Would you take this Buck?

[Don Stenseth]

Saw 4 Bucks at first light this morning with this one being the biggest. In My opinion he is a pretty decent Minnesota Buck by most peoples standards. My question is, if given a decent shot at this Buck, would you take him or let him walk. Feel free to explain your answer if you want.

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[BIG 6 BUCK]

If you let me know where you took the pic,  I will let you know by the end of the season........

[BigDog]

If the buck is on public land it would be down in my book. If you dont shoot it the next guy over the hill will.  If this buck is on land where you are able to let it grow i would let it go cause it is a young deer with great potential.

[Mayfly]

Would not hesitate.

[Don Stenseth]

While we are at it, What do you think he would score? I have a number in mind, What do you think?

[Mayfly]

135

[Mayfly]

135

125

[BIG 6 BUCK]

115ish  Nice Buck,  but if you could let him grow,  let him go.  That deer is going to look real good next year.

[Don Stenseth]

115 was my guess, but sometimes i don't think score is everything. He would make a good looking mount.

[Auggie]

    Nice deer, but I would let him walk. He needs a couple years for me. Bigdog if you are a true trophy hunter what the guy over the hill does shouldn't matter to you. You let him walk, and you gave him one more chance. Only you can decide.
    As for those that would choose to shoot this deer, that is your decision and not mine. I will tell you that 50% of the deer I mount every year are of this caliber or less. And I am happy to get the work! The trophy value is in the eye of the beholder. So Don, If you are bringing him in go nuts. J/K
    I guess him in the 115-120 range.

[Ryan]

I think I probably would, that is a pretty nice deer.  You can tell he is not that old though and should be really nice in another year or two.

[dakids]

Let him walk.  He is not bigger than my best buck.  I plan on only shooting bigger bucks than I have already shot.  I will never shoot a 150+ buck if I shoot every 125 that I see.

He looks like he is only 3.5 at the oldest.  In 2-3 years he will be a truely impresive buck.

[HD]

I myself would let him go, I would field score him at 125-130.

I'm holding out for a 190-200 class buck now, he would be smaller that the one on the wall already.



Hunter

[Don Stenseth]

Damn Hunterdown!!! You set your goals high! I wish you the best but those 190+ Bucks are few and far between. Are you saying you would not shoot a 175??

[HD]

Damn Hunterdown!!! You set your goals high! I wish you the best but those 190+ Bucks are few and far between. Are you saying you would not shoot a 175??

I'm like you Don, I like watching deer!
I have let alot of deer pass that some people would love to harvest. I have my trophy's on the wall. (and my wife don't want no more)
Don't get me wrong, I have culled a few bucks out of the herd that didn't quite make the grade.
But mostly, I'm a doe hunter, a manager.

I figure, my time is better spent helping out the younger generation get a better opertunity.
The youths that we hunt with, they can harvest anything over 120 if they choose.
That is our standard.

So, that's my reason for holding out.........
And if I don't shoot another buck for as long as I live.............so, what...
But, to see the look on a young kids face holding their first trophy..........PRICELESS!


Hunter

[HD]

But, I guess I would have to add........

If I saw a non-typical....with all kindsa junk hanging off of its head.......
Drop tines, stickers here and there............

Then, I would harvest.....and piss the wife off again........


Don, do you get any pic's of deer like that?

[Don Stenseth]

My hats off to you Hunterdown, I like your way of thinking . The guy across the road shot a beautifull double drop tine that scored in the 160's 2 years ago. Last year there was a 199 Green score taken 1/2 mile down the road but again no photo. I have seen a few that might make the 180's through the years but just because I see them does not mean I can always get a photo of them. Those big boys seem to like low light and low light and photo's just don't mix. Please believe me, there is nothing that frustrates me more than to see a big Buck and not be able to get a decent photo of it. The Buck in the photo below was a real monster but would not have scored well because he was only 8 points and little brow tines but his height and width was fantastic and I would consider him a real trophy.

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[Mayfly]

That is one of my favorite pictures you have. Incredible.

[Outdoors Junkie]

I hunt on public land in northern MN.  If I saw this buck in that area, I would harvest him.  If I let him pass by, the next hunter would harvest him.  The area I hunt is a challenging place.  There my be 3-4 year between seeing a buck this size.  There have been years that I have not had a deer come in close enough range to shoot.  Our party never fills all of our tags, so we take what we can get. 

