Would you shoot this deer?

[Huntz]

Dead Deer walking.

 

[DWier]

I agree with Vol1975. Where did you see him?

 

[MNbogboy]

Hard for me to tell but looks like smaller buck is hard horned and larger is still in velvet . That's very odd if so. IT may be a stag ? Definitely shoot IT. I didn't read through all post so maybe somebody already brought this up.

Could be a hormonal problem but younger bucks often shed/rub earlier than older mule deer (whitetails usually rub within the same week or two). It is normal to see both, especially when bachelor groups have not broken up yet. How recent is the photo?

 

[Hespco]

Photo about 3 weeks ago. Exact location: SW Colorado

 

[MNbogboy]

Photo about 3 weeks ago. Exact location: SW Colorado

Photo is blurry on my phone but lighter brown velvet indicates it is "drying" up.
Blurriness also may show "cracks" in the drying velvet....my guess he was ready to rub it off, especially because it fits in the normal timeline for velvet shedding.

 

[hogheadv2]

This picture was taken on public land about 3 weeks ago. I was on a scouting trip looking for deer for my up coming hunt later this month. Well away from where the crowds would be. I was using a telephoto lens & the range was about 150yds. Other bucks I've seen lately are well out of velvet so I would assume this buck would be also. These deer were totally unaware of my presence on a ledge above them. O ya I'm 75 & still well able to hunt & pack out my meat.

I truly hope either of these deer offers himself to you during hunting season. Good luck and Safe Hunting. [pardon my caution to vague details] (Most of my working life, administrative reports were written after video was review by several in the front office.)
I shoot a few Nikon's, d50 an 2 D200, 300 or 400mm with 2x or 1.4 converter.. crop. That image could be most of a mile away.

 

[Riflehunter1776]

I would not shoot it. Its waaaay too small. What a crappy place you hunt.

Thats like a yearling whitetail on the property I hunt.

lol.

yeah, Ima generous guy. I only shoot the ones crippled with tumors that nobody else wants. I especially like when I pass up big bucks and later see them clobbered on the highway by a tractor trailer. It's the natural circle of life, and I don't want to interject myself into it.

 

[Greyfox]

I'd say he definitely qualifies as a shooter, and will absolutely be shot by somebody if the opportunity presents itself..

 

[DavidleeCole]

I have read some articles on whitetails and the research shown that does cary the big rack buck genetics as much as the bucks themselves. We have a strain I call crazy horns and I thought that killing the bucks out would solve the problem. Well 7 years later and a many buck tags filled each season it has not. Bad thing is we can never tell which does have the genetic impact on the heard. This research was done on a few deer ranches were the size and quality make the check. So short story long shoot him his daughter's are running a muck with their fathers blood in them. I believe that if you truly wanted to cull out a heard than it has to start early in the off bucks around year 2 or as soon as they become legal. Good to take friends that just want to get something but not very hunting enthusiasts. In my opinion

 

[31perersen]

I'm not sure WTH my problem is, but given the exact location and I've been all over SW CO looking for the last 2 days and STILL cant find him.... any more clues?! lmao

 

[villagelightsmith]

I'm hunting alone. He's too big, too old, and he's too far from the truck. But I'm grateful to have seen him. The next hunter will probably kill him, but it didn't happen the last couple of years, so give the old fellow one more chance to do what bucks do. I'd be glad just to know he's there. I'd sure like to find his sheds, just to prove it!

 

[memtb]

Just relating an observation of mine.....A tale of two mule deer. Many years ago I killed a pretty decent Mule Deer Buck, appearing to be in decline, worn teeth, white "grizzled" face, and appeared to have a neck "swollen" by rut.... best tasting deer we've ever had. A few years later, late season doe/fawn season, I head shot a doe (appeared young and healthy) while she was feeding....instant death. After she was processed ( by us), packaged, and frozen...we later planned on deer for supper. We couldn't stand the smell, opened the house windows (December in Wyoming), and ultimately threw away all of that processed deer. We later also, threw away the cast iron skillet, the meat was cooked in.

Old age does not automatically deem the animal undesirable! Also to note, years earlier the family had killed a moose in the same area as the doe deer....worst moose that any of the family had ever had. I know that with bears, the diet often determines the taste of the meat. Perhaps it was "bad" water or some form of vegetation of the area that "tainted" the taste of game taken from there! memtb

 

[Hespco]

The food eaten by game absolutely determines how they taste. The deer in my area predominately eat the leaves off of the "Gamble" oak brush. You would think it would give the meat a strong taste . We take deer every year from our area & has always been great tasting.

 

[villagelightsmith]

Huh! Hadn't considered this, but maybe a "warning shot" (Hey, Old Timer! The season's open!) at a rock a few feet in front of the old gentleman might give some "situational awareness" that would help him breed another year. Or not.