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Great post guys.
I have been hunting for 16 years and I do it for the love of the hunt and to put food on the table. I don't hunt for the trophy. I will let the small yearling deer pass but any legal deer over 100 lbs is fair game. |
Originally Posted by deernutz
(Post 3716403)
Spot on post. I have realized something this yr. I have moved past the have to kill bubble. I'm 30 now and I love the outdoors. It's my therapy. Some soldiers make apts to talk to people, some opt for meds and therapy. I opt for the woods. Spent 30 months in Iraq and had some bad experiences. I want the woods. Can't put it any other way. I realized this yr when I screwed up on a big one. I came home and realized I wasn't mad. Wow 10 yrs agoI would have been pissed. Now it was a cool experience and it was a blessing to have a big deer in that close.
To me nothing is better then a cold crisp morning in the woods. My wife thinks I hunt to much. She doesn't realize I need the woods to clear my head. Great post and more should read it and remember what hunting is really about. |
For the love of the hunt.
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Great thread and great thoughts. I'm all for everybody doing what makes them happy in the woods (while keeping it legal). If you want to watch 130's walk by all day to possibly never see that 180, go right ahead. I will ask that you send the 130's my way though :)
Here is a picture of a deer my dad shot a couple years back. Most would not call this a trophy, but the fact that my dad's smile wouldn't disappear the rest of the day convinces me that it was indeed a trophy. Happiness and contentment are what you make them. And my dad was definitely happy and content with this little buck. rw  |
I have let many 120 to 130 class bucks walk in the past. Mainly because i knew there was a bigger one there.
Then have the task of helping another drag that 130 out cause he didnt let him walk. Not much I can do -just congratulate him on his buck. |
Originally Posted by lovethebigguns
(Post 3716254)
My family and I eat deer as our main meat staple and so I am not a bit ashamed of the 90 pound doe I arrowed the other day! As a matter of fact, her roast tasted like a little piece of Heaven the other day smothered in gravy with a big pile of mashed taters and corn on the side!!
We all have our goals when we head to the stand, to some a 200" deer is the goal and nothing under 150" is acceptable and that's just fine! Mine is to fill my freezer with venison. Early in the season I will usually let the spikes, forks and small 6's walk IIIIIIIFFFFFF I can... As RUGER77 said, had I shot that spike at 200 yards, I would've been more than happy to slap my buck tag on it. The very last few days of season if I still have a buck tag left, fellas I'm gonna fill it with a legal deer as soon as I can! Some of you may read this and say "With that mindset, he'll never grow trophy deer on his hunting ground" I guess if you're idea of a trophy is a 200" deer, then by golly I'll say you're probably right my friend!! But by God my wife and kids and I will eat good this winter!! Sorry if I've rambled! Made up my backstraps from my buck last year and my goodness... that was the best, most tender meat... like you said, a little piece of heaven. Don't know about you guys, but I can't afford to buy the amount of meat that one deer provides. And with the number/price of extra tags that we get between bow and rifle seasons, it's penny on the pound when it comes down to it, and some of the best eats around. There is nothing wrong with shooting a small buck or any doe. We might rib guys at deer camp that shoot a 'dog' of a deer but ya know what, I've done it. Did I think it was bigger than it was? Yes. Was I ashamed of it? No. Meat in the freezer. |
Originally Posted by RugerM77.270
(Post 3716239)
I just wanted to post this in response to all the thread created about feeling ashamed about shooting a deer, or shooting a "small" or undesireable deer weather by accident or on purpose.
When you decide to take a deer the decision is made and there is no amout of regret that will put your quarry back in the woods so be respectful of your harvest by being happy and proud. We should not feel remorse or sad about taking a deer we are in the food chain and we gave the deer more times then not a easier end then it would normally have if it had sercum to predators or winter die off. Also, deer are animals of instinct not soulish beings capable of coherient thought. There is not fear or joy just the instinct to eat, breed, and flee. So once again be respectful of your harvest and be proud because any deer is a good deer. I have attached a photo of a deer I mistook for a doe in low light last year, when I approached the deer I realized it was a spike I normally would have allowed to walk but since the deed was done I decided to be happy anyway. Live it up! Doug |
To me, hunting is about the entire experience, not just the harvest.
Originally Posted by deernutz
(Post 3716403)
To me nothing is better then a cold crisp morning in the woods. My wife thinks I hunt to much. Great post and more should read it and remember what hunting is really about. |
I agree wholeheartedly that the taking of a doe or spike is just as much an occasion for celebration as taking a "trophy" buck. Trophies are nice but hunting necessarily precedes and is of more fundamental importance than trophy hunting.
But-- Also, deer are animals of instinct not soulish beings capable of coherient thought. There is not fear or joy just the instinct to eat, breed, and flee. |
Awesome post man. Couldn't agree with you more
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