If I hunted on private land and routinely seen bucks this size, then I would let him pass by to get bigger the next year. 

[Cody Gruchow]

i let atleast 2-3 this size walk right past me every year, its hard to do, but thats what it takes to grow bigger bucks. now if i was bow hunting it would be a little different, im holding out for my big deer, but if this one was to present a shot i would have to take it. (never taken a buck with my bow yet, something always goes south )

[wischunter08]

If the buck is on public land it would be down in my book. If you dont shoot it the next guy over the hill will.  If this buck is on land where you are able to let it grow i would let it go cause it is a young deer with great potential.

I agree 100%........

Public-I would most likely take him

Private-Let him grow.....He'll be a monster!!

[22lex]

I would take that buck in a hearbeat. Speculating what a deer's size is in a split-second is a lot harder than sitting and studying what the actual score of the buck is. Yeah, of course if I owned my own land (couple hundred acres) and had nieghbors that weren't going to shoot every 2-3-1/2 year old buck that ran by I would be thinking alot different.

I took one years ago that I thought was 130" ten point, turned out to be 169" twelve after the pope and young guy scored it. On the flip side I took one that I thought would go 140", ended up only scoring around 120". I guess my point is that you can't score a buck until he's dead, or in a pen.

As far as the score of the first buck, 120-130, 4 to 5 inches of deductions. The second buck  :happy1:sitting there with the doe, holy ####, I would probably take a few deep breaths, stop looking at his size and shoot, and then I would probably proceed to fall out of the tree trying to get down!

[GirlGuide]

I would shoot it in a heartbeat.  I have not got a buck that big yet, so as long as it is bigger than my biggest, I would give it my best shot.

Don, that second picture that you put in this thread is also one of my favorites that you have posted.  It is an absolutely amazing picture!!  You should be VERY, VERY proud of your work.  I really have to say, that you are one of the best wildlife photographers that I have ever seen!  Your pictures seem flawless and almost seem like paintings, they are so "picture perfect"!  I enjoy every single one of them that you post.

 
~gg

.....and when are you taking me out hunting by the way?  Haven't I sucked up to you enough yet?  Or do you need some more?  Because I got more ya know!.....just let me know! 

[Don Stenseth]

22lex, I could'nt agree with you more!! It is really tough to field score a Buck unless you have ample time to do so. At first sighting I almost always tend to over guess and then when I study the photo's I come back to reality. I have also found that viewing the rack from different angles can make it look larger or smaller. But in a hunting situation where seconds count it is very difficult to field score.
Girlguide, thank you for the compliment. I am pretty anal when it comes to lighting. I prefer the soft light that you get from overcast skies or very early morning light. With bright sun there are to many shadows and everything looks washed out. Colors look better in soft light and about 90% of my "keeper" photos are taken under those conditions. The problem with soft light is that it also forces you to use a slower shutter speed which creates it's own problems. Getting a decent photo can sometimes be a real challenge and I appreciate your kind words.

[tmjhamann]

I would take it in a heart beat.I love your photo's you do great work hope to see more. Troy

[Mayfly]

Hey Don,

Tell us about that second picture, the buck coming through the weeds after the doe. How far away were you sitting and did they know you were there??

[Don Stenseth]

The Doe is probably my most photographed Doe. I first took her photo as a yearling when her right front leg was nearly shot off. I never thought she would survive that first Winter of her injury but she did and lived to become one of the the dominant Doe's in the area.I photographed her for 6 years always being able to recognize her by the deep gouge in her right knee. Last Summer she dissapeared and I dont know what ever became of her. But if I could I would thank her for all of the beautifull photo's I was able to get of her through the hears. The Big Buck I saw about 5 times that year. Never in good light and I never got a real good shot of him. The first time I saw him he was comeing through a foggy swamp and he looked huge! I will never forget it. The last time I saw him that year he was trying to cross the field with a severly broken front leg. I am betting from the looks of him that he had a run in with a vehicle. I always thought that he deserved better than that so I imagined that he crossed that field and layed down to rest next to the creek that flows through the woods, looked over his domain and drifted off to that big Oak woods in the sky. Go ahead, call me a sap but I have a lot of respect for these animals and all that they endure.

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[Don Stenseth]

Not a good shot but when you see a Buck like this you take photos and hope for the best.

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[GirlGuide]

You ARE a big sap Don, that's what makes you so great! 

~gg

[guythathunts]

I would. 8 point. Outside the ears. He is a shooter in my book.