Originally Posted by
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Gonna have to reserve the right to respectfully disagree on some of your points. As I have said before many times on this forum the over emphasizing the amount of bone an a deer's head will be one of the downfalls of hunting. If the public at large thinks that the only reason people are hunting is for antlers, they will rally against it. The public can and has voted to end some sorts of hunting and they will d it again if they can. The one type of hunting that has overwhelming public support is meat hunting.
Originally Posted by NotoriousBRT View Post
I like the challenge of "trophy" hunting, shooting does around here is akin to shooting an old milk cow; anyone can do it. There is no challenge to it. Don't get me wrong, I'll fill the freezer, but it doesn't give me any huge thrill.
Many hunters are only interested in the meat. They aren't after "thrill". Frankly I had all the "thrill" I needed in combat and I hunt for enjoyment and to the fill the freezer.
That is perfectly fine, whatever floats your boat. Thank you for your service.
I have never understood why meat hunters will shoot a young buck when they have a doe tag in their pocket. The difference in amount of meat on the carcass is negligible, and the doe will taste better.
Maybe they don't have a lot of time to hunt so they take what they see and is legal. Where does any regulation say that someone has to fill a buck tag with an old mature buck? I believe anyone should be able to hang their tag on any legal deer they choose to. After all, it is their tag right? Why should anybody have to justify their decision to you?
No regulation says that, nor do I believe in regulating by antler size in any case other than ones that have a firm basis in science. I do believe in controlling yourself, and not shooting the first dumb forkhorn to walk by unless it's going to cause your family to go hungry.
It's not that we hold meat hunting against anyone, it's just that we prefer you, A)didn't shoot every three pointer that walks by just because you can
Who is "we"? When did they elect "we" to speak for all hunters? If I have a tag in my pocket and I decide to take a 3 point, what is it to you? Plus, you do seem to have a problem with meat hunting when it comes to bucks or you wouldn't have even mentioned it.
"We" are the hunters who put more effort into the sport than walking or riding out to the edge of a cornfield and shooting anything that's brown. I don't have a problem with someone shooting a buck to eat so much as I question the motivation behind it, particularly in states like Tennessee, where in much of the state you can legally kill 2 bucks and 312 does, 180 of which can be taken with a rifle. So why do it if "horns don't matter"? Because you can? To give the evil trophy hunters a big bird finger? So many does they'll let every hunter kill more than 300 of them and all you could find to shoot was a yearling buck? I'm no mathematician, but that doesn't add up.
, and B)understand that trophy hunting promotes good herd management, and it helps pay for conservation that helps us all.
How is this? Deer die from all kinds of things. Letting your aforementioned 3 point walk doesn't mean he will ever grow to be a monster. He could be hit by a car a week later, or killed by predators, or break a leg, or fall through the ice, or even starve to death. Any of those would still remove him from the herd. Besides how would it help pay fr conservation any more if he walked off? The same amount of $$$ goes into conservation for the tag no matter what buck ends up wearing it. $$$ is $$$ after all.
How is this? How many meat hunters have you seen lately paying out big money for nonresident licenses? Buying guided hunts? Spending money in your stores and restaurants? This Economics 101 stuff. How many resident licenses must your state sell to make the same money they will off of one non-resident license? It takes 3 and a piece here, some places it will be many more.
It's not the actions of one person that are an issue here, it's the actions of the many that have consequences far beyond any one person's little sphere of influence. It's kind of like throwing trash out going down the road. If just a few do it now and then, it has little effect. If everyone does it, pretty soon the whole county resembles a landfill. I don't support regulation of any size restrictions because this is a free nation, but I won't sit here and pretend it's right for someone to shoot animals they claim to care nothing about (immature bucks) because it is convenient or because they don't care about their neighbors. That is the definition of selfishness.