It depends on what I' m hunting and the situation. Moose...any legal animal because I really want the meat and prefer moose to deer. However, if I was on a week long moose hunt where I could shot a bull or a calf I might wait a few days before shooting a calf. Just because I wouldn' t want to end my hunt on the first day with a calf. By mid-week, I' d take a calf. However, I' d plunk a little bull on day one. That' s a lot more meat than a calf!

For deer I usually try to take a meat deer with my muzzleloader if I don' t have moose. But I wait a few days as well. I like to hunt and can generally hunt quite often so there is no rush. I usually end up taking a medium sized or smaller buck for the freezer. During rifle season I pretty much am only out there in search of trophy sized animals. Unless for some reason I haven' t gotten any meat yet. By this time I usually have enough meat in the freezer and just want to hunt. No reason to shoot just any animal but if I do shoot something the meat can always be used.