Be Proud of What you Shoot
 

I am a little late with this one this year but it always is worth repeating.

Regardless of what you shoot...be proud of it. Every year I read posts that say "It was only a doe"..or "It was only a 6 pointer". There should not be any "it was only". As long as it is a trophy in your eyes then that is all that matters. We all love to be in the outdoors. Share your stories with the rest of the Hunting.net community without worrying about your harvest "only being".

Good luck to all of you this season.

Very True!!...too often do new hunters get discouraged because of the big buck frenzy, you have to shoot a buck to be successful...that is simply not true. A wary doe can be just as difficult to shoot than any mature buck. And I don't know about anyone else, but whenever I have any deer walk underneath or close by, my blood starts pumping, could be a yearling doe but it might as well be a 15 point buck.

Shoot what your proud of and be proud of what you shoot!! Good Advice

I agree!!!

Every animal is a trophy in my book.

A+ on this Quote if I take it with a bow then it is a Trophy ! :cool2:

I was thinking the same thing after reading some of the post on here recently about hunter success so far this season.Too bad there is so much pressure from all the big players in the hunting community,to only shoot mature trophy bucks,they tend to make you feel bad if you shoot something less than a trophy and I for one think we should encourage anyone to shoot what makes you happy and if you are lucky enough to have a place and the means to take trophies every year then please don't make others feel bad when they take something that does'nt meet "your high standards" deer hunting is not created equal for everyone.I would like to see all those trophy hunters hunt a few seasons with me and still feel the way they feel about what a trophy truly is.I have killed some good bucks and still let deer walk every season,but the bucks I kill are nothing, as far as inches go, to the ones I see in the magazines and on tv and on all the packing that products come in.I will always give a hunter props for whatever they choose to kill.

i agree, a life was lost to let another survive, so dont be ashamed

Amen!

Dan

Yes sir, well put!

"There should not be any "it was only"."

Damn straight, if someone is going to use that line, they should not have shot in the first place. Any animal you are FORTUNATE enough to take, you should be FORTUNATE enough that you had the opportunity.

I can't agree more. You go out into the wild, where our quarry lives. A place where evolution has created creatures that have learned to survive. Lets face it, in nature stupid animals don't usually live long enough to pollute the gene pool. The smart ones that live are the ones who procreate and pass their genes to following generations. They might not have the best eyesight, but it's not bad either. They just can't distinguish certain colors like blaze orange. Deer have ears which are shaped like parabolic radar dishes, and they don't suffer hearing loss from listening to loud rock music or shooting guns. Since they live in the woods a deer knows what everything sounds like that belongs in the woods. Then there's that sense of smell; if deer were trainable, prison wardens would use them to track escaped prisoners or maybe we could teach them to point pheasant and quail.

A really nice rack is a great bonus, every deer is a trophy. :happy0001:

amen...
anything around here w/ the bow is a trophy in my eyes!~!!!

I'm with you. I'm looking for my first deer this year, and I find I'm working my butt off to learn enough to allow me to get one. When I do I'll be proud no matter what it is.

YES! Could not agree more with all of the above.

I shot a doe opening day wooooo Lol
I feel ya brother

FUN FIRST........Too many outdoorsmen loose sight of what we all love about the outdoors. Call it peer pressure or whatever.........

Whatever you do in the great outdoors, HAVE FUN DOING IT! Forget the pressure to perform......HAVE FUN!

I agree!The first deer I took with a bow was a doe and I was as proud of that doe as I would be if that deer was a 12 point.
What I loved about it was it was a very humane kill.The deer turned and walked about 5 yards then stopped and fell over dead.
Some area's just do not produce big racked bucks as well as others.They need calcium in there diet.
My grandfather said the only thing antlers are good for is stirring the soup.
I would like to add that I learned about 85% of what I know about bowhunting right here on this web site.I asked alot of questions and they were all answered.Your a great group of people.Thanks

Saw this thread and I just happened to have taken my FIRST achery buck and am darn proud of him! First person's I called or tried to call on cell was Burniegoeasliy and The Rev when he hit the ground so I am going to share with my HNI brothers now! Photography not the greatest but hey I was all alone.:s3: Look for my new thread...First buck and darn proud!

Okay, I'll post it for ya little buddy.. Congrats. Now all we have to do is double up next week in Oklahoma.

Thanks Bob but got thread up and going....ur a good guy!:s4:

Lair!! You'r just saying that so I don't forget my fishing stuff this time, I know you want me to give you a free fishing lesson.:barmy:

If I shoot it it's a trophy.From the smallest doe to the biggest buck.I prefer to hunt the does they eat much better.

so true!! i shot a button buck and the feeling afterwards... was like i just shot a new world record non typical! haha

thats right

Dam I knew I should have shot that 4 ptr earlier! I agree, up early, out in cold, long days, sore ass, wet weather, often not seeing anything. You are out there so you make the choice on what to shoot. Does good eatin!

26 yrs of shooting does only with my bows I took the jump and shot this Trophy and yes he is a Trophy to me....

COULD NOT BE MORE TRUE!!!! I think any whitetail deer killed with a bow is a trophy in my book.

I agree as well with all the comments about,"it was only a Doe or a small Buck" I'm proud of my first and will be equally proud of my second when ever and what ever it is. I am looking forward to geting my first Doe hopefully before the season ends. From all I have heard and read if you get one with the Bow you earned it and can be proud of it.

I don't care how many shots I get on deer, whether it be buck or doe, or even if I don't get a shot. My heart races, and I am so anxious when I see whatever game animal I am hunting. No matter what the target is, when I don't get that feeling anymore, I'll quit hunting.

I say of you aren't proud of what you shoot you shouldn't be hunting. That is the piont to have fun and kill some trophy animals, wiether your trophy is a booner or a spike. It's all fun.

I guess that sums up my last post "how big is big enuf" in the genral hunting forum

This is my first post. I have been reading them for awhile though. I feel strongly enough about this issue to break the ice. I am glad to see so many agree with PAbowhntr. The world of big buck hunting has gotten to big. When freinds and family tell me they harvested an animal, its the story of the harvest that I want to hear long before what they actually harvested. Thats what the hunt is all about.

I agree totally! Also each hunter has a goal for what is a trophy to them, be it a spike, fork or larger. they don't need anyones aproval as to if its a "trophy".:)

Unfortunately there are more than a few folks who don't agree with this, but they seem to get scarce when a thread like this pops up. I'm still shaking my head over the person who posted on this subject a couple years ago. He essentially said that folks who don't concentrate on big bucks lack any sort of ambition or goals in life. I feel the opposite is true because it is pretty sad when your whole sense of self-worth is linked to how big of a rack you can hang on the wall instead of simply enjoying the overall pursuit of deer whether it results in a year old doe or a state record.

God, help me. I agree with Lanse. I could go on for hours about food plots, bait, etc etera and all that stuff. It's easy to say you want the TROPHY if you live in a land of big bucks, low hunting pressure and all sorts of things. It's easy if you have the land, the genetics, and the money to plant hundreds of acres like Lee and Tiffany. I saw a show today, "Realtree" where David Blanton was hunting a new property. He had 75(according to him) racked bucks in front of him on his first hunt from a stand hung that day on an field. I challange David to hunt where I hunt for an entire season, hell, 2 seasons and see 75 racked bucks. He'd be totally pimped out to see a dozen if he hunted every day for 2 years.