[DrakeHunter]

Most hunters like me, (an average hunter) would like to know when to shoot. I have taken deer from a button buck all the way to a 140 class.(all whitetail). It is hard to pass up a young 110 to 130 class buck. In the woods, it's hard to judge age when you only have small rideaways to shoot from.

In Oklahoma there are a lot of big deer on the river but on the small creeks that I hunt it is very hard to find a mature buck the has a big rack. The only chance to see one is in the peak of the rut, and that is only if you are lucky. I guess that is why the average buck taken never reaches maturity, because it is often to hard to resist.

[sjadventures]

To me anything 130 and up is big.

[grizz1219]

In the state of Massachusetts they have not adopted an antler restriction so anything is legal over 3" of antler. I personally have a 6 point or better rule for myself but I'm viewed as a fool by most hunters here. I've taken only one buck since adopting this rule but he was a 154" gross 13 pointer and have passed up many smaller bucks. I fill my freezer with tasty does though!!! For me, in this area, a shooter buck would be something in the 100-120" range with a true trophy coming in around 140".

[shortbus]

Originally Posted by grizz1219

I personally have a 6 point or better rule for myself but I'm viewed as a fool by most hunters here. I've taken only one buck since adopting this rule but he was a 154" gross 13 pointer and have passed up many smaller bucks. I fill my freezer with tasty does though!!! For me, in this area, a shooter buck would be something in the 100-120" range with a true trophy coming in around 140".

I think that is a pretty good rule to follow. If you're going to harvest a deer just to shoot, why not just take a doe. You aren't going to mount that 4 point buck on your wall, so what is the difference...

I understand that you can take both, and some people can't resisit filling up those tags. HOWEVER, if you hunt the same private land year after year, it certainly isn't to your advantage to keep shooting the little guys.

[1dahunter]

I would have to agree with shortbus but I only have access to public hunting so I never see any big bucks the only buck I ever took was a small racked 8 point that green scored 69 but he weighed 168 lbs dressed out.

[444marlin]

IMO, a big deer is any deer.

Any deer I kill thats bigger than the last one I killed (65" -/+ 8pt) is a big deer

[midwesthunts]

Any Deer that i shoot that is 120" or bigger is a nice buck... but however i don't have the patience, the people i hunt with they stay out there longer and wait for that bigger Buck....

[Turkey Guide]

If it's big enough to make you happy, KILL IT! I've killed a lot of deer in my life (over 70) mostly does since Missouri adopted it's unlimited doe tag policy. But I've also killed all sizes of bucks and all of them for one reason or another was fun to shoot. I've also passed up great bucks because I didn't want to drag them out or I wasn't in the mood to butcher today. I just shoot what I feel like shooting for fun. Here in Missouri we really need to harvest does anyway and shooting as many as possible in one day can be tons of fun compared to waiting for a monster buck. I always know before I leave the house how many deer I can give away today and shoot for that number. I know several families who will take all I will bring and pay for more tags. So I just hunt until everyones freezer is full. Of course if I see a big buck I will take him, but I don't spend all my time looking just for him.

[Marvin]

Sorry to say but I can't really relate to you guys that hunt public lands, (I've been blessed enough to have good places to go) but I usually wont take anything under an 8 pointer for the simple fact that I hope to see those bucks the next year or two with much larger racks. This doesn't always happen though thanks to poachers (friend of mine recently ran a guy off the land after hearing a gunshot and later finding a NICE 12 point laying on the ground.) For you public guys, gut it out, the nice bucks i've taken were when I sat longer than usual. And from what I understand THOROUGHLY research the land, and by that I mean people are lazy, be willing to go where they wont, or what they think isn't worthwhile, and when you get there don't leave.