How important is antler size to you?

[keith2210]

I voted if its brown its down. I am not picky on what i shoot. I love to deer hunt but i love to eat deer just as much.

 

[riverpine_hc]

I almost (mentally when in the field in the heat of the moment) rated the age of a deer by the size of their spread ... Telling myself that the bigger the rack the older the deer, the more value it was to take. Then I went onto some private club's land where 2.5 year old deer had HUGE racks, due to good genes and great deer management.

So, I started paying attention to the deer's teeth. And sure enough, those teeth age rating plaster molds work. Awesome.

A good tool to have, or to know someone who does ...

 

[GLOCK1982]

For me its all about the events that lead up to the opportunity to take a buck. It could be a tough, long drawn out hunt. A few years back this was the case for me. I thought I was on a great deer so I hunted him for 3 days in the rain, high winds. Turned out to be a 127" 9 point but I took him anyway because I felt pride for what I had done while hunting this buck.

 

[Spanky46151]

I kill'em to eat, not look at. Give me a tender mature doe anytime over a rutting, swelled-neck buck.

 

[dbd870]

I mainly care about filling the freezer but I don't generally shoot anything less than a 7-8pt unless it's late in the season and I'm behind the curve. Fortunately I haven't had to do that for several years now. (I probably shouldn't have said that, now watch)