A "good" buck or bull?

[Guy Miner]

What do you consider a "good" buck or bull?

What would just make your day? Your hunt? Your season? A trophy you'd always remember as a big one? Something more than just the typical legal buck?

Does it matter at all to you?

I'm pleased when I hunt hard, and bring home game. I'm really pleased when my efforts result in a noteworthy animal. Some critters are harder to obtain than others, and in my mind, represent a greater accomplishment.

Just mulling some thoughts, not trying to make a point... Would appreciate your input - particularly about what is a "trophy" mulie to you...

Thanks, Guy

 

[Powerstroke]

I'll throw another wrench to this one. The one buck that sticks in my memory and most proud of, is the first one my wife had taken. Two point mule deer....the smile on her face!......Better than and animal I've taken personally.

 

[lefty315]

Guy, if I can take a picture of a picture and e-mail it to you, could you post it on the forum? If so I have two uncles that took bucks of a lifetime after years of hunting. From this point on I think they could go to the grave someday with smiles on their faces.

For me, I am always happy with a nice respectable buck, but someday I would love to put my tag on a real monster. I only wish that it could be a hard, long, rewarding hunt. Sometimes that opening morning shot 20 minutes into the season makes me feel cheated a little bit. I took my moose on the first evening of an 8 day hunt and I wish it could have just lasted longer, to have a few more memories.

 

[Guy Miner]

Lefty - I think I've got your deer photo ready to post...

Those are a couple of whopping big mulies! :grin:

 

[Guy Miner]

Powerstroke - I completely understand. When my son tagged his first mulie, a nice sized doe at about 275 yards - I was grinning from ear to ear!

I was more pleased about his first deer than I have been about any of mine.

 

[Guy Miner]

I took this buck in 2005, and he's a pretty typical mulie for around here - there are plenty that are much bigger though, and I spent this season hunting for something with more mass & points, and came home empty handed.

I'd really like to put a set of "big" mulie antlers on the wall. Those mulies that Lefty's uncles shot are awesome!

A few years ago, 2001 I think, I got this nice bull in Wyoming. A 6x6 with a 51" spread, I doubt I'll ever get a bigger bull elk, but it is certainly possible. This guy turned out to be one heck of a trophy, from a high wilderness hunt.

Biggest doggone set of antlers I ever collected for sure, but there are elk out there that dwarf this one. A bow hunter here in Washington nailed a huge monster that makes this rack look almost spindly!

Hmmm. I may be getting trophy fever...

 

[Powerstroke]

Guy,
It's amazing one can get buck fever from watching someone else....
It's awesome, and Congrats to your son

 

[Powerstroke]

Guy,
Attempting another pic here......should work this time. This was my wifes second elk. Can't remember exactly, but around 340yrds 120gr B-tip out of her .260

 

[Powerstroke]

So it appears if deleted from the other sight, they disappear here too.....
Imagine that.......( once again )

 

[Guy Miner]

Pretty darned impressive; elk at 340 yards with a little ol 120 grain bullet...

Nice shooting! :grin:

 

[fredj338]

For me, any antlered elk is worth pulling the trigger on, but a nice mature 6pt is what i always look for. For a mulie, a heavy 4pt or better, 24" plus would be nice.

 

[lefty315]

:wink: I thought the thread was about bucks and bulls? I would gladly trade my clean, unaltered elk tags for a cow any day of the week. As far as a bull goes, any legal bull would be a trophy with archery equipment. Come to think of it I would have been happy with any legal bull during muzzleloader season too. Over the years I have filled a few doe tags on the Milk river in Montana. When asked by friends why I would drive 1000 miles to shoot a doe, my response is "because it's the Milk river in Montana." Once you pull the trigger, the hunt is over, and that my friends is a bummer.

 

[Guy Miner]

Lefty - those uncles of yours are some hard-core looking salts...

Glad they got onto the big bucks and knew what to do when it mattered.

Man, I'd hate to mess up a chance at a buck like that! I don't believe I've ever seen one like that in all my years of hunting...

Regards, Guy

 

[lefty315]

Guy, I think they were both born 130 years too late. I know the buck on the right was taken this past November. Things happened so fast he did not have much time to think about it. The timber was blocking his view of most of the antlers. He just knew when he shot it was a good buck. It was not until he walked up on it when he wished he had some nitro pills in his pocket.

The guy on the left has lived in Montana all of his life and hunted as much as any man could ask for. He has seen alot of country far and away from the roads and other people. He told me he has never even seen a buck like that before.

I asked, of course, where they got the bucks. I guess a smile isn't the only thing they will be taking to the grave!!!

