Well right there is where we disagree. Personally I have more "respect" for the guy who shot the 150" then the guy who shot the 125". Why you ask?? Well because they guy who killed the 125" simply walked out on public land, did alittile scouting I'm sure, set up a blind, and probably killed the first decent buck that walked by. Whats the big deal??
Your assuming the guy hunting public/non-managed land did alot less work than the guy who hunts private/managed land , why? You make it sound like public land hunters "do a little scouting" , walk out and plop down in their blind and just hope they get lucky. Say for the sake of arguement that the public land that this particular hunter is hunting holds very few and far between 125" bucks , but he scouts one , patterns him throughout the summer , sets up his stands in the correct spot , and then harvests his intended trophy. Through your eyes this hunter gets less respect than the hunter who hunts private/managed land and has spent the last decade growing trophy bucks and harvests a 150" buck?
The guy who killed the 150" probably put alot more time into hunting then the other guy. This hunter had the will power and restraint to hold off on smaller less mature bucks, and he took the time and money to "grow his buck" while the other guy simply found a buck that the other public land hunters over looked or missed.
Again , your using alot of "probably's" and assumptions.
Why should the public land hunter be held on a higher pedestal just because he killed an immature buck that some how avoided the orange army?? If anything its more luck then skill........
I'm not asking for anyone else to put anyone "on a pedestal" , it's simply my opinion.
As for your "more luck than skill" comment , it just shows your arrogance and attitude towards public land hunters.
#1. There is no "orange army"during bow season. I am talking bowhunting here.
#2. Your making it sound like all public land hunting is elbow to elbow. Maybe there , but not here in our national forests. I've gone an entire season without seeing another hunter on more than one occasion.
#3. Assuming in my scenario the hunter was hunting crowded public land and had his sights set on a "leftover" 125" buck , how would his success be based on luck any more than the hunter who shoots his home grown 150"?