salukipv1

antler restrictions encourage bucks with poor genetics to reproduce.


I agree with the "if I pass him my neighbor will shoot him" is a bogus argument.

SWThomas

Which only matters if all you care about is antlers. Antlers are cool but that's not why I hunt.

Grawlix

I applaud you, Dude. You speaketh the trutheth.

rockport

I gotta say I think this

"I also believe the current trend of focusing only on big antlers does a serious disservice to hunting. Anti-hunters are always looking for ammo to use against us and hunting for big racks gives them something to use. It is hard to criticize a guy that hunts for meat, public surveys show this to be true. But "trophy hunting" is another story".

Is nonsense


You think shooting babies doesn't fuel these people?

You have every right to disagree but to tell me I'm doing a disservice to hunting based on anti hunters? You think I should give up my passion for hunting mature deer because of anti hunters?

I eat every bit of meat I kill just like you do. Shooting small deer doesn't make you any more of a meat hunter than me does it?

I hunt big mature bucks and I kill a few does as well. Usually 1 buck and several does every year......sometimes I get two bucks but usually just one. I bring the mature buck home just like the does and my family and I process the mature buck,package the mature buck,and he goes in the freezer mixed right in with the other deer and we eat him just like you eat yours.

That has never made sense to me. "I'm a meat hunter" well so am I.....my family lives on deer meat.

It seems to me that about 90% of the time "I'm a meat hunter" = I can't get a big one.

Its pretty hard for me to believe if there was a big mature buck and a 7 point standing side by side you would shoot the 7 point.

TheDudeAbides

What bothers me is that there seems to be a stigma about shooting does. It is almost like some people are embarrassed by taking a doe. I hear phrases like “just a doe” or “I can’t bring myself to shoot a doe.” It’s like they feel that a doe is inferior to a buck. What I don’t agree with is when someone only buys a buck tag. Now I am not talking about states where there is a lottery for drawing a doe tag, where you’re only allowed one deer per season, or other similar situations. Where I hunt buck and doe tags are available and both cost $15. I think that the price of a doe tag should cost less than that of a buck though. Why? Not because I believe does are menial in any way, because they are not. I think this because I believe it would encourage more hunters to shoot does. This would help benefit the buck/doe ratio. This would also make a more affordable option to obtain your supply of venison. I would also be willing to pay more for a buck tag to counter some of the losses by lowering the price of doe tags.

I've been busted by a wise old doe many more times than I have a young buck. I believe it’s just as much of a challenge to get a shot (more so with a bow, but that goes for any deer) on a mature doe as it is on a buck. It just seems that some people need to be able to say that they've shot a buck regardless of size just so that they can pound their chest with pride. (Ego again?) I love seeing/getting big bucks, but I am just as thankful for harvesting a doe (which I do every year) as I am a buck. Both are utilized for their meat after the kill.

Do I let every small antlered deer pass? Not exactly. If a wounded deer goes by me, I will shoot it regardless of what it is (as long as I have a tag). I will also take management bucks to remove them from the heard. If I see what is clearly an older and mature buck with poor antlers for its age, I will try to remove it from the gene pool.

flags

I believe you're reading more into my comments than need be. First off, there is absolutely no reason the believe any comment is about you personally. Nothing could be further from the truth. Comments are made in a general manner and not a specific manner.

My point on the current craze for big antlers is that nearly every recent poll taken about hunting has shown there is very little actual opposition about hunting for meat except for the die hard anti-hunters and they will always oppose all hunting. Those that "are on the fence" so to speak generally have no major issue with meat hunting. But, if you toss in hunting for big antlers, the polls shift. Take a few minutes and look up the national polls in the last few years and you'll see what I mean.

Even if every scrap of meat is utilized, which I believe every ethical hunter does, if the stated focus is on "big antlers" then that over-shadows the meat aspect in the eyes of many people. I'll be the first to admit that is foolish, but per the polls, it is what it is. As to the shooting of "babies", I've never seen any reputable poll with something like this. PETA polls are not really considered reputable so I immediately dismiss them. I'm not saying one doesn't exist but I've never seen it. When hunting season are held, there simply aren't any babies. Yearling? Yes. Babies? Nope. Anyone screaming about "killing babies" is probably one of the die hard anti's and you'll never reach them anyways.

To tell you the truth, as long as you take legal deer and you're happy with them, then I'm happy for you. If you choose to wait multiple season for just the "right" buck to offer a shot, more power to you. But, if someone else doesn't choose to do so, then don't criticize them for their choice as long as the deer is legal. I've seen many posts on other forums where someone posts a photo of a deer they proudly took only to have others blast them for "not giving it a few years". Not every hunter is concerned with antlers. Many hunt to spend time with family, or to enjoy the outdoors or to get some meat for the table. These are all honorable reasons to hunt and if the antlers are small, what does it matter to anyone besides the guy that took the deer?

