Give me a multi-thousand acre ranch......and hook me up with other multi-thousand acre ranch owners....+ pay me to use your biologic and other food plot machinery......and invite me to hunt your outfitter.........

.....and I'd likely change my views about "trophy" hunting.

I won't ask you to change yours, though.

jeff

This is one of the few times I will be looking forward to an Atlaman post, LOL

Get'em Atlas[:@]

I hunt for me and I love to bowhunt. It's part of who I am. No one will ever tell me what to shoot and what not to shoot within the law. I'm not sure I practice QDM but I pass a lot of small bucks every year, legal and illegal in our point restrictions. I pass them hoping they will grow and mature. I'm always trying to take a better buck then the one I took last time or beat my best. IT's going to become harder and harder to do so. In fact, the last 3 buck I've taken haven't surpassed my 01 buck but I keep passing them.

The last two buck I took were unique trophies, 3.5 and 2.5 repectively. I doubt they'd been much more as a broken rack/pedicle but I thought he was a spike one side, then the second one was a spike one side.

In a one tag state like PA, you'll never shoot a mature buck if you shoot the first 1.5 that walks by. If your happy with the first 1.5 year old that walks by, by all means, smile when your behind the animal with the bow across it's chest and don't complain when all you ever get is little bucks.

I don't believe the argument that "I'm a meat hunter" because except that one person who wants to be unique and argue that anyone here would shoot a 4 point that stands at 15 yards when a 150 stands at 25 yards or if you watch both walking toward you that you would shoot the little buck, spooking off the large buck. Yeah, yeah some of you will jump on the bandwagon and say you'd shoot the little one, give us an example.

Just be sure to smile regardless, I'll be smiling behind every animal I shoot because when I decide to take the shot, the hunt means something to me and so will the animal. I've gone buckless several years on purpose but when it comes to the last week, I love to fill the freezer with venison bologna and I'll still be smiling behind that MMmmm venison.

I had at least four killed by cars I had scouted and hung stands for. Maybe your in area with alot less cars and houses.

Oh I know how to hunt. I have a family,run a youth football league and just started a career in real estate,not to mention four back surgeries that kinda limit my days afield now.


Then you talk to a guy that shoots a homemade bow and arrows and does nothing but still hunts and is able to kill deer at 15 yards off the ground year in year out,and thinks all the compounds and range finders and tree stands etc,are for guys that can't hunt.

Do what makes you happy.

I forgot about THOSE guys!! Yeah! Spears and 6 yr olds.....or bust!!

Jeff

Up until last year I was satisfied to harvest a doe, I guess I still am. However last year I did get a chance to harvest a 160 class buck. Not because I was hunting him or even knew he existed, but because he presented himself and I had a tag. After experiencingthis whole new level of excitementI called everyone I knew, emailed the rest -I had a taste of what it is to bea "trophy" hunter. This year my goal is to top my buck from last year, along the way I will undoubtedly take a couple does. Point being I can see both sides of the coin and don'tblame anyone for arguing either side. Like it has been repeatedly said, whatever works for you, go for it.

I am doing my part. I kill does on the properties I hunt. Who in the h3ll said I didn't? Are you assuming something about me? Are you a novice to this sport and this site? Maybe you should haveasked me what I do for the herd in my area before assuming I do nothing in that respect.

Respect denied.[:-]

To each his own so long as it's legal. Imposing or trying to impose restrictions on other hunters beyond the law will never help anyone. In another forum I posted this photo and said I would pass him. He's still a young buck. What I also said is that if another hunter decided to shoot him, I would wholeheartedly congratulate him and help him load it into his truck and I still got criticized by some. It's a personal choice period. I am happy with does in the freezer even if a mature buck doesnt grace me with his presence all season. I am also happy to pass one that I know MIGHT get shot or hit by a car before next year.thats a risk I'm willing to take. I'd rather take that risk than shoot an immature buck and absolutely guarantee that he wont grow any more. But again, thats my choice. So long as a hunter is iobeying the law and whatever rules thelandowner has put forth, to each his own

I'm sitting here reading this forum and to be honest, I really don't know what to think. I'm amazed....trully amazed. I don't think jelen was trying to offend anyone or tell anyone what they can shoot. His post is no different than the people here saying "my bows better than yours". It's all personal preference and opinion. To be honest I don't see anyone in here starting a heated debate over which bow is better so why argue over this??? There are alot of trophy hunters as well as meat hunters here and to say the meat hunters aren't good hunters and vice versa is ridiculous. I think we're all forgetting why we're on this forum anyways......WE ALL LIKE TO BOWHUNT!! I too have harvested several mature bucks so I can understand the "let em grow" thing. I've passed up deer that many people would consider shooters, but once again, its about preference. But at the same time, if you catch me on a slow day with a basket rack within range, or a year work limits my hunting, consider him dead. This whole thing is gettin outta hand saying one hunter is better than another hunter because he passes small bucks. Some other guy doesn't know what hunting is because he choses to waste his tag every year waiting on the P&Y. I say shoot what you want and stop the bickering because to be honest with you, whenI climb that tree on Sept 30, I'm not gonna give a damn nor probably will I remember what half of the comments were anyways when that deer walks into range.