A point for WA Mthunter for the reality check. We tend to overestimate our own importance. Try to remember there are millions of years of evolution behind that basketrack buck. Your choice of what to shoot is like a drop of water in a big river. Management practices can affect what you SEE by allowing bigger bucks to grow to maturity but it is one deer you are affecting, not the gene pool.

Based on what you've said, it sounds like the geography and the genetics are all wrong for producing huge racked bucks.

It's time to come to a different definition of a trophy deer in your hunting area. I think you should try to define a trophy as a 200+lbs deer sized on the hoof regardless of rack size. I have never heard of a 1.5 year old deer getting bigger than 200 lbs, and it's the 1.5 year olds you really want to avoid harvesting anyway. Another thing you can do is impart a "3 points on one side" restirction. This will allow your hunting parties to start taking some of the really nice 5 and 6 points out of the herd.

So to sum things up, 200+ lbs estimated on the hoof and at least 3 points on a side sounds like a pretty solid game plan for your hunting area. Try it out for the next couple of years and see how it works. If you don't like it and success has not increased, you can always try something else. Good luck!

Where do you live mihunter? Geography can have an adverse affect on rack size. The further north you go in the US, the smaller the average rack size, but the bigger the deer. The main reasons for this are energy conservation and genetics.

Deer in the more nothern states where the winters are cold need to put more energy into muscle development than antler growth. It's not a conscious decision, but an adaptation that has developed genetically over thousands of years. A bigger deer loses heat slower than a smaller deer...kind of like a bigger person is more comfortable in a cold room than a smaller person.

So to answer your question, if you live in a northern state, and you can accurately age your deer on the hoof to be mature, then go ahead and take them because they are probably trophy deer for the area, even though their racks may never extend beyond the ears.

I wold take the smaller rack buck. Unless you have a huge plot set up and are doing a true deer management program then the bucks are the bucks. Even in a management theory if you have a 4-5 year buck witha small rack its a good take to keep the huge rack genetics passing on in the future.

WA Mthunter and LesserSon +1. these guys are exactly right. unless your farm has a high fence you and a few other hunters can not manage genetics. mature bucks that you see, body mass or otherwise, during the rut may not even call your area home. they could just be visiting the ladies. you have to keep in mind the mature bucks that you don't see, my bet is that they are the wall hangers that you are after.

Take the buck this year and next year plant a nice sized food plot and put out corn and watermelon and maybe start doin that in spring and it mite help a bit!

Good answers above. To do quality deer managment it does take several years before you start notice the change. What I would do this year and the next few years is start culling the bucks. Culling I mean the bucks who's antlers are deformed,crooked like 3 points on one side and a single spike on the other. I know it will be hard to do but going to have to past up the basket rack bucks for a few years. Get the cull bucks genes out of area and the nice bucks to breed this should start turning around. This only works if everybody around you does the same thing. If you past up a fork, it jumps the fence and the next group kills him you are accomplishing anything but not filling your tag. Everybody has to work together, by telling what your group harvested. If you do not let the bucks a chance to grow then its not going to work. Remember this does take a few years to get started to where you will notice the difference. Good luck!

look for dominant basket rack bucks with bad genes basically. they dont breed all of the does but they do drive potentially nicer bucks out in the pre-rut phase . i have passed on many little bucks on a large piece of public land i hunt. ive been told by other hunters "mite as well shoot them the guy next door sure will." well i have pictures this year of 2 nice bucks one a nice 9pt the other a smaller 12. the nine went from a spike to a 6 to a basket 8 and now a wide tall 9. get your doe and buck ratio similar and your bucks wont compete for food as much either. i know some argue that u eliminate your breeding stock but you also dont have a mediocre herd.

I guess I'm just an old fart. I hunt for the meat. I'm a farmer. I enjoy venison. I like deer that are fat. I've seen late season bucks with big racks that have meat that is just purple from chasing does for over a month.

I drive over 3000 miles to fish wild cohos in Ak. I love catching them on a flyrod. When I'm deer hunting I just whack one, and then go back to my true love, duck hunting. I still hunt with my model 12 I bought in 64 in a pawn shop for $50. You guys would make your grandfathers turn over in their graves. To me, hunting isn't a sport. Racks come or they don't. KIll a prime eating animal, that's what it's all about.