Quality Hunting
03-30-2007 | 07:02 AM
#11
Joined: Sep 2006
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From:
RE: Quality Hunting
Quality hunting to me has nothing to do with getting a buck with a big rack or even a needing to get a buck for that matter. Would the creme dela creme be getta a big boy, absolutely, but I thoroughly enjoy harvesting does as well. Most of my time hunting is not actually harvesting anything, yet I still love it for many reasons that I do not think I need to state. I do see merit in having antler restrictions, as I do not think that little bucks should be taken in many cases.
03-30-2007 | 07:17 AM
#12
Thread Starter
Giant Nontypical
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,679
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From: Heaven is my home, temporarily residing in WNY :)
RE: Quality Hunting
I agree with all posts so far, and quite frankly, I am relieved! I just want to hunt the way I have always ..... with very little legislation. Davidmil mention how a 1 1/2 year old forkie is bigger than most does .... I agree, and would shoot the forkie ...more meat .... I would not think the guy that would not shoot him, but shoot the doe instead, wrong or foolish, as that is his choice.
I am glad to hear the responses so far ..... The other side should be chiming in soon ....
I am glad to hear the responses so far ..... The other side should be chiming in soon ....
03-30-2007 | 07:41 AM
#13
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 131
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From:
RE: Quality Hunting
As usual, I will stray from the herd. I DONT think you have to choose between amonster buck, or nothing! Balance. MY OPINION, but I will never understand why anyone (other than a young hunter) would shoot a 4-point whitetail when he couldbe patient and see a 10-point.
"Quality hunt"? You still saw the 4-point and a few does, but tomorrow you might see that 10-point you saw during your pre-seasonscouting. Remember? The almost-shooter you passed on last year??? He is now a 10-point and makes your heart beat a little faster than than 1.5 yearold 4-point.
Quality hunt? Beautiful sunrise, cold crisp morning, squirrells running around. "Snap"- twig breaking behind you. What do you REALLY want to see as youslowly turn around??? That is the answer to your question.
"Quality hunt"? You still saw the 4-point and a few does, but tomorrow you might see that 10-point you saw during your pre-seasonscouting. Remember? The almost-shooter you passed on last year??? He is now a 10-point and makes your heart beat a little faster than than 1.5 yearold 4-point.
Quality hunt? Beautiful sunrise, cold crisp morning, squirrells running around. "Snap"- twig breaking behind you. What do you REALLY want to see as youslowly turn around??? That is the answer to your question.
03-30-2007 | 08:13 AM
#14
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 146
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From:
RE: Quality Hunting
I don't feel that killing a big buck constitutes a quality hunt. I am for antler restrictions just so the bucks have a chance to grow up past 1 1/2 yo. To me a quality hunt is any time you can spend afeild with family, friends or just yourself. There is so much more to hunting than just the kill.
Good Hunting
Jeff
Good Hunting
Jeff
03-30-2007 | 08:27 AM
#15
Thread Starter
Giant Nontypical
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,679
Likes: 0
From: Heaven is my home, temporarily residing in WNY :)
RE: Quality Hunting
ORIGINAL: Montana Dave
As usual, I will stray from the herd. I DONT think you have to choose between amonster buck, or nothing! Balance. MY OPINION, but I will never understand why anyone (other than a young hunter) would shoot a 4-point whitetail when he couldbe patient and see a 10-point.
"Quality hunt"? You still saw the 4-point and a few does, but tomorrow you might see that 10-point you saw during your pre-seasonscouting. Remember? The almost-shooter you passed on last year??? He is now a 10-point and makes your heart beat a little faster than than 1.5 yearold 4-point.
Quality hunt? Beautiful sunrise, cold crisp morning, squirrells running around. "Snap"- twig breaking behind you. What do you REALLY want to see as youslowly turn around??? That is the answer to your question.
As usual, I will stray from the herd. I DONT think you have to choose between amonster buck, or nothing! Balance. MY OPINION, but I will never understand why anyone (other than a young hunter) would shoot a 4-point whitetail when he couldbe patient and see a 10-point.
"Quality hunt"? You still saw the 4-point and a few does, but tomorrow you might see that 10-point you saw during your pre-seasonscouting. Remember? The almost-shooter you passed on last year??? He is now a 10-point and makes your heart beat a little faster than than 1.5 yearold 4-point.
Quality hunt? Beautiful sunrise, cold crisp morning, squirrells running around. "Snap"- twig breaking behind you. What do you REALLY want to see as youslowly turn around??? That is the answer to your question.
