Trophy or meat?
 

In my ignorance, I've always assumed that about half the deer hunters out ther hunt for venison, and half for the rack. Where do you all fit in?

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

If I am not going to clean it, cut it up and eat it I am not going to shoot it. I do not shoot for others. If it happens to have a great rack then its Iceing on the cake.
Rick

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

Mostly meat. All this 150/160/170 class, twenty something inch spread trash has about driven me up the wall. I remember when deer hunters asked how much the deer weighed and not what its antlers scored. It's great to get a big buck with a big rack, and the scores can be interesting, but it's becoming the major factor in deer hunting these days..."plant this stuff for bigger racks, kill that deer because his rack will never be big," and yada yada yada. I harvested two deer this season - an average size 5 point and a doe that dressed at 94 pounds. I have lot's of meat, and I'm a satisfied hunter. Maybe someday I'll kill that buck of a lifetime and that will raise the bar for me a little, but for now, I am happy for the experience and I'll take the first decent deer I see.

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

I like to have my cake and eat it too, so I'll take both please:D

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

Ditto on that. Always let the "kids" walk away, let'em grow up and grow wise to give a real challenge in years to come.

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

I hunt to fill the freezer. If it has a nice rack on it, that is a bonus. I won't shoot small bucks though. We have way too many does around here to be shooting the young bucks. I let several smaller bucks (less than 8 pts.) walk by me this year so they can be bigger and smarter next year. I did shoot a medium sized 8 pt. that I normally would have let go, but it had a broken leg where someone else had shot it a few days earlier. Ugh, I hate when that happens.[:'(] In my book, a doe fills the freezer just as well as a buck, and it helps correct the buck to doe ratio. I would be just as happy filling all of my doe tags and never shooting a buck until the ratio is corrected. This year I shot 3 does and one injured buck. I'll bet they all taste the same!:D

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

I hunt primarily for the meat. From years of experience, I would rather harvest a young buck or a doe if it is legal. I killed some nice rack bucks in my youth from some very remote wilderness areas. Hard drags and carries. When I got home with the meat of older rutting bucks, I found it to be rather tough and sometimes unpalatable. Give me a youngun' anyday.

Clint

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

It all depends on how much meat is in the freezer with my son hunting now if he gets his then usually only hunt for something larger.

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

:D

Just give me the cake - I won't even eat it on you - just stick it on the wall

I'm on a diet;)

I heard big Racks have zero calories:D:D

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

I'm a meat hunter by choice. And I choose Venison over Beef.

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

Meat is always #1 in my books but if comes with a nice rack, that much better.;)

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

Meat first, rack second

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

contrary to popular belief ................. Trophies have meat too!! So both simultaneously.;)

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

I have to say that I agree with almost all of you, especially Plainsman & davidmor.

Rack-Attack, sounds like you don't eat venison? Well, more for us

If given a choice, the youger the meat, the better the taste. At least that has been my experience. I would much rather let all of the small bucks (small-mid eights and under) go/grow. Hopefully, I get a shot at him later on when he's reached his full potential. I believe patience pays off in the long run. I underdstand that some hunters don't have such an abundance. Therefore, they take what they can get. I've been there before. In that case you have to take what you can get and be grateful for it.

Anyway, If you take as many does as you can, then you'll be rewarded with a better buck:doe ratio and more competition among those big boys for the remaining ladies! More competition could result in bucks coming off of their beds earlier in the evening and staying up a little longer in the morning? That's me being an optimist;)

Here's my question to you all..........

Since I'm/we're talking about great taste. Would you find it ethical to shoot a fawn? I'm not guilty of it, but boy that has got to be the ultimate in venison????

No one likes to put his deer over the shoulder for all of the guys at camp to see, but who's got the real trophy? I guess it depends on your definition of "trophy".

Bn'R

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

here in NJ, you have to shoot a doe before a buck, so by the time i get a shot at a buck i have 1-2 does in the freezer. and as for the size, ill shoot if i feel like getting out and having to trail and gut it. if its a big buck, i usually have a hard time turning that down. but if its cold, rainy, and getting dark fast, or i have plans and its only a small spike or a doe, i could care less.

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

wow I never knew that. That's strange. How in the heck do they monitor that?

RE: Trophy or meat?
 

every deer shot in n.j. has to be taken to a check station. check in a doe, then you can shot your buck. but not all zones are earn-a-buck zones. most zones are also unlimited does. legally take as many as you can. [and that is really messing up the hunting] deer are hunted here for 5 months.