RE: delayed gratification
 

Becuase shooting the big bucks is much more of a challenge than shooting the young bucks. Not saying that all young bucks are dumb, but it seems like the mature bucks present much more of a challenge to hunt. I still eat the meat off of a mature buck, but the younger Doe's are the one's that taste the best. I also like to the way the mount looks on my wall and the unspoken excitement you get from shooting a big mature buck. For everybody that has shot a big buck they know what I am talking about. After a while that kind of excitement wears off when you shoot small bucks, because you know the feeling you get when you shoot a big buck. I am not taking anything away from anybody that want's to shoot small bucks because it is alway's fun to shoot deer

RE: delayed gratification
 

so you assume I have good land.....
I don't in fact it's not very good at all!

RE: delayed gratification
 

white, if that why is for me, I was just wondering why you would make a thread like that .... you want reasons but give no arguement for your statement. I wonder if maybe you think those that will shoot a 1 1/2 year old buck have caused you to not have ever taken a mature one ....... just wondering.....[&:]

RE: delayed gratification
 

Why do you assume that the size of the horns must equal the enjoyment of the hunt?

If youmust only shoot fully mature bucks to enjoy your hunts, you are wlecome to do so. My wife and I both hunt, and I know on several occasions she has passed on VERY nice mature bucks because it was going to be tough or not taste as good as a younger deer would.We eat what we kill, and prefer the tender, better tasting young deer. So far, I haven't found a single recipe that makes the horns taste good at all.

I can tell you that I get just as much hunting enjoyment from shooting a younger deer as I do when I shoot fully mature bucks (and yes, I have taken both). I don't hunt horns, I hunt deer, and I don't see anything unethical about it. In fact, when archery hunting I prefer to take a doe when I can.

We get to hunt andkill one deer a year in WA state. If we choose to shoot a two point; that leaves a bigger buck still standing for someone else to hunt. If we shoot the bigger, more mature buck; then you don't get to hunt it. I would think you should be pleased when others choose to shoot the deer that best suites them, and not everyone is out to get those big bucks that you must get toenjoy your hunt.

RE: delayed gratification
 

My arguement is already stated in the history of deer hunting!
How do hunters measure their bucks?

I havn't set these standards...and unless your poaching the herd that god has put on my property...you don't effect my hunting one bit!

RE: delayed gratification
 

I didn't know you had to shoot to enjoy hunting!!!!!

RE: delayed gratification
 

Shoot a doe.

RE: delayed gratification
 

RE: delayed gratification
 

My uncle has a forkhorn that the antlers are incredibly small, about 2". He is proud of it because you will likely never find horns smaller that still have a fork. It was shot during a time when you shot the first buck you saw. If you didn't you usually wouldn't get a second chance. This was during a 9 day hunt. Some years you never even got an opportunity at a buck. This was with a rifle.

We still go on that hunt, but things have changed. Now it is limited draw rather than over the counter. (People told the G&F that they wanted bigger bucks in the surveys). We only get to go about once every two years. Now there are lots of bucks. We take our pick, limiting ourselves to 4 points or better. We get our deer and have to go home early. I doubt the deer we get now would be up to your standards, but they are huge compared to the spikes and forks we used to get. To tell you the truth, we all would rather go back to shooting puny bucks, so that we could get a tag every year. It used to be our vacation every year. Then it was hunting, not shooting fish in a barrel.

There was a time when people hunted deer to shoot a deer, not to see how big a rack they could get. You shot bucks because the does were needed to breed. You used to be able to get permision to hunt easier because people weren't trying to protect their trophy deer. Hunting was fun, not a competition.

Now, I pass on small deer when I bowhunt. I am proud of the trophies I have shot. I think that it makes more sense to shoot a doe than a small buck. But I know that shooting bucks is more fun than shooting does. Even small bucks. Why should I tell someone else what to do? It is up to the individual hunter to decide what makes a trophy. A forkhorn, when shot with a bow while hunting on the ground is a heck of an accomplishment.

RE: delayed gratification
 

cool