Scouting Success: Meet Tig Ole Bitties and Twin Peaks - My Target Deer for This Season

Need another year

The one on the right is young let him get bigger

@Steve mentoring two hunters this year and for first deer on public land youd be hype to go after these.

@Shawn target deer for my two apprentice hunters this year. Also youd be hype af to take one of these as your first deer on public land.

@John 🧐

@Shawn im not a trophy hunter at all. I can shoot 6 does a year and be happy.

@John I agree

@John to tell you the truth I don’t think I would pass up either one of those. Haven’t shot a big buck since 2013 and even though the body on the one may look small now between now and the rut he is gonna gain a lot of weight probably so they are both going to be really nice deer! I hope you guys get a crack at them.

@John 🧐

@Steve hopefully they do. If i get a shot at the wider one id take it but i passed on a deer a little smaller than him last year. Ill see what he looks like with velvet off soon. The wider one is a 10 point with 2 small eye guards and the taller one is an eight point with a little extra coming off his third beam on his left side. Ive honestly never shot a big deer. I dont care if i do. I love having big deer in the woods to get bew hunters into the woods. If i showed them forks and yearling does all preseason no one would want to start hunting. These deer get new hunters excited to become hunters. If me being a meat hunter, shooting does keeps me happy. I can happily pass 140 inch deer knowing someone could be down the ravine about to have the time of their life when it walks by. The guy i taught last year had a 130" walk by and let me tell you he has a whole story about how his leg was shaking so bad he couldnt keep it on the stand lol. I dont have a single set of antlers on my wall. If i shoot a buck they go on a post by the garden, same with my girlfriends bucks. Squirrels eventually claim them back to nature.

@John that’s great that your mentoring new hunters! I mentored one last year, we had no luck but he did see a nice buck out of range and it got him pretty pumped!

@Steve i try to mentor ar least one person a year. The guy i taught last year wasnt a nature person at all and ive been trying to get him out for years. Hes from the hood where i grew up. His first days out were nov 7-8-9 and i think he saw 26 deer on public and his first deer was a button buck he thought was a doe at 18 yards on his 3rd day. Thus year will be his second season and let me tell you how he loves hunting so much he took his whole tax return and bought a matthews, a saddle, platform and sticks. Its all he can talk about now. Hes in it for life. He tells people at work if a mf from the hood like me can do it anyone can do it. He has the young kid im mentoring this year from work extra excited which in turn has me excited. Im happier when someone i teach harvests a deer than i am to get one myself. Im more proud of the success i can share with other than the success i can have myself. Its a good feeling. This year will be my 5th and 6th apprentices. Everyone has gotten their first deer on public land their first season except one and it was a private late season muzzleloader.

That’s awesome man! Looks like you do a great job! And it’s great that your getting these guys out hunting that wouldn’t normally have that opportunity to be mentored in the outdoors!

@Steve best part about all of it us that im self taught. Asides butchering, had a friend thats a butcher teach me.