What is your goal

[HNTNBUX]

For those of you that pass on bucks looking for "the one". Is that one a minimum size, a specific deer based on trail cam photos or ??? What part of the state or states do you hunt and does "the one" change by area?

I usually hunt central MN, on land I do not own and did not know the land owner before gaining permission to hunt. None of this land is exclusive to me. I also hunt SD on public land and land that I gain access through simply asking. My goals do not change by area or state, I am looking for a deer scoring near 120 or better. In the areas I hunt I usually see one deer meeting this criteria a year. Getting a shot is another story.

[mabr]

The "one" for me can be a number of things.

Sheds found and hunt that one deer.

The one who eluded me for 3 years and never clearly seen his rack (to dark)but the body was huge.

Or that lil basket rack that youve watched grow from 1.5 to a 4.5 yo and now he's got smarter and you see him very rarely anymore where you used to be able to set your watch by him.

Or any 150+ class buck. My scale is it has to be outside ears by 1-2 inches, and have height as well.

BUT, then it all depends on THE buck. Ive got a 127" 8 that has G2's that are 13" but his width is only 15 inches if i recall correctly, and he doesnt even have brow tines. If i seen him again id probubly take him all over again.

Could even be a Doe. The one who looks at you everytime she walks by your tree and lets all know your there. Those are actually some of the best hunts ive had. I know some dont get to excited about does but they sure still get my heart a pumping.

[ejf76]

For me it's hasn't been about hunting for the "one", but I also have yet to catch what I would consider the "buck of a lifetime" on a trail camera picture. If I do, maybe then I will be hunting for that "one". I hunt in SE MN and in all honesty hunting for the "one" isn't terribly preactical unless you own a lot of property where that deer isn't off of it very much. A few years ago I had a 12-point that was a regular at a salt block and had all kinds of pictures of him. Not the biggest deer in the world but would have been 130's or better. He had split brow tines which I think is pretty cool so I was "after him" all season. Needless to say I never saw him through the bow or gun season. Early the next spring we found him dead on the property we hunt, likely (but maybe not) from a poorly placed shot from the neighboring state land. The same year my dad shot a 9-point that scored over 160" that we did not see on one single trail cam picture. The mass on the deer was incredible and it was eveident he was in the area by all the younger bucks we had seen or had pictures of with broken tines. But no one had seen that deer in the previous two years.

So in the for me its about harvesting a mature deer. Anything that looks that it would score 130" or better I guess, although I don't view the score as the only thing that matters. If its a young deer (2.5 yrs) that would still score that high I do my best to let him live, knowing he is a potential monster. Chances of me shooting it later might not be good but you never know.

I think there is a big misconception that if you put out a few trail cameras you will know about every deer on the property or in the area. In the end its still deer hunting and you never really know whats going to happen. IMO its better to keep an open mind about what you might see and make the desicion on whether to shoot or not based upon seeing a deer from the stand.

[ejf76]

mabr, I know what you mean about that "one" doe. There is an old doe that beds near a stand that I use year after year and she pegs me every single year. This has been going on for at least three years now and its a stand I have harvested a doe or two out of, but not this doe. Every year she steps out into the clearing at about 65 yards, looks right at me and snorts continuously until I swear the entire County knows where I am hunting. I have sat there during the gun season and she moves her operations about 40-50 yards up the hill into the brush, seemingly knowing what season it is.

I would move my stand location to fool her but where it is now is in a great spot between food sources and bedding areas, and I continue to see other deer. At this point it has become more of a game on how long into the season it is before she's standing in that clearing mocking me from jsut far enough away.

[Rippinlip]

My goal is simple, enjoy the hunt and come home safe every night.

Sub goals are to harvest a deer for the venison and try to outwit a mature deer.

[BobT]

My goal is to get together with family and friends; enjoy the camaraderie; share venison jerky from last year’s success; time off work; time in the field; passing the hunting experience to my daughter, nephew, and friends’ kids; making the kill; canning, smoking, marinating, and grilling the meat.

[96trigger]

My criteria,

High tines, antler tips out to the nose, and spread ouside the ears, thats a pretty good rule for a decent mature buck.

Whenever I see a nice buck, it stops me in my tracks and there is no doubt. If there is any doubt about it, it is not "the one"

Thats usually target deer, I don't target a specific deer. I do try and hunt deer as long as I can as I enjoy all of it. The excitement of bow season, the tradition of deer camp, and the solitude of late bow season and muzzleloader.

[Bear55]

I have one buck that I am sort of targeting but with limited land access to his area I will need some serious luck to connect. I hunt mostly public land so I try and keep my goals realistic, anything in the 3.5+ age class or something that might score 110 or 120+ area is good enough for me.

[Jameson]

For those of you that pass on bucks looking for "the one". Is that one a minimum size, a specific deer based on trail cam photos or ???...

Specific deer based on passed observations. He'll be 8.5 years old this Fall. Unless it's later in the season and we need more venison, I'll hold my buck tag for him if I'm hunting land in his area.

