Goodness

Guys, I read this forum and enjoy the posts. Lot of really good, knowledgeable deer hunters. No doubt this forum's members are not for the most part the average hunter I guess.

That being said, that facebook is a different story. Its almost terrifying how many hunters have lost all sense of reality when it comes to hunting.

I know there are exceptions in every state in pockets thay produce or can produce really big deer but goodness, in 99% of ery southern state you ain't growing bonners outside a fence. I Can't count the idiots I read in the south who wake up every morning believing any 140" deer in their area are 2.5 and 3.5 years old.

you ain't kidding. my dad posted a pic of his first buck ever and got ridiculed bad. just a small fork horn but man was he proud. all the professional hunters tore him apart. he felt like he did something wrong listening to them. I told him it's your decision to shoot any deer you want. no one else's. you want to shoot a certain deer, then shoot it. it's your choice

I disagree to a point. I think just about every county in the state CAN produce a 140" deer bit it WONT BE AT 3.5 years old.

And it can't produce many until men learn not to shoot young deer. In other words if you want mature bucks you can't shot them as yearlings. everyone says, "you can't eat horns" that pure BS. ever hear anyone bitch because a bucks rack was too big? Of course kill what you want, but don't expect the quality of the deer to improve. Go to the Midwest and kill a young deer. Paid or not you won't be allowed back.

I would guess that a good 3.5 year old 8 point in Alabama would typically score 100" = 110". Too many idiots watch hunting shows showing 160" deer not realizing many of these shows are filmed in the Big Pen.

A lot of 4 and 5 year old deer here score 100 to 110

An average trophy Alabama deer scores around 120". It takes three things to grow big deer and not many places have that. They are :
1. Age
2. Food
3. Genes

You've got to not only have the land itself, but also the neighbors who actually have the same beliefs as you.

Amen, Swamper! One of our challenges as deer managers is to manage hunter expectations. There are no quick fixes. No magic potions. Yet, flip through hunting magazine ads or Outdoor Channel shows. Count the major brands peddling the "monster bucks made easy" snake oil message. Even worse is that so many peddle their wares under the guise of deer management. Otherwise educated people fall for it because the advertisers tell them what they want to hear...that it is possible to turn marginal land into a monster buck factory with a little supplemental feed, some salt rocks, and the latest Booner-in-a-Bag.

They have to pay for all the sponsored hunting shows somehow.

Media and message are two different things. It is possible to advertise without misleading. And it is possible to creatively integrate product into a hunting story. Very few do it though.

Probably closer to 100-105. A 120 is a pretty darn decent buck. I've scored a bunch of deer for people claiming they killed a 130 and when I hand them the sheet and it says 108" they just look at me. Still a pretty deer at 108 but the average typical 8pt that people are mounting and proud of killing in AL will not score 120.

I agree. And it's going to vary place to place a little just because some areas have a lot more agriculture and better food sources. For instance I hunt a plce here and there where a big 5-6 year old buck is going to way 250 pounds. Some lease and some more. And another place I used to hunt a big old buck would weigh 150. There's variations that influence things.

Amen. Being a scorer is a thankless job sometimes. One reason I've slowed way down.