GR8atta2d,

It's obviousby your post that while you enjoyed your hunt it left you empty and unfullfilled....so to speak. That's ok it's normal and to a certain extent (not as deep as your example) that's what "ground shrinkage" is. We as hunters get caught up in the hunt and kill a perceived big deer only to find it not as big as we thought when we let the arrow/bullet fly after we've walked up to it and laid hands on the animal.

There is no one but you that can change your state of mind regarding your kill. If it helps you in any way to become the hunter you want to be (pursuing the type of animal you wish) then I hope you learn from this experience and in the future don't let any other outside force skew your mission objective. While I personally don't sign on to that type of hunting it sure is your prerogative to do so.

Please indulge me however to offer up my perspective on the matter. Setting goals and being "goal orientated" is a good thing...to an extent. Striving to be a "trophy deer hunter" is not a bad thing. I don't think you will find too many folks who would turn down the chance to kill a B&C buck if the hunt was freely available to them. However if taken too far it has the potential to turn your experiences sour and remove all the fun out of the pastime that is hunting.

For example, when I started playing football, my goal was to someday play in the NFL. That was the goal I set for myself and being very much a goal orientated person, there was pretty much nothing that was going to stand in my way.......except for one thing. Fun, yes fun, I vowed that no matter how close to my dream I had achieved I would stop playing if the game was no longer fun for me. I know it may sound strange but even the allure of big money wouldn't stop me from walking away from the game once it was no longer fun for me. As it turned out that didn't happen and I realized my dream of playing in the NFL.

Ihave the same outlookon pretty much all other aspects of my life where I have a choice of activity, hunting being one of them. The dayit's no longer fun to hit the woods and hunt I will walk away from it. I want to kill a big deer every year but I won't let it consume me, I want to enjoy this pastime not regret a kill because the deer wasn't big enough or feelI'll somehow be judged differently by the size of the antlers that lay in frontof me.

Wanting to be a trophy deer hunter is absolutely fine, Ionly ask...no beg that you don't let itbluryour idea of what hunting is all about.....and that's the experience of being outdoors and one with nature. The resurrection of the primal desire that isin all men, that need to pursue game and kill it. We are hunters and have been since our existence but times have changed and we (for the most part) no longer need to hunt. Hunting, just aswe has evolved over time. It has become a pastime, an activity that should be enjoyable and exciting. Yes we still provide and put meat on the table, that's part of it, it's hardwired into us.More so however, it's a pastime and activity that should be fun.

I only hope that it remains that way for you and others......