Bucks on game cam

skeets

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Oct 2, 2009
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SW Pa
Yup another 4 or 5 years and they might be big enough to shoot,,,,,:rolleyes:
 

WFM

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L3800
Apr 5, 2013
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Porter Maine
wow....you guys are spoiled , the hunting sucks here in Maine so bad, if you see 3" spikes, you feel lucky and shoot it..
 

helomech

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wow....you guys are spoiled , the hunting sucks here in Maine so bad, if you see 3" spikes, you feel lucky and shoot it..
I go years sometimes without shooting a buck, but if you want big ones you have to let the little ones grow. If it isn't over 4 years old, or a trophy I won't shoot it. I won't even shoot a young doe, only the old or injured ones. I will not shoot a 2 year old 10 point, I would rather kill a 5 year old 6 point.
 

helomech

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We're always having to kick the pesky things out of the back yard. Posting signs with venison or elk recipes doesn't work.
That would be in my freezer. Over here they will not come near the house, if you want to see a buck, you have to go look for them.
 

Wild and Free

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I have been hunting my whole life and I still have not found a recipe that makes antlers taste good or edible..........:rolleyes:

People should feel lucky to have food on the table rather than a set of horn on the wall!
 

helomech

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I have been hunting my whole life and I still have not found a recipe that makes antlers taste good or edible..........:rolleyes:

People should feel lucky to have food on the table rather than a set of horn on the wall!
You can have both, taking the oldest out of the heard is healthy for the heard. Taking the young ones out are detrimental to the heard. I get just as much excitement shooting a doe as a buck, but shooting a 2 year old buck with great potential is such a waste, and does no good for the herd as a whole. Shooting a 2 year old buck has no challenge, hunting down a mature animal is a challenge.

Why must you bring something in a thread that is negative about hunting. No one is telling you what to shoot, why would you make a sarcastic comment about others hunting? Yes the rolleyes smiley is being sarcastic. I have also been hunting my whole life, so what is your point?

A healthy deer will have good antlers, genetics play a role also, but unless the deer is healthy it will not produce good antlers. So I guess you want me to believe that if you got a chance at a great buck you would not take it?

I will be harvesting the animals that need harvested. If that is an injured spike, or a old deer. A great looking 12 point 2 year old will not be shot on my property.
 
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armylifer

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Mar 26, 2013
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Thurston County, WA
I have only owned my property since March so I really do not know what to expect to see each year but there are 8 antlerless deer that stay on my property each night. I have not seen a buck among them yet but they have to be somewhere close. My wife regularly feeds them apples from our back porch. I asked her to stop that because now the deer are frequently in our garden near the house. They are just not afraid of us anymore.

I asked some of our neighbors if they mind us taking one or two but I really have no plans to do that this year. I want to wait and see what normally frequents the property.

We did get a picture of a cougar this spring and I saw some fur spread about after the cougar sighting but I did not see any carcass or bones so it may not have succeeded in taking down any of the deer. It seems that it tried but failed. I have not seen the cougar since that one sighting.
 

skeets

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BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
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Here in Pa it use to be 3 inch on one side to be legal, alas in the last several years they have changed to law to require min of 4 points on one side and in other places 4 on one side, which is a bytch when they are moving through the hemlocks at a high rate of fuel consumption. In one WLMA they want to kill off so many does you can buy as many doe tags as you want. I buy a doe tag every year and the last time I used one was 30 some years ago and I never felt bad about shooting a deer before, I figure if I buy it then that's one less tag for the butchers to use, not that they don't bang a lot of them with out tags any way
 

helomech

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Here in Pa it use to be 3 inch on one side to be legal, alas in the last several years they have changed to law to require min of 4 points on one side and in other places 4 on one side, which is a bytch when they are moving through the hemlocks at a high rate of fuel consumption. In one WLMA they want to kill off so many does you can buy as many doe tags as you want. I buy a doe tag every year and the last time I used one was 30 some years ago and I never felt bad about shooting a deer before, I figure if I buy it then that's one less tag for the butchers to use, not that they don't bang a lot of them with out tags any way
We have a 13 inch inside rule, that applies if both the antlers fork. Spikes are legal, but after both antlers fork then it has to be 13 inches inside.
 

skeets

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BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
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SW Pa
Now that has got to be tuff figuring that one out, but then mule deer are a bigger deer than our little old white tails, I cant begin to tell you how many ground checks I have found over the years,,, you know there he goes,,,, BANG,,, opps not the right size,, walk away hurriedly
 

helomech

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Now that has got to be tuff figuring that one out, but then mule deer are a bigger deer than our little old white tails, I cant begin to tell you how many ground checks I have found over the years,,, you know there he goes,,,, BANG,,, opps not the right size,, walk away hurriedly
The general rule is if the antlers are outside of the ears than it is legal. I have found that the ears are actually wider than 13 inches. Just need to get the buck to look in your direction.
 

armylifer

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Mar 26, 2013
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Thurston County, WA
Now that has got to be tuff figuring that one out, but then mule deer are a bigger deer than our little old white tails, I cant begin to tell you how many ground checks I have found over the years,,, you know there he goes,,,, BANG,,, opps not the right size,, walk away hurriedly
I used to hunt around Fairfield, PA back in the early 1980's and I witnessed exactly what you describe.
 

WFM

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L3800
Apr 5, 2013
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Porter Maine
On the up side here this summer I've seen a doe and fawn out back in my field, then one day several weeks later I saw a doe with three new fawns. Looking through glasses at them the doe looked gray around her face , I'm guessing she is an older deer to carry three fawns.