Button Bucks and Feeling like a Schmuck

The Michgan DNR puts out it's annual Hunting and Trapping guide, and it talks about deer identification. It essentially says that while it is perfectly legal to take a "button buck", you should avoid it so they can grow up and produce more deer. They also give tips on how to know the difference between a button buck and a doe. It has something to do with the buck having a shorter face than the doe.

As you can probably guess, I took a button buck this year, and I am feeling like a schmuck about it. My father-in-law and the next-door neighbor (both experienced hunters) are telling me that there was no way to tell, but it isn't helping me much. I feel like I have violated some unwritten rule and will be looked down upon by other hunters ("That's the guy that shot a button buck last year. Yeah, what a schmuck!") Somehow I now have the Scarlet "BB" branded on my camo.

Having pretty much only seen does in the eight years I have been hunting deer, I guess I didn't have anything to compare deer face lengths to. At least, not until now.

Oh well, it's still venison in the freezer. That's a good thing.

For those interested in this sort of thing: 295gr Powerbelt hollow point over 105gr Triple-7. 30 to 40 yards, double-lung, through and through. Scoped T/C Encore. Dropped where he stood.

One interesting technical note - I used a monopod shooting stick for the first time on this shot and found that I didn't like it too much. The adrenaline was pumping so hard that I was shaking like a leaf and was having a hard time keeping the crosshairs on target even with the stick. I think my lightened trigger helped me here as I didn't need much force to touch it off, so when the crosshairs were in the right spot I just gave a little twitch on the trigger and it went off.

I am certainly preferring a well-braced sitting or rested shot rather than the monopod. Maybe I should try a bipod shooting stick and see if those are any better.