O.K., I' ll admit it ,I,m a " hornhunter" . Every night before opening day i fall asleep with images of B&C scoring bucks in my head. I know I' m not the only one, but when it comes down to it I' ve gone home many seasons end with empty tags because of it. DON' T get me wrong,I use every last bit of my quary, but I just can' t bring myself to kill a young animal, it' s like shooting a kid in my eyes. I can hear it now,I' m whats wrong with hunting nowdays and it' s people like me that give hunters a bad name, but, is it so wrong to set your sights high and not to compromise these morals and go home with only memories and a empty tag? Afterall the true challenge comes in hunting a savy older buck thats been around a few seasons and knows how the game is played. just my opinion anyway.
So let the branding and bullwhipping begin, lets hear your veiws on the subject, this should be good!!!!!!!

I shot any buck with horns till I was 19 years old,why?My farther told me never pass up a leagle deer.When I was 19 I went to work for my uncle who is/was a trure trophy hunter,said" Big bucks come from small ones,and small ones come from big ones" .There is nothing wrong with meat hunting,but if all you wan' t is meat then shoot a doe,why shoot a fork horn or a " Dink" opening day,shoot for horns and all it is is bragging rights " I shot a buck" ,so why not shoot a BIG " UN" I can understand a 1st timer we all start some where or biggest buck of you life,just try to better him the next year.I have one mulie buck that is 26 in wide and scores 150 B&C,great deer,4 years a go I shot a 189 7/8 mulie 31 1/2 wide,I had him mounted.He will be the biggest buck in my life,unless by a fluke I find another,I have not shot another mulie since,why?He don' t beat the one on the wall.I have a freind thet every year shoots mulie bucks in the 25-27 in. range,he is mad at him self for not finding a good honest 30 incher,I told him the last time I caught him gauking at my buck" You don' t consider the deer you shot a throphy,but in the eyes of some one else they may never see a 26 in mulie" ,granted he shoots only the old bucks on his place,dose not hunt them in the rut(he deams it unfair) he harvests the old and losing their peak.All they ever will be is a 26 in. buck.

Their is nothing wrong with trophy hunting aslong as you harvest a trophy and let the little ones go,shoot a doe on the last day for meat.

Elk are diffrent thats my meat for the year and any leagle elk,cow or bull is fair game,I dont have a 300 class bull on the wall either,when I do I will pass up spikes and raghorn' s,why? Cause they don' t beat the one wall.

As far as deer are concerned,I do eat the meat but I hunt for the challenge of trying to take the best scoring antlers that I can.Simply killing a legal deer provides no challenge for me and I would rather leave a tag unfilled than shoot a small deer.I do however kill smaller bull elk as I really enjoy the meat and have two large bulls on the wall already.

I shoot what ever God gives me. Good luck.

Your decision,why would someone blast you? For me I am just as happy with a mature doe. If I dont get my deer I have to be a vegetarian for the year,I wont buy that chemical meat from the store You know over the years I would say a old doe is smarter and more alert then a buck.I have been busted more from a mature doe in the past 50 years then buck. Big antlers are nice though. But I wont shoot a real young buck or young doe.We have Pt resrictions in Pa. And it dont bother me.

Does anyone besides me get tired of hearing about the " class" of an animal taken? What ever happened to the memory being an individual' s trophy? Check out " my first bear hunt" for a little perspective. I really enjoy reading the post from some of our younger hunters. I' ll never be able to go back to those days of shaking like a leaf when you see your first deer in the woods, or your first bear. Tomorrow will be the first day of the early muzzleloader season for does here in PA. My buddy and I are taking what seems to be half of the high school football team tomorrow. I' ll hand out muzzleloaders to the ones that don' t have, along with a short speech on usage and safety, and we' ll be off. Let me tell you, there wolln' t be any 130-140 class deer killed tomorrow, but I' m sure there will be a lot of great memories. Just my 2 cents.

plainsman There is nothing wrong with trophy hunting.[:-] You are a true trophy hunter if you will let any deer walk and go home with a empty tag at the end of season. I hate the people that will pass on " good bucks" early in the season only to shoot a " dink" at the end of the season. They can' t stand going home with an empty tag.
I myself trophy hunt deer. The first leagl elk or antelope that I see gets wacked.

I apologize if I sounded as if I' m against " trophy hunters" , because I' m not. It just seems to me that sometimes people miss the point of having a good time with family and friends while in the great outdoors. I have a friend in CO that will hunt the entire bow season for mulies and will not kill something unless it will place in the record books. He' s currently listed in the top ten for in-velvet with a bow. I have a lot of respect for the time that he puts in trying to fullfill his dream of number one in that class. Everyone needs their own motivation, and if that' s your' s, best of luck to you.

Well I guess wolf killer you can throw me into your hate category but I don' t think you understand what is really happening often times in that scenario. I am a meat hunter first. That means my primary goal is to fill the freezer. But I like a big rack as much as anybody else. So if I think there are some big boys running around I' ll have a little patience and wait a few days for the " ideal" buck. Ideal meaning I get meat and a rack that' ll bring bragging rights. But that may mean I do pass on a " good" buck, a buck that is mid-sized. If a " big" buck never shows or it just doesn' t work out after a few days then I' m filling the freezer with the first thing that shows itself. Doesn' t matter if its a dink or world record. In my state I can get a buck tag and a doe tag so I get both.

I don' t think there is anything wrong with trophy hunting as long as you respect the meat as much as the horns.

Here' s a question that I was thinking of while reading the threads. There are some of you that will not shoot a small buck, you would rather shoot a doe, or go without. Big buck from small. Bring home the memories of the hunt. I agree 100%. However some people seemed to change their tune when it comes to hunting a different species of animal such as elk. Don' t big bulls come from small ones? Or do elk grow differently than every other type of living thing?
I have not had the opportunity to hunt elk, but I can' t see myself shooting a small bull just to say I " got one" . I' m pretty sure in most areas you can purchase a cow tag. Wouldn' t she fill the freezer just as well? I' m guessing that some of you will take anything legal because it is not in your normal hunting area/state. The fact that you had to buy an expensive license, drive a long way, hotel rooms etc. gives some of you the excuse to change your personal hunting philosophy. If those elk were on your home hunting grounds would you shoot any little bull that crossed your path? I' m guessing not.