Oh heck yeah! This past weekend Steil and I had a phenomenal day out on the ice fishing tip-ups for walleyes. We iced and released a nice batch of fish in the 4 – 8 lb range. Glow red and glow blue jigs with big minnows were the ticket.
Wondering what most guys are hunting for. Are you simply looking for meat or a nice shooter buck.For us, it is get some meat and then look for a nicer deer. I know also it is about family, friends and tradition. Just wondering about others.-John
My goal is to replace the deer head mount in the hunting cabin. It’s an old mule deer taken in Canada. This cabin is in Buffalo County and there’s no reason we should not be able to replace that old muley soon.
I’ve been looking at the pictures on this site, on TV, and trying to determine what I will and will not shoot this year. If I’m going to take a buck, it must be large enough to mount and replace the mount in the cabin now.
Otherwise, I’d like to be EAB eligible for 2009 so I’ll take a doe if I get a chance for that purpose and to eat.
Eric
sounds kinda similar to my goals. For opener way up north, I will be looking for a nice buck outside the ears or quite tall. No other killing up there intended.
For the last weekend I will be in an EAB zone, in which case I will shoot a doe for EAB and then trophy hunt. I wouldn’t mind having my EAB out of the way for bow hunting next year! 
Nice mature doe(s) for the freezer 
, and 150″+ for the wall. That’s not too much to ask for, is it?? 
Doe for the freezer and the EAB sticker, and an over 130″ buck (if I can identify it on the hoof).
Last year I wated from my doe, passing three good shots the first day, and had to work like hell the last weekend to get her. Not waiting near as long this year.
This may sound odd, but for me, it depends on where the deer is headed.
We are meat hunters by nature, but I cannot shoot a small buck unless forced by the family I hunt with. I sit next to a line fence. If the deer is headed into the ‘brown is down’ neighbors, I am instructed to lower the standards a little. But if it is coming from their land, I definitely let the smalls and mediums go, in hopes that they will live on or be shot by others in my party.
This is not my normal strategy, but sometimes you have to go with what the landowners want.
I’m looking for a 135″++ buck. I have 3 antlerless tags right now but the only time I’ve had shots at does have been days I promised myself to hold out for a buck. I’ll bet I could have dropped 30+ different does this year all on days I told myself big buck only. Our late season bow opens back up on Monday and I’ll be ready to drop the hammer on some does.
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Nice mature doe(s) for the freezer
Why think so small Prieser??????
What is wrong with 2 140″ plus deer for the wall and a few does for the freezer!
My goal is to get good meat. I hunt in an area where bucks have no problem getting old. Not a lot of pressure. That being said I would welcome a nice buck but a forkhorn guarantees me the kind of meat I seek. I dont shoot fawns and I wont take a doe with fawns nearby. Frankly I dont like shooting female deer. We’ll see what happens on the stand because that is ultimately where I make my final decision.
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Frankly I dont like shooting female deer.
You prefer to cut around the beans and franks vs. the milk jugs?? 
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Frankly I dont like shooting female deer.
Why is this? 
By now the fawns are very capable of taking care of themselves and there is nothing better than a fat doe to fill the freezer. And it’s healthy for the deer herd to reduce the number of does in a given area.
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If the deer is headed into the ‘brown is down’ neighbors, I am instructed to lower the standards a little.
That is too bad just because the deer is heading into the brown its down land does not mean that the deer will not make it out of there but if you shoot the deer it for sure will not get any older. Try letting them go even if they are heading the wrong way then see if you get them on trail cam next year you might be surprised at the results.
Honestly, I just want a nontypical 
but on Dec 31st if it’s brown…I will pull the straps and the rest is jerky in the smoker
Three deers worth of back straps in the freezer now. 
Twenty pounds of hamburger, twenty pounds of smoked breakfast sausage (Duff’s in Hastings.) and 100 pounds of sticks (Hot cheese and maple from Ptaceks in Prescott) and 30 pounds of maple rope sausage on the way!
Muzzleloader season is for bucks for me. It’s my first year doing so, and I was lucky enough to get permission from a buddy to hunt very close to my home.
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Frankly I dont like shooting female deer.
Why is this?
It can be healthy in some areas but I highly doubt it would be where I hunt. There are not that many deer. Winter kill is very real. They should NOT allow a doe tag to every hunter in my opinion. It should be lottery like the old days. I’m not a fan of modern day deer management. I think the DNR has the public (younger generation for sure) brainwashed into believing there are incredible numbers of deer everywhere and they can be shot like rabbits. BS. I came from a time when there were larger numbers of deer and doe kills were tightly managed. I like it that way.
I agree. That was back when you got a doe permit, you called everyone you knew!
