Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

I feel like everytime I hunt deer I have to harvest something..(that is if I see anything) When or if ever will I grow out of that stage. I have hunted deer once or twice in my early 20' s and now that I' m near 40, my sons want to hunt so I' ve started hunting deer again, but with them... But when will I not want to kill or shoot every deer I see....will I ever get to the so called Trophy Stage..and let them walk on bye. Oh I dont mind shooting doe' s either, I harvested around 12 deer since I' ve been hunting, my last buck was a nice 8 point, during muzzleloader season last year. (my first time hunting that season)...help or insite in to this would be appricaited...Confused.

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

Probably doesn' t help much, but I think it' s different for everyone. To me, hunting is not all about killing, and so I have no problem letting them walk (small bucks). I' ve been that way since I started though.

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

I let everything walk - I wonder why I even bring a bow with me:)

Just do what makes you happy

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

The first one is always the toughest;) For me I simply wanted more(Challenge, goals, etc) and hunting is so many things that harvesting is a result and not a required one to be considered a successful day or season. But the key element is you, you have to do what is right for you and make the adjustment to be more selective.(That may include a season or two of tag soup but if your doing it your seeing game(which is a success), your passing game(success) and gaining towards where you want to be (SUCCESS). Oh not to mention your spending time with your kids and enjoying their accomplishments/excitment (Priceless and SUCCESS). Just start weighting your days and season on different success rather than " I got my deer" .

Good luck!

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

You' re assuming everyone goes through the same " stages" . What you' re asking is really a psychological question that requires some self-analysis. Personally, I never had a stage where I wanted to kill any deer I saw. I did, at one time, take any legal buck I saw when I was young but I stopped that many years ago and started being patient and I have never regretted it. Ask yourself WHY do I want to kill any deer I see? Is it to prove something to someone else? Is it to prove something to myself? Is it because I like killing? What is it really? Getting to an honest answer to that question will help you make the decision you want to make when you have a deer in your sights. For me, I was taking any legal buck I saw back then because I felt pressure from my hunting buddies to be " succesful" . Now I dont care what they think because I know I' m a good, hardworking hunter...and they stopped giving me a hard time shortly after I got more mounts on my wall than they have ;)
Good luck!

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

I went thru the shoot ' em all stage. I' m now more selective but I' m not a die hard trophy hunter either. I stopped competeing with the guys in camp. Who makes the first kill of the season, who takes the most deer, who takes the best trophy. I no longer care. I hunt for me; call it being more mature or experianced or more secure with my own ability. Hunting should be enjoyable. Do what makes you happy.

If you want to try to exercise some patients then try this mental game. Only shoot a deer that is bigger than the last one you shot. After you tag an 8 point then erase the slate and start over by shooting any legal deer. If you don' t fill your tag but see several nice deer your hunt is still a success!

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

I think there are a couple things to consider here....Hunting years and Location of hunt. it seems there comes a time when one becomes more selective and may eventually become a true trophy hunter. This is usually done after spending many successful years deer hunting, when you can have the " been there.....done that" attitude. That is, if they can live with the fact that there may not be venison in the freezer during some years. Also, to me, where a person hunts is an important factor as well. If you hunt in states/provinces with high deer numbers then you may decide to hunt that big buck that has been leaving his sign everywhere. You have this luxury because if you decide to change your mind and want to take a smaller deer for the table, it may not be that difficult. However if you hunt some states where deer numbers are very low and you may go days without ever seeing a deer, then you may not be so quick to make the change. I think some folks work harder at tagging any legal deer than others do in tagging trophy bucks...it' s all a matter of what the area has to offer.

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

Interesting to find this topic here today. I was out this morning and found that my focus was in finding a good spot for my daughter and or son to get a deer. I was also looking for an area where my wife might fill her moose tag. I would normally be looking for a monster buck for me at this time of year. I guess I am at least temporarily in a stage I had not thought of. I am wanting someone else to make a kill.

I will shoot the next white-tail doe I get a chance at so I have some venison in the freezer though.

Robin

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

Thought provoking Ritny,I' ll bet you' ll be a most welcome member to the board. I' m not at the trophy stage;I' ve never had a shot at a big one,so i don' t know how it would affect me. The young ones do taste better,however, I recently shot what appeared to be a doe, but turned out to be a button buck,and I did feel badly about it. At the same time. I' d rather have two does or two spikes than one big old buck with lots of points. I enjoy the butchering and food prep part along with the harvesting, so I guess i' m at the meat eating stage,more than the trophy stage, and there is always the thrill of the successful shot with any harvest.

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

Maybe I can get where I just let things walk, will wo:)rk on enjoying the hunt instead of the hunt, hunting me ...Thanks

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

This was my first post and I would like to stay thanks for responding. It' s always good to hear different views, from a well rounded pool of hunters. Everyone that responded so far has hit the nail on the head. I guess....what I mean, is I should enjoy the moment, dont feel the pressures of having to harvest (such a better word than killing) everything that passes in front of me. Maybe someday the time will come when that big one comes a knocking, until then I belive that I shoud enjoy the moment, and thank GOD I able to enjoy it for myself and my children. Thanks again everyone.

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

Welcome(i forgot[&:]) and your welcome. In the end we all have different goals and reasons as long as the journey to get their is fun and rewarding...we are all just know as a groupp called HUNTERS!