03-30-2007 | 08:35 AM
#16
Nontypical Buck
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,333
Likes: 0
From: West Tennessee
RE: Quality Hunting
I totally understand Dave's stand, and I would love tokill a trophy buck instead of a four pointer or a doe.
I guess Ijust look at things differently. My dad started taking usdeer hunting every year at a young age, andhe taught us all heknew about it, which, not to be disrespectful to him, wasn't very much at all.In all the years he took us, he NEVERbagged a deer. Not even a doe.Still,every year, he would get so excited about the hunt. The "hunt", to him, was about family and friends being together in the outdoors. Drinking coffee in the wee hours of the morning, speculating on what might happen. Sitting around the campfire in the evenings talking about how the day had gone, what might happen tomorrow, and anything else we wanted to talk about.
To this day, the "hunt", to me, is about friends and family, comradeship, getting away from civilization and experiencing the great outdoors during the chase of the ever-elusive (at least for us) deer. It's about packing junk food and gear, inventorying, buying ammo, arrows and broadheads. It's about the anticipation of the hunt, preparation for the hunt and the excitement of being in the hunt.
I guess to me, there's a distinct separation between the "hunt" and the "kill". A trophy buck would be a great kill, and it would be a nice end to a hunt. I don't think my dad ever had a bad "hunt". He just never got a kill. I finally managed to kill a nice 8 point buck (my first ever) the last year my dad deer hunted before he died. You could see in his eyes that it made it one of his best hunts ever.
I guess Ijust look at things differently. My dad started taking usdeer hunting every year at a young age, andhe taught us all heknew about it, which, not to be disrespectful to him, wasn't very much at all.In all the years he took us, he NEVERbagged a deer. Not even a doe.Still,every year, he would get so excited about the hunt. The "hunt", to him, was about family and friends being together in the outdoors. Drinking coffee in the wee hours of the morning, speculating on what might happen. Sitting around the campfire in the evenings talking about how the day had gone, what might happen tomorrow, and anything else we wanted to talk about.
To this day, the "hunt", to me, is about friends and family, comradeship, getting away from civilization and experiencing the great outdoors during the chase of the ever-elusive (at least for us) deer. It's about packing junk food and gear, inventorying, buying ammo, arrows and broadheads. It's about the anticipation of the hunt, preparation for the hunt and the excitement of being in the hunt.
I guess to me, there's a distinct separation between the "hunt" and the "kill". A trophy buck would be a great kill, and it would be a nice end to a hunt. I don't think my dad ever had a bad "hunt". He just never got a kill. I finally managed to kill a nice 8 point buck (my first ever) the last year my dad deer hunted before he died. You could see in his eyes that it made it one of his best hunts ever.
03-30-2007 | 09:04 AM
#17
Thread Starter
Giant Nontypical
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,679
Likes: 0
From: Heaven is my home, temporarily residing in WNY :)
RE: Quality Hunting
ORIGINAL: LittleChief
I totally understand Dave's stand, and I would love tokill a trophy buck instead of a four pointer or a doe.
I guess Ijust look at things differently. My dad started taking usdeer hunting every year at a young age, andhe taught us all heknew about it, which, not to be disrespectful to him, wasn't very much at all.In all the years he took us, he NEVERbagged a deer. Not even a doe.Still,every year, he would get so excited about the hunt. The "hunt", to him, was about family and friends being together in the outdoors. Drinking coffee in the wee hours of the morning, speculating on what might happen. Sitting around the campfire in the evenings talking about how the day had gone, what might happen tomorrow, and anything else we wanted to talk about.
To this day, the "hunt", to me, is about friends and family, comradeship, getting away from civilization and experiencing the great outdoors during the chase of the ever-elusive (at least for us) deer. It's about packing junk food and gear, inventorying, buying ammo, arrows and broadheads. It's about the anticipation of the hunt, preparation for the hunt and the excitement of being in the hunt.
I guess to me, there's a distinct separation between the "hunt" and the "kill". A trophy buck would be a great kill, and it would be a nice end to a hunt. I don't think my dad ever had a bad "hunt". He just never got a kill. I finally managed to kill a nice 8 point buck (my first ever) the last year my dad deer hunted before he died. You could see in his eyes that it made it one of his best hunts ever.
I totally understand Dave's stand, and I would love tokill a trophy buck instead of a four pointer or a doe.
