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Finally killed a huge buck

So I finally was able to stalk within 10 yards of a huge buck I have been seeing all summer and fall on the last day of the season. I watched this deer for 3 years on the trail camera. He has a white spot on his left side. He is a 12 point. I am not sure what he will score. I would say well over 160. I stalked him in the blowing snow and had trouble finding him but after several hours I found him partially covered in snow. The only problem is that he had lost his antlers that he had previously on the trail cam pictures. So what do you guys think? Is this still a trophy deer or just another antlerless deer? Well this never happened but I was wondering what you guys would think of this scenario. Hunters are so into horns that some may not think this is a big deal. While I like horns as well as the next bunch I would still think this was an accomplishment. By the way you can tell it is winter and I have cabin fever. LOL.

He is a trophy because you killed him in adverse conditions and you knew it was the buck you had been after. His brains did not fall off with his horns. Killing any deer this late is a big deal.

Good answer Hookman. I like the way you think. I posed this question on another forum and lots of responses were if his antlers were gone it didn't count.

Trophy is in the eyes of the beholder- sometimes on these forums we care way too much what others think of us or our harvest. You know what I am thankful for - that even though you killed a buck earlier in the season you were still able to go out and continue to hunt for another one! And if you were like the majority of other hunters here - your likelihood to kill a second buck was around 2.5 percent and if it were a third buck around 2/10ths of 1 percent! Oh and for those who say well lower limit makes one think before they shoot a buck - well somewhere around 16 to 18% of all hunters kill 1 buck. I remember when other hunters actually enjoyed it when their buddies were successful! LOL

Let the cabin fever start! LOL

Good, thought provoking question. However, I don’t understand why it had to get turned into something about buck limits. It has nothing to do with the original question.

May be a reason this site isn’t what it once was since....

Well I believe your stats because you sure did the research but I personally know 3 trad buddies that could not kill a buck in the most recent trad season because they killed 3 in the fall. They were part of the 2/10ths of 1 percent I guess. LOL

Interesting thread. I have a trophy room that I am very proud of but, my goal every year is to fill my freezer. That white box is my #1 priority when season begins. I process everything myself so I know exactly what's what from kill to the table. I truly believe what comes from that freezer is better for my family opposed to the meat case at the local grocer. Sure, I like to kill a big buck as much as the next guy and have been fortunate to do so many times. I filled my last urban tag on New Year's Eve at about 5:10pm with a spike buck. That topped off the freezer, made the homeowners association happy and in my eyes he was a trophy. Now, back to the original question......was your antlerless 12pt a trophy? If you think so then by all means YES it was because your opinion of what you kill is the only one that really matters. As long as you're within the law public opinion of what you kill is irrelevant.

Wow- great for them! They did something that the majority of hunters have trouble just getting one cannot do! JR do you know the size of the bucks - were they 3 spikes?

Jeremy - it had everything to do with the question - JR shot a buck early in the year - if limit was one buck he would not have the opportunity to shoot a trophy wether it had its rack or not. The reason why the site has slacked was and is because their were many and are many on here who like to judge everyone.

I am not sure what size the bucks were but I know they were not over 140 inches. LOL. My deer was a dinner trophy to me. LOL. He is already gone. Now the buck I killed in Montana last fall well that is a different story.

Nice answer Donnie! Totally agree with ya - if you go back to several previous threads from last year - some on here will tell you that you and I don’t need to kill meat for our freezers that it’s much cheaper to go to store. And then when you try to convince them that venison is better than the hormone pumped up store meat - well they will laugh at ya then too.... still remember the silly argument from last year where I was told I didn’t need to hunt for food because it was cheaper to go to store - and that the only reason I hunted was because I wanted too. I agree with you the freezer is the main reason I hunt but I like to see a nice rack as well. Absolutely correct - we each decide what our trophies are!

I agree too. I hunt for the freezer in WV and out of state for the game room. Works out good. BTW, my story above was a hypothetical situation. I did not kill a 12 point or one without a rack. But I would if I could.

Buck limit discussion only applies when proponents of such want it to.

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