Welcome to TheOhioOutdoors
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Login or sign up today!
Login / Join

Goals for the 2013 seaons and your standards

Hedgelj

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,144
178
Mohicanish
What are everyone's goals for the hunting (deer) season and what standards do you have for what you shoot?

My goals for this season were to put some meat in the freezer to eat and also play with making brats, snack sticks, jerky, etc.
My standards for what I'm shooting are pretty simple. I am trying to not shoot button bucks but all does are fair game. If it has antlers it gets shot if it meets one of two criteria. It has to be at least a 130 inch mature buck or it has to be hurt.

That being said how is my season coming along?
I got a nice doe in the early Muzzy season (thanks everyone for helping skin it out and quarter, well third it, so quickly)
I shot a button buck yesterday morning. I was pretty certain it was a button when I first spotted it coming out of the corn but I wanted some meat on the ground and now I can be a lot more picky about what I shoot on Friday and Saturday and during the Muzzy season.


The last buck I shot was last year or the year before in Muzzy season. It was gimping along and was a small forkhorn so I put it down before the coyotes finished it. Other than that I haven't shot one since the 1999 season when I shot my half rack which would have been a stud of a buck had the whole rack been there. I'll attach the photo and he was a truly mature stud of a buck regardless and a trophy for me. deer2.jpg Since then I have passed on a lot of very nice 120ish or better 8s at one of the locations I hunt b/c we try to keep them alive to hopefully see what they can do. Unfortunately the local highway gets quite a few of them and we don't have quite enough acreage to truly know they can mature and all the other variables involved. I average about one button buck every other to every third season that is either moving too quick or I just misjudge and shoot.

I'm very happy with my buck tag soup b/c it'll happen at some point and I'm just grateful to be outside enjoying God's gifts to us.