Rack size = successful hunter?
 

I read in another post that hunters use rack size as determining success for hunters, specially competitive hunters. I am a competitive hunter but I dont see what rack size has to do with anything. Just because Joe Snuffy lives in Iowa and his grand daddy owns 1000 acres of prime whitetail hunting ground and the average buck size walking the property are 160"+ and the population of deer is astronomical and he tags one, does that make him a more successful hunter than me when I hunt the open fields of the Texas Panhandle where the biggest buck within miles and miles is a 120" and I happen to tag a 100" buck?

IMHO, a sucessful hunter is one who makes a clean kill and recovers the animal. All the planning and/or scouting in the world is meaningless unless you can do that. I equate rack size to bowling trophies - you can have a bunch of them and they really only mean something to you (and give you something to brag about).

Stop measuring your self worth against others in all aspects of life, not just hunting, and you'll be a much more confident and happier person.

I've seen road hunters busted with 170-class deer. Does that make them "successful hunters?"

There is a lot more to hunting than rack size. I've shot a couple does after long, hard and technically challenging stalks. I take pride in that a lot more than some of the bucks I've lucked upon.

Happy/Satisfied Hunter = Suffessful Hunter. I went hunting last week and had one of the best hunts I ever have but never touched the trigger. Mouth grunter an eight pointer into 35 yards saw a few does and get excited a few times. That was a very successful hunt in my book.

Some people have it easier than others to hunt certain game. My family owns alot of land that hold good numbers of whitetail where theres no pressure. Of course its easier for me than someone who has no land and is forced to hunt heavily pressured public land in the same region. It doesn't matter about how much you shoot or how big it is. If you do your homework and bag your quarry from your knowledge and hardwork, then its a successful hunt brother.

Hunter and competitive are 2 words that should never be used together.

A freezer full of meat and some good memories is a big part of what make me feel successful at the end of a season, but i wont lie, i also want to shoot a buck w/ a big rack too.

In todays obsession with big bucks, a successful hunter is often, and unfortunately, determined by the rack of the kill.

Me myself, I feel that I am successful if I just see a deer. No trigger has to be pulled to be successful.

The only person I measure myself against is myself...
I don't care what anybody else thinks about what I decide to kill.
I think alot of it is geographic. Sure there are some places in the country where there are more and bigger deer.