ORIGINAL: SteveBNy
Every year in NY there area good number of outstanding bucks taken - check the NY outdoors mag - every issuehas pics of great deer taken - factor in that only a small % of hunters get the mag the pics probably represent a small % of the nicer kills. All this WITHOUT AR/TM being mandatory.
Every tournament, playoff, game, or championship I have been involved with I have wanted to take home a trophy.
For many/most, hunting is not a contest, tournament, playoff, game or championship where theysuccess ismeasured against other hunters. And I will never understand the need for, or the satisfaction recieved from comparing my kill to something on tv.
If the state is going to enact laws that help me do that I am all for it.
Wouldn't there be a greater sense of accomplishment to do it threw your own efforts entirely? You want a ride to the finish line?
I like the system in NY. If you want to hunt big antlers, they are they and more special because their numbers are not artificially inflated by mandatory TM practises. But if you are happy just hunting, seeing and maybe shooting a deer, you can. For the most part, our herd is "healthy" enough to support both hunting styles.
Steve
Steve,
That is a flat out GREAT post............you nailed it.
If you want a slammer they can be found in NY (I tip my hat to each and every hunter who drops a brute around here) It is a HUGE challenge and the satisfaction from accomplishing it must be tremendous. Just finding one to hunt could take years.
So it's out there............it's not a realistic yearly goal and it is closer to finding a needle in a stack of needles but it is there. Certainly not the worst place to hunt for big ones but a monster challenge for certain.
What we do have is great hunting...........end of story. You can see deer and if you have enough patience you can kill one. They are not rolling by your stand in herds of 30+ but they aren't extinct either. Seeing a deer is a GOOD day where I hunt.........getting a deer is a GREAT day. I wouldn't want to hunt where killing a deer was no challenge other then picking which one to shoot..........I also don't like sitting on stand for a week and seeing nothing.
We are right in the middle ground (Germ
)............enough deer to enjoy hunting and not enough so it is a decent challenge just to score no matter what it is. There are slammer's out there and finding one and putting him down is a challenge worthy of serious praise.
What's wrong with that??
You want a brute............go chase one.
You want to hunt and enjoy a challenge and see some deer........have at it.
If it ain't broke..............don't fix it