 

[Powerstroke]

Guy,

That is a pretty decent looking buck ! Certianly respectable, but I know what you mean. We've been holding off for over ten years attempting to draw a trophy area tag.....we tried something this year, and kind of blew up in our face, but I did take a small four point. Here's a collection between mine growing up, and my Dad's all mixed together.
[/img]http://www.hunt101.com/img/461291.jpg

 

[Powerstroke]

 

[Jeff Olsen]

What do you consider a "good" buck or bull?

What would just make your day? Your hunt? Your season? A trophy you'd always remember as a big one? Something more than just the typical legal buck?

Does it matter at all to you?

I'm pleased when I hunt hard, and bring home game. I'm really pleased when my efforts result in a noteworthy animal. Some critters are harder to obtain than others, and in my mind, represent a greater accomplishment.

Thanks, Guy

Guy,

I'm not a horn hunter, personally. A good animal to me would be a mature buck taken in a fair-chase hunt (my standards) on public land, just because it's harder to get 'em there.

Next up is any animal I really have to work for. Heck, the spike blacktail I killed this year and tagged with my spike/doe tag made my day because even a couple years ago, I NEVER would have killed that deer- I would have just seen his butt bouncing over the hill! My still hunting has gotten fairly decent and he was an example...

Last up is the gimmee's or the deer I've killed that I probably shouldn't have taken the shot. That's two deer out of 14, both moving, and neitehr was a particularly clean kill by my standards at least. I mean, both were tagged within a couple minutes of the first shot, but... there shouldn't even BE a 2nd shot, you know?

My absolute least favorite is a couple does I've harvested on private land that is teeming with them. It feels more like an execution. I try to spruce it up by using a limited rifle, like one year my great uncle's .32 WCF Winchester from 1904 that I'd just inherited. Thing shot about 10 inch high and nothing to be done about it short of wrecking the old sights on it, so I just had to hold low.

And any legal elk is a good elk, in my experience. Fargin' bastiges.

-jeff

 

[41mag]

As far as Mule deer or Elk go, I have only hunted them once, and that was in some NTL forrest land in CO. WE went up a weeek ahead of time, scouted hard, found some potentials and after letting a yearling buck go I took one that was a 4x3 that went just over 22" wide. Not a huge one, but for a first time out, and on public land I thought it was great.

I primiarily hunt whitetails, and my criteria is pretty steep for them. I have hunted since I was 6 and nowdays it takes a damned decent buck to get things going for me. THe friend I hunt with has a rule that if you put it down it better be going on the wall. Well for the cost of it I let lots walk on by. In fact I have only take two deer there in the past 10 years which I thought were worthy. The circumstances around the first were just to hiliarious , lets just say you should never answer nature's call with your rifle out of reach.

Most of the deer we watch from thier yoiuth till they mature, and some we see for a while and they are taken by hunters on other properties. THey travel a lot in that area and it is all low fenced. THis makes for about the best hunting you can get. THere is a ton of good bucks in the area, and what we do is pick one with potential while it is young, then try to hunt it over the years as it matures. Not so much to shoot , but to learn it's habits and such. Some are just unique as the last one I took which had a white front all the way from it's chin to it's chest, instead of just the little spot. The year before I took it he was only out to about his ears and we considered him to be a cull, but things can change quik in a year,

He was aged at 4 1/2 years and was just over 21" wide. Weighed 180# from the field and 148 dressed. For a free range buck in East Texas he is a dandy in my book.

THis last one is one I have been keeping an eye on for the past 4 years. HE came out while I had the grandson with me and made a show of himself. I held back due to the drought conditions we had around there this year, as he didn't sport the top gear he has the potential for. I am hoping he made it through the season and if so, he will be on the hit list for sure this coming season.

His tines are already past 12" on both beams, which are pushing 20" wide and he has crab claws which appeared this year on both tips. Hopefuly with the extra protien we are putting out and some luck with the rain he will be up to his potential this fall.

THese are examples, but I also have some which are not een close to this class which were trophies based on the hunt, or the circumstances surrounding it. SOmetimes even when they wlk they are great in my book. This little fellow made the season for my grandson as he walked within about 10 feet of us numerious times while we sat in our stand. At 5 the kid is overjoyed to just get to see a deer much less one like this within spitting distance. Maybe this year we might bend the rules a bit and let him take his first trophy.

 

[john-brennan]

I consider a mule deer with 160'' or better the start of a good size buck. Here is a pic of one i took a couple years ago in B.C. canada that scored 167''. The whitetail is 142'' from the same province and up here that is a good 5 point ( western count).