bullsi

If every one that use`es the W.M.Asand & NF lands[encluding hikers-fisherman-bird wachers-etc..] Paid for a W.M.A stamps it would genarate enough money to buy more land-food plots-more DNR oficers-bioloygest Etc... IT would be a win win situation for every body.Food + habitat + Proper doe harvest = Big buck!

Lilhunter

well hopefully your concern is deer herds and not antler sizes!

bullsi

Both - I hunt for meat and a trophy-If I just want to shot my bow I`ll go to the 3D range.I will not shoot a buck under 8pts or 120 better.I am a trophy hunter,Thats why I hunt.And I thank God for every one.I enjoy the all of it the hunt and the kill.Dont fool your self.

don loch

Hmmmm................................

bullsi

You guys telling me you buy 100s of dollars of equipment just for meat!For me its all that comes with it -the practicing-tracking-try to find the right stand-the stelth-and when a plan comes together.I get no better high.Lets all be honest,thats the most exspencive meat in the world.

BOWFANATIC

Oddly enough I agree with that statement 100%! I' m not a trophy hunter. I do love the meat. But lets face it , if it were only about the meat we wouldn' t be spending countles $$$ and time in the field practicing , etc. etc.. In the old days (some still do) when it was about the meat , Joe blow would use a well placed 22 caliber long rifle or whatever he had to get the job done. If it happened to be a trophy class buck it might get another proud glance before the rack was cut off and hung from the barn rafters.

For most of us , the meat is an extra bonus. A very slim justification of all the money we spend on hunting when it concerns our wives

JoeA

That' s a big issue way out here too. Certain groups (ex. the Sierra [blank]) charge folks to go on hikes through public areas. If you ask hikers and public lands users who participate in non-extrative activities to at least pay the copnservation stamp, they' ll look at you funny.
When people start complaining about allowing hunting in an area, or why a certain agency listens more closely to hunters' concerns over non-hunting user groups; just say " that' s because the hunters pay for it (taxes, tags, stamps, user fees, Pittman-Robertson funds, etc.)" and see what happens. (if you evver do this I' d advise stepping back a bit).
I don' t mind if a group or person collects funds to share their knowledge about a public resource with interested folks. The irony is that many collect $$ w/o putting some of it back to the management agencies that take care of the resources. Several groups talk about building awareness as though they were doing something. Awareness is important, but awareness alone don' t build watering units or plant trees & food plots.

don loch

I might be inclined to raise that to 1000' s of dollars, but dont tell the wife. And yes, I do like the meat, if I didn' t I would not hunt it, by the way doe' s anybody have any good easy recipies for duck so I can go back to hunting them.

Trophys are great, I would rather get a nice buck than a small one, but for meat I will shoot a young doe. But if we were all just " trophy hunters" who would controle the deer population?

Some of us like to think we are trophy hunters, but to all of us a trophy means different things, a large buck, doe, or maybe some of us just enjoy being out there. I myself would pay any amount just to be able to be out there and see deer.

If I don' t get a deer a particular year and somebody asks me what happened, I just say I was trophy hunting and didn' t see anything big enough,get it?

voodoosmc

I' m a meat hunter. If I get a trophy out of it YAY! if not YAY!. Antlers are secondary for me. I honestly don' t count the costs of bows, arrows, boardheads, etc.. in to the cost of the meat. I could spend just as much for exercise equipment as I do my hunting stuff and I wouldn' t ge nearly as much of a workout in most cases ( more than likely it would become a dust collecter ). The meat is the lowest fat, lowest chorlestrol (sp?), and all around healthest meat you can get. I hate store bought meat. I try not to buy meat from the store unless I have to. I get my beef from a family member who is a butcher and it' s all natural organic free range beef. I' m not a trophy hunter. If I get huge buck then heck yeah I' m happy but it' s not what I really go out there for.

btw the real reason hunt isnt just the meat, it' s that I' m part of the woods and it' s part of me. I' m part of the circle of life and I need/love being in the spot.

Belle Island

Exactly!!!!!!!!