As for me, if there were 2 deer standing and one was bigger than the other, I would take the first decent shot at either one. If it was the bigger deer, I'd shoot. if it was the smaller deer, I'd shoot. If one of them was a doe, I'd shoot the doe as long as I had a tag making her legal and she gave me a good shot. I'm simply not going to get overly carried away with the size of antlers. I've got a rafter full of deer, elk and antelope racks. Some big, some medium, some small. The next set of antlers I get will simply go on the rafter with the others if they even make it out of the field in the first place. But, this is me and I won't try to speak for anyone else.

You and others that agree with QDM are welcome to do so and I applaud your passion and your reasons. But don't expect everyone else to immediately go along with you. Different strokes for different people. Or, have we moved passed that and only your way is the right way? Sorry, but I refuse to accept that premise.

As always, feel free to disagree if you wish. My opinion is simply my opinion. It is no more right or wrong than anyone else's opinion.

rockport

It doesn't matter to me what you shoot. I wouldn't have said a word if you were just defending that. Its the criticizing of what I'm doing that I'm responding to and especially calling it a disservice to hunting based on the opinions of people you admit are foolish.

I don't really intentionally practice QDM . Ideally I prefer bucks that survive to be mature on there own. I prefer a mature buck that is mature because the other hunters couldn't get him. The rarity and difficulty is part of the attraction.

That is really not the point though. If your ready to call what I'm doing a disservice to hunting because some foolish people say so then I turn around and call what your doing a disservice to hunting because some foolish people decide they don't like that either then what? The foolish people win is what happens next.

To me the disservice to hunting is catering to the foolish opinions of anti hunters.

NEhomer

I blame Bambi. Literally.

...add the bombardment of cute little faces and voices added to game animals throughout their upbringing and most kids are anti-hunting right out of the gate.

Reading rockport and flags, I'm not seeing where you're truly in disagreement over much. Seems like do what's right is the rule. I'm going out tomorrow for what amounts to my first deer season and I've set my shooter level just above a spike. I would certainly let a spike walk but if it's a fork, it's on my fork if I can manage it. Plus, I got shut out of my doe tag darn it. In subsequent seasons I can imagine raising the bar a bit..

Why am I holding that fish in the picture in my avatar? 'cause he's BIG that's why. The day I'm able to replace my avatar to look like rockport's, that fish is gone! Let's not pretend that the peak accomplishment in whitetail hunting isn't a monster buck. If someone says they're just as happy with a doe, I'll simply accept it at that

flags

Let me say again, my comments are general in nature and are not directed to you personally. It is kind of ludicrous for you to read such a general comment and take it as a personal slight. I wouldn't know you if you were walking down the street and said good morning. I am more than happy for you to hunt in any manner you wish and to take any legal game you have tags for. It does not matter to me what, if anything, you shoot. Now, let me ask you a question: Have you ever lived someplace where the right to hunt has been put to a vote of the public?

I have. My home state of CO used to have a really good spring bear hunt. Around 20 years ago, a bunch of anti-hunters got all bothered about it and collected enough signatures to get the hunt put on the ballot. For good measure they added on trapping as a rider because they didn't like that either. The hunters didn't take this threat seriously because after all, this was CO and it was CO before the recent influx of idiots from CA. and hunting was a big part of living in CO. Imagine our surprise when the measure passed and CO lost not only its spring bear season but also its trapping season. We never saw it coming and it was a real wake up call.

I offer the above as an example of what the anti-hunters can and will do if given the motivation and the reason to push something through. Hunters are in the minority in the country and I don't care what state we're talking about, the fact they are in the minority means that hunting can be voted out or seriously curtailed. Ask someone from CA about the Mountain Lion season there. You know, the one that got voted out by the anti-hunters.

The last thing I want to do it tell anyone what to hunt or how to hunt. I'm merely pointing out a different stand on the matter and also giving an example of how the constant focus on antler size can be detrimental to the sport. Like I said, look at the polls. By the way, the serious anti-hunters are not the ones we need to sway over to our side. They will always oppose all hunting and we will not change the way they feel. It is the non-hunter we need to keep in our favor and the polls show many of these non-hunters are in favor of hunting for meat but they are not real crazy about hunting for antlers. It is what it is. You don't have to like it and you can disagree all you want but remember what happened in CO because it could also happen in your state.

rockport

Your telling me the way I hunt is a disservice to hunting.... Yes I take that personally....obviously as I am part of the group you are calling a disservice to hunting.

I just can't say I agree with you at all. Your supporting ignorance and knowingly doing so.

You know damn well its nothing but a play of words. "Hunting for antlers" that phrase is designed to sound bad.

I don't "hunt for antlers" the poll is designed to get a desired result.

All your doing by siding with ignorant people with foolish ideas is making it easier for them to pick us apart.

It doesn't even make sense. If you eat the meat you are a meat hunter. The poll is a classic divide and conquer and your playing right in to it.

That is exactly how you get something voted out.