucks and 9 out of the last 10 years I have. But I have also shot several 1 1/2 years olds in the past the weighed more than many of the 2 1/2 year olds.

[fasteddie]

They have a QDM group in Italy Valley . I have gone to a couple of their meetings . Most of the locals have joined . Since they started the QDM , they have been harvesting bigger bucks and have been taking more does . No one is beat up for shooting a spike , fork horn , etc ...It's just an agreement , not written in blood !

[wooly]

Really depends on how I feel that day and how my seasons going far as sightings. I try to pass the young bucks but sometimes I cave when I need a boost in confidance. Never regretted doing it that way and always enjoy all my hunts for what they are.

[SteveB]

Are you asking about body size, rack or age?

They are not always related.

[orion]

If I am not going to second guess myself about shooting it I will.  I think its different at different times of the year.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I have in the past, but no longer do. I have passed alot of bucks in the last 4 years.

[Cabin Fever]

Really depends on how I feel that day and how my seasons going far as sightings.

That pretty much sums it up for me too! Plus how empty my freezer is! 

[fasteddie]

When it gets close to the end of the season , I may change my mind but I would rather have the opportunity to take a doe than a small , young buck ......

[SteveB]

Really can't answer the question without knowing what the definition of a small buck is for the purposes of the question.

I do know that I won't shoot an animal later in the season that I would pass on earlier.

[steve863]

I will take the first legal buck that I happen to see.  Antlers don't mean a thing to me anymore.  Much prefer to have some meat in the freezer.  Besides, the area I hunt doesn't exactly hold deer in great numbers.  You pass up a buck, you may not get to see another one.  Most especially when one hunts the first few days of the gun season and then only the weekends after that.  If one lives close to the area they hunt, maybe they can be more selective, but for the people who have limited hunting time, any buck should be a shooter buck.

[Doc]

"hill-side veal" ....... can't beat it!! 

[Doewhacker]

They all taste the same to me    I may pass on small bucks some day, hell may freeze over when I do though so if you notice it getting cold you will know why. With the bow I try to shoot all good sized deer I can, the freezer don't fill its self.

[fasteddie]

With only one archery bow tag , I try to hold out for a big bodied 6 point or larger . Other than that , I try to fill my doe tags .

[Nomad]

I sure have up untill last year.... The farm I hunt has been QDM for sometime but the part I hunt was never under those rules.

Last year that changed for me, which is ok as i have been passing up small bucks more or less on my own for  awhile. Now I have no choice.

They treat me very well,i post it have it to myself etc. So yes i do as I'm told !

[Buckstopshere]

I have and will shoot small bucks on occasion, as I will shoot big bucks on occasion. Problem is, the big buck don't seem to be as frequent as the small buck occasions. ;0)

I know I sound radical and off the wall, crazy...but I think that the "shooting only big bucks" is one of the reasons why we don't see more big bucks...I know it may seem counter-intuitive to the "let him go so he can grow" crowd. But in the real world, there is so much pressure on bigger bucks in some areas...and none on the little guys, that the big guys don't stand much of a chance...especially now that we shoot rifles. And I know because I am one of them.

It may seem crazy but on a property I bow and gun hunt, if it came down to the last day of the rifle season and four bucks went past me,...a spike, two sixes and a small eight...and I wanted the meat...then I would drop the spike.

And the meat is just as good on the spike than it is on the one- or two and half year old buck.

I know that since I archery hunt on the same property, the three bucks with racks would be more than decent the following year, but the spike,...it would take him a couple years to get decent.

We need to de-emphasize the more points a buck has the "better" or more worthy it is...

We need to emphasize that it is all about the hunt, the shot, etc. and get away from the old-point-fixation thing.

[sbuff]

I like to hunt for meat,not horns.But at our camp we all agee'd to let the spikes walk until next year.As a result we are not only seeing biggers horns,but bigger bodyied deer too.

The only ones allowed to shoot a spike or small crotch horn are the first time hunters who have never gotten a deer.

This method seems to work for our family very well.

[Karpteach]

"hill-side veal" ....... can't beat it!! 

You said it Doc.

[erussell]

I like to let the little bucks go, I figure the faster everyone fills there tags with scrawny deer the faster I'm alone with the big boys.More often than not the buck tags go unfilled but every few yrs I out luck one of them. Besides theres twice as much meat on a 200lbs buck as there is on a scrawny 4 point. Its less work to shoot big deer to, you have to shoot and drag and butcher two 4 points for every 200lb buck    I like to fill all my doe tags though, thats less scrawny deer eating my big bucks food. The way I look at it, it really doesn't make much sense to say you hunt deer for the meat. Deer meat is a bonus result from the hunt but not the reason I hunt. If I wanted meat I could fill my freezer with grade A Angus, Chicken and Pork with how much it costs today to hunt. Dont get me wrong I devoure every bit of deer meat I get. But I have to laugh when people say they hunt for meat anymore, when they are spending probably on average 600$ ( and some people a lot more) a yr for equipment and gas and processing fees and licenses and all the other crap that gos with deer hunting. A scrawny 4 point that if your lucky will give you 50 lbs of meat but probably more like 30 lbs. So if you shoot 2 of them and a small button buck you get 90 lbs of meat for 600 dollars or more depending on how you have it processed. It kills me when people ruin perfectly good deer meat by turning it into hotdogs, suasages, or whatever gimmick the local processer can come up with to get another $200 out of you. Deer Meat is now the most expensive meat on the planet.  

[steve863]

  The way I look at it, it really doesn't make much sense to say you hunt deer for the meat. Deer meat is a bonus result from the hunt but not the reason I hunt. If I wanted meat I could fill my freezer with grade A Angus, Chicken and Pork with how much it costs today to hunt. Dont get me wrong I devoure every bit of deer meat I get. But I have to laugh when people say they hunt for meat anymore, when they are spending probably on average 600$ ( and some people a lot more) a yr for equipment and gas and processing fees and licenses and all the other crap that gos with deer hunting. 

Why is it funnier to you when someone says he hunts for meat in comparison to any other reason for hunting?  Is it any less funny when someone hunts for a set of antlers?? I doubt anyone would give you anywhere near $600 for even an impressive looking rack.  The reason we ALL hunt is because we like to.  Nothing wrong with saying that some meat is ones major objective.  I tell you, you can keep your grade A angus, I surely prefer venison over it.  Sure the costs add up, but as I said, we are doing something we want to and like, and typically any hobby or pastime can cost money.  Besides, I don't see free ranging venison being sold at my local supermarket for any amount of money.  Sure it can be found in specialty markets, but in general it surely ain't the same product as the one a hunter brings home.  In my opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong saying that one likes to hunt first and foremost for some tasty venison.

 

[Doc]

Look, if you hold out long enough and are real selective, you will eventually find one of those deer that come with aiming spots. They may be pretty well faded out by the time the season comes, but they're still a lot better because you can really settle that sight pin down on one of them spots. Not only that, but they are a lot easier to carry out.

[Doewhacker]

Not to get off topic but....I have a hard time understanding the people who hunt and don't eat the meat, whats up with that? My family and I love venison more than any other meat and go through as much as we get in a year.