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Ground Shrinkage?

fairchaser said:
What do you do with ground shrinkage? We've all been there probably. Celebrate anyway? Be thankful? Learn and keep hunting?
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For those that had no idea what the original poster was talking about:

According to the Urban Dictionary, ground shrinkage is:

when you see a big buck through your gun scope, but when you walk up to it on the ground, its antlers have magically shrunk.

While shrinkage has a negative connotation, it's not really a bad thing. It's one of the quirks of deer hunting. It happens. Embrace it.

The Texas buck in the photo is a good example. His rack was a good 20 inches smaller on the ground than when I lined my 6X scope on him at 200 yards, but he was still a fine deer, and good eating.

Accept shrinkage as we might, none of us wants it to happen. Click here for tips on how to judge and shoot a buck that, on the dirt, has antlers as large as you thought when you pulled the trigger, or, better yet, even bigger.

No ground shrinkage on this buck is what we all want to see and hear.
 
Andy S. said:
Interesting POV. It is not uncommon for me and my buds to shoot a mature buck "during the rut" that just showed up, with no prior photos of him, even with plenty of cameras on the farm.
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It has happened on my place, but very rarely. Most of the time, at the next card pull, there he is. He just showed up 24-48 hours before he was killed and we hadn't seen his picture yet.

But kill a buck we have no pictures of at all, even just before the kill? Extremely rare. Over 25 years, 96% of bucks we've killed were previously photographed.
 
DMD said:
Honestly, I'm not being a smart alec - I say to each his own, but I'm to the point in my life and deer hunting "career" I just try to enjoy the ride. I hunt mature bucks - it's my passion - But, some times I make the split second decision to kill one that isn't a bruiser. So be it. I enjoy deer hunting period. I'm going to enjoy the years I have left - however many or few they be. I've killed enough mature bucks, I don't have to prove anything to myself or anyone else. But, I understand kicking yourself for not passing one - been there numerous times. But, life's too short to worry about it. Enjoy it. We get to do something we love and that 90+ percent of the rest of the world will never get to enjoy. That's just me.
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I agree very strongly DMD. Personally, I have moved beyond the "mature buck only" hunting. Eventually killing one of those mature bucks is extremely satisfying. But over time, I realized the work necessary wasn't "fun." And at this point in my hunting career (40+ years and I'm in my 60s), I just want hunting to be fun. I have a certain goal in mind each year, but those goals are much lower than they used to be in an attempt to keep hunting as fun as possible. I've spent too much money and have too few years left at this to not have it be fun.
 
BSK said:
I'm sure some will think this sounds crazy, and even takes the fun out of hunting, but I've run cameras and censuses on my place for so many years that every buck I see I know instantly. "Oh that's buck #34. he's a 3 1/2 year-old 7-point that should score around 105." Now that doesn't mean ground shrinkage can't happen (a smaller than expected rack on a smaller than expected body), but it reduces my chances at ground shrinkage considerably.
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Zero doubt...running multiple cameras on our place has saved more "up and comer" bucks lives than any single thing we've done...we have a history, we know the bucks that are common to the area and which ones we agree need to live another year...but some years, during the peak of the rut, we will have a buck (or bucks) show up that we have never seen. Thats when a decision has to be made....But I agree with several of the previous comments...when you see a buck and immediately you start having to question if hes old enough or if hes a shooter....then most likely he's not....and trail camera history doesnt take away from the fun at all for me....it enhances the entire experience and even takes away some of the pressure being we know our target bucks...but yet still have the element of surprise of bucks weve never seen before.
 
Only happened once. Learned moving forward if I have to ask myself should I pass I already have my answer. But any 125" on private it's always gonna be game on. Public is am I out of meat!
 
DMD said:
Honestly, I'm not being a smart alec - I say to each his own, but I'm to the point in my life and deer hunting "career" I just try to enjoy the ride. I hunt mature bucks - it's my passion - But, some times I make the split second decision to kill one that isn't a bruiser. So be it. I enjoy deer hunting period. I'm going to enjoy the years I have left - however many or few they be. I've killed enough mature bucks, I don't have to prove anything to myself or anyone else. But, I understand kicking yourself for not passing one - been there numerous times. But, life's too short to worry about it. Enjoy it. We get to do something we love and that 90+ percent of the rest of the world will never get to enjoy. That's just me.
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I think having 2 tags causes some ground shrinkage...lol...if you know you have another shot. When i hunt out of state, cannot afford a dink....
 
It doesnt matter. If the deer excited you, you made a good shot, AND HAD FUN, that is all that matters. Hunting is supposed to be fun. I shot a small buck opening weekend with my first deer rifle my daddy bought me when I was 12. I am 59 now and have plenty of bucks on the wall. First buck I have shot in 5 years and the fun factor was through the roof. This is why we hunt.
 
My own self imposed minimum of 3.5 and 120 means that it must be an above average 3 year old to qualify with a 120 inch rack. I believe the average 3,5 year old is probably closer to 115. Maybe this is a flaw in my selection process.

If I had the opportunity to see live deer and especially bucks during the rut, I might be better at turning them down. But, a sighting of a 3.5yr old buck is extremely rare. Maybe once or twice a season.

Even though you've seen these bucks on camera and judged their racks, a live sighting is another matter indeed. They can present themselves in a way that makes them look bigger than life and give you seconds to decide.

Given seconds to decide which buck it is and which list he's on and make a killing shot, is a lot to ask a hunter. It can be done. However based on the length of this thread informs me that I'm not alone in making mistakes.

Thanks for sharing your stories and advice.
 
fairchaser said:
My own self imposed minimum of 3.5 and 120 means that it must be an above average 3 year old to qualify with a 120 inch rack. I believe the average 3,5 year old is probably closer to 115. Maybe this is a flaw in my selection process.
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In my area, only 105.
fairchaser said:
If I had the opportunity to see live deer and especially bucks during the rut, I might be better at turning them down. But, a sighting of a 3.5yr old buck is extremely rare. Maybe once or twice a season.
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True.

fairchaser said:
Even though you've seen these bucks on camera and judged their racks, a live sighting is another matter indeed. They can present themselves in a way that makes them look bigger than life and give you seconds to decide.
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This is so VERY true.

fairchaser said:
Given seconds to decide which buck it is and which list he's on and make a killing shot, is a lot to ask a hunter. It can be done. However based on the length of this thread informs me that I'm not alone in making mistakes.
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The list of my mistakes is long! And to be honest, the "kicking myself" phase is generally quite short. A few days to weeks later I realize I enjoyed the hunt and the buck's size really isn't that important.
 
fairchaser said:
My own self imposed minimum of 3.5 and 120 means that it must be an above average 3 year old to qualify with a 120 inch rack. I believe the average 3,5 year old is probably closer to 115. Maybe this is a flaw in my selection process.

If I had the opportunity to see live deer and especially bucks during the rut, I might be better at turning them down. But, a sighting of a 3.5yr old buck is extremely rare. Maybe once or twice a season.

Even though you've seen these bucks on camera and judged their racks, a live sighting is another matter indeed. They can present themselves in a way that makes them look bigger than life and give you seconds to decide.

Given seconds to decide which buck it is and which list he's on and make a killing shot, is a lot to ask a hunter. It can be done. However based on the length of this thread informs me that I'm not alone in making mistakes.

Thanks for sharing your stories and advice.
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Great post and thoughtful. Well stated.
 

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