I was just wondering how many of you Hunt for Trophy Class Animals? This goes for Whitetails, Elk, Mulies, ect..
I mostly Hunt Whitetails with a Bow and ML, I pass on Deer that dont score at least 125 Boone & Crockett with my ML and Bow. For me it's Big or nothing. My Wife also hunts so between us we get 2-3 Does a season for meat, or if she wants she can take a lesser Buck.
When I was younger I would harvest just about any Buck, but now Im selective, are you? Or will you take what comes by just so you dont go with unfilled tags?
(BP)

I have to admit, while I have longed to shoot a large animal, I am a carnivore. Meat is meat, and filling the freezer is important to me. Why, I have no idea.

A couple years back, I had a large monster whitetail on the property. And like you I hunted only him. I passed on a lot of smaller legal deer but could never seal the deal on the old buck. Two years I saw and hunted him. Granted I shot a doe for the freezer, but I hunted him only.

I heard neighbors wife across the road finally saw him, took a low percentage shot on him, wounded him, lost him in the marsh, and the wolves got him. When they were telling me about the deer she "shot" she described him and his drop tine to a tea. Listening to her tell the story, even telling about him excited her very much. He was something to see. She claimed she made one of them heart shots. I suspect it turned a little low and a little too far back. When that old buck was shot, her husband said he headed right into the deep part of the marsh.

So now I hunt meat and if a big one comes by, then I will finally have my wall hanger.

I'm mostly a meat hunter, and will fill my 2 Buck tags with what ever God sends down the trail

Lord willing, I can harvest 3 yearlings, 2 adult doe's, and 2 bucks. This works out very well for our family of six.
The yearlings are the BEST table fare=whole meat cuts-very little ground meat. The adult doe's=Very good roasts and excellent burger. The Bucks= mostly ground meat and suasage making.

Nebraska deer are corn fed, and taste great! They have good bulk, and average about 140-175 pounds.

BTW, My son just arrowed a 235 pound-dressed 8-pointer! He is rubbing it in to old Dad, pretty good

Early bow season I find myself passing on a lot of deer. (but then I can only get 1 deer a year, between Archery, Gun, and ML) NOw that the rut is here, I wont be as picky in the next couple of weeks. Gun season started today, and runs for 9 days, I will be a little picky this week, but after that, if its brown, its down.

Breechplug

It is strictly for the freezer. I have even passed on some of the largeranimals in a group of animals for a medium sized animal that I think might be better 'meat wise' I di not hink I have a set of racks any where around here... In fact in the early years we never even brought them out - now they come out but not sure what happens to them afterwards but they seem to disappear.

I shoot whatever walks out on my plot / trail with my bow. With my Rifle I am a little more selective. Gotta be a big doe or atleast a 4 point.

I hunt only for meat, in other words if its brown its down, not to say that a big ol buck wouldn't be much appreciated.

if its legal, im taking it.

I'd usually opt for a doe over a small buck, but I usually hold out for a decent buck until the last week of our ML season. Sometimes I get season choice antlerless-only tags so I can still get meat without worrying about losing that buck tag when mac-daddy shows up at the end of the season. I'm still working on getting my first archery deer, and I'll shoot anything that walks by with that.

I'm mainly a meat hunter. Though, now-a-days I have very few days to hunt due to my schedule so I am even less picky. Sure I'd like to have a nice 160 class deer on my wall, but it's by no means the reason I'm in the woods.