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Well said Bow....I enjoy the woods, the solitude, the flicker of a tail,the sound of flapping goose wings over head, the tap-tap of a redheaded woodpecker, the morning turkey yelps, and the sound of my heart beating loudly as the doe approachs my stand.

You all go and chase those bigguns...It leaves plenty of those mediocre ones for folks like me...

You want to get a real huntin experience again..Try public land that's been pounded relentlessly for the past 4.5 months.

Oh, the feeling you'll get when you're about to draw on one of those mediocre ones only to have it bumped away by the public nimrod...

Oh, the joys to get to your tree in the AM only to be crowded by Moe, Larry and Shemp who set up within 50yds.

Oh, those lovely trails of brighteyes and fluorescent tape.

Oh, those parking areas filled with SUVs, pickups, and trash..

Yea, that the leaden slugs may fly as you're ducking for cover...

Try a public land doe where I hunt late in the season when the bitter cold keeps Moe,Larry, and Shemp at home...You'll re-discover the meaning of the term "TROPHY".



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I guess I've been blessed in a lot of ways, and only one of them is a lack of obsesion for monster bucks. Fact is, what few hunting videos I've ever seen, I didnt care for. I really dont like seeing someone kill a deer in front of me, someone who is looking and talking to some other guy running the camera.
Nothing wrong with it, I guess, if that's your thing, it's just not mine. To me, there is something sacreligious(sp?) about it all, and I dont mean to offend anyone, or sound &quot;holier than thou&quot;. It's just that for me, there is something sacred and spiritual in the woods, and what happens there is between me, the deer, and my God. It's not that I wouldnt shoot a big buck, I have shot some decent ones, and I would again, and be grateful of the chance, and of the gift. I am at a point in my life where I am enjoying the time spent in the woods more than I ever have. I feel no pressure anymore to have to kill something, or to kill only a big buck. Truth is, once I have decided to take a doe or small buck, the adrenaline rush is huge. I know some of my friends have spoken of this, and feel the same way. We're all a bit different from each other, that's okay, it'd be a boring place to live if we were all the same. I think eventually you find your own path, and walk it.

The first deer I take with my longbow will be the greatest trophy of my life to date, be it a doe or a P&Y buck.

I hear you Bowdacious,I am not a trophy hunter except in my dreams.I will not pass one up if it is stupid enough to come my way.
I will admit being laid off this year with alot of hunting time I did pass up a 4pt. and a small 6pt. during archery season because I saw a bigger buck days before them.
If I didn't have all that time I would of taken the 6Pt. for sure so maybe this year I am guilty of trying to be a trophy hunter.
I ended up skunked in reg. archery season and went out during extended archery.Even though some days in the tree stand were freezing cold I enjoyed every minute of it.
I only saw a total of 5 does 4 in one group and one by itself on different days but after spotting them you would of thought I saw an 8pt. buck.Now adays during gun season I am busy trying to push deer to my son and nephews so it keeps me from being a trophy hunter and I have no complaints.

Good post Bowdawg but it's the competitiveness that is the icing on the cake for me. I enter big buck contests every year in the area where I hunt. About 20-30 guys get into it and once the season comes there is always a constant buzz about who shot what, who saw what, and who is in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the contest. It's exciting as hell!!! It only heightens the drama for me. There is already a huuuuuge amount of pressure to make a good shot on a nice deer within 20 yards and closing but it makes it even more so when you know it could be #1 and you have to make a good clean shot or you may not get another the rest of the season. It keeps guys honest. It lets the little ones go so they can grow! It increases the amount of time I get to enjoy being in a stand thus increasing the amount of deer and other wildlife I see thus giving me more experience and knowlege about deer thus leading to my becoming a better hunter and wildlife conservationist with every season that passes. For me there would be 0 satisfaction in killing a spike or forkie, but that is me. Holding out for big ones is relative to one's area and the quality of the herd that one hunts. However in every herd there are going to be a small percentage of bucks that are bigger and wiser than the rest and more of a challenge to hunt. I see nothing wrong with a guy setting his goals for the toughest of all North American big game animals to hunt...that being a mature whitetail buck! Or in other words...A honkin monster whitie!!

Thats well said,the obsession to nail a big trophy can really become a disease and cause depression and greed and even push someone to the edge of and sometimes into the realm of cheating,breaking laws and ethics out the window. I know guys that spend 20 percent of there income to chase the dream of becoming the record holder. And all the time there family is suffering.Not any different then drugs or booze addiction

Bow, where you been hidin'. Chasin' them HONKIN MONSTER WHITIES!

I feel that people should shoot a deer that they are happy with, not something that someone else will be happy with.

GOOD POST. I couldn't have said it any better myself. I don't feel that a first year hunter should be yelled at for shooting a spike, if that is what they wanted. It is THEIR decision, nobody elses. As long as it is a legal animal.

Good Luck This Season: Buck Magnet
P.S. Only Chuck Adams can sit at home and see deer so get into the woods. =;^)