without the rut, manyyyyyyy bucks, big and small would NEVER be killed...either by inexpirienced, unknowledgeable hunters that just get lucky and are in the right tree at the right time by pretty pure luck...or by cars on the road....


just my 3 cents....

Some people must use the does to hunt the bucks. What if "their" property isn't large enough for or just doesn't hold bucks? The bucks only come in there looking for love.

Sometimes your only chance at a good buck is to be where the ladies are. Does that make someone less of a trophy hunter?

I am hunting tomorrow morning, Saturday all day..... and Monday morning/Tuesday morning/Wed/Thurs/Fri...all during the rut. I need all the help I can get.

REm....the guys that REALLY have my respect (trophy hunters) are the ones who hunt them in all aspects of their normal routines. They have access to (which is a BIG caveat) their bedding areas.....their feeding areas.....and their travel routes. They learn where they are at certain points througout the season....and they go to THEM.

So yeah...that makes them a special kind of trophy hunter (in my eyes).

Whats with all this talk of trophy hunting lately?

Kinda gay really.. don't you all think?

Did I mention that I am hunting the next 8 days of the rut?

In mine too Jeff. Guys like Michaelhunsucker and Bloomgren come to mind. Nobody is questioning whether or not hunting is fair-it is not. I am asking those true trophy hunters if they would consider benching themselves during the rut?

Well maybe Im a dumb ass, but I will take them anytime they offer a shot. I admit, they beat me way more than I beat them, "trophy bucks" that is....does and small bucks are quite common to see for the most part, but if big bucks are not challenging you and you feel that rut is just too easy, you need a new hobbie.

I'm REALLY not understanding the blowback on this thread.

I think it's a great discussion topic. Maybe a fair question would be.....would you feel a greater sense of accomplishment....if the mature buck you took was taken outside the rut?

I know I would.

I only shoot bucks I will mount...if that makes me a trophy hunter then so be it. That deer could be a 130" 2 1/2 year old and most people on this new "mature" tangent would laugh at that. Ihave allowed many Georgia bucks to walk that most guys here would give their kids away for..I consider myslef a trophy hunter...hunting for "MY" trophy. I live this sport year round and have anxiety attacks waiting for the rut. To me the rut is not the animal at their weakest...it is however that chance for that one fleeting glimpse and maybe a shot at that old warrior. The big guy who was born smart and only walks during the daylight a few days a year when he smells estrous. You know the deer that makes you say OH #@*# out load and dang near puke in your facemask. That is why I hunt the rut...and just typing about "HIM" got my heart beating a little faster.