ORIGINAL: BOWDACIOUS
In the mind of anyone that has spent enough time in the woods or studying deer, their behavior and appearence to judge for themselves if it is a 1 1/2 old deer or a 4 1/2 old deer...Yes in mine....I can tell the difference in areas I hunt!
So can I........and so can 100 other guys here.......what does that have to do with you assuming everyone else shares your view of what a "trophy" is or what we should or should not harvest?
First I didn't say a WORD about (no one) killing small bucks.....there will always be those that are new comers and will be totally thrilled to kill a yearling spike....there will always be those that have hunted for several years and still choose to kill yearling spike bucks, thats their right...
The whole thread is trying to encourage people to "pass the buck"=don't kill smaller, younger bucks. If that is your philosophy then fine.......but don't try and make everyone that doesn't agree with you feel like less of a hunter with all that "skills" and "desire" and "more challenging" crap.
dude when I go to a check station...the other guys aren't running around saying "hey did you see that spike stovall just broght in" They aren't lined up taking pictures of the forky the bill smith just checked......they may be gathered around the truck of some 15 year old kid that is checking his first deer (a doe that weighs 60 pounds) and are congradulating him and patting him on the back....thats the way it should be.
Once again you assume too much.........every deer I saw at a check station this year was greeted with congrats by all hunters present........too bad you look at harvesting anything but a big antlered buck as something you should be ashamed of.
It also seems a natural progression to want to do better, and bigger isn't necessarily better. But stepping up the challenge is....hunting mature deer, opposed to hunting yearlings IS.
Again with the talking down to people garbage........as if what you do is "better" and more "challenging" This whole thread is nothing more then a big ego trip for you to look down on everyone else and tell them you are a better hunter then they are because you go after mature bucks only..........save your elitest babble because we have all heard it from 50 other guys that all think they are Fred Bear too.
The point about whenever is it good enough, does have some validity...I do think there will come a time when all the management and genetics have reached the MAX its probably a ways off....but, I will be looking forward to that day. If I had a wall full of bucks that were similar to the ones in Stan Potts home I would be thrilled...If, I had a wall covered with bucks that looked like Roger Raglins dirty dozen ....you wouldn't hear me complain. If every buck on every truck looked like the HANSON buck I would be in heaven.....
I thought it wasn't about the rack size??..........Just once I would like to see someone be honest and not hide behind the MATURE buck line.......if bucks lost their antlers at age 2 no one would give a rats ass about older bucks and they would ALL be whacking the young guys before they dropped the headgear. Older bucks get killed by the hundreds of thousands every year.........the mythical unhuntable legend tag they have is 50% truth and 50% exageration to stroke fragile ego's
The thing that makes all those deer special is that they are not a dime a dozen.......if no one killed small bucks then they would be and you would be complaining that guys are shooting 5 1/2 yr olds when they should be letting them walk another year in hopes of a few more inches of bone.
When and IF that day ever comes rest assured that you can check a yearling spike buck and have that "special" feeling because yours is the only spiky checked that year....heck he may even be a "book" spike.
At least you don't talk down to people.
But, the principle is still the same....be the best you can be...try and improve the herd where you are...do what you can....
The "best" you can be in my book is an ethical, safe hunter............I don't base my judgements of people by what they choose to shoot......as long as they have a tag for it.
I guess what I see you saying is all you really care about is FILLING your tags...
And??
I have gone several seasons without killing a buck....usually kill a doe or two for the meat.
In those seasons I have passed several young bucks that I will never see again, some will be killed by other hunters...some will live and die and I just will never have been lucky enough to have crossed paths with them again....
I feel lucky anytime I get to go....I love the going...I love the creatures.... I love the HUNT....and If I get to kill something I feel really blessed.
I'm happy for ya................just realize that people are different and not everyone shares your views........or your land. We are all in different situations but we are all hunters.....and we all should have left the "I'm better then you" crap back on the playground many years ago.