My names for the 5 potential shooters are narrow ten, narrow 8, 8 with trash, wide 10. The one I want to shoot the most is “named” you know the one that hung out in my yard two years ago. I only discuss deer with family so they know my language. Everyone else gets told I really haven’t seen anything worth hunting. ;)
If you have lots of deer to talk about with other people, then it makes good sense. Same as you use people’s names to identify them to others. And T-roy has the enviable position of having way too many great bucks around to just say “... the big buck....”
Meantime I’m hoping “Jack” made it through the winter and that “Young Drop’er” checks into his home range as a 4 1/2 year old. “Stubby4” just showed up last week and he’s getting that mature look. “Big3” will be a breeding contender this year and will age into a great buck to shoot based only on years lived.
Maybe we should name deer hunters too:
T-roy could be “That Friggin Lucky Giant Slaying Son of ....“
I always sort of cringe when naming deer, but I live in Mulie country where we just don't really have that need or do that. That being said, as I hunt whitetails more and more having a name for certain whitetails makes it easier to communicate to our crowd instead of saying "remember the big buck in the plot you saw down by the river bend". So does make it easier...though is pretty cheesy...
Sorry folks......I wouldn't give them fashionable, catchy names either. Spike, Forkie, big 6, big 8, little 10, nubbin, doe, etc.......that's about it for me. Also......I don't smoke'em, slock'em or give them a smack-down either. I think of Tim and Mike when I hear those TV show embellishments those guys use.
I have big forkie and little forkie frequently in my yard. Split Ear doe has been around for years. Scraggle Mom doe also. Then there are the big Effers that hang on the corner, 3 in that group. Also a little forkie that hangs with them, although that little forkie is bigger than my big forkie. We use descriptive names around here, mule deer country. I agree it is cringe worthy to give them names like High Tower, Dozer, Hedge Hog, etc. Even more cringe worthy to have a hit list. Maybe I'm just jealous I don't have an inventory of Mac Daddies around or I might. Or not.
I don't understand why people have an issue with this? It's just a way to refer to specific deer when talking with friends.
3 of my buddies and I have a text group and during Oct and Nov we are constantly texting back and forth about one buck or another. "Tall 8 just pushed a doe over the ridge", "Brow buck working a scrape hard". We typically just use descriptive names. Nothing fancy or "human".
Makes it a lot of fun when 3 of us are in the stand and one of us is working on a good rut day!
I use names like the smaller 8, the big bodied 8, or the 9 just to so my daughter knows which deer I am referring to. No point for me to get to descriptive because most of them always disappear after turn 2 1/2. Assume they move to neighboring property where no hunting is allowed.
If you've ever hunted particular deer and talked about it with friends and bantered around strategies etc as to how to get him and where he lives invariably you have HAD to resort to naming them in some way. To insult this process is to insult simple language skills, it makes zero sense.
Talking to my brother: "You know the typical that I am hunting that has roughly 9" G2's, 8" G3's and 5"G4's" do you remember that one? I mentioned him a while ago? "no, be more specific. Where did you see him? Do you have pics of him?" Well he was that one that..... some sort of descriptor that often becomes a name simply removes all this preamble. If you never hunt the same deer twice or don't have any friends/family to discuss hunting with, this may not become an issue for you.
I'm not that creative either, but after 5 years Mr. Mass needs to die this year.
Have had lots of names over the years however one unique deer we called widezilla. He ended up having a 28” spread. They guy who killed him said he was moving his head from side to side as he came through the woods. He had one is his eyes put out more than likely by a tine while fighting. He also had a broadhead and slug in him. A true warrior.
