rybohunter

Very well stated by23856.

wideone

My first buck was a little basket racked 4x4 which I mounted. I shot it with a shotgun slug. That deer is a very special trophy to me. Over time I have evolved into a bowhunter. I no longer hunt with a rifle, but do blackpowder hunt. Last year I arrowed a tremendous buck for our area. I mounted it and it is a special trophy also. I do not diminish the accomplishments of others when they bag a nice buck with a rifle. However, when I show them my buck picture, with a bow across his chest, gun and bow hunters alike readily admit it is quite an accomplishment to bag any deer with a bow, let alone a mature buck. I do think that we bowhunters get more from our hunting experience than just a trophy or two, though.

SW Iowa Hunter

[quote]missing the boat again....

the reason most people get their deer mounted is to (should be to) preserve the memory and honor that animal that we killed! so what does it matter if it was killed by a gun or a bow???

at least thats what i believe. [quote]

Well said,

I think if you have to rate the hunt and animal by the weapon it is taken with then you are missing the whole point of hunting.

gjpwisconsin

IMHO, If a deer is hunted ethically and fairly the manner of finally dispatching it should not matter. If our kids play football in High School (obviously not the hardest level), and win every game to we give them a Trophy for that, or just tell them nice season? What I am trying to say is the weapon used should not determine if a deer is a trophy or not. In that case, If I used a knife to hunt could I tell a bow-hunter nice deer, but still think my knife taken deer is a tropy. It would obviously take more "skill" to take a deer with a knife rather than a bow.

My first deer was a doe, and it is my most exciting deer hunt yet. That was my "trophy" and I used a gun. I don't think that using a gun is just like shooting deer in a barrel, but to say that it is a nice deer, not a trophy is making it sound that way. Just my opinion.

wolfen68

I agree 100%....Great Post!!! Always a favorite topic of mine...can't believe I missed it until now. If someone mounts a gun killed deer I usually just say, "hmmm". I had a bro-in-law that rifle killed a 165 inch buck and had it mounted. I admired the deer but didn't comment on anything else...3 years later I found out he threw the mount out to the curb and the trash truck hauled it away...I couldn't believe it. When asked why he did it, he replied that he just wasn't proud of it and in fact was a bit embarrassed that he had not shot anything that big in years with his bow. He still proudly displays his first ever buck with a bow however, although it in no way compares to the size of the 165 inch buck he shot with a gun.

czc

A deer being a trophy or just a nice deer dependes on the person who killed it not what other people thank. It shouldn't matter what it was killed with a gun or bow. Here is a way to look at it here . Fieldmouse whats the biggest buck you've takin. What was it's measurements because if it don't score over 170 then it's just a nice deer to me but if it scores 180 or bigger that would be a trophy to me. It all depends on who killed it and whats a trophy to them. Some people thank a deer of 150 a trophy but others think anything they kill is a trophy it depends on the person. I've taken bigger bucks with bow than i have with gun. I've seen bigger deer bow hunting than i have gun hunting. But if i would of killed bigger deer while gun hunting would it make then less of a trophy nope. I still took the time to scout them and put myself in a position to kill them whether it was with a bow or gun. it took just as much skill to kill that deer with a bow as it does with a gun.

adams

Wow fletch. Maybe you should swallow your own pill. Talking about

Wolf killer

You got to be kidding me. You remind me of a fly fisherman I know. He thinks bass fisherman are scum that do not know how to catch real fish the real way.

You have a mighty high opinion of yourself. You need to grow up.

Fieldmouse

Thanks adams, I missed fletch's post.

I am very sorry guys for bringing the down fall of hunting. I guess we will call The Elite 8 the winners and move on to the fall fish run.

Wolf Killer how do you derive scum from "that's a nice deer comment". I bet most of your comments of any deer you may have on your wall were "that's a nice deer". I guess the next time you here that you better ask if they mean it in a trophy sorta way.

It's amazing the nerve struck here. It's as if I went and posted this on the deer hunting board. Last time I checked this was the bowhunting board correct?

WVCritter

Well, Guess I gotta get my 2 cents worth in. I love bow hunting for deer. I killed my first deer, a 9 point basket racked buck with a bow after many years of hunting with a gun. Bow hunting taught me more about deer hunting than gun hunting ever could and also taught me a lot about myself. To this day I bow hunt every chance I get until gun season comes in, then I break out the .270 and when muzzle loader season comes in, I do that too. The fact is I hunt deer every season with with whatever weapon is in season and I quit counting how many I've taken a few years back. Bucks or does, it doesn't matter to me or what weapon of choice......they're all trophys because of the memories they've burned into my mind and the time I got to spend in God's great outdoors. I don't worry so much about antler size or even if it has antlers as long as it's legal. I've taken a few nice ones and a lot more that wasn't so nice. Some were pretty hard to come by, some were pretty easy but all were good hunts. I concentrate on the quality of the hunt and enjoy it for what it is and if someone else wants to judge their trophys on antler size then more power to them. Everyone has a goal and mine is to put 6 or 7 more trophys on the ground this fall, gun or bow. To this day I haven't put one on the wall.