If it is just for the meat, a side of beef is about as cheap as what you end up paying for sausage! 
My goal every year is pretty simple. Do my part in the land managment by taking a couple doe for the freezer, then hold out for a mature buck. Trophy or not, it if is a mature deer, I am happy.
3 years ago I shot a 2 1/2 year old by mistake and it is a bad feeling when you are trying to manage for bigger bucks and you know your season is over
My dad hunts the same land and has a similar hunting style. He does his job taking a couple doe and then holds out for a 3 1/2 year old. Trophies come in all different sizes.
I already have 2 does down this year so my freezer is well stocked. I will be with my son hunting the WI gun season this weekend – he is 12 and this is his first year hunting deer. My goal for me would be a good mature buck during the MN black powder season or late bow season.
My goal for my son is to have fun and I hope he can shoot a deer that he is happy with. I have always tried to teach my sons about conservation, management, and that success comes in many ways and does not always include a kill. I also want him to have a great time and want to do this for the rest of his life.
Good luck to all!
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and 100 pounds of sticks (Hot cheese and maple from Ptaceks in Prescott)
mmmmmm Ptacek’s is good stuff, no doubt! good choice!
I am with Suzuki. Right or wrong, I just do not get as excited about shooting does. Even a spike buck is way better to me. I have several small racks in the garage and every one of them means something and brings back memories. I prefer the older days of hunting hard and having to ‘look for horns’ before pulling the trigger. Seeing one and not shooting because “I couldn’t tell if it had horns’ was the way I was brought up hunting. I actually enjoyed those hunts more and that is still the way I hunt today. I still shoot a few does, but my tag is reserved an antlered animal, even if it is a young fork.
Tim
My goal for the WI firearm season is to have quality hunts each and every day while I’m on my stand. That means sitting from dark to dark and being patient no matter if I’m seeing deer or not.
This year I will be using chest waders to cross a river in the dark while carrying all my gear (hunting coat, pants, boots, gun, backpack). Needless to say, I will not be shooting a buck unless I’m going to put it on the wall.
To say it has to be 130 or 140 or 150 or 160+ inches is kind of comical to me. During bow season you may be able do it. However during the gun season, sometimes you only have a couple of seconds to make that decision as he’s sneaking through the brush and you’re just getting a glimpse of him. Heck, I have enough of a hard time adding up the inches on a trail cam picture! However, if you’ve done your homework (scouting and trail cams) you should know which bucks are on the hit list and which ones are not. Very rarely, do we see a buck during gun season that we’ve not seen before. And when in doubt, you just don’t pull the trigger.
Shoot one WIDER than Brad “Grifter” Juaire. This will be a tall task – In the last 2 years he has over 48″ of Antler spread on 2 Deer! Hopefully, “Grifter” will put me in a good spot, not a chair next to the truck.
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Shoot one WIDER than Brad “Grifter” Juaire. This will be a tall task – In the last 2 years he has over 48″ of Antler spread on 2 Deer! Hopefully, “Grifter” will put me in a good spot, not a chair next to the truck.
I can help you achieve your goal Craig. Just shoot a doe and then we will duct tape the antlers on off of the wide one and then you can shoot it again and then we’ll take some pictures! 
BTW – I do have you in a very good spot. You’re going to be really close to me and you should be able to hear me when I yell at you to come across the river and drag out my buck! 
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To say it has to be 130 or 140 or 150 or 160+ inches is kind of comical to me. During bow season you may be able do it. However during the gun season, sometimes you only have a couple of seconds to make that decision as he’s sneaking through the brush and you’re just getting a glimpse of him. Heck, I have enough of a hard time adding up the inches on a trail cam picture! However, if you’ve done your homework (scouting and trail cams) you should know which bucks are on the hit list and which ones are not. Very rarely, do we see a buck during gun season that we’ve not seen before. And when in doubt, you just don’t pull the trigger.
Having a 130-140-150+” class buck as a goal is not comical to me at all. I can easily with decent light make a pretty quick judgement on what a rack will score + or – 5-10″ being very generous. If a guy says thats what he is after than he is most likely a pretty good judge of it.
Trail cam pics are harder to score than a deer walking by in the woods to me.
Each area a guy hunts is different. Where I hunt is the opposite of you and most likely the BEST bucks make passes through the area I hunt searching for estrous does and typically don’t reside there.
I am praying for a safe hunt for my dad, myself and my brother. A couple nice bucks would be a bonus to go with a few does for the freezer. I will be looking for these guys and a bigger one we did not get any good pics of.
anytime I head out into the woods, my goal is to put myself into position to see deer. If I do just that, it was a successful hunt. Bonus if I am able to harvest an animal. 
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