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  1. AHayes111

    Let them grow?

    I can agree with everything you have written down but bucks at there biggest at 3 or 4. I have found little evidence of this. Some bucks will be big at age 3, they will be bigger at age 7 or 8 barring some disease or catastrophic weather event.
  2. AHayes111

    3x3s Worth Shooting Picture Thread

    Jumped this buck right at daylight. Probably should have shot first and figured out how big he was later. Next time I had a shot a few minutes later he was where my tag was no longer valid. Ended up finding five antlers from him. Antlers are 70 to 73 inches. Friends brother shot him the next...
  3. AHayes111

    3x3s Worth Shooting Picture Thread

    Big three point dead head I found a few years back.
  4. AHayes111

    3x3s Worth Shooting Picture Thread

    largest three point antler I have ever found. 75+ and nearly a 30 inch main beam.
  5. AHayes111

    Let them grow?

    Passing on nice bucks is a personal decision. Some times it works out, most of the time it doesn't. People should be able to shoot any buck they want. Just don't complain to me that you can not find a 180 if you can not lay off of a three year old 160.
  6. AHayes111

    Let them grow?

    I have confidence that this is not happening in SE MT. Guess it depends on what a person considers a great buck.
  7. AHayes111

    First time for Montana

    Nothing wrong with shooting a three pointer. I wish more people would instead of holding out for a dink four point. I am a firm believer in shoot what makes you happy. Eastern Montana is all about perspective. For you coming out and having 2 out of 3 fill tags on small three points is a great...
  8. AHayes111

    Let them grow?

    The problem with let them grow is most hunters have trouble letting the bucks that are most likely to become big live. The smaller three point is an easy pass. The 26 inch three year old four point that scores 170. Boom. The key to big deer is more not shooting the nice ones than letting the...
  9. AHayes111

    First time for Montana

    The rut is not your fiend because it shifts the probability of success away from skill, knowledge and hard work and more towards just getting lucky. It sounds like you have some skill and are willing to work hard for a deer, but during the rut your chances at a nice buck are not that much better...
  10. AHayes111

    First time for Montana

    Eastern MT is still a good place if you are happy with a 2 year old buck. But it is a shell of what it was not that long ago. I one time saw over 50 deer and four 170 class bucks from a single glassing point. If I had just been looking for deer I could have went to places where I would have seen...
  11. AHayes111

    First time for Montana

    The rut is not your friend if you are willing to put in the miles. There is no place in eastern Montana that you can get away from the crowds. Even the most remote places can be accessed by a guy with a good set of legs in less than three hours. Will there be fewer hunters if you walk in? Yes...
  12. AHayes111

    What the closest face-to-face encounters you've had with animals while hunting?

    One morning I was setting on one of my favorite glassing points when I hear something moving below me. I looked down expecting to see a deer, but instead it was badger looking for breakfast maybe 50 yards away. It was cool just setting there watching him go about his search for food. The badger...
  13. AHayes111

    Hunting mature thick timber Muleys in Eastern WA, Northern ID, and NW Montana

    Unbelievable, A Washington hunter that doesn't travel across the entire state to shoot a three point. You have some great bucks, keep up the strong work. It is not easy to hunt bucks in timber where numbers and visibility is low, but your chance at a great buck is better. With today's tech...
  14. AHayes111

    Montana breaks, weather, deer behavior discussion

    People can blame Newberg and Reinella all they want if it makes the feel better, But the real issue is the way we manage deer in MT.
  15. AHayes111

    Montana breaks, weather, deer behavior discussion

    I would concentrate on the "Just happy to be out there", Probably going to have to stop at Cabela's to see so big horns.
  16. AHayes111

    Bear attack or homicide in Montana

    I have set up a decoy ten or pickup in places that are popular with blast and dash poachers. Works most of the time.
  17. AHayes111

    Do Hunters Effect Antler Genetics

    I have dealt with SClancy on other things and he is a smart guy. I look forward to meeting him. However. like your friend I have and extensive antler collection and some of the stuff that collecting those antlers has taught me just can not be explained by nutrition.
  18. AHayes111

    Do Hunters Effect Antler Genetics

    The biggest difference between whitetail and mule deer is the way they rut. Whitetail bucks latch on to one hot doe and then move on when she is no longer receptive. Mule deer are more likely to have a harem of does that they will tend to most of the rut.
  19. AHayes111

    Do Hunters Effect Antler Genetics

    The first article did little to convince me that we are having no effect. The first two studied are just too short to see any results when it comes to genetics. I am actually alarmed that there was a 7 inch difference in the 15 year study. I would have thought if would have been less and with...
  20. AHayes111

    Do Hunters Effect Antler Genetics

    I wonder if there is a genetic explanation also and not just a feed explanation for the smaller deer. I wonder if the low feed quality and other environmental conditions of the Black Hills have caused the deer to evolve to what they are now over many generations. I have a friend that hunts...

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