I don't know that it sounds better to say but I know they sure taste better to eat. I like to call them "Crock-Pot Stuffers" or "Dinner and a Snack" or "The Weight Watchers Special" or "A Light Meal" (only applies to yearlings under 50 lbs and is great when washed down with the new beer Yearling Lite)orthe"I'm Yearning for a Yearling" deer roast or "ka-bambis" (a little known variation to the standard ka-bob) or my all time favorite the"Barely Out Of Spots Burger" topped with sauteed mushrooms and onions and covered with mozzerela on a lightly buttered/toasted bun, forget about it.

Kill them all and let the crock-pot sort them out.jj

Yummy! Ibet they'reharder to hit to!

As long as you are "happy about it",.... because "every deer with a bow is a trophy"!

They really aren't any harder to hit, just pick a spot and let fly!

This is the same way ive been thinkin.

I don't know about the every deer a trophy part but I am sure nothing else quite sums up happy like a nice hot breakfast of yearling backstrap & eggs and a side of biscuits and "backstrap" gravy.

The perspective I like to use is this.

I, like many predators, often find it easier to pick a couple of young animals from the herd and one reason I do that isbecause when I eat venison I want to eat the youngest most tender deer I can get, so I make sure I get a couple like that every season. Of course I stillhunt anduse the bigger/more maturedeer I kill (mostly in sausage/burgers/jerky) and I giveplenty of meat away everyseason but for the most partthe venison that I keepin my freezerfor my family and friends is more comparable to veal than beef. So unfortunately (for the little deer anyway) there are going to be some that just don't make it this yearand as I carry them out (yes carry not drag) I will hold them proudly over my shoulder knowing the bounty they will provide. It's the law of the jungle the stonger, smarter animals survive the other ones ........welleveryone knowswhat happens to them (unless a QDM guy gives them a pass for like 4 or 5years).

My wife tells me to shoot the little ones.

She likes tender venison.

We all have our own sense of what will make us happy from an accomplishment point of view and from the point of view of what it means to our local deer herd.We all do what feels right to us."Personally" I am far more understanding of a young or inexperienced hunter killing a young buck than I am an older and/or experienced hunter.These are my personal beliefs and I wouldn't belittle any one for doing otherwise as long as they are within the law.I may not welcome them to hunt with me or my area's though.
In my home area a 3.5 year old buck or older represents less than 10%of the buck population,most of our area's hold less than 3 bucks per square mile.It could be a whole lot better than that if many our experienced hunters didn't feel the need to shoot two or three 1.5 year old bucks a year.
To me it is all a matter of the amount of experience of the hunter and the make up of the deer herd in their area,passing 10 does to shoot a spike horn kind of stuff makes me just about physically ill!

That's my point. IF I shoot a 2yr old buck, I will only shoot one. I know what shooting too many and not enough does can do to a herd.

I think IL Cornfed is getting at that a lot of people "talk" about passing onyounger bucks and honestly have the intention of doing it, but one that little guy with horns is in front of you that trigger finger gets awfully itchy.

Would I get excited about shooting a 1.5 year old buck (or whatever you choose to call it), heck yeah.I get excited over every deer I shoot. However, I also know I would regret it afterwards knowing that my area holds someolder bucks and that is what I'm really after. So, I will choose to pass on the yearlings, or 1.5 year olds, or non-fawns.

I don't see it as putting anyone down, but if you say you want to practice QDM and then say you want to shoot a young buck you are going back on what you've said. So, it's not putting someone down but stating a fact.

Personally, I say shoot what you want, but don't regret it or say you are going to one thing and then not follow through. We all don't have the same situation or opportunities, but we do need to make sure that whatever we do is something that will make us happy and not just for the moment.

I would be very disappointed after the fact if I killed a 1.5yr old buck because 1yr old bucks here are VERY small here. It's the 2.5yr old 6pts that I'm talking about.