Not quite all there

[Stonegod]

So you've got your target buck picked out, tons of cam pics of that big beautiful rack. But when the time comes and the shot is at hand.....your target buck is missing some of that big beautiful rack....maybe not alot but he's nolonger the dream buck in those cam pics....do you take the shot...or let him walk?

[buckstalker17]

unless he's busted it to pieces then i will live buy the rule that says you never pass on a deer on the first day of the season that you would gladly take on the last day..

[mrbb]

well , that's a good question,
I personally would say it would depend on how busted up, I like character, so a some damage is fine with me
but as an example, if my goal is say 140 inch buck, and its down to say 120-110 inches, I will let him walk and PRAY he makes it one more yr
I am not a trophy/score hunter, BUT I have shot my fill of bucks that scored low, and don't want anymore racks, I won't mount anymore
and to be honest, I think I hate shooting my target bucks, LOL, it takes so many yrs for one to get to the size I want in my area, that I almost feel bad killing it, knowing odds of another next yrs will be lower if I kill it
its always bitter sweet for me to kill a target buck in my home lands
out of state, not so much , and I guess that's why out of staters get looked at like they do so often HAHA

[Strother23]

Yea I agree. Some small damage is character but if the is quite a lot missing I'm going to pass and hope he makes it to next year even bigger.

[zachc]

Like the others I agree, if he's not busted up to badly I'd go ahead and take him but if he's busted and broken I'd have to let him walk and wait for next year. I mean even though he's busted up he can still pass on his genes during the rut, also if other Hunters don't know what he originally looked like then they might let him walk too. Now I would have to disagree that I have NO problem shooting my target buck when the shot presents itself, lol. If I put in the time and patience to get on him, then he's done.

[nomad_archer]

Like everyone else it depends on how much damage we are talking. I've let some half racks go that had a huge half left on his head but the other side had already dropped or was busted off.

[00buck]

unless he's busted it to pieces then i will live buy the rule that says you never pass on a deer on the first day of the season that you would gladly take on the last day..


I feel the same way

[hortontoter]

I guess I'm the odd man out here. If they are broken I usually won't take them. This is a prime example of my being very picky as to what I will shoot. This buck was second on my hitlist last season. When I got this photo of him missing his brow tine I made up my mind to let him go if a shot opportunity came. The opportunity never presented itself. This buck hasn't showed himself this season. He may have been killed last gun season, but I really don't know for sure. A lot of guys thought I would have been crazy to let him walk. I just wanted him with his complete rack or not at all.

[hortontoter]

unless he's busted it to pieces then i will live buy the rule that says you never pass on a deer on the first day of the season that you would gladly take on the last day..

I agree to some extent. But a busted rack in mid November is not the same deer he was with a full rack in October. Just my opinion.

[nomad_archer]

I guess I'm the odd man out here. If they are broken I usually won't take them. This is a prime example of my being very picky as to what I will shoot. This buck was second on my hitlist last season. When I got this photo of him missing his brow tine I made up my mind to let him go if a shot opportunity came. The opportunity never presented itself. This buck hasn't showed himself this season. He may have been killed last gun season, but I really don't know for sure. A lot of guys thought I would have been crazy to let him walk. I just wanted him with his complete rack or not at all.

Thats your decision and your call. By the way that is a great looking buck.

[hortontoter]

I find that trail cameras are my biggest enemy at times. If this buck hadn't been caught on camera, and just appeared while on stand I may not have noticed the broken brow. Especially if he came in at last light. If that had happened I would have been OK with taking him. But, once I knew he had busted off the brow, my hunt for him ended. At this stage of my life, killing a deer is not that important to me. Hunting one or two particular bucks is what I find very appealing. I haven't shot at a buck the last two seasons, but have had fun chasing them.

[RajunGajun]

At this point if I can make a nice coat/hat rack out of the antlers, get a couple decent knife handles, or just a couple good pieces to turn into chew toys for my dogs, I am dropping him. I am just looking to fill the freezer, so my choice is based on what tastes bets on the grill.

[buckstalker17]

I find that trail cameras are my biggest enemy at times. If this buck hadn't been caught on camera, and just appeared while on stand I may not have noticed the broken brow. Especially if he came in at last light. If that had happened I would have been OK with taking him. But, once I knew he had busted off the brow, my hunt for him ended. At this stage of my life, killing a deer is not that important to me. Hunting one or two particular bucks is what I find very appealing. I haven't shot at a buck the last two seasons, but have had fun chasing them.

I can actually respect that it takes a lot of self control to seek out just one particular buck hey me if he's 4-6 and will look good on the wall I will let it fly. Don't want no reel old one to me the meat is just to tough not good for much other then grinding it into burger

[Whitetail Freak]

I chased horn last yr and it got me in trouble i had no meat for freezer so this yr iam meat hunting the 1st four deer during the season that give me shots at them will have arrows thru the boiler rooms and my freezer will b filled . I dont mjnd if i take four does or three does and a spike its meat hunting for me this year .