To the heart of a hunter.
 

Ok who here that hunt deer would still hunt them if bucks had no horns or all had the same size no matter what age?




Be honest.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

I would gladly only hunt does if I could have a guarantied doe tag every year.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

I hunt deer to hunt ,a rack is just a bonus . I took 3 does last year no buck , 2 with the understanding that I would ONLY shoot a doe on that farm.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

i sure would i love the hunt and as a young father my family depends on venison as a big part of our meat. Usually try to get three deer a year.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

I would. Deer taste too good to quit over no horns. Plus, the population would still need balancing out! So, Yes, I would still hunt.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

I am new to deer hunting and the most exciting thing to me is just getting out and trying to find deer. I love just getting out and hunting anything i can. I would deffinitely still hunt if bucks did not have antlers. The first and only deer i shot last year was a two year old buck. I was so excited that i had a clean shot on a deer that i took him instead of waiting for anything bigger. His rack is puny, but i love it.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

I don't care about the rack, I like the venison more.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

Deer come with horns?? Well what do you do with those? Collect dust!? Wooow...

Of course I'd still hunt. Meat is meat hwther it's sporting a hat rack or not.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

If you're just after a rack.......whats the point. If you're just out for meat go to Safeway. Hunting is about making memories in the outdoors with friends & the chase of game................the rest is the icing on that cake. Its a combination of a little bit of all of it, harvest cleanly what youre given a chance to, legally. When I was a kid hunting with my Dad I wanted to be the one who caught the fish & shot a deer. Now as years have gone by I know those hunts are getting fewer as the days go by, I'm still greedy...................I want to see my Dad catch the fish & shoot the deer. I've watched that man over the years land fish that shouldn't have been landed & make shots that should have been misses...........looking back now, all I can say is wow.

My most memorable day in the woods was I sat & watched a nice 8pt(eastern) for a while from my stand, he ate, played with does & laid down like a dog & went to sleep in this field(2 hours go by). My Dad asks "Son are you gonna shot him?" I said I'm thinking about it. I could have shot him 2,457 different ways during all off this time. I watched him get up after awhile & walk off 350 yds into the tree line without taking my safety off. Dad looked at me & said "WHY?" I said "Gorgeous buck but he aint going no where..............think of how impressive he'll be next year!" Dad said "Son your a bigger man than I am." He had the biggest rack I had ever seen on a whitetail that was alive & let him walk away.

Bottom line I would shoot a doe & I have if ts legal. If the land manager wants it done, ok. If I dont need the meat then I dont pull the trigger no matter buck or doe.

I would like to thank my Dad for taking the time to teach me how to hunt & most of all be a ethical hunter. Thanks Bud!:) *Can you see me now?*

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

I like a good rack, just like anyone else, but I like the hunt and the venison more!

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

I didn't know deer had horns, I thought they had antlers.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

I usually hunt for a good racked buck when I hunt. Almost every day I hunt I can shoot a legal deer. We can shoot 2 per day, either two does or a doe and a buck (around 200 per year legally) and I have killed a LOT of deer, so the numbers thing isn't that much to me.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

Let's call this the "Honest Hour" and in that case, I would continue to hunt deer but it wouldn't be quite the same. I love being in the woods, I hunt as hard as anyone I know and I am thrilled to punch my tag on any deer. BUT, there is something special in trying to outwit that magnificant whitetail buck. Some folks continue to say you cannot eat the antlers and that is very true. I hunt NH where any deer shot is special, but we all know walking up to a dead buck with a rack the size of ballbats and a body weight well over 200 pounds dressed is what dreams are made of.....

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

It's about the expierence of being out their, and the life long memories your making. Plus horns don't taste very good. I would still hunt.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

YES!!!!!ENOUGH SAID.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

You can't eat antlers

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

If bucks didnt have horns then I probably wouldnt hunt. I might still shoot a deer once in a blue moon, but I wouldnt be nearly as serious and excited about hunting as I am now. But I would probably turn into a hardcore boar hunter. :)

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

im a hardcore doe hunter here.......it dont matter to me......i try not to shoot small ones...only because id have 2 kill 2 small ones to get the same meat as one big one...antlers are nice......but i cant say i hunt for them......out of 6 deer only one was a buck so far.......and in 5 years hunting he was the only buck i seen while hunting.....the buck to doe ratio in the state is/was horrible....they say herd reduction and AR will help that.....we will see.....but id still hunt if there were no horns.....heck...far as im concerned there isnt any in pa now! lol........i am getting quiet decint at telling a good doe from a small one lol.....heck i did it on the run at 150yds away...made it nice there were other deer around i could pick the biggest out of in that situation....

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

Yes I would still hunt, but as someone else already said, the extra adreniline rush of a big racked buck coming in would be missed.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

ill hunt no matter what ive never shot a trophy deer and it wont hurt my feelings if i never do i hunt to hunt and enjoy the outdoors and if i shoot a Boone & Crockett buck then thats great but im plenty happy shooting a spike or doe and if i was only allowed to hunt doe for the rest of my life then so be it ill still be sitting in a tree hunting

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

i just love sitting in the woods, but why are talking about what if's? There are trophy deer out there with alot of bone on there head and we are fortunate enuff, to kill them.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

i hunt for the meat. i get a couple of deer a year and that feeds me for the year

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

YES...It's all about the experiences the rack would just be an ingredient to the icing on the cake.

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

Yeah i would still hunt, cause you cant eat the horns. Love the meat cant imagine life without it.

Dave

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

I couldn't agree more

RE: To the heart of a hunter.
 

I hunted for 20 years before I killed a buck with antlers worth hanging on the wall. As a matter of fact it was only the second buck I ever killed. All the others were does. I enjoy the hunt itself. The kill is secondary and antlers are just a bonus.