zmax hunter

I always thought no question was stupid, till i read this one,...Some people get to hunt for 3 or 4 days a year, maybe fewer,...others are weekend hunters,.... we all have our own standards,..to each their own.

halfbakedi420

i usually find that people that just hunt big bucks dont usually eat all the meat and they gag when they clean their deer..jus my experiance..

Todd1700

I like to hunt big bucks. I am also lucky that my family owns a lot of good land for me to hunt. BUT, persuing big bucks and passing the small ones is a personal choice on my part. Deer horns have only the completely artificial value that we hunters place on them. To some they mean everything and to some people I know they mean nothing. I know people who hunt to put deer meat in their freezer. Period, end of list. And as long as they are not breaking a game law who are you or I to tell them their motivations for hunting are wrong?

It's also easy to pass judgement on people when you get to hunt prime places. Killing any deer with a bow on some highly pressured public place can be more of an accomplishment than killing a huge buck on a private, pristine, untainted Iowa or Illinois corn farm. I've hunting Illinois 4 times now and let me tell you, killing a big buck on private land up there is nothing compared to the challenge of killing one back here in Alabama. Those deer get so little hunting pressure that even 3 and 4 year old bucks up there aren't as cautious and woodwise as most of our does.

If some people waited until they saw a buck that many of you would deem an acceptable trophy then they might hunt the public land they are on for the next 15 years and never draw a bow. Many might get frustrated and give up the sport totally. Would that be better for the future of hunting? A future where we might need every vote to keep the priviledge to hunt?

Want a better question? Here you go. Who the h### are you tell anyone else what they should or shouldn't kill so long as they aren't breaking any rules?

dstubb

I myself am not the type of person to put a deer head on my wall, i'm not knocking those of you that do, but it's just not my style. If i had a log cabin or something, i might be more motivated to pursue big bucks. I honestly wouldn't know what to do with the antlers other than make a nice set of rattling antlers.

Down&OutHunting

I myself hunt big bucks but I also manage my owwn land here in Illinois that i own and im usually not hurting for meat and im just thankful to be in the woods. I have a guy that lost his job and he told me that if i dont want a deer i shoot he would be more than happy to take it. When im hunting and i think of him it makes me want to just kill a deer for him because i know he will take it and will appreciate it. I look at it as just helping out a friend in need, and if someone wants to judge me by the deer i killed because im trying to help someone out then its pathetic. Me and my buddies hunt and there never hurting for meat so we just hunt big deer and when im with them or there with me we put restrictions on what we shoot. But even when we all have small bucks come in and you have a bow in your hand its hard not to shoot it. Its just that rush you get when bowhunting. I dont care what people shoot if it makes them happy then shoot it. Its hunting not pick and choose some people can do it and others dont have the deer herd like others. I myself will keep horn hunting but if the deer i let walk passes by someone else and they see it as a trophy then thats there call not mine. Its just a personal prefrence to what type of deer you shoot.

NYBowCouple

We asked the question for the sole purpose of hearing people's responses....With that said, we (my fiance and I) started hunting together this year. I have been hunting since I was 10yrs old, I am now 34 and its my fiance's first year hunting.

We do not have our "own" property at this time so we ask permission to hunt a business friends property in Rio, NY. His property is small, only 13 acres. Which is surrounded by other private land on three sides and boardered by a hunt club on the other side.

Since its our first year on this property, we are still learning the area where the deer travel and the quality of the deer this property holds..That said, we have only seen 2 spikes and 3 does. This property has tons of rubs throughout and have scouted about 5 different scrapes...We feel that this property is a travel route and possible bedding area for these deer.

The wmu we are in has an antler restriction of at least 3 points on one side at least 1 inch or longer... We feel that this is because the deer population is low in this particular area and they are trying a management tactic to raise the deer population in the area..

We understand that some people are meat hunters and also understand some people are trophy hunters as well...But, proper deer management in any area would raise the deer population as well as raise the quality of the deer on said property. So, if people would let the small one's go by for a year or two, they would more than likely be larger the following years... If you "meat hunt", shoot a doe is our answer...

It would benefit all future generations if we as hunters take the time and actually manage the herd and not kill out of need to fill a tag...

Yes there are many ways to manage the deer herd, this is just one of them.

grahambow

for some of us any deer taken with your bow is a trophy........i've run into 2 spikes this year - both big boys for being yearling and i would've been proud to harvest either one / sad only cause i didn't get a shot at either one...

voodoochild

Totally agree....i know about three....the amount of deer we see...and limited time...im shooting what i want....for the guys who enjoy a big ol bowl of Tag Soup eat up....that soup makes me gag...

virginiashadow

"But, proper deer management in any area would raise the deer population as well as raise the quality of the deer on said property."

If you really wanted to raise the deer population on the property, you wouldn't even want to kill does....correct? If YOU are serious about the deer population, you shouldn't even kill a deer for the next couple of years on the property, big buck or not. For if you are really interested in raising the deer population, then you have to sacrifice. Even if that means letting a big buck walk by, so that he may breed future deer to add to the herd.

solocamcan

This sounds more like you are just pissed because this is the only option you have...hunt 13 acres next to a hunt club, and you never see squat. I bet if you had a place to hunt where you seen deer on a regular basis, this thread wouldnt have been written.