Been fishing for a couple days.....just now reading some of the posts here. Didn't mean to cause any hard feelings and I certainly did not call anyone a liar. The written word will always leave a lot to be desired... Just thought I'd throw out a topic for some debate.

Obviously, I can only speak for the people I know and what I've personally seen. If people around here shot the first legal animal they saw, their hunting season would be over in less than an hour...we're very fortunate to have the quality of hunting that we do. For me, it's not so much the size of the headgear but the challenge of matching wits with a wise old buck. When antlerless tags are available, I'll take as many as I can use. This year there are no antleress tags available because of EHD hitting here so hard, a couple of tough winters, etc. Except for predators, I will not kill something I can't eat and I only shoot those (talking coyotes here) is because the landowners ask me to shoot any I see.... We have a real problem with them out this way.

Hunting means different things to different people. For some it is for the meat, for some it's getting together with old friends, spending time in the field with their kids, etc. For others It's about the headgear. I agree 100% that the whole hunting for headgear thing has really gotten out of hand. Too much emphasis on headgear and not enough on enjoying the outdoors in my opinion. My son and I are going back to Vermont this fall to go to deer camp with the family.. I've not hunted Vermont since I moved to Montana in 1977. Anyone who lives or hunts in Vermont knows you don't go there to kill a buck with a big rack!!! For me it's all about hunting with the relatives, showing my son where my Dad and I hunted when I was a kid, etc...

The one thing I will say is whether you hunt primarily for the meat or some other reason, get out there and do it.....drag your kids away from their video games and phones and get them outdoors!!!

And good luck to all this fall.....