small buck or anything

[ninepointer]

If it was late in the season and you wanted meat for the freezer, would you take a small buck (spike,3pointer) or a good next year deer if thats all you have a chance to fill you tag?

I myself would take the small buck.

[DonBo]

Only you can answer that question. There is no shame in shooting a small buck. If you are proud of it, then good for you.

[harvey lee]

Personally, I will not shoot a smaller buck. I do enjoy the luxury of having numerous doe tags so there is where my meals come from. The only buck I will harvest is a larger racked deer.

I have been fortunate enough to have taken some very nice deer over the years so if the buck does not fall into the catagory I'm looking to harvest, then it walks by.

This is only what I choose to do and if someone else chooses to shoot a smaller one, thats fine.

[SKIPPERS KID]

"If it was late in the season and you wanted meat for the freezer"

Well that would be up to you if you need meat or not? But if you do need the meat well you would do what you have to do to get the meat to the freezer. This might mean shooting a small deer if this is all you see. But the longer they have to grow the Bigger they will be. Well good Luck hunting and have fun.

[Scott K]

If I still needed to put meet in the freezer and time was running out, I will shoot whatever is there. Although, I usually get enough meat for the freezer in the first couple days of hunting.

[96trigger]

I'll shoot whatever comes along. I shouldn't ever have that problem in an intensive harvest area. If you have hunted hard all season and thats the only deer you get a decent crack at, you have earned it in my book.

[paceman]

No use eating tag soup, if you have an opertunity in the late season and you need the meat. Shoot away.

[frogtosser]

I would take one also, the other people that hunt in our area dont let anything walk, so I would let one fly.

[slimngrizzly]

Theres NO WAY I would. That deer is only days away from beating all the odds. But if you really NEED the meat that bad... you bought the tag....

In my opinion though, after that, if you even mentioned wishing you could see a big buck.... you screwed yourself out of deserving that late season last year REMEMBER!!!

I get heated on this subject. Let the poor little guy live. Get a road kill if your starving, theyre free. Sorry.

[1runhotshot]

let 'um walk, it is the only way to get to be a trophy in a few years. Look at the recent trail pics from SlimGrizz, there is a chance he could have taken those deer at a 1 1/2 old and would not be enjoying the big 'ol drop tine this fall!

IMO the only way to fix the " no one else lets them walk by so why should I" defense is to make sure the neighbors now that you will let them walk by and set a good example. IF you have a high population take a doe instead. My 2 cents only (about all it is worth I know)

[ninepointer]

Some areas you only a buck (UNLESS YOU GET LUCKY AND GET THAT DOE TAG) So wouldn't it be a good time to start a point law (except for kids under 16). or also earn a buck since a big area get one deer no matter what hunt their doing.

[96trigger]

I don't think many of us have this problem. In most areas in MN it is pretty easy to get a doe. I don't see any reason why you would NEED to shoot it. However, I stand by my original post, if for some odd reason it was the only deer that I would have had a shot at, I would take it late, and it would still be a great experience for me. More than likely I would have already passed on numerous bucks. One can only pass on so many, with a bare freezer and unfilled tags, anything looks good late in the season.

My scenario is this, I pass on numerous small bucks and does in September and October and early November waiting for the big guy with my bow. In November during firearms, for some reason I don't see a deer until late in the week, its a forkhorn, am I going to shoot it? you bet. I have already passed on my fair share of small bucks. I have already purchased an archery and firearm license. I have every right to harvest that deer and not feel guilty about it.

[archerystud]

My theory on buck is that I only shoot if the rack will go on a wall. IMO tag soup taste good with a little ketchup and yes I've eaten a lot of buck tags.

So unless that 1.5 year old buck is around a P&Y minimum for archery I'm letting him walk. That is the only way he will make it to a 2.5 year old buck.

[slimngrizzly]

My scenario is this, I pass on numerous small bucks and does in September and October and early November waiting for the big guy with my bow. In November during firearms, for some reason I don't see a deer until late in the week, its a forkhorn, am I going to shoot it? you bet. I have already passed on my fair share of small bucks. I have already purchased an archery and firearm license. I have every right to harvest that deer and not feel guilty about it.

haha.... i dont get it? For people that pass up bucks all season and then shoot one late in the year..... what has that accomplished? Why not just shoot one right away. The end result is the same.

You paid for an archery tag, you paid for a gun tag, so all this justifies killing a little buck...???? Hey, if your gonna do it, save yourself the time and money and kill him right away. Whats the difference?

Pass on small deer because you believe in it! Dont pass on enough small ones to "earn" yourself the right to kill one. If you believe its good to pass on baby bucks, then have some integrity and do it the whole season. Otherwise, why bother?

Even worse is that those late season bucks are most likely going to be the ones that actually make it to next year..........

[Mark Christianson]

Quote:

haha.... i dont get it? For people that pass up bucks all season and then shoot one late in the year..... what has that accomplished? Why not just shoot one right away. The end result is the same.

What has it accomplished?

The hunter has a personal game plan or goal, and it may not meet what you feel is a goal you agree with, but bottom line it doesnt matter if you agree with it or not.

We all have our goals. And they are all very different in many ways.

Mine would happen to be somewhat similar.

Absolutely nothing wrong with it.