[BobT]

[Note From Admin: Please keep this topic on track. There are many QDM and deer management threads going already. Thank you. ]

[InTheNorthwoods]

How do you guys know that you're hunting one particular buck year after year without having some kind of radio tag on it? Are you sure you're not fooling yourself into thinking you've been "hunting" one particular buck and not more than one? Unless you have it tagged or it has some body marking to use as a reference I can't imagine how you can tell. You certainly can't tell by the antlers since they are lost and regrown every year and the new rack can be totally different depending on food supply, genes, etc.

This really couldn't be less true. The reality is that in a majority of cases with the aid of trail camera photos or regular sightings you can identify a buck from year to year once a deer reaches about 2.5 years or 3.5 years old. A buck's antler configuration (frame, shape, features, etc.) is going to be very similar from year to year because of their genetics unless they suffer some sort of injury. I have many pictures of bucks that I have chronicled from year to year that I would say with 99.9% certainty they are the same deer. They are like people you don't see every day, they may change from year to year, but once they are in adulthood, a majority of their traits stay the same and you can identify them unless something crazy happens.

[Bear55]

BobT

Unless a buck has distinct characteristics in his rack from year to year it is hard to tell, a lot of it is just taking an educated guess. I think most often people spot bucks in the summer or get them on trail cams and target that buck for the upcoming season. This particular year I just happen to spot a mature buck out in a field that I hope sticks in the area this fall. Most places I hunt have only one mature buck in the area so you will know when you see him, this may be true of areas with a lot of mature bucks too, there might be one giant people are after and a several other mature deer that are a little smaller.

[ejf76]

+1 ITN

From the pictures of the same deer I have seen year after year, the angles of the rack, both off the head and the individual tines are unique from deer to deer.

[Note from admin: Let's keep this on topic please.]

[nonteepical]

i hunt archery, rifle and muzzleloader. what it boils down to for me, is the buck in my sights worth my hunting season to be over and not being able to sit in the stand and be witness to the things we all see while hunting, with the slight chance for a really nice buck to appear. i hunt from october to december and usually end up with a doe during muzzleloader.

[Crappie Rage]

My requirements are changing. Three things have really changed them.

1. Owning my own land.

2. Joining the Quality Deer Management Association.

3. Trail Camera Pictures.

The QDMA has taught me how to age a deer and with the fact that I can now do that and see the deer on trail cams, I now want to harvest a deer that is at least 4.5 years old. I also would like the rack to score 140 plus.

Since the deer are on my own land(300 acres), it is not gun hunted, and the land is is not in MN, I feel a 3.5 year old deer has a chance to get another year older. Even though I know that deer will leave my property, he may be in my sanctuary for a good part of the gun season which is out of the major rut.

We will learn more this year as we have pictures of some nice deer from last year that we did not shoot.

[Bear55]

I'm going to ad that I have different goals for different weapons too. For example I would shoot a deer in the 110-120 area with a bow that I would pass with a rifle.

[HNTNBUX]

I too have shot or tried to shoot any doe that sees me in the tree. I do not need an educated doe running around or avoiding my stand all year. Once they see you it becomes more challenging and thus more satisfying to take it.

Do most of you hunt your own land that are looking for the mature deer? And what part of the state?

I have never held out for a specific deer before but I certainly get excited knowing that there are big ones around and that persistence may pay off.

[InTheNorthwoods]

My number 1 goal is to enjoy the hunting season. That is usually accomplished by hunting as much as possible and by having as many encounters as possible. That also means that I try to be selective. It used to be that I would try to shoot something larger than I have in the past with a particular weapon. Now my standards are P&Y size with my bow and something that I will put on the wall with a gun. What I would put on the wall really depends on the deer and often is based more on the story of the deer than the size - although I won't pass up a bruiser that I come upon by happenstance. I try to use trail photos of deer to know what I am shooting at and to know that it is a mature deer (4 years old or older), but I don't limit myself to shooting only what I have trail cam photos of. In all, I am trying to take a mature deer and if I don't get that chance I am happy eating my buck tag at the end of the year.

[BobT]

Quote:

Unless a buck has distinct characteristics in his rack from year to year it is hard to tell, a lot of it is just taking an educated guess.

I believe this is the most accurate response. Those that claim to be tracking the same deer year after year could be tracking brothers or perhaps even father and son. Same genetic traits, same food source, etc. We've taken bucks that we feel quite certain are sons of deer we've taken years before but I would stop short of claiming they were in fact sons.

I also doubt anyone can age a deer accurately enough to say otherwise by viewing photos or by sight. It takes a forensic-like investigation to truly age a deer and if you're getting that personal then you're not hunting a wild animal. Oh, there are and will be those that claim they can do it with accuracy but I highly doubt it and would believe it to be their opinion and nothing more.

[InTheNorthwoods]

Quote:

Unless a buck has distinct characteristics in his rack from year to year it is hard to tell, a lot of it is just taking an educated guess.