Good luck to all, have safe and successful season:)

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

i am kind of oposite of you. i let everythign walk just waiting for the big boy to poke his head out. 2 yrs ago i let a 9 point walk of course i had fun with him with the grunt call about drove him nuts but there was a huge 12 point stalking him i meen shadowing his every move about 150 yrds out in a corn field so i hoped they would tangle near me so i could get the big one. than gun season and never saw a buck. had to settler for a doe. oh yea that 9 was dead before 7:30 am the first day of gun tah year. no one ever got the 12 so he is still around i hope got a good look at a few BIG deer last year and even 2 BIGGER ones this year scouting so again i' ll sit and wait like always. i will probably just settle for meat again i' m sure but there is always that chance.........................................

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

I' m a mixture. I only shoot larger bucks and this year my goal is 120 class or better. I generally only shoot 1 buck per year even though the limit is 2 in GA. I prefer to let as many bucks walk as possible in hopes that they will grow and I will have an opportunity at an even bigger one next year. Those that hunt our land feel the same way, so I think the opportunity will be there for the future.

On the other hand, I like to eat venison so I plan to shoot a couple of does for the freezer. Just haven' t had a good opportunity yet and that' s a little frustrating because normally by now the freezer is full and I can concentrate on the big one.

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

Im to the point where I dont much care if I kill anything or not, and will only kill something that is bigger than the biggest one on my wall. Cant say when the change took place though. I do know I' m a happier and more content hunter now than I ever was before. No pressure to bring something home every trip.

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

I asked myself this same question, and now I realize it doesn' t matter as long you enjoy what your doing. I have places to that i call meat spots, and places i call trophy spots. what i mean is some spots i hunt for does becuse the population is so high, other spots i hunt have good bucks so when i hunt the buck spots i let all the smaller ones walk to grow bigger, i never take a buck smaller than a 6 pointer. you have to do what you feel good about doing, also i think does are sometimes harder to hunt than the bucks.. hunting any deer is a challenge nomatter if ist a buck or an old doe..

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

I used to shoot any buck and was proud of it. Slowly I got to the next stage and wanted something decent. Now I will wait, and if I eat my tag, oh well. I am not totally crazy about venison (except the back straps and sausage/brats etc) I still have some meat from last year and took a nice 5x5 elk this year (Mmmmmm) so meat is not an issue this year. In all likliehood, he will need to be a wall hanger this year before I either release an arrow or squeeze my trigger. But then again, like most any " seize the moment" type deal, I will know when I see him if I want to take him.

I will by no means look down on someone who takes younger bucks. Although if a person constantly cries about not seeing any big bucks, and takes a spike, four or six every year, well then, they need to look in the mirror. :-)

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

im only 17 and this is my eigth year hunting. i am already at the stage where just getting away from school, parents, cell phones, this computer, SATs, and colleges is enough for me. this is only my second year bow hunting and i grunted in a nice 8 point saturday. you woulda thought i shot a P&Y buck the way i was on saturday night. i have already matured to the point that i dont measure success on a harvest. i have shot a spike, a four, a six, and an 8, (all with shotgun) and i am proud of all of them.

im not in the killing or trophy stage. i am in the " i will take the shot if it makes ME happy" stage. [8D]

shoot straight

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

dont worry about when youll be done with taking any deer you want....thats fine...i did it for 4 years...and got 1 little 6pt and now all i want is another rack on the wall.....a bigger rack on the wall...this year im not even looking at a doe till my buck is dead......dad can worry about meat....and when i do doe hunt its going to be with my flintlock.....to me hunting is about having a good time and things like that not about killing......i mean killing is great and to me one of the best parts to top off great days afield...but if i dont kill somehting i still come out with a big ole smile telling jokes and laughing if im with others.....doesnt bother me at all.......i walked over 10 miles in 2 days easy...probally 15 or more...i walked for hours upon hours chasing rabbits and pheasants.....in them days hours and miles i shot 1 rabbit and missed the only pheasant i had a shot at.......i still smiled both days.....1 was in the pouring rain too!!! and that day i was alone......my dad says im a bad dude for walking that far alone in the pouring rain lol.....i really cant say im in the trophy stage......i just want more then a doe or small buck......a nice set of antlers is what im after......everyone else in the state can focus on 4 points or more to a side due to ARs.....leaving me to tengo with the big boys.....i really dont want anything HUGE..i mean id love to have a huge buck but anything partially respectable will due for me....a nice 8point with a decint spread and mass will due for me......bit i have standards.....so i guess im a trophy hunter of a sort......im not a brown its downer any more......i used to be big time......anything brown in the shape of a deer was getting shot at......id tag it with whatever tag it needed...(buck and doe season run together and i have both tags most of the time so i was always legal) but now i want a little more from deer hunting........good luck

RE: Killing Stage or Trophy Stage???
 

WOW.....so I guess, I will grow from the Killing stage. I guess, I kinda been hunting for the wrong reasons, well maybe. I can tell by the majority of hunters just being out and having nothing to worry about, except what God put on the earth for us to survive on.... Oh now a get it, and I can explain it to my kids as they grow old, it' s not killing that the best thing about hunting, it' s the rewarding time with people you love and the memories you' ll make while doing it.....Thanks for the insite....

Oh Go SOOONERS #!