Cull buck down. After 19 days trying to lineup one of the 2 five year old 5x4 deer on the property (see my other post “White Tailed Deer: Using Trail Cams to Manage your Herd”) I figured enough was enough and decided to take this 215 pound 3 1/2 year old 4x4 meat buck. He probably would have put another 30 pounds on and added some mass to the rack over the next couple years but not something that I wanted to keep around the property as he was a bit of a fighter with that broken tine as well as having a weak scoring rack as an adult deer.
To highlight how rare it is for a fully mature whitetail buck to come in during the day, in 10 weeks of monitoring my spot, I had only 3 occasions of the big 9 pointers breaking trend and coming in during legal light and only 2 of which were in season, even though nearly every other night they would show at between 23:00 - 04:00 to feed on their favorite food - field peas.
He met his end with a 165 grain Federal premium copper bullet fired within the Cabelas Zonz blind from a Weatherby Lazergaurd in 30-06 caliber at 20 yards. Bullet was a pass through double lung shot and the buck ran less than 100 yards. He yielded 70 pounds of meat. I used the gutless method and deboned him using the hide as well as a tarp to keep my processing area clean. Tenderloins were removed last through a small incision behind the rib cage by the hip.
I probably could have ended up taking one of the older deer had I kept on it until the season closure December 2nd. However, I’d prefer to give the big 5x4’s a chance to survive this season and maybe they stay in the area through winter. I will be awaiting spring melt to search for their shed antlers, maybe I can see what they score. Next season as 6 year olds they should have their largest set of antlers and be at the peak of their prime. I’m hoping they throw some kickers and non typical points as they age.
To highlight how rare it is for a fully mature whitetail buck to come in during the day, in 10 weeks of monitoring my spot, I had only 3 occasions of the big 9 pointers breaking trend and coming in during legal light and only 2 of which were in season, even though nearly every other night they would show at between 23:00 - 04:00 to feed on their favorite food - field peas.
He met his end with a 165 grain Federal premium copper bullet fired within the Cabelas Zonz blind from a Weatherby Lazergaurd in 30-06 caliber at 20 yards. Bullet was a pass through double lung shot and the buck ran less than 100 yards. He yielded 70 pounds of meat. I used the gutless method and deboned him using the hide as well as a tarp to keep my processing area clean. Tenderloins were removed last through a small incision behind the rib cage by the hip.
I probably could have ended up taking one of the older deer had I kept on it until the season closure December 2nd. However, I’d prefer to give the big 5x4’s a chance to survive this season and maybe they stay in the area through winter. I will be awaiting spring melt to search for their shed antlers, maybe I can see what they score. Next season as 6 year olds they should have their largest set of antlers and be at the peak of their prime. I’m hoping they throw some kickers and non typical points as they age.
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