I believe this is the most accurate response. Those that claim to be tracking the same deer year after year could be tracking brothers or perhaps even father and son. Same genetic traits, same food source, etc. We've taken bucks that we feel quite certain are sons of deer we've taken years before but I would stop short of claiming they were in fact sons.

I also doubt anyone can age a deer accurately enough to say otherwise by viewing photos or by sight. It takes a forensic-like investigation to truly age a deer and if you're getting that personal then you're not hunting a wild animal. Oh, there are and will be those that claim they can do it with accuracy but I highly doubt it and would believe it to be their opinion and nothing more.

That is every deer out there. Every rack has unique characteristics when you examine them. A buck's genetic makeup determines the characteristics its antlers will have from year to year. Hence, when a deer is old enough to start showing its genetic potential (i.e. 2.5-3.5 years old) it is quite easy to identify a deer from year to year if you see it enough or have enough photos.

As to your statement on opinion, I would say the same thing to your statement. There are far too many people that know far more about deer than most of us on this forum who are convinced that a deer can be aged with relative accuracy on the hoof - i.e. to the extent of identifying a deer as a fawn, yearling, 2.5 half year old, 3.5 year old and a 4.5+ year old (maturity - once a deer reaches this age it is fully developed physically). Once mature, aging is more dependent on following a deer from year to year and estimating age basing the age from the first year it was seen.

[Note from admin: Let's keep this on topic please.]

[B. Amish]

it's very hard, if not impossible, to follow a buck from age 1.5 to 2.5 to 3.5. But once they get to 3.5, i think it is very possible to follow them from one year to the next. that's when their antlers take on their final characteristics. they'll change somewhat from year to year after that like adding a split G2 or maybe a drop tine, or adding mass and stickers at the base. so unless they get injured that results in major growth change in their antlers, it's very possible to track a buck from year to year.

problem is in MN - as has been beaten to death already - we don't have the 3.5 to 8.5 year olds so not many people can claim they have been following a buck for the last 5 years.

[slimngrizzly]

B.Amish I would argue its very possible to recognize a buck from 2 1/2 on. A bucks first rack could look like anything, a spike for example if he was born late. But at 2 1/2 pretty much all bucks are decent size and "showing the blueprint" of what they are going to be. But like you say, after that they are pretty rare around here anyway.

For me, Ill shoot a buck with the bow thats 125 for now. Unfortunatly those are often 2 1/2 year olds or 3 1/2, but its tough to find any much larger. Lucky to see a 3 1/2 each season, let alone get a shot off. I would take a lesser scoring buck in a heartbeat if I knew he was 4 1/2 or older! Also I would pass on a higher scoreing 2 1/2 if I thought he really had good potential. Id love to shoot a big old buck I have sheds from, but thats just a tough thing to make happen. I love just pickin their sheds up too, so if they dont get shot... its a win-win.

[mabr]

. Do most of you hunt your own land that are looking for the mature deer? And what part of the state?

All private land for me, Im very fortunate to have this I know.

Areas - East Bethel, St Francis, Stanchfield and Alexandria. And have at least 1 shooter on 3 of those properties. The other is very limited in size but its a doe funnel.

As for chasing one that you have his shed. I did it once, and it was rewarding to say the least.

I think those that said knowing a buck from 1.5 to 2.5 is pretty hard , I would like to retract me saying 1.5. I agree it would be tough at that age to tell which one he is at a later age. BUT ive got 3 - 1.5yo basket rack 8's from last year that I would classify as letting them go to watch them mature and hunt them at 4.5. Of them two looked like identical twins, seen numorous times side by side in bachelor groups during summer.

Im curious how many have killed a buck older than 3.5 - 4.5? Why I ask is I'm pretty sure ive only taken 2 in all the years Ive hunted. One was 6.5 and the other was 5.5 both aged by dnr and their jaws. I thought i was a pretty good judge until the 6 pointer I mentioned in one of the threads was aged. I would have bet he was at least 4.5 and he turned out being 2.5.

[HunterLee]

I have shot probly 3-5 that are 3.5yr olds and i don't believe that they are any older. I have shot some really nice 2.5 yr olds also.

It was alot of fun hunting two particluar bucks last year. To bad i only hunted them for about 2 weeks as they were only on my ground when cruising for does and not regular by any means. We did see the one i shot in july but was a mile away and only way to identify him was by an odd sticker point.

I got the first trail cam pic on a scrape on oct 24th or so and shot him Nov 6th.

Its still early but i have a couple pictures of some living on the propertys i hunt that i will go after, unless of course i find a better one. But they have potential and the brother to the one i got last year made it through hunting season, but have not seen him yet this year.

[HunterLee]

After all of that i forgot my goal. Ideally i would hold out for a mature decent scoring buck 135ish, and shoot a doe or two.

But in reality i am after a fairly wide and decent tined buck that scores over 130 gross. To make that it takes a big 8 point or a decent 10pt. I love to eat so I shoot does also. I will not shoot a small buck or those dime a dozen 14in wide and 5in tine 8 points.