A few years ago I read an article about a lady hunter that shot the smallest deer she saw. She would often pass up on good size bucks in favor of fawns. Why did she do this? She made it very clear in her article that she hunted for the meat, not the trophy bucks. The older the deer, the tougher the meat. When a buck is in rut, the hormones can add an unfavorable taste to the meat.
This lady hunter also commented how she was usually the camp cook. So she shot the smallest deer to take back to camp and cook it right then and there.
Having a nice big rack of horns on the wall is nice, but having good quality deer meat in the freezer is just as nice, if not better. When I serve deer meat to guest, I want them to say - "that sure is good, what is it?" What I do
not want is my guest saying, "that sure is tough, and it smells funny, are you sure its good to eat?"
The deer hunting community is obsessed with big horns. Which is fine and dandy for the trophy hunter. A few months ago, maybe a year ago, it was outdoor life or field and stream magazine that had a write up - the obsession with big racks is killing the deer hunting community. And in a way, that statement is true. Those deer are there to eat, not just for the horns.
The mind set, the bigger the horns, the better - is backwards. Its about the hunt and the quality of meat. A 6 point deer with a small rack can give the hunter a good hunting experience, just like a 10 point can. The 6 point might just be better eating.
After all, hunting is not just about "killing." Its about being in nature, returning to our primitive state where its just the hunter and the hunted. Most of todays hunters have forgotten what the "hunt" is all about. Did our ancestors hang horns on the walls and tell all their buddies about how big their deer was? Well maybe. But the meat, and the chase of the hunt was more important.
Then there is the theory of killing the bigger bucks reduces the quality of the breeding population. True predators do not kill the biggest and the strongest, they kill the small and the weak. Trophy hunting goes against natural predator instints. If we were to really follow in the foot steps of our primitive ancestors, and real predators we would kill the smaller deer. Just like what real predators like wolves and lions do. Does a wolf take down the biggest and strongest? No, the pack takes down the weak, the slow and the sick. Thus keeping the deer population strong.
My cousin told me the hunting lease he is on is kicking people off for shooting small deer. All the management wants harvested is trophy bucks. Not everyone likes the taste of buck in rut meat. For some reason, even though does are over populated, the land management does not want does shot.
Taking out the strong, only makes the herd weaker. Last month I got a 9 point, and my son got a 6 point. The next deer we shoot might be the smallest thing we see.
This thread is named after one of the articles I read in outdoor life or field and stream. I can not remember which one it was. If someone here remembers reading that same article, please say so. There was one article about a lady hunter that shot the smallest deer she saw. Then there was another article about the hunting communities obession with horns.
Sure, I like a nice set of horns hanging on the wall. But I like opening that freezer and saying "yea,,, baby!" as well.
So which one is more important, the horns or the meat. Having a good hunting experience regardless of the size of the deer, or having a big rack of horns?
To me, its about the hunt, being in the woods pre-season, doing the tracking, taking pictures, feeling the wind in my face. If the deer I get has a nice rack, then so be it. If the deer has a small rack so be it as well. There is no need in waiting for this "monster" buck to come out and having an empty freezer all year. If I get a 6 point or better, or a doe and my freezer is full, then I had a good hunting season.
The story about the 9 point I got in November -
http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=2492538