Judging a buck from the stand

Now we have all been up in the stand and had bucks come to our calls, but how do you decide what is a good buck to take.  Many people just look at the rack and let a bullet or arrow fly and do not think twice.  The best way to judge the age of a buck is not to look at its rack but at the other features of the animal.  When you have a buck spotted from the distance take a look through the binoculars and take a look at the face of the animal if the animal has a short face it usually means that the animal is rather young.  If the animals face looks proportionate to the ears then it means that the animal is a mature buck and could be taken but there are bigger ones out there.  Now if the bucks face is long and the ears are small and he has a big thick neck and a bigger belly then the animal is a dominate buck and he is more than likely a shooter.  Usually these deer present themselves as an elegant creature, standing tall and proud and it is quite easy to spot these bucks in a heard.  When you see an animal like this now you can look at the rack to see if it is big enough for your standards and if it is take it.  The dominate bucks will tend to have a much larger set of antlers to go with their body.  I hope this has helped you be able to judge shooter bucks a little better.