Look, this topic is rather ridiculous. The bottom line is everyone who hunts Legally does it for their own reason. Who are we to judge. Of course their are bad apples in our sport, but you can't say that the "meat hunters" are the root of the problem. If I'm bowhunting I'm not shooting a buck unless it is a mature buck with a good set of antlers. That dosen't mean I don't hunt for meat. I help manage the land I hunt by harvesting mature does for table fare. Look if you shoot an inmature buck thats your buisness, but please don't complain and say there are no trophy's in my area. Duh, why is that because they are all killed at 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 years old. Mature bucks can grow any where they just need time to grow. A mature deer may only need 2 1/2 years in IL while it might take 4 to 5 in another state. A 120 inch deer in one state may be the equivilent of a 150 inch deer in another due to regions and food sources ect. If your an ethical hunter than thats all that matters. Just remember we are all game managers, you reap what you sew. Want big bucks let the small ones walk by and grow a season or two. You want meat, shoot a doe, there are to many of them in most areas anyways.

and off topic who hear still believes that a spike buck cant grow up to be a mature deer and should be culled from the herd?