Buck of a lifetime

[bigbucks]

I don't have any idea. Shot one grossing in the low 150's each of the last two years. Didn't know if I'd ever get a chance at one like that. We just don't see them. I want to shoot a bigger one, whatever size that may be, but if I don't shoot anything bigger than that I will by no means feel cheated. They're bigger than anything most of the guys I know locally have ever shot.

[gurkster]

All situational for me, antler size is not my end all.

[Spike76]

The last one I shoot before I die will probably be a spike, and also my buck of a lifetime. The first deer I shot with a bow, was a doe, and I got a trophy for it from Mr. Outdoors. They said every deer is a trophy, and that is my feeling also.

[Bear55]

All situational for me, antler size is not my end all.

I think this is true for all of us, regardless of size we all have deer that stand out in our memory, not always the biggest but certainly a hunts we will never forget.

[gspman]

Every legitimate buck I've taken is a buck of a lifetime for me. I just haven't had many opportunities but have made good on the ones I got. Neither score very well but there's a cool story behind each one I've taken.

[Boar]

I've been thinking of this for awhile, an I think that a buck of a life time for me would be a buck of at least 5 years of age, but pushing 6-7. Of course antlers are awsome but, a trophy for me would be a mature buck, one thats been to a few rodoes, one that knows the game an just happens to slip up, due getting his rut on or just wasnt on his game. I would rather put the work in to get him but if i get lucky an happen to bump into him, well I"ll take that to. Absolute maturity, Antlers are just a bonus. later boar

[koonie]

Every legitimate buck I've taken is a buck of a lifetime for me. I just haven't had many opportunities but have made good on the ones I got. Neither score very well but there's a cool story behind each one I've taken.

Tell the story on your 9 pointer. :-)

[TylerS]

I still don't get what the big deal is with "gross" and "net" or whatever everyone is talking about. For me, my "buck of a lifetime" was the first one I shot. What a rush!

I had just looked at my watch and saw that it was shooting time. The sun was rising up, reflecting off the sparse cloud cover overhead. I was sitting in "The Triangle of Death" as my uncle coined it; a natural funnel that concentrated about six trails into a section of narrow woods. Behind me was a steep cliff. In front, a tranquil lake.

When I first saw movement, I was sure my eyes were playing tricks on me. So often while deer hunting, it's easy to think a moving limb or shift of shadow is a bruiser buck slinking through the hardwoods. But the movement became reality as a form emerged through the trunks. I can still remember the first thing I saw: his tongue. It was hanging out of his mouth as he trotted along the edge of the lake. He wasn't screaming through the woods, but I imagine he was quickly checking his trail for the scent of a doe in heat.

What happened next was more reactive than proactive. Before I knew it, the scope was to my eye and the cross hair was tracing an invisible line in front of his shoulder. I bleated with my mouth to get him to stop. Nothing. A second bleat yielded the same result. Opening my left eye, I gauged the shot openings: branch, open, branch, open, trunk, open, branch...bang!

He fell in a heap the forest floor with nary a twitch. It was then that I realized I'd been holding my breath the entire time and was on the verge of passing out. When I walked up on the animal, I also realized another thing: I hadn't even noticed his rack. Sure, I knew he was a buck that split second I saw him before shouldering my gun, but at no time had I gotten a chance to look at his rack. It just didn't matter to me that much. In the nano-seconds it took for me to see the deer and decide I'd take him, I'd gotten on the information I needed. Besides, he was my first buck. I'd passed up several smaller deer hoping to pull the trigger on a decent-sized animal, but never dreamed he'd be like this.

He was huge: well his body, anyway. Sure, he had a nice rack: fairly symmetrical with enough character to ponder over. But it was his shear body size that had my relatives and I dumbstruck. It took me two whole hours to drag him 3/4 of the way back to the vehicle. It usually takes me an hour to drag out my does. In the home stretch, Uncle Paul came out and saw me struggling.

"What'd you get? A wall-hanger?"

"Yup" pant, pant, pant.

He rolled his eyes before he came over. I'll never forget what he said.

"Holy S*** Tyler...he's huge!"

I honestly hadn't thought about it until that moment. I wasn't a very experienced deer hunter, so I'd just figured I'd shot a buck and was happy. But Paul went on and on about how big he was until I finally started believing him.

"I've never, ever seen one that big out here," he said. "You have to mount it. I'm serious."

I never did get the thing weighed, but when we tried hanging him in the garage he bent two bicycle hooks out before we finally found one that would hold him. I did mount that deer, and the taxidermist was good enough to age him for me: 6 1/2 years old. The buck was a fighter, too. His ears were all torn up and he had a couple broken points, to boot.

Since then, I've yet to pull the trigger on another buck. I just haven't cared to. I'm a freezer-filler first, trophy-hunter second. If the opportunity presented itself for that deer's dad to wonder within range, I might take a poke. But he still probably won't surpass the memory I have of that first one...

[Bear55]

I still don't get what the big deal is with "gross" and "net" or whatever everyone is talking about. For me, my "buck of a lifetime" was the first one I shot. What a rush!

For most the score really isn't a big deal, just a way judge size among a large variety of hunters with many different experiences and ideas of how big a buck is. Because lets be honest there are big bucks and there are BIG BUCKS. I like to know the score of the rack and weight of the bucks, it can help you age the deer and just have a better understanding of the overall size.

[harvey lee]

My buck of a lifetime had to be the first buck I harvested with my bow. I do not remember what it even was for points, to many years ago.

I have been very fortunate to have done the hunting in Montana and North Dakota that I have done in the past 25 years.

Shot Pope & Young and Boone & crockett deer. Also have one that ranks about 33 in the North Dakota book.

I do not even get to charged up anymore for the big bucks as I do not hunt that hard anymore for the big boys.

Give me a few nice does for the table and one fro the rifle or ML and I am very happy.

This year my North Dakotas lottery apps were filled in with doe on both my rifle and ML. Too long of a wait for the buvk tags for a non res. I do have my archery tag which I can harvest a buck with but I usually shoot a nice doe with that tag.

I guess I have turned into a doe shooter.