I have gone through the cycle. When I started deer hunting, there were not many. Just seeing a deer was something. So I just wanted to kill a deer. My first one came in 1957. A medium eight-point was running in front of three dogs. I shot hiim with an L.C. Smith double barrel. His head,(remounted three times) is on my wall today.
From that I progressed to wanting to kill my limit. That was possible when the limit was two. Then I wanted to kill a "big" buck. I did that.
When deer hunting became both my vocation and my avocation, my goal was a deer that would meet or exceed P&Y minimums even though I had and have no intention of ever sending one in. During that period, I was almost totally a bowhunter. After several years of that, I came back to passing up young bucks and shooting a lot of does just to work on the sex ratio in my area.
Today I kill 3-4 does for every buck. However, I no longer give a hoot what size antlers they carry. This year, during bow season, I passed up a small six-point three times. He walked by me during rifle season and I shot him.
I hunt today for the enjoyment of hunting. I kill several deer each year because I eat them and I provide some other families with meat. I am a firm believer in letting each hunter shoot whatever is legal and makes them happy. That is what hunting is about, not antlers. Antlers is what the industry is about.
Below is my Thanksgiving double. A fat doe and the six-point that tempted me one time too many. Two nice trophies.
