Need Advice

Teach your kids what a mature buck/doe looks like and let them shoot. After they shoot their first nice buck tell them that the next one has to be better.

Hunt for the memories, not the trophies.

Keep that in mind and hunting becomes really simple.

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I think I’ve fallen in a honey hole and I am being very protective, maybe over protective

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No such thing when it comes to growing your deer herd. They are irreplaceable.

I hunted on 20,000 acres in South Texas for about 15 years before hanging my hat up due to the rising costs (it was going up from $8,500 per gun when I left). This is what we did, and we grew a sustainable herd with giants:

1. No trophy bucks under 5.5 years old, ever. A 4.5 year old deer has just become "mature." Giving that mature deer the opportunity to dominate the other bucks and breed the most doe will change your herd in 5 years, so give that deer 2 years before you kill it.

2. Kill cull deer and management deer early and often. What is a "cull" and "management" depends on the property, but in general I look for bad genetics, like short brow tines, or mature 8 points that have no more growing potential. The science is split on spikes, but I shoot 'em. Rather than worry about science, I play the odds like black jack.

3. Protein supplements, whatever your budget can accommodate.

4. Kill a set amount of doe off your property before they go into estrus.

I'm not saying do all of this. Your property is smaller and needs a program tailored to its potential. But what I am saying is come up with a program and do not waiver from it if you want to kill 150 inch deer every year (or better). I think the most important thing from my list is do not kill young deer. If that 150 is not 6.5, I would not kill it at all and let it go through another rut.

Not that my opinion matters, but bucks #1, #3 and #4 should be on the no-kill list (I'm sure you were going to let #4 and probably #3 grow anyways). Bucks #1 and #3 are going to be giants one day and their genetics are perfect.

Buck #2 on the other hand is a perfect management buck. I would sick someone on that deer or shoot it myself; it is extremely unique, but in terms of genetics it is a mature deer that has reached its highest potential.

If the boys need to shoot, let it be does. Tell them that the best way to kill nice bucks is to pass up the younger ones. After one season, you’ll have a much better idea about what you’ll be able to kill. Just because the big boys are on camera, doesn’t mean you’ll see them in daylight. Good luck and have fun.

You are getting terrible advice here. Your boys haven’t killed many deer. The chances of one of these deer getting 170” and one of y’all killing him are 1/10,000. Not saying y’all aren’t good hunters, but there are a ton of variables outside of your control. Kill the deer that make you happy, without shooting the smaller ones. Only one of those pics I’d tell a kid not to shoot, and that would only be if he’s killed a bunch of deer.

Take note of how many times you actually see one of the deer in your pictures in shooting hours when you have a gun in hand. You are only going to have a few shots of killing one of those. Don’t waste em on guessing whether or not the OB would approve.

It's your damn land. Your sons haven't killed many deer. Let them decide what to shoot for a couple deer. Don't let social media pressure you into thinking every damn deer you kill has to be a Boone and Crockett. You decide what's fun on your property.

Not opposed to shooting does.

My plan is to shoot mature bucks and shoot does after the rut.

That’s easy for me because I love to watch deer and I’ve killed plenty.

We watched two 6’s push each other around last week. We didn’t kill anything but, he learned a lot. I was perfectly fine with what we had accomplished but have had a few people give me grief over it. Plus the 14 has a very itchy trigger finger. I did to at one time but have learned there is more to it than killing. With that said, I’m not sure how much they will continue to hunt if they never pull the trigger.

I’ll be honest, the only deer above that I personally won’t shoot is 4. If he walks out I will let him go unless the boys are with me. Once they shoot something that big we will let those walk.

That’s the plan I started the season with.

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Not opposed to shooting does.

My plan is to shoot mature bucks and shoot does after the rut.

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I'm kind of jealous that you dont have neighbors killing everything that walks. We decided 4 years ago not to shoot anything under 3.5 years old. We have seen some really nice 2.5 year olds and then never see them on camera or in the stand again. I haven't shot a buck in 4 years but I've passed on some decent (120 or so) deer due to their age. The neighbors run dogs on us when we aren't there and shoot anything that is brown.