You just can' t argue that there are varying degrees of " trophies" . A little bitty plastic trophy that you get when you finish a season of T-Ball is nothing like winning the World Series Pennant. A plaque for flag football pales in comparison to a superbowl ring. Bragging rights for winning a round of putt-putt is a joke standing next to a guy sizing up his green jacket after winning The Masters. Winning a go-kart race at your local county fair is meniscule when compared to winning the Winston Cup. So to say that every animal taken with a bow is a " trophy" is not completely accurate IMO.

I think the " trophy" is all in the individual hunters eye. To some, just taking meat for the freezer is a well deserved trophy. To others, taking their first buck is a trophy. To those that want a large buck, that is their trophy if they get one. I have seen some friends take their first buck with bow, or even their first doe and be just as proud of it as a guy getting a world record.

[Deleted by Admins]

Definately a valid point but to some, they' ll never drive a NASCAR, never play in the Masters, Super Bowl or World Series so small trophies from the local fair might just have to be enough but I know what your saying as well.

If, and I mean if all the small bucks were allowed to grow, everyone would be shooting Booners, then what defines a trophy if all animals are 160 plus......then even 160' s would be too small, you' d have to have over a 200 to make trophy status.....I know if I shoot a 125 this year, it' ll be my best and I' ll be proud to call it a trophy whitetail to me and make book but it fails in comparison to the Hanson, Beatty, Zaft bucks... and for now, I can live with that....I' m always trying to outdo the last one I shot and I think that sets a good standard for everyone......it' s like the letoff....where is the line defined?

When a hunter fills his/her tag and is proud enough to brag about it, show off the pictures, mount it on the wall: It' s a Trophy period.

When a Hunter fills someone elses tag with a buck or bull. It is no longer a trophy, it is a hunter getting piggy.

I guess where I' m going with this is that I hate to see the impatient, lucky Joe hunter, that has the " brown it' s down" mentality, that doesn' t do much prep work or work at all to kill a deer but yet wants to criticize " trophy" hunters at the same time claiming that any deer killed with a bow is a trophy.

Wolfen I hunt strictly in Va. and I will be honest and say that any deer with a bow is a trophy to me, as you say there are different sized trophies and some that mean more than than others.

Depending upon where you hunt a monster buck may only score 120 while there are other places where a 120 buck is not considered any more than average.

Another thing to consider is the number of deer you are allowed to kill in certain areas, an example is right here in Va., we can legally take 3 bucks and over 100 does, I am not saying I could do that, but there are a ton of deer here. I am not a " Trophy" hunter, there is one spot I hunt right now that there is only one buck I would take there and as a result I will let every doe and small buck walk hoping for the big boy to pay me a visit, I only hunt it once a week just to keep the pressure off.

One thing to remember is one mans trash is another mans treasure, the same holds true for trophies.

Wolfen,

I hear ya and your right. I feel it' s harder to take a mature matriarch doe than it is to take a 1.5 year old buck sporting good antlers...at times, I feel these young deer are just plain stupid....I' ve seen them do some stupid things for sure and I' ve never seen an old seasoned doe do stupid things, she' s very purposeful, much like a veterern mature buck. Tho I won' t criticize someone for taking a 4 pt, I sometimes wonder why they don' t wait and I' ll congratulate each and every person who chooses to do so, via lack of time, first timers or whatever....like I mentioned, I always try to out do last years animal and that sets a standard....like last year, I passed up some very nice animals just because they didn' t beat my 2001 animal...it was hard and I didn' t take a buck last year....that doesn' t bother me, I' m hoping all the ones I passed have another year of antler growth.

If someone burns a tag on the first buck they see, they' ll never have the what if opportunity of that once in a lifetime buck coming by the next time they hunt....that for sure is a garuantee.....you have be in the tree in order to harvest a mature animal and if we tag out on a small one, we won' t have the opportunity.

That being said, if someone takes a 4 pt, wants to post a pic and tell us the story....I' ll be the first one to congratulate that person, eargerly read the story and enjoy the pic......under the understandment it' s a good quality field shot....MATT, where are you with the quality photo thread.

Amen to that brother - get that post up quick

I hate - and I mean HATE pickup truck pictures - damn that irritate me[>:]

Garbage in the backround and...........O.K. I will wait for Matts post

Oh - the trophy thing.....

The greatness of any trophy is in direct proportion to the amount of work and sacrifice one endures to achieve it. The size of any trophy casts a shadow only as long as the road it takes to reach it. When the road is long and hard the trophy is great, and the satisfaction is even greater, no-matter what size animal lays at your feet.

Sorry Wolfen but I will have to disagree with you entirely.

Although what you say is true, it is completely unrealistic for virtually every single person in the world. Even the World Series champs may take great pride in a trophy won in a dune buggy race that was held in some obscure part of the country. No, it' s not NASCAR, but it is the best they' ve done in their endeavours.

Don' t try to tell my 5 year old that his T-ball trophy is meaningless. His face shone like the sun when he received it last year; it still sits on his shelf today and I still see him admiring it from time to time.

My greatest, albeit meaningless trophies, were from 1983 when I was top scorer and MVP in my hockey league up in Northern Ontario. Stanley Cup? I think not.

As for deer, the other forum states that if you wouldn' t be proud of what you shot, why did you? Perfectly said.

My very first deer was a small eight pointer (one tine broken off) that measured out around 115. I couldn' t see how big he was when I shot, but I am still proud to this day of my first deer! How lucky am I that I was able to harvest a buck the first time? From what I' ve read, many guys have waited a lot longer than 2 years to see their first buck let alone bag one. Also, this small buck weighed in at 182 lbs field dressed. Not bad, eh?

My second deer was 4 days later. How about that luck? It was an absolutely beautiful 10 pointer that was almost perfectly symmetrical and scored out just less that 130. It was field dressed at 200 lbs even, only 12 lbs heavier than the first.

I am equally proud of both animals. They have provided a great deal of meat for my family' s nutrition and made for a tremendously successful 2002 hunting season.

I am not trying to start a p*ssing contest with you, just thought I' d share my two cents.

Happy Hunting.

Mike