Wow great question..it's nice to see everyones answers. As for where I hunt it's antler restriction(AR). On our Maryland farm(lease) it's 120PY or larger. Meaning 8 point outside the ears. Unlimited does. Our P.A. farm the state set the AR so its 3 points a side. Now on our lease in Va we are just starting the 120 min and it seems to be working out. Our Maryland farm has produced great bucks but as with anything $$$ related this is our last year on the lease and we were out bid for 2010. The new people bid 15k and we just can't afford this with our other lands. So it seems I am a trophy hunter, but taking a big mature doe is just as tricky as taking some dumb rutted up bucks.

I only ge to hunt Whitetails in South Central Michigan. The deer are so overpopulated here there is unlimited private land antlerless permits. Therefore, if the buck is big enough to justify $600.00 for a shoulder mount then I take him. If not, he grows for another couple years and the does come down. I like venison alot and use it all the time. But I also like knowing there are trophy class 5-7 year old deer on my property. Tough to pass on a 125" ten point, but he is young and there are to many does here.

I am hungray and this is my 6th year not got a deer yet. If it walks and is brown it is down. After i get one i will start going for the bigger ones. But i am on public land so not like letting a 150 class deer is going to get me a 200 class deer. Most guys around here kill everything.

I too am a meat hunter. During the first part of the season I shot a nice doe and a four point buck. Now that my freezer is full I have passed on eight deer (does and bucks combined). I will now only shoot a buck with a nice rack. This has been my hunting policy for years.
One of our club members shot a nice eight point buck this morning. He had 17.5 inch spread and weighed 200 lbs on the hoof.

I use to be a meat hunter and if the buck pass my shooting lane I would take him but then we had the kids at home so 4 to 5 deer was no problem and did cut back on food bills.Today the story if different it is me and the wife I find 1 doe is more then enough after that I will be looking for the rack only in size the biggest i have taken scored 135 and nice 8 pointer took him back in Pa. about six years ago since then i never came across anything bigger to aim at.

I hunt for meat. In Ohio we are allowed only 1 buck per season regardless of how it is killed. Luckily I have already put a couple "antlerless" deer in the freezer so I can be more selective about the buck I shoot. I have a few bucks on my trail cam at my food plot I would take without hesitation (one very wide 6 point, one decent 8 point, and one 9 point with good width & mass). There are also a few like I watched yesterday evening (2 spikes within 15 yards of my stand) that I will pass on for now. We still have almost 3 months of deer season, and our gun season (I hunt with my muzzleloader) is still a few weeks away. If I don't get a nice buck then I will change my requirements. By late muzzleloader season I'll live by the "if it's brown - it's down" standard.

My aim is to shoot a mature animal. That does not mean I set my sights on a 30" plus. It depends on the tag for me. SOme areas here in Idaho have MONSTER deer. If I have a tag in those areas I tend to eat tags or get big ones. In other areas I might shoot the first buck I see. We can only shoot one animal a year, I try to make the most of it. Ron

Buddy of mine shot a nice small 5pt buck yesterday w/his crossbow, went 50 yds. He said it wasn't very big. I told him that's gonna be fine eatin there buddy!! helped him skin and bone it. he gave me awhole backstraap and the tenderloins!! Life is REALLY GOOD!! He spent his time planting, cutting wood, making food plots, more cover, the whole shooting match. we don't kill many deer there, but we appreciate every single one of them!!!

I hunt for the meat and have the opportunity for several does each year. So I will only shoot older bucks now - what I feel are 3 1/2 plus regardless of the rack or score. And since I use the meat, I wait for the larger does. Would rather gut, drag and butcher 3 big ones then 4 or 5 smaller ones for the same meat.

Where I am at, the young ones are too easy, I like the challange of taking the older ones far more.

I let does walk nowadays. Our herd needs to build back up and the rule makers aren't making it easy for that to happen. Figure every doe I pass is helping a little. Took a very nice 10 pointer years ago and will probably never top that as I just don't work at it anymore. And it no longer matters.