I am going on a several day whitetail hunt out in West Texas here in the next few weeks. It is on a 50,000 acre ranch, all low fence, fair chase. I am relatively new to deer hunting, but will be going with some guys who have been hunting all their lives. I've only hunted with friends in the past, and only shot does for the meat (so this will be my first buck). I've shot guns all my life and have been going to the range a lot (I can get great groupings with my rifle), have all the equipment, and have been researching the area. So the advice I am looking for is how to know when to pass on a deer, and when to take one on a hunt like this. The ranch says there are plenty of deer in the 120's to 150's. I know the first buck I see is going to look huge to me , so I want to make sure I know when to pass because there are bigger ones I could get the next day (or the next hour). For a newby, besides just how good the deer looks to me, whats the best way to tell a 120 from a 150? Any other advice?

I'd advise learning to tell a buck's basic age rather than his score. No one will be angry if you come in with a 130" 5 year old. If you bring in a 130" 2 year old it may upset some folks. And, generally your mature bucks will carry the best antlers.

Search "aging deer on the hoof".

To answer your main question, use the power of Google: punch in 120" Texas whitetail, 140" Texas whitetail, etc. You will quickly get a feel for it.

Sounds like a great hunt opportunity, good luck to ya!

you hunting whitetail or mule deer?

Whitetail. That would have been helpful information to provide. I went ahead and updated the original post. Thanks!

if its your first buck, you probably aren't going to know enough to make a real accurate decision.

rule of thumb, if the deer looks like a little bigger version of a doe with antlers, its a young deer...pass

if the deer looks like he has been lifting weights and its all muscled up, its a older deer which = green light.

All deer look bigger walking away. look at the deer from all angles.

Every deer also looks bigger in the field. expect some ground shrinkage. look for a min of 8 points and a width outside his ears.


Just get out there and enjoy the hunt. Don't get all caught up in score for your first buck.

The most important part for sure.

If you've got several days, I wouldnt shoot the first buck you see.

Once you get an opportunity to observe the deer out there, you'll know the buck when you see it.

The OP asked some good questions. That advice about googling up aging deer on the hoof is good advice.

Generally speaking, the younger the deer, the bigger the head is versus the body, and the neck is skinny. Also the legs will look long. As the deer ages, the neck gets thicker and the body thickens (just like us humans) and the legs look relatively short for the body. Watch enough deer and you'll see what I mean, though you may not have time to do that. And if you have a long hunt, DirtNap's advice is good. Watch and learn.

I had the big un walk in front of me last evening. A really nice deer with a really nice rack. But...he's still too young. Maybe next year.

Unless it's a bigun. I told my Son that once when he was young. He passed on a 20" 11 point that was mature and we had spotted before. When I picked him up he told me about the deer. I asked,"why didn't you shoot it", he said, "you told me not to shoot the first deer I saw". The one time in his life that he listened to me.

I bet he never held a grudge though.

Thanks for all the advice, it is really appreciated. I'll probably plan on spending the first day just checking out all the deer in the area (unless I see something I just can't pass up), and go from there. I will definitely continue to research aging and scoring before the trip.

Enjoy yourself. And pay attention. Twenty seconds looking down at your phone can mean a missed opportunity.