I have never named a whitetail deer because I don't run trail cameras. I have named many mule deer though over the years with my buddies. They are fairly visible and we often see the same bucks multiple times. Over the years we've had Curly Q, 2x4, super 6, high and tight, super fork, and others I'm sure I'm forgetting. The nicknames as you can tell are generally an indication of rack configuration.
i name my pets and don't hunt them, so, i don't name wild animals. if i did i wouldn't hunt them, but, makes sense to refer to them by a descriptive phrase so you can differentiate them -
After thinking about it some....I use to name any large deer Big Mo....even if there were several large deer together. They were all Big Mo's.
Swamp Donkey.....always known that as a moose. Think facial features between a donkey and a moose and it makes sense. Some folks (Primos) hijacked the name and use it for marketing purposes for their deer products. Much like a dolphin/dolphin fish/dorado being called a mahi which is a Hawaiian/Polynesian word for it. Mahi is a catchy marketing word for the unsuspecting tourists, yuppies, PC-ers and animal rights folks. I see this alot down south in the restaurants.
This is one of the few that got a name, even has a box blind named after him since he was always on camera there. I Killed him out of that blind. "Grandpa"
Here is a mule deer that also got named. Chased him for a couple years, shot this video at 50 yds the day before archery season started had him at 40 yds a couple times on the neighbors property but no permission to hunt :( Ended up being killed on rifle season 216". got his name as "Limper" after this video. http://youtu.be/cp3pN73cBbQ
One is called Jordan's Buck only because he almost killed him 1st day and he's a good 9pt. Another is the Split Brow 11 and the 3rd is the Crooked G2 Buck because his G2 tine turns 90? near the end. These are all shooter size bucks for our area.
Never see them often enough to recognize them, I have had the same small 4x4 go by me 3 or 4 times this year, I named him small 4 point. The other night he had a friend, I called him spiker.
I call all my deer to dinner!!! Venison stroganoff is my favorite. When I see them standing on the side of the road on my way in I make sure to stop and invite them for dinner. I even offer them a ride in my truck!!! So far 2 have taken me up on the offer this year.
Do you guys ever call them by name? Do they come when you do? How about tags with their name on it? Micro chipping is a real thing now maybe start looking into that. I know my vet will microchip for less if it’s in conjunction with another visit.
I call them all "Ezekiel", usually preceded by a vulgar prescriptor....
T-Roy has great names for his deer! Sounds like a whos who in a 50's mob movie! Who wouldnt be intrigued by "Frankie 4 brows"? I told T-Roy that when Jimmy 2 times shows up, I get a call....
^^^ ki-ke, if you name deer, you're everything that's wrong with bowhunting these days. Might as well shoot a scoped crossbow and hunt high fence. And vote Biden.
Ki-ke, its just my opinion, which matters very little in the grand scheme of things. Do what makes you happy.
I do cringe a little when I hear something like "just dirtnapped my number one hit lister Kickers Mcsticker" Usually its some douchenozzle in those jeans with the rhinestones all over them, and a flat brim.
Yes, I realize I'm a grouchy old fart.
I had to quit watching the whitetail t.v. shows because of it. Just couldn't stomach it.
Like I said, do what makes you happy.
In all fairness, a neighbor once told our group he didn't want us to shoot Phillip. We didn't know what he was talking about, turns out he had named a big buck Phillip....so we sometimes jokingly refer to bigger bucks as Phillip, or Phillip's second cousin. But its a joke. Otherwise, there's big f#$kers and little f#$kers.
Yea, I’ve named a few. But mostly it was a characteristic of a certain deer. This deer we labeled “Elvis“... just a funny name we put on this giant deer. We got one pic of him and nobody ever saw him. Just a ghost. It was sure fun knowing he was out there. For the record, Elvis never left the building. :)
People worry about a lot of trivial sh!t.... what do I care if you named a buck Kevin? Seriously.... knock yourself out. I don't even know how anyone has time to think, "Man, ya know. That naming deer crap is stupid. I'm gonna go tell those guys on Bowsite, maybe try and argue with em.... : Lol.
Where ya been, ground hunter??!! I would have thought you would have chimed in WAY earlier!
