GR8atta2D- I can relate to your views completely. I reached a turning point 3 years ago. Up to that point, I had always been proud of my harvests regardless of size and had been happy for the opportunities that were provided to me. But at the beginning of that season I had made a commitment to begin a quest to harvest only mature bucks with my bow from then on.That fall, Iregretfully pulled the trigger on a nice although not mature buckin amoment of misjudgement, impatience, and self-induced pressure to fill my tag. The resulting feeling ended up being less desirable than the feeling of passing on a deer altogether and eating a tag for a year. That feeling stuck withme for quite some time as well.
I get all the meat i can use from party hunting during slug season with my friends, and I get to have fun taking deer of all sizes in the process. Bow season was to become my personal quest to outwit the smartest and most evasive of all deer. After breaking my own rule that season, I vowed to learn from the experience and realize that the major source of satisfaction was in the hunt itself, not the harvest. I enjoyed the encounters just as much as the actual taking of the deer, so it bacame easier to let the subordinate bucks pass. The next year I passed ona few nice deer andharvested my first truly mature five year oldbuck. Later that season I happened upon another true brute of a mature buck close to my home. I spent the last part oflast season watching him and plottinga strategy to perhaps have a chance to hunt him this year.Early this spring I secured permission to hunt part of his home range, scouted the entire year, and this season I was finally blessed to encounter him several times early on before being presented with a shot at him, which upon harvesting himwas the highlight of my hunting life to date. The satisfaction and thrill ofreachingthe bar which was set so high by myself and mother nature outshadows any other deer I've ever harvested by quite a large margin. It was exactly as I envisioned it would be and was well worth the all the hard work and time invested ten times over.
That being said, 'trophy' hunting absolutely isn't for everyone. I wholeheartedly believe the size of a deers antlers or the annual rings in his teeth shouldn't be the criteria for all hunters. The hunt should be a personal choice and should be appreciated by all parties involved no matter the size of the animal or the methods of the harvest. Hunting is a very personal endeavor and should remain exactly that, a personal endeavor.
For those of you holding out for 'the one', good luck these next few days. For those that have already filled their tags or plan to fill them soon with whatever deer presents itself, enjoy that moment to its fullest as we are all trulyblessed to live in this land where we can continue to chase our dreams.