There've been a few posts on here lately that have made me take a look at myself as a "deer hunter".Threads like "What is your goal" where a lot of folks said they're going to hold out for a 120", 130", 140" or 150" buck or higher. I wish you all the best of luck, but it's just not for me. Valor10 made a post in "The kill" thread, and I'm going to quotepart of ithere:

This pretty much fits me to a "T". My goal this year will be to hunt with my sons, hunt with my brother, take8 deer (3 in Arkansas, 2 in Missouri, and 3 in Tennessee), have a wonderful time, enjoy the outdoors, enjoy life and fill my freezer with venison. A huge buck, big buck, nice buck or even a decent buckwould be nice, but big does will do just fine for me. I'm just not after a trophy buck to hang on the wall.

Honestly, I feel just as successful when I go out and hammer a big doe as I did when I took my biggest buck ever year before last. Now, I have all the respect in the world for those of you who can go out and scout, plan and develop a sound strategy and take wall hangers with consistency. My hat's off to you all. Also, I'll admit to sitting on the stand and daydreaming about a big ol' 200" class "Mack Daddy Freaknasty" (Michael Waddell) non-typical walking in, but I know it's not a realistic expectation for me, and I know I'll have a great season even though it doesn't happen.

So tell me... does this make me orsomeone elsewho share these views less of a deer hunter?

No.

No.

Short add....the mounts on my wall are tributes to the DEER....not me.

Not at all. Everyone hunts for different reasons and I have always hated the people that disrepect others for why or how they hunt. I personally don't consider myself a trophy hunter, but I also have realized that I shoot all the does I need to eat, so I hold out on shooting a buck unless he is a good one. The 2007 season was the first season since 2004 that I killed a buck, but a I did take a lot of does in between. I think you got your priorities in line and sound like you enjoy the sport of hunting and spending that time with family. When you boil it all down, that is all that matters.

I think everyone on this page needs to go look in a mirror and see if anything is written on our foreheads.

I would love to say I'm going to hold out this year for a P & Y buck. It's just not going to happen on the land I hunt. I might see a couple in the 115" range but that's about it. I have had places where this was realistic but even then it didn't happen. I believe my dad has passed on his curse to me regarding shooting a P & Y buck. Although he has broken that curse it took him a while to do it. I have screwed up my chances on 175" deer and to this day I think I am jinxed! Right now I am happy just going hunting with my daughter. My main goal every yearis to get her in a good spot so she can have some chances at filling her tags with her bow.

The answer is a definate NO, but I'll have to admit, I get a whole lot more excited about killing a nice buck than I do a doe. On the other hand, when I want to take a deer to eat, I'm mainlydoe hunting. Not to say I won't take a buck to eat, because I sure as heck will.

Let me add something really quick here, GMMAT. I hope no one gets the impression that I have any dislike for trophy mounts OR the guys that have them.While I don't hunt for them specifically, I assure you that if that monster makes the mistake of giving me a shot, he'll go on my wallAND it wouldn't be for bragging rights... it would be for the reason you just listed.

No.

No.