But you left out the part you almost always add, about the woodsmanship skills, or lack thereof, yada, yada, yada. How does naming a particular deer, disrespect it? I shot Frankie 4brows, took great care and showed respect in cleaning him, and in fact, just finished eating the marinated inner loins from him for supper. (Of course, I marinated them in Italian dressing) ;-)
I’ve only ever named one deer and it wasn’t any deer in particular... just the next one I shot. It’s name was Ruben because I planned on making a bunch of pastrami out of it.
I enjoy running trail cameras throughout the summer. An activity that gets the whole family out in the woods. As soon as my wife saw this particular buck 3 years ago, she said, “Holy F*^%!!! He reminds me of Brock Lesnar!!” So began the legacy of this particular buck. Opening morning of archery in PA 2018, “Brock Lesnar” walked within 5 yards of her shooting lane we trimmed out. He caught her scent, turned direction, and slipped back the way he came.
In 2019, a few short 4 months after giving birth to our baby girl, my wife made it back on stand. On fateful evening, as the sun began to set, my wife could not hold her bladder any longer...carrying a baby for 9 months and a rough delivery does things to the human anatomy we men can’t comprehend. As she climbed down from her stand to relieve herself, low and behold, “Brock Lesnar” chose to show up at ground level, less than 10 yards away. Needless to say, her PSE was hanging by the bow rope still, out of arms reach.
Opening day of PA archery season 2020, “Brock Lesnar” walks down into my wife’s shooting lane, and immediately turns 90 degrees, facing away. All day, everyday, she could have spined this buck, but chose not to take the chance and risk wounding him. He walks out of her life for the 3rd year in a row. I’ve attached the trail cam pic of “Brock Lesnar”, right before walked away....
That same evening, as my wife ventured back to her stand, I set up in mine about 400 yards away across the ridge. As the sun began to set, my mind began to drift away....wondering if I should relocate the stand I was sitting in. Laughing about all the buck we captured on camera, that we would never see while acting pursuing them. That’s when I heard the swish, swish, swish of leaves that is unmistakable to all of us. I turned my head to the right, and saw only antlers coming through the trees. As soon as I laid my eyes upon this buck, I said aloud, “Holy F#%^, that’s Brock Lesnar”! Just like it happens on all the celebrity hunting shows, Brock Lesnar walked into my shooting lane, and stopped broadside at 20 yards. By that time I was already at full draw, and before I even settled my pin, an Easton 6.5 Match Grade tipped with a 125 grain Wasp Drone was already on its way. My arrow hit it’s mark, and Brock Lesnar didn’t even realize what had happened...he bounded away about 10 yards and collapsed.
Naming makes sense like guys say, for keeping track and sharing about specific bucks, especially when you get sort of fanatical about getting to know a dozen different deer or whatever. I just suck at naming. I feel all weird about it. Probably the German in me. No creativity. I’ve hunted like 5 different deer that have been “the big 4”. None of them have died by me. Next big 4 I’m calling double lungs
Just like that, within 30 seconds, a 3 year relationship with a particular buck my wife, my father, and myself had nicknamed “Brock Lesnar” had come to an end. We will never see him on a trail cam pic of video again. My wife will never have an opening day encounter with him, like the previous 3 years. I used to think like a lot like many of the folks posting here...that “naming deer” was only something the celebrities like Lee and Tiffany did. I was “above” that type of antic, and that somehow it disrespected the animal in some way. But then I hit puberty, my testicles dropped, and I learned very quickly that if I listened to guys who’s only accomplishments in life was posting their negativity on Internet forums, I would be destined to live the same lifestyle. My only regret in this whole scenario, is wishing “Brock Lesnar” wouldn’t have turned 90 degrees, and I would’ve posting a grip-n-grin pic of my wife holding his antlers, instead of me.
I have no trouble differentiating between successful (deer naming) Bowsite hunters and TV celebs. There are two words that just don't go together; Reality and TV.
