I'm not sure many people are reaching the point of the question, they are all jumping on the QDM thing which, really isn't the meat of the topic here. He asked, why would you enter a BIG buck contest, then shoot a small one to enter. I feel that is a valid question regardless of which side of the QDM debate you are on.
I find it refreshing that a hunter gets satisfaction from the hunt, and is not so worried about where he stands in some arbitrary antler contest. I'm glad to see someone who values hunting for hunting, and not for antler scores. But to the point of this contest, even this quote is not accurate. It is not a BIG BUCK contest, it is a DEER HUNTING contest. It is not a contest on who gets the BIGGEST buck, it's a combined total of scores. So the entire premise of this question has nothing to do with the contest being held here, at least not the one I'm seeing.
If you read the posts, most people think that a score of 500 inches, or maybe 600 inches, will win. By that logic, if just 8 of the 10 hunters on a team shoot what you call "baby" bucks that score 80 inches, they will win, and that is the point of the contest. This contest does not measure who shoots the biggest buck, it measures which team has the most success, combined. If it were a big buck contest, as some of you seem to have misunderstood it to be, it would be an individual thing, not a team approach. Since this contest measures "team" success, shooting and entering these bucks is not only appropriate, but it's a good start on the way to winning.
The QDM argument is a different topic, and has nothing to do with this DEER HUNTING contest. Please look at the title, the rules and the description of what the contest is, before you blast someone for entering a buck. What everyone has done so far in this contest is EXACTLY what they should be doing.
Now, if this were a BIG BUCK contest, then you would, in my opinion, have a valid question. But it is not, it is a DEER HUNTING contest, and your question only shows you didn't fully understand what the contest is, what it is measuring, and what it takes to win. Besides, it's all just for fun so don't be so uptight, sit back and enjoy the pictures and stories of success. As long as they are not killing "your" "baby bucks", don't worry about it.
