What's a shooter to you?

[Pintail]

I'm a trophy hunter, unless something else walks by first

[oldmandoug]

For me a shooter depends on your needs. I know it is a touchy subject, but I like to hunt large framed older animals.

I think if you see a deer that you think is worthy of taking then take it. Just remember they do not get to be trophy size if you don't allow them to grow.

I know in my area, there are people who go by the " if it is brown it is down" motto.

[ohioexocetfan]

Mature. Past the ears, good mass and decent tine length. I've gotten pickier over the years. Ohio is a one buck state, so once you pull that trigger you're done. I like being outside well enough, that bums me out when I'm done early, so I just get some exercise and keep "shopping" as long as I can. I will whack a doe on occasion when my landjagger stash gets low. Our deer numbers are down right now, so I only harvest a buck ever couple years.

[Bcwn]

Does fill my freezer, so its an 8pt or better here on my property

Brad

[elkaholic]

Just depends - I'll hold out for a mature buck- 3-4 yr old - they usally have 4 points per side .

if cameras show a huge 10 pt or bigger hanging around - I'll wait till last day to last hr. and then hopefully fill tag with anything but a spike and if not -- go eat tag soup

[Patcon]

Where I hunt we are allowed something like 12 deer. I couldn't shoot that many if I wanted to. I hunt on a small piece of property and there are numerous hunters around me and it seems most have the "if it's brown it's down" mentality. Because of that I don't see many, what I would call, mature bucks. I shot a 2 1/2 year old this year that had a small 8pt rack. I like seeing big bucks but I mainly hunt for meat so it really depends on what time of year it is. A shooter for me in the early season is a larger mature buck. I don't even think about shooting does until Thanksgiving. This year I started counting the deer I saw and I probably only see 20 or so individual deer and the majority of those are bucks. I have maybe 5 mature does I regularly see. I would like a third deer this year to get the freezer full, so I think at this point we will shoot another buck versus shooting a doe. I would rather keep the does to breed more deer than take one. Even a spike will weight what most of the does I kill weigh, so there is no advantage to taking a doe. Although the meat is better off the does. Late in the season if I haven't put a deer down, if you walk in front of me you're probably dead...

[XB I GO]

Our property is small and in the City. There is no other hunting for probably 2 miles from us. My Dad watches the camera all year and picks certain bucks to shoot. Usually he compares them to last year. We have a lot of deer. There is probably 20 does a day on our camera. We can shoot 5 each (15 between Dad, Bro and I). We usually get just 2 each. Once in a while a buck will surprise us because he shows up on person or in camera when he has never been seen before. Our trophies are kind of picked out in advance for different reasons, or an obvious big one that showed up out of nowhere. We figure that one just started wandering and may not be back. I get more excited shooting from a ground blind with my vertical bow than any other kind of hunting. Anything I can shoot with my compound from the ground by myself is my personal trophy.

[IronNoggin]

Island bucks (Blacktails) have to be mature these days.
Mulies in Alberta, they have to break minimum 180" or No Go.
Whitetails / mulies in the late archery season though, it is anybody, any time

I don't generally shoot bears. Yeah, carry a tag all the time, but that is much more in case of a problem I need to solve without ensuing hassles (been there - Never Again!)
I obviously will make an exception when they are Large, and eating my trail cams!

Moose, well I shot one Big Boy when I was young. Another Never Again.
Too damn chewy, and too damn big to deal with. Nope.
Give me the little guys please & thanks!

All of my life I have absolutely loved eating elk. So pretty much anything legal was down!
The last one I took was number 29 over my span. A very tender spike.
But, the next, if there is to be one, will be the Wall Hanger that has eluded me all these years. Yes, I have taken a few that were decent, and been in on some true Monsters, but am resigned to break 375" or bust at this point. May be a long look, may never happen, but should prove to be some fun trying...

Cheers,
Nog

[LongCarbine]

Out west it's a wall hanger the first week , Second week it's any buck that is dumb enough to get with-in 50 yards . In Wisconsin I dislike horn soup so any deer that walks in my range is a shooter.

[PublicLandHunter1]

A shooter to me has changed in recent years. It used to be a 10 point; but now a good 8 point is either getting an arrow in it or bullet. Hunting 100% public land I would prefer Missouri make the 4 point rule state wide. But where I hunt anything is game. I tend to let the small ones walk. I try to fill my freezer with venison as my family does not eat a lot of beef. We prefer deer for our red meat. With that said won't hesitate to shoot an old buck even if the horns are small. They end it being ground into burger though. Most the hunters in our camp have a motto they stick with; if it is brown it is down. I think each geographical area dictates part of what a shooter is. Here in Southeast Missouri our soil is not that same as what you find in Kansas or Iowa; not near the minerals. So we don't expect to see 200 inch deer on a yearly basis.

[rayman]

Depends on mood that day. Usually try to hold out for at least 3 1/2 year old bucks. Sometimes just wait for a really big one we have on camera. Does are one per day on doe days, but didn't even shoot one this year.