Congrats to you, t-roy! You’ve had an epic season, and 2 dandy bucks to show for it! Love that you had names for them, too! As far as my wife goes, she finally did let me back in our house, but I’m still sleeping on the couch! ;)
I did one year when I was hunting one ridge a ton, I would have 3 spikes come in every evening at the same hour. They were goofy, taunting each other and running at each other, odd stuff. I named them Hewy Dewy, and Lewy. Although I did not know which one was which.
"I have no trouble differentiating between successful (deer naming) Bowsite hunters and TV celebs. "
This explains it. If some regular guy wants to name a deer "kevin", who cares. But to watch the a TV celeb name a deer something like "Thick Daddy Split Tine" then give him the ole "smack down" into the "dirt nap" is hard to watch.
Those of you, against us against celebs acting like ass clowns need to watch some shows.
I’ve never said anything remotely endorsing any celebrity hunters. In fact, I pretty much agree with your assessment of most them and their over the top buzz words, catch phrases, 16 lbs worth of KISS inspired camo face paint, happy dance cryfests, etc, etc. In fact, I’m still waiting to draw a limited entry “MacDaddy Rabbit” or “Thunder Chicken” tag.
Naming them to me, is, first, the easiest way to identify and convey to family, hunting buddys, etc, which animal you’re talking about. (like APauls and others have pointed out). Second, my wife, son, and friends and their kids participate in it, and enjoy it, and thus they tend to want to become more involved in the entire hunting experience. Isn’t that what it’s supposed to be about? Might as well have fun!
I might name an individual with outstanding features, but don't have much tendency to name many at all. No slang names for WT species in general. I do use Swamp Donkey for moose though..LOL.
McNasty King of the Cornfield, Heaven's Delight & Hell's Fury, John Deere Green Tribute, The Old Farmers Handyman, 10x Homewrecker, Spawn of Bambi and Doe #69, Jessica Alba's Dream Date, Tom Brady's Dream Date (for the metro PC type - you know who you are), and Serenity Now Insanity Later
Back when I was in high school my group and me would always name the stupid young deer that hung around our stands “Donnie”. Let’s say we knew of a few guys named Donnie that weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders.
They don’t often get old enough here to get a name but if they do it’s a totally organic process. We don’t have a meeting or do an instagram poll or anything like that. I wish I had more opportunities to name deer.......
I only name them if I mount them and then the name has to start with an R, dont ask me why, just came up with a long time ago. I like to shoot deer I've never seen before. Travelers Darned near running out of neat R names. Just cant do Rudolph.
What ? Your don't name your bows Bou'bound ? What is wrong with you ?? I almost named one of my bows Barb in honor of my wife. I had her take my old bow in to get a new string and buss cables put on. When I got home she said she hated me and never again. I am thinking what could have possible went wrong with getting new strings put on ? She then told me my new bow was in the office. She told me the story. The owner told her, I really liked one of the new bows in his shop. The cost of time for him put them on and the cost of them, it would be better to just buy the new bow. I had to laugh. He doesn't charge to put strings on if you buy the bow from him. I made the mistake of blurting that out. Figured naming it Barb might be a bad idea. Plus after this season, I might need her to take it in for new strings. Sadly she doesn't ever forget. :)
I don't name my bows but we do name bucks and once in a while a doe or two. With my son it is easier to name them so he can follow my season. We usually just name them by their characteristics, age or location. Clean 5x5, 5x5 that almost touches, young 4x5, Lewis John buck and etc ...
Nothing is for everybody. But for someone to be bothered so much about someone naming bucks for identification in conversation, good gracious i want your life. For that to be a worry that peeves me when in reality it has zero negative effect on anything in the world, how nice it would be for life to be so simple.
And to liken it to Walt Disney, oof. Amazing how humans, a creature with such a high level of intelligence could lack so much in common sense.
