I totally agree that a "one size fits all" mentality doesn't work when it comes to deer killing in general and to killing bucks, simply because of hunters objectives varying.

For example, I'll share about a hunter that I know very well, my wife's oldest brother.

My brother-in-law kills 5-7 deer per year. I said "deer", not bucks. When bow season starts he lays down his crappie pole and goes to deer hunting with his crossbow. His objective is to kill, as soon as he can, 5-7 deer, to put into his freezer. He is strictly a "meat" hunter. He will kill the first thing that gets within range until he gets what he needs to fill his freezer. It makes no difference to him if they are spikes, does, young rack bucks, or a 140" mature 4 or 5 year old. To him, they are "meat" and his only objective is to have fun and fill his freezer with "meat". As soon as he gets them killed, he puts his crossbow away, picks up his crappie pole, and resumes his crappie fishing. He is done deer hunting for the year. I might add, that he kills most all of his deer on Alabama public lands.

I don't hunt like he does, and I also don't criticize him for the way he hunts. I have a different objective with my own deer hunting than he has. Just because that I hunt differently than he does, doesn't make my way right or his way wrong. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the way he hunts or the objectives that he has that drives his hunting. He is an honest, law abiding, ethical hunter, that hunts for "meat". I, on the other hand, like to try to kill "mature" bucks and a doe or two a year. Different hunting objectives don't equate to one or the other being right or wrong.

If the Lord allows, on March 20, 2024, I'll turn 62 years old. I started deer hunting as a kid and have deer hunted all my life. I look back at how I used to hunt and how I hunt today. There has definitely been a change, a progression, as far as my deer hunting has gone. I went from just learning to kill a deer, to killing big numbers of deer, to killing better deer, to trying to kill 8 point or better, to now trying to kill mature bucks, no matter what they have on their head as far as antlers are concerned.

I don't know what's next in my deer hunting progression but I do know this. What is right for me at my stage of deer hunting life is not going to fit every other deer hunter. I'd be so very wrong to try to force it upon them.

I went duck hunting with a distance cousin of mine many, many years ago, on his personal property. Early that morning as we were headed to a slough where we would hunt, I asked Jeff if there were any rules that he had that I needed to know about before we got there and started hunting. Jeff replied to me with a statement that I have used for many situations throughout life, not just in deer hunting.

His words to me were "Cuz, you just shoot your gun, and I'll shoot mine".

Age or score based buck killing?

I'm okay with following Cuz's advice.