ORIGINAL: davidmil
So I tend to believe that if every deer were a slick head we would have way different opinions on hunting. In fact a trophy would be viewed as how much did it weigh?
A lot of the horn stuff has to do with where and how you were weaned into bowhunting... well any hunting. All the folks up here I hunt with in Upstate NY grew up on wild game. The first question is and always has been, how much did it weigh? I think a lot of folks grew up on Bill Jordan and Primos videos and it was always horns. The horn craze is a product of our times. Most, although some do, do not need the meat to live. They could care less if it weighs 130 or 200 as long as it's got big horns. It's a lot to do with the times. If you live in an area where a lot of macho big deer and macho horns come from, well sure... I guess the horns are the tie breaker so to speak. A deer dressing at 200+ doesn't seem to matter if people all around are shooting them. We'll never get past the horn size. Heck, people are planting and feeding them so they'll have big horns and more deer with them. It's the times and where you live. I've never measured anything and don't really care to.... but that's me. I have no problem with those that want to as long as they don't try to force feed their standards on the rest of us.
I think to a lot of the jealousy comes from the stage your hunting life is in. People, for whatever reason, that don't get many deer or chances to hunt will generally early on be a little awe struck with folks that get them. Then when they still come up dry while the other guy succeeds, they get antsy and probably a little envious. It's at this point that the people are separated by themselves. You know, when the jealousy becomes maddening to some and others will say, oh well, maybe me next time. That's when character kicks in.
alright here I go: I am a victim of this and I'm not going to lie about it. I was raised in the Bill Jordan, Primos era. That's what I was brought up on. I learned how to hunt through these videos. It may be sad that's the way I learned to hunt, but I was kind of on my own. My brother helped me a little and my dad took me out once in a while, but everything I learned that based my knowledge on hunting mostly came from these videos. From the first time I watched Monster Bucks of North America (the first monster bucks video) when I was about 5 I've always wanted to shoot deer with huge racks. I can't explain it, it's an addiction. I know there are a lot of people who hunt for any deer that will walk through the woods to them, and I have absolutely no problem with that. Do I wish more people would have my views on trophy hunting? Yeah that's only natural because if I want to kill deer with bigger racks other people have to want that too in order to manage an area to produce these types of genetics. Now here's the difference. I never force my views on anybody. I want to kill deer with big racks, that's just me. But if other guys don't care what they shoot, that's their deal. That's how they hunt and there's nothing wrong with that. IMO if you're in the woods having a great time enjoying the spirit of the outdoors, that's awesome. People are different. I like shooting deer with big racks, that's what I like. If another guy likes shooting any deer, that's great too. But it's ok to be different. It's ok for one person to shoot whatever is walking through the woods at him be it a monster or a small doe and anything in between. Just as it's ok for me to want to hunt deer with monster racks. I kill my fair share of does each year as well, and yeah I hunt for meat too. I'm a college kid, so butchering deer myself provides me with plenty of almost free food for my year at school saving me money. I hunt for a big buck until mid december, then once muzzleloader rolls around I start shooting does for meat. Because of how I am, I won't shoot a smaller buck just because I'd like to see him bigger next year. But I do hunt for meat. I find myself laying on both sides of the fence here because a lot of times you get stuck between guys who either "meat hunt" or "trophy hunt". I guess I would consider myself as doing both. Either way, no matter how you like to hunt, if you love the outdoors and are passionate about hunting, that's AWESOME! I totally respect almost, and yeah I said almost all deer hunters. They are the finest people in the world as far as I am concerned!