hunting becoming a competition
 

Anybody else have a hunting buddy that tells you what you need to shoot? I have a couple of friends that I swap hunting stories with, show them my buck, vice versa. The past few years, I feel like I am listening to a QDM seminar every time I take a deer to show them. My goals for hunting are:

1) Have fun.
2) Take a better deer than I did last year.
3) Take a doe or 2 every year.

Thats it. I don't shoot fawns or spikes. Sometimes basket racks are in trouble when they catch me in the wrong mood. I eat what I kill, but I'm not just out there for the meat. We don't hunt the same ground, so it shouldn't bother them what I shoot, IMO. Its too the point when I kill a deer, I show it to the wife and kids, take a few pics, and head to the butcher. Am I the only one who is tired of hearing "Nice cull buck?"

RE: hunting becoming a competition
 

Do you mean aside from here ? ;)

The only one I compete with is the deer , anybody else ain't doing my hunting for me so what they think is their own opinion .

RE: hunting becoming a competition
 

Sounds to me like you're the one that needs
to be giving lessons.:) Keep up the good work,
try to pass on what you believe and ignore
what you want no part of. I doubt you'll change
them as they've gotsupport groups all over;)

God bless,
PK

RE: hunting becoming a competition
 

That's what I do, if people want to come and see it, they can come over and see it. I don't drive it around or anything like that. This goes for all of my deer, P & Ys included. Times have changed around here, it used to be fun with a deer in the back of your pick up, and having people admire it. But where I live, if you do that now, they'll say "what is that?" Then you'll hear "Awe!!! poor little bambi!" So I kinda keep it low key myself. A couple of pics from the digital camera, a couple of clicks of the mouse and all the people important to you know what you shot.

RE: hunting becoming a competition
 

Hunt for you ,heck with the others opinion.

RE: hunting becoming a competition
 

hunting is only a competition if you let it get that way. I only compete with myself and the deer. Yes, I want to shoot a mature buck. Notice I didn't say record book. I do that to make it more challenging for myself because I hunt a lot and where I hunt if I would shoot a 1.5 or 2.5 year old buck I would be done in early October. I must admit though, I do wish more people would pass on the yougner bucks and yes it is so that there would be more big ones, but if you don't want to it isn't going to make me mad or anything. I enjoy hunting mature deer because they are smarter and thus harder to get. That is just me though and I don't show anything off, except last year I did to my old man because it was the first time ever that I shot one bigger than him

RE: hunting becoming a competition
 

Just thought of this, but what our group does is whoever gets the biggest animal has to buy dinner at a nice restaurant for everyone else and their significant others. You wouldn't believe how hard you end up rooting for each other. Of course, some of these guys are so cheap I swear they would pass on a big one just to avoid buying dinner.

RE: hunting becoming a competition
 

If you are happy, don't worry about what others think. Lots of people are happy shooting quail, doves, raccoon, coyote and other animals and could care less about a deer. To each his own.

RE: hunting becoming a competition
 

You definitely have the right attitude. If you're happy with yourself, that's all that matters.

If you're friends remind you ofyour "cull bucks"', have them come to NH/Maine and cull some of ours. I suspect they would be lucky just to see something cull-able. ;)

RE: hunting becoming a competition
 

I hunt for me and my family. I used to enter big buck / big doe competitions every year and found myself setting unrealistic goals and the fun level really dropped.
I hunt for the pure enjoyment of the sport. I eat what I kill and I also don't drive around showing off. A deer is a deer and if your fortunate enough to get a trophy be proud but do it in the proper way.