I guess Ijust look at things differently. My dad started taking usdeer hunting every year at a young age, andhe taught us all heknew about it, which, not to be disrespectful to him, wasn't very much at all.In all the years he took us, he NEVERbagged a deer. Not even a doe.Still,every year, he would get so excited about the hunt. The "hunt", to him, was about family and friends being together in the outdoors. Drinking coffee in the wee hours of the morning, speculating on what might happen. Sitting around the campfire in the evenings talking about how the day had gone, what might happen tomorrow, and anything else we wanted to talk about.
To this day, the "hunt", to me, is about friends and family, comradeship, getting away from civilization and experiencing the great outdoors during the chase of the ever-elusive (at least for us) deer. It's about packing junk food and gear, inventorying, buying ammo, arrows and broadheads. It's about the anticipation of the hunt, preparation for the hunt and the excitement of being in the hunt.
I guess to me, there's a distinct separation between the "hunt" and the "kill". A trophy buck would be a great kill, and it would be a nice end to a hunt. I don't think my dad ever had a bad "hunt". He just never got a kill. I finally managed to kill a nice 8 point buck (my first ever) the last year my dad deer hunted before he died. You could see in his eyes that it made it one of his best hunts ever.
I think of my nice 8 pointer and how ,though I appreciated taking him, it was not my most memorable hunt, as I was on a new piece of land for the first time, and I got him in the first hour of hunting. Quality hunting for me, is soooo much more than a huge rack, not that I wouldn't prefer shooting a monster 10, over a 160lb 1 1/2 year old 6 point, but that is such a small part of the whole ...
03-30-2007 | 09:35 AM
#18
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 131
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From:
RE: Quality Hunting
PreacherTony,
I honestly believe that wherever you live, if you let the younger deer get older- they get bigger. It appears my opinion is being skewed here. This is not about kill vs. hunt! Who started that, anyway?Everyone here hasmentioned "quaility", and I couldnt agree more. You should be able to have a "quality hunt" without shooting anything, right? That isEXACTLY what I am saying!!!
Enjoy your time in the woods, let the younger deer walk,see big 10-point whitetail and have your "quality hunt". Show mea hunter that says "I hope I only see small, young 4-point deer today." That would be a ridiculous and dishonest statement!!!
I honestly believe that wherever you live, if you let the younger deer get older- they get bigger. It appears my opinion is being skewed here. This is not about kill vs. hunt! Who started that, anyway?Everyone here hasmentioned "quaility", and I couldnt agree more. You should be able to have a "quality hunt" without shooting anything, right? That isEXACTLY what I am saying!!!
Enjoy your time in the woods, let the younger deer walk,see big 10-point whitetail and have your "quality hunt". Show mea hunter that says "I hope I only see small, young 4-point deer today." That would be a ridiculous and dishonest statement!!!
03-30-2007 | 10:03 AM
#19
Nontypical Buck
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,002
Likes: 0
From: Almost Heaven. Boone Co. WV
RE: Quality Hunting
Enjoy your time in the woods, let the younger deer walk,see big 10-point whitetail and have your "quality hunt". Show mea hunter that says "I hope I only see small, young 4-point deer today." That would be a ridiculous and dishonest statement!!!
03-30-2007 | 10:06 AM
#20
Boone & Crockett
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,682
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From: Michigan/Ohio
RE: Quality Hunting
For me it is simple.
The deer moved passed me how I thought they would, I went into and left my stand without being notice or detected. I may have even had an opportunity to takea deer, but choose not too. Just being out in the woods is great, but a quality huntto me is; I met my most important goals everytime I go out.
1.Get to and from my stand undetected
2.I don't get busted in stand.
3.Had a good setup to take a whitetail(deer move how I thought they would)
If I go out and No 1 or 2is not achieved, well then it was not a quality hunt to me. I just tipped off the deer I want to kill whereI am hunting.
Yes I enjoyed being in the woods, but unless I meet my goals it is not a quality hunt.
The deer moved passed me how I thought they would, I went into and left my stand without being notice or detected. I may have even had an opportunity to takea deer, but choose not too. Just being out in the woods is great, but a quality huntto me is; I met my most important goals everytime I go out.
1.Get to and from my stand undetected
2.I don't get busted in stand.
3.Had a good setup to take a whitetail(deer move how I thought they would)
If I go out and No 1 or 2is not achieved, well then it was not a quality hunt to me. I just tipped off the deer I want to kill whereI am hunting.
Yes I enjoyed being in the woods, but unless I meet my goals it is not a quality hunt.