WNYhunter

So i was reading another thread about letting a deer walk and someone responded his buddys camp killing a bunch of deer.

so that got me thinking. I don't hunt the brown and down theory. Where I hunt we have AR in place and take a limited amount of does. And it is fun, alot of guys, everyone sees deer and a few get shots. We have a big party and it is fun.

But every year I stop at my buddys camp, 7-9 guys. A rec room, poker table deer hung in the garage ect. ect. So this year 1 guy said something about never killing nice bucks.

My reply, I miss killing deer. This ar thing is fun and all but man sometimes I just miss the days of killing deer. Those guys had killed 8 deer the first 1 1/2 days and where cleaning them when I got there.

next year, I will do the same thing i have been doing. pass on the little guys and try to put 2 in the freezer. Mabey I didn't write this the best but I bet you guys know what I mean.

toejoe625

yeah i know what you mean on first day if gun if we dont have our freezer full my dad says brown is down we still let small buck walk but a doe or decent buck is going in the truck we shot six deer between four of us i think i like those days best cause we all shoot or shoot at something and the truck is full we all have fun and laugh at each other and every year one of us shoots a decent buck this year it just happend to be me

wareaglecj

While I really dislike that saying - "if its brown its down" - I do get why the concept is appealing. Especially with kids. It is real hard to hook kids on hunting when they have to start out on management property. I have 2 boys and 2 different clubs, one is managed for trophy bucks and the other is whatever the law allows (which in Alabama is very liberal). While they like the idea of shooting a mature buck, they are cutting their teeth on the club where they can actually shoot some deer. Heck, I have been hunting for 30 years now and I still love to shoot does and the occasional small buck with my bow.

I guess what I am saying is that, in my opinion, both practices have their place and to each their own. Whatever floats your boat is cool with me. Have fun, be safe, and remember to pass it on...

salukipv1

Even as a kid I wanted to shoot the biggest buck in the world.

nchawkeye

We farm, 850 acres on 3 different farms, we also eat deer, some kill them and give them away...

Our crops are corn, peanuts, wheat, beans and cotton...Deer love all of these,except for the cotton...We kill 40-50 deer a year because as stated, we farm...

Early and late in the season, I kill does...From the last week in October until the week of Thanksgiving, I'll buck hunt...I'm not sitting in a tree watching all those deer we fed all summer and needing meat in the freezer...

I guess it's fine to go hunting and wait for a big buck to come by, then eating at Taco Bell on the way home...I'd rather make my own burger out of deer...

Sfury

For young hunters, it is important to help get them that first kill.

As we all know, the first kill is the worst kill. It's typically the most stressful one to attain.

After you've made the first one, it all just seems to get easier.

Killing for meat is important. Some people seem to get kill happy though. It's the second group that disgusts me to be honest.

I have an Uncle that falls into that group. Thankfully he's such a bad hunter, and in such bad shape, he doesn't shoot deer any more unless they impale themselves on his gun. He rarely eats all the meat he gets, its processed into italian sausages or beef sticks (they taste just like the beef products you buy in the grocery store), and he never keeps the antlers if he shoots a buck. He just wants to kill something. He hates being outdoors as well.

How he got started hunting was never explained to me at all.

Tundra10

I harvest or pass depending on what I've seen or not seen that particular year.

I let my boy whack what he wants. He scored a button on the Semior/youth weekend with my Pop and had the opportunity to take a doe on a few other days but passed. He said "I don't want to shoot a doe , we haven't seen that many this year."

WNYhunter

This is a pic from 2008 when my brother his son in law and a buddy rolled in from maine to hunt with us. We all had fun without any worry of AR's. Sometimes it is just fun to not worry about the size but rather the quality of the time you have. Alot of prep went into this hunt and 5 out of six shot deer and 1 guy missed. But everyone has memories that will last longer than the meat in the freezer.

Uncle Nicky

I guess I've killed enough big bucks, I don't get real excited about antlers anymore. I'd just as soon shoot a smaller buck, the drag out is easier and the meat usually is better quality.

I'm getting fussier about pulling the trigger on does. I used to buy into the QDMA idea about killing lots of does, but some of the spots that I've had seem to be over-harvested, I'm seeing less deer in general than in previous years.

ModernPrimitive

When I was ( relatively) younger, I took any shot opportunity which presented figuring it was the reward for all the time I'd put in scouting, practicing, sitting watches, etc.
I hunt for meat; to me a deer has to yield a good amount for me to take the shot now. I have been on the trail of a big buck or two and though it is exciting, I consider antlers a bonus.
As a kid I worked 6dys/wk (my choice) in an old-fashioned butcher shop cutting & grinding meat to order so I've seen, actually, thousands of lbs of it go through my hands.

In all honesty, sometimes I simply don't want to kill something & a successful hunt is measured by having had the opportunity.

I will amend this by saying that if, at the close of the season, it looks like tag soup, I am more inclined to end with some meat vs. none.