Interesting thing about the beast...

[Jphunter]

Some Dandy bucks! This last year Kansas buck you shot must have been a fighter.. Solid lookin horns and still had a few broke off..

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[mainebowhunter]

Some Dandy bucks! This last year Kansas buck you shot must have been a fighter.. Solid lookin horns and still had a few broke off..

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Yep, broken right side sticker point, G3 G4. Left side. Broken G4. He was 1 of the 3 bucks I was holding out for this year. KS was FANTASTIC this year. Buck or no buck, it was one of the best hunts I have ever been on.

One of the things that clicked with me this year....I don't HAVE to kill something. One thing that is common with guys who kill really great bucks...they pass good bucks.

[whitetailassasin]

Great looking deer! was that Nebraska or New England? I any eastern bucks other than the Maine one? I've heard many beasts talk how hard it is to kill mature deer there, I've thought Michigan was bad until I heard about the east side of the states.

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[mauser06]

Someone nailed it....


Most hunters can't/won't put in the time and effort...

I'm no beast by any means...getting better by the season...and my small crew that do small pushes in rifle/flintlock season don fairly well...

Not as rewarding as a pre-rut bow kill...but we know where to go find em...that's my favorite form of "scouting". If I jump a biggun in the middle of rifle season I know I found me a good buck bedding location for next year!

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[mainebowhunter]

Great looking deer! was that Nebraska or New England? I any eastern bucks other than the Maine one? I've heard many beasts talk how hard it is to kill mature deer there, I've thought Michigan was bad until I heard about the east side of the states.

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Public land Nebraska.

Maine has an estimated deer herd of 150-200k -- we are 34k sq miles with at best 200k deer. Annual deer kill is 20k deer, all weapons, all seasons combined. New England is a tough place. In my opinion, where I live, Maine is not the toughest. That would be Vermont. All my buddies and I would give up the whole season in Maine to hunt in the midwest.

I really did not decide to really start chasing 3.5yr olds or better in Maine until 2011. To me, it was just a waste of time. But in 2011, I decided it was time to really start pushing hard to kill mature deer in Maine with archery gear. So it was more trailcams, serious scouting all year long. Its also when I started passing 2yr old bucks.

Here are 2 I killed in 2012.

[Edcyclopedia]

The coast and southern part has the highest deer numbers @ least... Good looking bucks!

I've hunted Ashland and into the Alagash, very big woods with hardly any deer.

Do you hunt Bear?

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[mainebowhunter]

The coast and southern part has the highest deer numbers @ least... Good looking bucks!

I've hunted Ashland and into the Alagash, very big woods with hardly any deer.

Do you hunt Bear?

[ Post made via Android ]

Yeah...lot of guys like that big woods with no deer stuff. But thats what makes the world go round.
I do not. Shot one bear with my bow in 2004 / 2005. Really not much bear hunting on the coast.

[fishlips]

That half rack is pretty cool. Nice bucks

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[mainebowhunter]

That half rack is pretty cool. Nice bucks

[ Post made via Android ]

Thanks! He broke his skull some how...hit by a car I am guessing?

[Uncle Lou]

Good thread, great point, very nice bucks Maine

[Bigburner]

That half rack is pretty cool. Nice bucks

[ Post made via Android ]

Thanks! He broke his skull some how...hit by a car I am guessing?

That looks like an abscess. I've done a few euros with that same thing. If you see bone erosion around the eye socket he had some bad stuff going on. Could have been a bad break off or fighting. I'd id one last year and the buck had puss coming out of the pedicle. You got him at a good time if that's the case. But any time would have been a good time for that guy. Nice bucks btw.

[mainebowhunter]

That half rack is pretty cool. Nice bucks

[ Post made via Android ]

Thanks! He broke his skull some how...hit by a car I am guessing?

That looks like an abscess. I've done a few euros with that same thing. If you see bone erosion around the eye socket he had some bad stuff going on. Could have been a bad break off or fighting. I'd id one last year and the buck had puss coming out of the pedicle. You got him at a good time if that's the case. But any time would have been a good time for that guy. Nice bucks btw.

Thanks. I contemplated shooting him...there was another beauty that I was hunting. But I do not pass 3.5 in this state. Little did I know the other "beauty" was very killable (buddy almost killed him). This place was HAMMERED with rubs. I knew there was buck bedding here. Saw him 1.5hrs before dark come out to the berries to feed. Pouring rain. He only moved 50yds in 1.5hrs. This was a "in season" scouting find.

Hardly seen a buck bed here since.

[whitetailassasin]

I don't pass mature bucks here either. Learned a lesson long ago about that. I'll pass younger deer, but if a mature buck walks by me, I'm taking that shot. Inches doesn't matter to me as much as age class. Granted if a 2.5 year old 150" comes by I'm 9/10 shooting him. But for the normal circumstances in looking to kill the oldest bucks in my areas. I passed two 3.5 year olds this season, but it's because I knew of 3 bucks older. Yes the horns generally are bigger, but I don't have a problem killing a 5 point or half rack. I like all shapes and sizes, when mature. But this also has a lot to do with knowing what lives on the pieces your hunting. If a 3.5 is great for your area then shoot him.

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[mainebowhunter]

I don't pass mature bucks here either. Learned a lesson long ago about that. I'll pass younger deer, but if a mature buck walks by me, I'm taking that shot. Inches doesn't matter to me as much as age class. Granted if a 2.5 year old 150" comes by I'm 9/10 shooting him. But for the normal circumstances in looking to kill the oldest bucks in my areas. I passed two 3.5 year olds this season, but it's because I knew of 3 bucks older. Yes the horns generally are bigger, but I don't have a problem killing a 5 point or half rack. I like all shapes and sizes, when mature. But this also has a lot to do with knowing what lives on the pieces your hunting. If a 3.5 is great for your area then shoot him.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Here is the other deer that was running with him. At the time, I did not know this. It was until my buddy started pulling trailcams. I had seen this buck .5 mile away. #1 buck I was hunting. I just did not realize he had shifted.

[mainebowhunter]

And I might, never saw this buck again. He was probably 5 or 6. I had him on cam for couple of years. But not until 2011 did he really start showing a bunch during daylight. I believe he was shot with a rifle.