I hear y’all on the mount it if you shoot it, but there are a lot of dedicated big buck hunters that could care less about putting another on the wall. Might mount it if way bigger than their biggest. But not interested in mounting another average big buck for the area but certainly are not going to pass on a big mature deer just because wouldn’t meet their mounting requirements.

I think the obviously mature buck should be the exception to the rule. If he's built like a buffalo but doesn't have a great rack, he's probably over the hill or just never going to special. I've passed a few of those in the last 3 years and I want to kill one just to put him on the scale to see what it will weigh. In my area I've seen a couple that had to go in the 220 range. Only problem will be loading it up by myself. Last big un I killed, had to go get the trailer and drag it up on it

So lets assume the Buck is not on the decline, even if it is a mature buck why shoot it if you aren't going to mount it? I've personally never understood the thinking, well this is just an average deer for the area so I am going to shoot it for fun. If the buck isn't going on the wall what is the purpose? If you want the meat take a doe or two. You could be shooting a buck that is average for you but a true trophy for someone else.

You do realize there are people who enjoy hunting and killing mature deer right? It’s not greedy or bubba blood lust. It’s a fun and rewarding thing to kill a mature buck, regardless if he gets mounted. Antlered animals are the only ones we impose such strict requirements on. Do you mount every duck, squirrel, rabbit or mourning dove you kill? I’m guessing not. A deer doesn’t have to be mounted to be a trophy. I have a lot of trophy skull mounts and I wouldn’t change a thing about the hunt or the deer. It’s fun killing mature bucks. As far as I’m concerned if someone gets upset about a buck I did not mount, that they would have mounted, they can get out and work hard like I have to kill the next one. I don’t scout, plan, hang stands and put in as much time as I do to watch deer. I do it to kill them.

You do realize there are people who enjoy hunting and killing mature deer right? It’s not greedy or bubba blood lust. It’s a fun and rewarding thing to kill a mature buck, regardless if he gets mounted. Antlered animals are the only ones we impose such strict requirements on. Do you mount every duck, squirrel, rabbit or mourning dove you kill? I’m guessing not. A deer doesn’t have to be mounted to be a trophy. I have a lot of trophy skull mounts and I wouldn’t change a thing about the hunt or the deer. It’s fun killing mature bucks. As far as I’m concerned if someone gets upset about a buck I did not mount, that they would have mounted, they can get out and work hard like I have to kill the next one. I don’t scout, plan, hang stands and put in as much time as I do to watch deer. I do it to kill them.
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I understand that but the some of these post make it sound like they aren't even skull mounting the deer... Just doesn't make sense to me, just a personal opinion. Also I don't think you can compare Ducks, Squirrels, Rabbits, or Doves to growing mature bucks.

Rules, rules, rules, have any of ya'll ever tried to work up a dang B&C score, figure a deer's weight , work a calculator while looking thru a scope and holding a Q-beam at the same time?

SPOT ON!!!

Probably the best post I have seen on Aldeer in a long time!

I like hunting big bucks. I don’t hunt for the meat, although I enjoy eating it and all of it is used. The odds of there being a buck in the area I hunt much bigger than any of the ones I have mounted are low. I like figuring out mature bucks and killing them. The antlers are not high on the reason I hunt. I like them obviously and the bigger the better but the hunt and maturity are much more important to me.

I've never mounted a buck I killed and never intend to. I don't like it. I take pictures of them, but I would never cut it's head off to hang on my wall to brag about. The antlers I keep in my shed to help me remember the hunt.

Nice post Matt. I hunt to kill mature deer but I'm not obsessed with it. As I get older, I really enjoy the solitude and getting away from pressures of work and home. That is just as important to me as killing a large deer. I would rather not kill a deer than to shoot an immature deer. Just my two cents.

I'm not saying anyone or way is right or wrong, but people's objectives change as they get older. I've been deer hunting since I was about 10 and I'll be 71 in a few months. I've killed a lot of deer and some pretty good bucks. I'm retired and managing our property for deer and fishing in our ponds is basically what I do. About 5 years ago I managed to kill my buck of a lifetime about 1/4 mile from my driveway. Same year I killed another buck, same spot, the first one grossed about 150 and I hunted that deer for 3 yrs before I killed him. It was a quest, that deer drove me nuts. It was almost anti-climactic when I killed him. It was like, what do I do now? Killed the other one during the rut, 20 1/8" inside spread, grossed near 140. I seriously doubt I'll ever kill a bigger one, but it could happen, so I continue to seek that one.
Won't really matter, I just enjoy the whole process and personally, just watching a group of does that I have nurtured makes me happy and is very enjoyable to me. I'm going to keep doing it as long as the Good Lord will let me enjoy the wonders that he created for us. Hunt safe and enjoy every hunt as much as you can, that's my story and I'm sticking to it

I just don't get the "you can't kill a buck if you're not going to mount it" mentality.......In fact, it is one of the most mind-numbingly stupid things I've seen posted here in a long time, and that's saying something.

