The best hunters I know personally , that shoot the best bucks , seldom if ever pull the trigger now . But they all have piles and piles of different size racks big and little ,that they shot through out the years . If you hear them shoot now though ,you know it's going to be a Whopper . But they would be the last ones to say what other people should shoot

They can't pass a law they can't enforce. That's why agencies pass point restrictions and not age restrictions. Unless you know a deer very well, aging a deer is mostly opinion. Heck, even biologists looking at teeth sometimes can't agree on age. Nobody can prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that a deer is 4.5 y/o to be able to shoot him, and no GW could prove he's not to write you a ticket.

First thing I will admit is that I shot a whole lot of little bucks when I was younger. I was excited for every buck I killed. I look at thing differently now. But I absolutely do not think people should see things my way. They just need to hunt the way they want and do whatever makes them happy. I am happy for people when they enjoy hunting. Period. I do believe there is an evolution of a hunter. I enjoy planting and feeding them now much more. I truly like the management of the herd. My only shortcoming is that I don’t shoot enough does. Not that I don’t enjoy shooting them, but I am usually waiting on a big buck that I am hunting.

I’m in full agreement with you, but it’s amazing how the true inner person comes out in these situations. They are out at the local stores talking the other down and how they would have passed on it. And then they want to throw in the was it killed legally to try and smear the person that killed it.

The more deer I kill, The less I care about antler size. 2 and year old scraggly 5 or monster. Same result. Saw the antlers off, toss them in the bed of truck. Back the next day to do it again.

A lot of bickering can be avoided from either side, if people didn't feel the need to post everything they kill on social media. I kill deer that make me happy and don't give a flip about what others think. I'll show them to a few close friends and that's about it. Nothing good comes from showing off what you kill to people you don't even know.

This

I Lov looking at other guys deer pics on here - don’t know the guys but am happy for them - pumps me up

However U guys want to hunt is your decision- I hope u all kill a 140 plus

Very well said. 👍

I hunt for my enjoyment, not to show off what I kill.

I agree.

(coming from a primarily big buck hunter) Lord no! The dude who's hunting 140's in Alabama (heck, even 130's, or frankly even high 120's) is a crazy mofo. You can hunt your whole life, even be moderately successful and have an enjoyable hunting career, and never see a 140 in Alabama. An average "good buck" in Alabama is probably a 14'-15" eight point that'll dress 125-130 pounds, I'm going to shoot that deer most of the time. And this is really why I take such exception to the guys who get all pissy about the currrent DCNR staff trying to get a better hold on Alabama's deer, trying to increase the standards for Alabama's deer hunting. We ain't trying to become some dumb@#$@# trophy destination, nobody believes this is Saskatchewan. But damn, what's the point of shooting a yearling spike, or worse, a 12' wide 8pt that isn't much bigger than your yard dog??? Gee whiz fellas, I hunt public frickin' land and I see enough does every year to fill every cooler in my neighborhood if I wanted to. It's like you're missing some sort of competitive spirit when you'll shoot a pencil neck buck with basket rack. Like you're missing some common sense understanding of reasonable management. But again, I understand this is just coming from my worldview of how I was raised about deer hunting....deer hunting to me literally only exists for the thrill of the chase, it's ALL about the rush of a big rack (again, not a dadgum 140" buck, just a "good one" for Alabama). I cannot comprehend the emasculated view of hunting where you don't get a thrill from the sight of a big buck, therefore I cannot comprehend the dude who shoots the tiny basket buck ("for meat") and lessens his opportunities of seeing that buck later when he's bigger. Also, I cannot comprehend the man who only hunts truly giant bucks (I need more gratification, more often than that! LOL)

ikillbux , your not required to understand why people choose to kill small bucks. You don't know everyone's situations and time to enjoy their hunting season. All you need to know is that as long as they have the required license and follow the rules and regulations they can enjoy their hobby/sport in their own way. This bulldoodoo over antlers is destroying deer hunting and the enjoyment of this tradition we all love.

I'm going to copy Jim Shockey and Tom Miranda. Spend tens of thousands of dollars
to travel to the other side of the globe to shoot a Deer that weighs 17 lbs w/ 2.5" antlers.
That'll teach me !

That's not what we experience on our property. We see 2 & 3 yr olds all the time (with our eyes while hunting). A two yr old buck is as dumb as can be and anyone can kill a 2 yr old... if they're not already shot up. We let three yr olds walk. However, and here's my point... we don't see near as many 4+ yr olds except on camera. We have them! They're there!! But, those 4+ yr olds are harder to kill and we have a good many as we see them on cams at night. But when the rut happens, they do show themselves a lot more!

Yes. I would agree. From my own personal experience, mature bucks are harder to kill. They tend to be very anti-social. Once the velvet sheds, they even move offf of their bachelor groups. They tend to find places where people are not. Once again, this is not the rule but more times than not,it tends to be the standard. However,I hunted a real big buck on our land in Bibb county several years ago. One of our members shot him at 10am in one of our green fields. He scored 168”. I would have never thought he would have been coming to that field at that time of day.

The rut changes all of this of course!

No offence ,,,,,, but I keep hearing that and have heard it for years but I never see no difference . I ran cameras for 7 years and saw no difference .

As for as day light movement and Dec , when people say deer don't move.

Fences make good neighbors!