Everyone's a bit different, so what I say here, has to do with averages, not individuals. I've never bought into the argument that it's cheaper or healthier. It may be for some, but most spend more on hunting than the deer is worth. In addition, most are at least 20 lbs overweight and eat far more beef than venison, so they're not really into healthier, it's just wishful thinking. I do however, think all hunters enjoy the sense of accomplishment when they take a deer. I think this is the number one reason most hunt. Accomplishment is felt whether shooting a small doe or trophy buck. You feel it when you feed the deer to your family and you feel it when you think back on the hunt. Self-esteem is very high on the list of important human emotions, and hunting fulfills this need.

Some choose to get multiple, but slightly smaller boosts of self esteem by shooting anything they can, whenever the opportunity. Others, decide to have fewer boosts of feeling good, and prefer the one giant rush they get when doing something very difficult - like taking a trophy in an area that has very few. It's a known fact that accomplishing more difficult tasks, brings a greater sense of accomplishment. This is why almost all young hunters shoot the first thing that comes by, and some very experienced hunters will be selective. Some of the experienced guys have developed the desire to get a greater rush, by looking for deer that are bigger than they've taken before. They're adenaline junkies to a degree. I fall in this category. If you've shot 50 small bucks in 20 years of hunting, killing a small one doesn't give you the same feeling a guy gets, who's never shot one. In order to get that feeling, you have to up the ante, so to speak.

Neither shooting the first thing, or holding-out is right or wrong, but I can say without a doubt that a very small percentage are willing to forgo the small rewards, in search of the big one. This holds true in whatever endeavor you want to talk about. So, shooting the first things that comes by will be the norm anywhere it isn't restristed by law. Nothing wrong with that.