I have 1 deer mounted - the first buck I ever killed - a good size 5yo 6pt . I like having that mount on the wall, but I have ZERO interest in having deer heads all over my house. My house just isn't that big I don't want deer mounts covering entire walls. For me to mount another, it would have to either be quite a bit bigger than the one I already have, or a really unique/interesting rack. Following those guidelines (every one has to be bigger than the last or really unique) and the "you have to mount it to shoot it" rule, I would not be shooting deer much longer because after a couple of mounts, the odds of finding one that much bigger or different are virtually zero around here, so I would only be shooting deer every few years at best. But I'll be damned if I'm going to just stop hunting deer because I don't want to mount it. I like eating them too much. I like having the racks laying around in my shop, or nailed to a board on the garage wall.

Sure, I'd prefer to kill bigger, more mature deer. Heck, at the end of the day, "Bigger racks usually = more meat". But there's no way in Hell I'd pay money to hunt somewhere that told me I couldn't kill deer unless I was willing to spend another $500, on top of the time and money I'd already paid, to have the thing mounted whether I wanted to or not.

I am with ya on that Gomer. Have never mounted a deer and would not even if I shot a super stud.Just have no desire to have dead critters staring at me while I am watching the news.I like to eat them and antlers go on the barn to serve as a reminder of good times.Thank goodness my club rules are simple. Do what I tell ya or go find somewhere else to hunt.

Yeah. I mean don't get me wrong. I like deer mounts, and I'd like to have a couple more, but I don't want a dozen of 'em cluttering my house up. Hell I've got one. If both of my kids eventually kill one worth mounting, and if my wife ever killed one worth mounting, that's 4 right there. Really wouldn't want more than that.

I understand that but the some of these post make it sound like they aren't even skull mounting the deer... Just doesn't make sense to me, just a personal opinion. Also I don't think you can compare Ducks, Squirrels, Rabbits, or Doves to growing mature bucks. [/quote]


So what if I cut the antlers off and rattle with them, let the dog have them, hang them on the fence post, etc? The memory is all mine. I didn’t shoot it for you or anyone else to “ooo and ahhh” at or give your opinion on. More than likely, you’d never know I killed it. I like trying to find and kill mature deer. I don’t worship antlers.

Buck must meet 2 of 4:

15" inside spread
an 18" main beam
a 7" tine
a 4" base

We used to have weight included (165 lbs) and meet 3 of 5, but a buck that is club legal in bow season might not be club legal during or after the rut. If a buck loses 25% of its body weight in the rut a 200 lb deer will weigh 150 after the rut.

While you can make educated guesses at to age, there is no known way to accurately know the exact age of a deer after it passes 1 1/2 years old, unless it was tagged as a fawn or it has been tracked through pictures, or something along these lines. There are many studies of trained, experienced, biologist trying to age deer of a known age and their accuracy rate is not that great and gets worse, the older the deer is. To make someone pay a fine on a deer that is not a certain age is dubious, in my opinion.

Since you mentioned making someone pay a fine, I assume you are talking about aging a deer after it is dead. If that is the case, then there is certainly a way to know exactly how old the deer is without a doubt.

Personally, I'd rather fill up my hunting room with more turkey mounts (I have 4 now), more duck mounts, (I have 6), and more big bass mounts (I have 1). If I could slip a nice 10 point or a heavy rack 8 or 9 in there, I'd be a happy man but if history is any indication, that ain't happening. I estimate I've killed over a hundred deer in 40 years of hunting and have 1 shoulder mount. He's the biggest rack buck I've ever seen and that was in 1992.

Dr. B

Keep in mind years ago we were trying to uphold trophy management guidelines. We had right at 5000 acres on our lease. Everybody wanted to shoot a big one but would come dragging in a 10" wide 10 pointer just because it stepped out in front of them at the wrong time. We, the disciplined ones, who let these deer go on numerous occasions decided to impose this rule. We had one member ignore it and it cost him his membership. He was a good friend to most in the club but the rule was imposed. The next season he showed up with it mounted. We all got a good laugh over it but the point was made. We filled our doe tags by New Years Eve and within 3 years it was normal to see anywhere from 10-20 deer a sit on the greenfield. This included several basket racks. Year 5 on the program we killed 3 rack bucks. I believe the smallest scored in the high 130's and the largest was in the low 160's. Several were seen and/or missed but we continued the program. It was a fun club and great group of men to hunt with. We lost our lease when a guest shot a turkey with his rifle out of season and the GW caught him. The owner shut us down. I got to hunt a few more times and saw several great bucks but after we lost the lease the owners son decided he could manage it better than us and we lost our rights. I wish the state would stop the liberal doe harvest. I believe total #'s are down but heck I'm just a voice in the wilderness.......

We shot one like you're talking about this year. Probably 8-9 and in the 240-250 range.