I hunt for the enjoyment the meat is just a wonderfull perk!!

Tim

Look, this topic is rather ridiculous. The bottom line is everyone who hunts Legally does it for their own reason. Who are we to judge. Of course their are bad apples in our sport, but you can't say that the "meat hunters" are the root of the problem. If I'm bowhunting I'm not shooting a buck unless it is a mature buck with a good set of antlers. That dosen't mean I don't hunt for meat. I help manage the land I hunt by harvesting mature does for table fare. Look if you shoot an inmature buck thats your buisness, but please don't complain and say there are no trophy's in my area. Duh, why is that because they are all killed at 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 years old. Mature bucks can grow any where they just need time to grow. A mature deer may only need 2 1/2 years in IL while it might take 4 to 5 in another state. A 120 inch deer in one state may be the equivilent of a 150 inch deer in another due to regions and food sources ect. If your an ethical hunter than thats all that matters. Just remember we are all game managers, you reap what you sew. Want big bucks let the small ones walk by and grow a season or two. You want meat, shoot a doe, there are to many of them in most areas anyways.

and off topic who hear still believes that a spike buck cant grow up to be a mature deer and should be culled from the herd?

If your serious, you need your head examined!!!

shotgun 85, your a moron...i bet you couldn`t even hit one in the head.
as for the post.
im a trophy hunter as i like to hunter the older smarter deer, i have taken my share of the smaller bucks, but now i like going after the older one.
i shoot at least one doe for meat a year, then i will hunt the big boys till the end.
my only fuss is people like the above , and people that shoot a spike or 4pt just to say they shot a buck,imo if you want meat shoot a doe.
an if you think they just taste better, i got a couple 4.5 year old buck that have tasted better than a few does, just how you treat then after you kill them.
good hunting.
jamie

shotgun85 aka Alan Adams,

You are an absolute idiot! You're a real funny guy! I'm sure everyone will just love your post before the Mods DELETE it? [:@] Maybe you should actually try to contribute to the thread or just shut-up?

Thanks, HNIJustin. Isn't there a way to ban idiots like that from posting there intelegence.[:@]

Thanks, with as much aniti-huting pressure that we're all getting that is the last crap we need to read on the forums!

Actually I agree with Blodg's statement about the primal instinct. There is some drive in us, I believe, and there are plenty of people who do not cary the drive or who have never used it. I hunted from age 12 til 19 before I got my first deer (reasons varying...seeing does when I only have a buck tag, not having good land, etc), and then I came to college and found some good land. But, here is something that I have done that you all would enjoy: I went all last semester eating only the meat that I killed w/o buying any beef at the grocery. Now I had the occasional burger when out with friends, but I sure didn't buy it, and I saved money. If you have a $20 license and a $20 tag, you get a nice deer and you've got a lot more meat than $40 would buy you at the grocery.

Exactly. I hunt because I enjoy hunting. I love the feel of my heart when a deer walks within 10 yards of my stand and doesn't even notice me. I love the feel of searching through the woods looking for those little drops of blood on the next leaf. In my opinion, if you aren't hunting for the meat, but simply becuase you want to kill, that's wrong.

My therapist's names are Mathews and Kong. My bow and treestand. While my whole family enjoys venison, I also try to shoot a bigger buck each year. Won't shoot one smaller than I already have, and will always take at least one doe. Sometimes two or three. I believe Does are better eating, and everyone should shoot at least one, probably two or three to help manage the deer herd.

I guess you can say I hunt for more than the meat or antlers for that matter....