Last week, I hunted with a friend and shot a mature 8 point. Buck weighed over 200 lbs, but it didn't have a great rack.

I have had this conversation with him before, and he picks on me for shooting "small" deer instead of waiting for a "trophy" that may or may not show up.

He is a close friend, and we hunt together generally 6-10 days a year, usually at least two trips. We've been doing this for the last 5 years. He has not shot a buck in that time, and I have shot 5 bucks and a few does.

Those of you who know me know that I don't give a flying f*** what anyone else thinks about the deer that I shoot, but it brings up an interesting question.

Would you rather shoot -

a 2 year old buck that weighs 100 lbs and has an 18" wide rack that scores 130+

or

a 5+ year old buck that weighs over 200 with a high tight rack inside the ears that scores 110

What if both of these deer are in range at the same time?

My buck killing philosophy is simple-

To kill 4+ year old deer regardless of rack size and let 3yr and under deer walk, regardless of rack size.

I don't shoot two year old bucks...so the five year old gets it.....

5

I shoot 3yrs + but if i saw a 2yr old bigger than any ive killed I'd shoot it

Smaller rack but noticeably bigger body? That's a no-brainer (or, it should be)

Hopefully get both. This is where a semi auto really comes in handy.

That would sound cool, if it didn't defy every single facet of human nature. And it's like saying, "needless to say" (then saying whatever was supposedly needless to say)...if you truly didn't care, you literally wouldn't even say it.
Drives me out of my mind when all the bad@$$es say that. Because I'm a red-blooded American male, with testosterone flowing in me, I absolutely give a @$@# about pretty much everything you think about me. It's literally why you do, say, believe, everything you do, say, or believe. You cannot divorce yourself from it, I wish all the internet bad@$$es would stop trying to play this "moral high ground" game.

That being said, I really don't pay much attention to the age of the deer unless he looks obviously young/small. I play the "would I mount that deer?" game.... that's what I shoot. Normally in Alabama that's gonna be a 4+ yr old deer I'd figure.

I go with the older deer .

Ditto

This year im looking for an old fat buck, I really dont care whats on its head. Next year if theres a young buck that tickles my fancy, I might kill it. We watch our deer grow so I generally know the one im wanting to kill. However, if one wanders through that we havent seen before and it rubs me just the right way, im gona put a hole in him.

I've killed many bucks that were younger / smaller than I thought they were.
Some of the places I hunt are thick or lots of obstacles. You might get a couple of seconds to make a decision.
You see a tall rack, or maybe just one side, and you know that he's about to be gone, so you either drop it or don't.
I'd love to hunt like they do on TV, making a top 10 hit list, and check em off one by one. That's Hollywood fantasy in the south.

Honestly, that sounds boring.....taking inventory, selecting your 'hit list', browsing the selection of deer standing out in the field and selecting one from the list. It might be fun for a season or 2, but I think the excitement would wane quickly

Depends.

Is this my land/club, his land/club, or maybe a pay hunt?

If it's my land, I'd shoot the older buck. If it's his land, I'd shoot the older buck.

If it's a pay hunt, well....let's just say I don't go on pay hunts to have deer meat to eat. I can get that on my land anytime. I'd kill the best rack I could, and be happy. It's not really my job to manage a pay operation's property for them. If it's within the property "rules", then I'm shooting the biggest rack I can.

Plus one

Same with me. I don't often get to watch calm deer for a long period of time, so I'm making a judgment call based on the first impression (or that's how lots of my GUN hunting is).
I don't think I've ever had a deer on camera and patterned him and killed him right "there". Honestly, I've seldom ever killed a buck I've had on camera.

if they are both side by side i shoot the 130+ alone id shoot both the 5+ year old with small rack is what he will always be and any 130+ deer i see is dead he wont look 100lbs on the wall

I guess I am different. There are a few folks on here who know me well, and if you ain't having sex with me, paying me, or compensating me in some other way, I care not one iota what you think about me or what I do. I don't think I am a badass, I am not generally a competitive person (except with myself), and I generally go my own way, from the clothes I wear to .

I genuinely attempt to shoot older deer, but there is no "moral high ground", implied or otherwise, in my question. If I get ready to shoot a legal young deer for whatever place I am hunting, then I will shoot. I share pics with folks I care about, and occasionally here. I am sure that my buddy will give me crap about the next old deer with a crappy rack that I shoot, and my response will be the same as it was this time. They are all made of meat, and I eat deer.

If I am looking for a monster rack to add to the shoulder mounts, I will most likely look somewhere other than Alabama or Georgia to get it. My hunting time here is purely devoted to family and friend time, having fun, and stacking a few in the freezer.

The purpose of the original question was to satisfy my curiosity only, based on his consistent response, not meant to disparage anyone else or make myself appear anyway other than I am. The number of deer I posted is what I have shot while hunting with him, not the total that I have shot.

I guess I could have asked the question without the background info, but I thought it was relevant.

I’ve let 4 different 3.5 year old bucks walk this year. Last year I made a mistake and shot a 3.5yo that would have been a giant at 5 (if he made it lol). But that’s the only 3.5yo buck I have shot in the past decade. Ill shoot a mature buck with just about any type rack any day of the week. If he’s broke off (main beam) then they get a pass. Just about any other buck 5.5 and older gets a dirt nap.

Huck the weather ext week is gonna be perfect for our trip. Maybe we will have some luck.

If I can tell that a buck is mature, when I’m hunting in the southern US, he gets whacked with zero regards to the antlers. Killing a true 5 year old or older in Alabama is no easy task unless you have the coin to be in a large and well managed lease. Being as I own 20 acres in not prime deer habitat in AL and mostly hunt public land, any deer that isn’t a spike will usually get lead slung it’s way. I’ll eat tag soup in Mizzou or another Midwest state if I don’t see a buck with “sho nuff” antlers, but Bama or S.C./NC aren’t the places I’d get picky about antler size.