A few blogs back I talked about how my attitude about deer hunting has changed.  I slow down more and enjoy things more.  Well, there is also another aspect of the hunt that has changed too.  I now really enjoy shooting old cull bucks.  Truly high scoring bucks are as rare as truly gifted people.  They are genetically different.  Not all bucks will grow into high scoring deer just because they get four or five years.  In fact, most won't.  Most of the bucks, even in the Midwest, will be 150 inches or less when they reach full maturity. 

Granted, 150 inches is a big deer, but it is not what most people envision when they think of an old Midwestern deer.  They think of 180 inch monsters.  However, these lower scoring deer are still mature trophies.  Any buck that reaches 3 1/2 years of age in many parts of the Midwest is getting up there in years.  In some of the areas where the hunting pressure is low or the deer hunting is managed to produce older deer, it is possible to shoot 4 1/2 year old and older bucks.  No matter how you define maturity for your area, this category of bucks are trophies - every one of them, regardless of score. 

One of the bucks I am proudest of, from the past few years, won't make anyone's list of candidates for "Midwest Monster" but he was a deer that showed up on the same ridge for three years in a row.  He didn't grow at all during that time.  At first, I regarded him with disgust, but eventually I grew to appreciate that buck for his maturity, and his warrior mentality.  Finally, I started to hunt him.  Again, we are talking about an old deer with a small home range - like I dicussed a couple of blogs back.  He showed up often when I hunted that particular stand.

It was his stomping ground and he ruled that ridge with an iron fist.  He ran all the other bucks off whenever he showed up. They gave him a wide berth as he stepped out into the food plot.  There is no question that he could (and probably did) breed any doe he wanted to in that area. 

Two things struck me.  First, he was old and worth my respect.  Second, he was very likely chasing bucks away that had much better antler potential, causing them to take up residence somewhere else if they wanted to try to establish their own dominance.  That is when I started hunting him - late December of 2007.  After a week and two encounters, I finally was able to get a good, clean 40 yard shot on the buck and made a good hit. 

I still remember that buck as one of my most enjoyable hunts.  I think the reason I enjoyed it so much is because the buck was old and because I had so many years of history with him.  It was fun when I finally decided to hunt him. 

With that said, I am trying to encourage you to think of trophies in a different light.  You may not have any high scoring bucks around, but I bet you can find an old buck or two to hunt.  These are trophies just as surely as those with the big antlers.  Don't turn your nose up at them - hunt them.