What ? "Can't harvest" ? Look, I may be way out there ... but I do not, I have not and I never will consider what I do in hunting deer as "harvesting". That is some double speak, mamby-pamby wording for the purpose of who knows what the he%%%, I have no clue !?! I hunt deer ... I shoot deer ... I kill deer. It is not the same as purposefully rearing an animal for the commercial market or personal use. If it was, we'd be "harvesting". All of this ad stuff has one and only one purpose .... it is all about the Franklins.
What we'd best never lose sight of is that this is supposed to be a challenge and remain a fun time, filled with fellowship and the building of memories. Look, I am as excited as anyone else when I luck into a big buck. But I am not a "trophy only" hunter. I have been at it since 1962. I have one "trophy". I keep the freezer full of venison. But I am certainly not "David Crockett". Just lucky becasue where I hunt there is an abundance of deer. Every season now for at least 9 years we have killed about 100 -115 deer off the 3150 acres that we hunt. It is absolutely a simple process for a hunter that will go 6-8 times a year to kill 2-3-4 does each season for meat. And it is not unusual to bag a decent buck every year if you go a few days at the right time. It is however very, very unusual to ever see a buck in the 150 class, much less bag one.
I once hunted in a "trophy club". Two seasons. Minimum was a 140 with a count of 8 points. And each member had to kill 5 does/year. The property was a free ranging, approx. 9,000 acres of great habitate. Plenty of deer. Plenty of excellent bucks. But is was the most miserable 2 seasons I ever spent hunting. Because there was bickering. One Saturday a 13 year old, during Chistmas break, sitting with his dad, shot his first buck off a food plot. It was a fine 9 pt. It green scored 136 B&C ... after deducting for the 5" long, 9 th. point !!! He and his dad were ragged out by the long time members. I left that day and never returned. Jeese !!! What a mess !
Stay legal .... shoot what you'll use .... have fun. It is that simple.