ahankster

DD,
No disrespect intended or fealt on my part. They are your kills, something to be proud of, totally legal and as long as the meat doesn't go wasted (if your house, family and friends are anything like mine, it sure won't be), I don't have a problem how many you kill. I am not in a competition with you, or anyone else for that matter, but my sons and have killed 10 this year as well. I don't say that to brag or appear competitive, but to let you know that I am not one of those people that is either jealos or has a problem with people taking this many deer (there are those out there as I am sure you know).

My comment was based on my experiences and approachand you are correct, I have no idea about the areas you hunt or the deer numbers. That is why I qualified my statement with "if the numbers and ratio where you hunt is anything like east miss".

How I approach deer hunting is totally and completely "my way" and my comment was meant morea question, not a "piling on". Personally, I shoot does for meat, bucks too, but it helps (in general) the herd to thin the does where we are (and much of central alabama) to get buck/doe ratios in balance. For the first buck of the year, I will generally shoot something 6 points or more, I will let my kids shoot 4 points or more. From then on, I let bucks walk unless they are meant for the wall. If I want meat for my freezer or for family or friends, I will kill a nice 2 1/2 year old doe.

This year, as in years past, my second buck wasa cull buck. Had one nice rack w/ 4 points and the other was an antler from hell. We have a bad genetic defect in this area and it is not uncommon to see a buck with this defect (of the 40 rack bucks killed in our area around 30 of them had one antler severly malformed). These guys need to be removedfrom the gene pool, they aredefective and will never produce anything other than a garbage rack. Other than that, I let the littler, 6 and basket 8 points walk. Hopefully, some of these 6s and 8s will make it through to next year and I'll get another look at them.

Again, this is a personal approach and not a condemnation of anyone else. I do think though that if others would take this approach, the quality of our hunting would be significantly better.

Also, I figure I am everybody's friend here. As long as they are legal and ethical. And, certainly not trying to get into any p!33ing contests either, just making a friendly coment and conversation. That is the great thing about these forums. It allows many different people with varying viewpoints and approaches to trade information, ideas and opinions. As long as folks stay sociable, it is an invaluable source. So, while I may disagree, or agree with another person's approach or idea, it is still ok to agree to disagree.
R
Hank