[Bear55]

Personally I would rather go deerless than shoot a small to medium sized buck for meat. I have eaten a buck tag 4 or the past 6 years and I was happy to do so.

With that being said you have to make your own decision and shoot what you want. But remember if you want to shoot a nice buck you have to let that little one go. If you shoot him this year he won't be around next year or your tag is filled and you won't be in the woods when that big buck walks by.

[Big Dave2]

Can't eat the rack, so what good is it?

[96trigger]

Quote:

haha.... i dont get it? For people that pass up bucks all season and then shoot one late in the year..... what has that accomplished? Why not just shoot one right away. The end result is the same.

You answered your own question, I have passed up buckSSSS, plural, I did what I could, now I want venison. Your theory about shooting one right away is [PoorWordUsage]. If we all thought like that, there would be no QDM. I would much rather have a hunter pass on small bucks (again plural) and the take one (singular) if he hadn't gotten one (again singular) yet that year. In the long run, passing on many, and possibly having to take one, will do more for QDM than taking the first buck right away, the end result will NOT be the same.

I seriously can not believe the way some people look down on people on this site. I use it because its a great source of iniformation, but this sometimes really gets me. I like venison, I eat it often. REMEMBER NOBODY has the right to ell you you can't shoot a small buck, NOBODY should make you feel inferior or bad for shooting one. To each his own.

I'll keep shooting does and letting the little guys walk, but not because anybody on here told me to. And if it comes time to not fill the freezer or shoot a little buck the last waining hours of deer season, I'm sure he'll taste great.

[bigbucks]

I'm with you 96. I don't want to shoot a small buck. I'd rather shoot a doe, but if I hunt all season & it doesn't work out & it comes late season & I get another shot at a small one all bets are off.

One year I shot 4 does in about 6 weeks. Every doe that was close to coming in walked right in & gave me a great shot. I saw them all coming, never got busted, everything clicked. (These were on 4 completely different properties, miles apart.)

Other years I have many small bucks & fawns in range & hardly ever see a doe or she won't come in, whatever. The good doe stands the wind is only right for them the nights you can't hunt & then when all seems right something stupid happens. Two years ago the farmer turns the cows out in the field I'm hunting unknown to me about two nights before I went. They wouldn't leave me alone. I drove them away by pelting them with sticks & 20 minutes later there they were again. Completely wasted night, things never worked out for that spot I'd been saving half the season.

[SkitterPopper]

One thing I saw on here is that no one mentioned that not all bucks are going to grow to be a trophy. In fact very few grow a trophy sized rack. It is called genetics. You can usually tell by the time it is 2 1/2 years old and it still has a small basket rack. These deer will never be a P&Y or B&C deer. What is the harm of taking one of these deer if you like to eat venison. I know it would not be top on my list to eat a 5 1/2 year old deer with a 8 point rack that barely measures 100". I think a lot of people believe all deer will be that 200"er if you let them grow. Just my 2 cents or in this case 1 cent.

[ninepointer]

Lots of good info to go on. Hopefully we all get a deer but I've hunted many years without filling my tag. Yes it does suck when that small buck does walk to the neighbor and you hear they shot it. I do agree with alot that what was said and try to get that doe if you have a tag and get it out of the way and fill the freezer. But skitterpopper makes IMO makes a good point. I do have my own rules about shooting deer and my two girls will also follow but thier first buck no matter how big will go on the wall.

[archerystud]

You can usually tell by the time it is 2 1/2 years old and it still has a small basket rack. These deer will never be a P&Y or B&C deer.

P&Y minimum with a bow is 125 inches and MOST whitetails if allowed to reach 3.5 years old in MN would come close to reaching that. Most of the people here are just asking to let the deer make it to 3.5 years old.

[Bear55]

I feel that genetics are overrated when it comes to growing big deer, sure they need to have good genes when you are talking about B&C deer vs a 140 but give me a 5.5 buck with good food and he will be a trophy to just about anyone. Sure there might be a few bad apples but I think they are few and far in between.

I would even venture to say food is a distance 2nd to age.

About half of my hunting season is spent in the northern bigwoods and 95% of the 2.5 year old buck have small basket racks, the 3.5's aren't that much better but once they reach 4.5 and up they can really grow a nice rack, many getting up in the 140 to 160 range with a rare 170+ mixed in. Without great food sources these deer are a little behind the farmland deer but they can catch up in a hurry once they are old enough.

[archerystud]

I do hunt in Southern MN where if a deer can reach 3.5 years of age they do typically get a little bigger than a Northen MN deer at that age. Forgot to include that and it does make a big difference, at least in the early years.

[SkitterPopper]

Quote:

P&Y minimum with a bow is 125 inches

That is for a typical deer. Non typical is 155. I also think that comparing SE Minnesota with the rest of the state is like comparing apples to oranges. You can take one look at the Boone and Crocket map and see that SE MN and SW WI is a hot bed for record book entries. The keywords are corn/beans/farmland. I hunt mostly in northern Mille Lacs county and also have land in Iowa to hunt. I do know the difference between a 3 1/2 year old trophy and a 3 1/2 year old that should be taken out of the gene pool. Once again this is personal preference and we are all adults and can make decisions. This debate comes up every year on several forums. We just have respect that people are different and not everyone is going to agree on everything. To say that no one should not shoot a buck under P&Y or B&C caliber is just unrealistic.