I agree that it can be a little intimidating I shot a six a few weeks ago and was a little shy at posting it becasue it wasn't 140 inches but the deer here don't get that big very often.

But I am more worried about what I think about myself then what others think so I posted the pictures because to me every deer is a trophy, from the smallest doe to the biggest buck.

GunDeck..nobody here is arguing WHAT SIZE deer to take. We are kinda advocating the "Be proud of what you shoot" theory.
The argument is that with so many big deer being posted, some smaller deer may not be. There is no reason to hold back..If you shot him, post'em up loud and proud.

Scroll through the contest..there are some dandy bucks...I mean dandy's! Are we as a group that good.. Maybe..but odds say No. What's our average rack size vs the Country as a whole?

Someone at years end will do a recap..Iremember FSHFly did it last year. The results were eye-opening.

I know exactly how you feel gundeck. i only own 23 acres but i manage it very strictly. and i have a neighbor that will kill nything that walks. but i still every year see a good mature buck. Just keep up the good work and eventually they will see the results and come around. my neighbor has already commented that he has been seeing good antler growth and he was happy about it.

I think the industry is partially to blame for or low confidence in a small buck. all the companies put pressure on us to try and kill the biggest buck possible. you notice in their ads you dont see a nice little six pointer that someone put hours and hours in on, and made a marginal shot but put a great tracking job on and stay optimistic. I am more proud of a deer that gave me a challenge than getting lucky during the rut and have a mture one walk in. dont get me wrong i love taking mature bucks but thats doesn't make me and more proud of it.

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what "contest" are you guys talking about?



EDIT Nevermind, I found it.

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tt.aspx?forumid=112

It's all right here..read till your hearts content Teams picked in Late July / Early August!

Authur

I been reading your posts for years. You are not afraid of ankle biters cause I've seen you chew them up and spit them out. WhileI do respect you for your choice ofmoral rightness on notjoining in on a " fun " contest... I am not buying the ankle biter little buck syndrome. I shootor try at least to shoot what makes me happy. I expect others to do the same. There are big bucks and little bucks taken in this contest. I've been only seeing " congrats "when other'sreplyto someone's success. That is the way it should be as not everyone has access to big bucks, a lot of land to hunt or the time to do it.

Tim

That's great, and precisely as it should be. Not what I expected though, judging from the QDM threads I watched over the past few months.

Most ofQDM threads aresome what of ajoke if QDM really is the goal. Everyone has their own idea what it should be. Some of the heavy pushers still shootyoung bucks.Darnculls !! The " what makes a shooter thread "is always eye opening. I wouldn't be worried about most ofthe QDMankle biters.

Tim

Shoot what you like, enter your first buck shot. Don't be intimidated. Remember you small buck will add to your teams total score and might be the difference in your win. Size restrictions are a personal matter. I personally want to hold out for something at least 100" and a 6-point but thats just me. I'll be happy for you if you kill a button buck. I've done it. The meat is great, andthat's mostly what I'm after.

LOL! They don't worry me none. Heck, I cut my internet teeth on Bowsite in the old bare knuckle days. Not everyone has had the same anti-intimidation conditioning though.