Is He a Shooter?

I had the pleasure of being contacted by a neighboring land owner this spring, and through our many conversations and sharing of deer pictures, I found out that his brother had shot a very nice 8 point buck last season, and I had actually passed the buck a week or so before he harvested him. I passed the buck simply because he wasn’t within the goals I had set for myself and my property. I estimated him to be 3.5 years old and I try to limit myself to bucks that are 4.5 years old or older. Some hunters would have been upset that he harvested that buck, but considering the fact that it was his biggest buck ever, I was excited and glad that he was able to harvest him.

As we draw closer to deer season, I see more and more posts on social media displaying trail camera pictures of bucks and asking if that particular buck is a shooter. To be perfectly honest, it drives me nuts! My response to those questions are almost always the same. ”The only one who can answer that question is the one who is asking it”.

Hunters need to set achievable goals before season starts. Those goals could simply be to shoot any deer, or it could be to hold out for one particular buck. Unless the hunter is part of a management program, QDM Co-op, or something similar, where an agreement has been made on certain harvest restrictions, the hunter should be able to harvest whatever he/she wants to (legally) without getting grief from fellow hunters.

It has always been an issue for as long as I can remember, but it seems to have grown increasingly worse with the invention of social media platforms. A hunter posts a picture of a buck that he or she is proud of harvesting only to be shamed by others making inappropriate comments. Some of the common ones are “that buck would have been nice in a couple years “, “should have passed that one up, he was young”, or “Can’t believe you shot such a small buck”. Regardless of the comments, the only reason that it’s become increasingly worse is simply because of the lack of repercussions. See, my opinion is this. Social media has given these “Keyboard Tough Guys” a platform to bully and disrespect others with little to know worry of repercussions. Back in the days where the majority of interaction between fellow hunters was face to face, people took time to think before making comments. The thought process back then was different than now, because back then, you might have gotten slapped upside the head for saying something disrespectful. Now being on the other side of a computer, makes these tough guys feel pretty safe.

Please make sure you think before you comment about someones harvest or when answering the question if a buck is a shooter or not. Be sure to hold your hunting buddies accountable also. We all need to be less judgmental and more supportive of our fellow hunters.