Rack-attack

IMO the Lure of big antlers has been around since the first time man, having enough food stored away, decided to drop an animal for sport. Blaming the desire to shot a big deer on the destruction of hunting is almost along the same lines as anti gun proponents blame guns for all the atrocities of society. It's not guns that’s the problem its what some people do with them, and its not Big antlers thats the problem it what some people do to get their hands on a set.

And I agree - when the NEED for big horns becomes such a lure that it degrades the ethics of some to stoop to poaching - it is a problem. But its more a character issue than a "trophy" issue IMO. There are many, many hunters out there with big antlers as their priority that are great law abiding sportsmen.............I would hate to blanket them in with the bad seed of this sport.

Maybe high fences are a bad thing, I have little experience with them, none around me, and probably never will be. If they took my land I guess it would bother me.....but heck....shopping malls and homes have taken away more land than high fences ever will, took many of my spots. To be honest I would rather a farmer turn his land into a high fence then a strip mall any day.

I would bet the effect of High fences is a on very small % of hunters - another niche that does not reflect the masses.

I also agree with your views of antler restrictions - Still on the fence - and IMO wont do much but for a few.

I just don't see all of this destroying hunting - poaching has been rampant for many, many years. The industry and sport are changing - but for the vast majority I think the love of the sport is the same and still the driving force behind us.

My point was - that if you are going to say "Hunt for your own reasons" you have to include those that are legally hunting in a way you may not like or agree with.........after all they are hunting for "their own reasons".

Charlie P

I do, but will still voice my opinion about them.Like I said he didn't read "ban anything" in my posts.

You made some good points.

Indiana-Eric

and ill say, " If you can get all the ppl that hunt your area to stop shooting small babies, the world will be a better place, now i dont know how hard that would be for any of you, but where i hunt, i could do that. AND ALL THE BUCKS WE SEE OUT THERE IN THE WOODS WHILE HUNTING, WE NEVER SEE THEM ANYWHERE AROUND THE ROAD THAT GOES PAST THE PROPERTY, ONLY THE DOES. WE SHINE A SPOTLIGHT OUT THERE AT NIGHT ALL THE TIME, NOW DOWN THE ROAD 1 MILE FROM THERE, THERES 3 "BROTHER" BUCKS, THEY HANG TOGETHER AND THEYRE big and they stay by the road nonstop at night, until we scare em off. they will end up dead soon probably., but anyways, i let the little ones walk only because i have seen a lot of big ones walking the woods around my hunting area. no need for me to shoot a little one when i could shoot his grandpa lol

mammasboy

That is truely the saddest thing regarding hunting that I have heard in a while.[&o] Don't get me wrong, we love QDM around here, but to subject your fellow hunting bretheren to that? SHAMEFUL!

GaDeerHuntr

This statement sums up all that is wrong with "TROPHY HUNTERS". Statements like these is the reason so many people have a problem with QDM. If its legal...shoot it if you want to. AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOMEONE TRY TO TAKE MY GUN/BOW AWAY FOR SHOOTING A LEGAL DEER!


I personally don't care for QDM, as I hunt for the enjoyment as well as the meat. But if someone chooses to practice it, so be it. My problem with it is that alot of hunters who practice QDM, try to tell you what to do on your own land. I own 150 acres in central Ga. and I follow the state QDM rules,(one buck must have 4 points on one side 1 inch or longer) but if its legal I shoot it. All the clubs around me have started QDM programs and they all tried to talk me into it and when I didn't agree to it certain people got upset. I shot a 8 pointer w/ a 13 inch spread year before last and as I was skinnin it out, some of the guys from the hunt club next to me were driving by and stopped. Well, one of them had let that deer walk that morning and got upset that I had shot it. I told him if he was stupid enough to let a legal deer walk and it crossed property lines then tough luck. I also proceeded to tell him and his buddies to get off my property and that they were not welcomed back. Not every hunter is like this, and the only ones I have had problems with is the yankee hunters out of Atlanta.

deadshot

QDM is a great idea but it also has it's down sides here in mich where i hunt for example there are roughly 20 hunters who bow hunt on the public land i hunt, we tried for 4 yrs to get the dnr to turn it into a qdm area, but our dnr said no period as it was public land.

no heres our problem even though we are trying to manage the area ourselves it is a fruitless effort, as soon as gun season opens everything is fair game as we get people from all over hunting most of which never take there rifles out an shoot on a reg basis. and then they go into the woods an opening day sounds like ww3 we have found countless deer during second bow season that where shot and never recovered ,,

then we see guys loading up button bucks an other small racked deer now i have no anger towards the guy that shoots a buck as long as its legal but as far as the slobs that go out on opening day an blast anything brown just to fill a tag ,, well that just plain pisses me off,

in my hunt area there have been no doe tags for state land for over 4 years yet every year we see more does being taken than bucks, and the way these guys do it is they get tags for a neighboring county and use it on the doe they shoot in our area, but our dnr is so under manned they cant catch all of the poachers , now as far as little ones .. 2 seasons ago i had a big 6 point walk under my stand during first bow season but he had a small basket rack.
well that was in the first week of oct, needless to say i let him walk .. 2 weeks later i saw him chaseing 3 does i watched him for about 15 minutes , then he came within 50 yrds of my stand to my suprise he stooped short looked over his shoulder an started snorting an stomping, when i finally saw what he was loking at i was suprised it was a 8 point which didnt stick around long as soon as the first buck started walking towards him he decided to leave the area ,,

well the next nite i was in the stand an here was the 6 again an he was back at it chaseing a doe, well he made the mistake again of walking under my stand and at less than 5 yrds i took the shot and spinned him, now when i took him into the dnr station the dnr officer said he was 2 1/2 to 3 yrs old as well my taxidermist confirmed the same age thing, so after seeing him chase of a bigger buck and all the doe chasing he was doing i think he was one of the domanant bucks in the area, but even as i look at him now on the wall i cant believe how big he was he field dressed at 189 lbs but his rack is small but still a trophy in my opinion

Deerslayer_37

I get mad when we pass up little guys and you see them jump the fence and not 5 seconds later you hear a gunshot. why shoot little bucks? let them grow to their potential.alot more of a challange. and about getting made fun of for shooting a little buck, if the hunter is a youth or a first timer, i think its wrong..but it reminded of last year hunting in iowa..we went over to the neighbors to see if they had any luck..on the tailgate were three dandy 10 points, ranging from 130" to 150"...next to them was a basket rack shot by their buddy from wisconsin because it would have been big for his area.

slayer

Ol Gutshot

To each, their own. With careful management, a healthier and more dynamic population can be fostered, but hunting is not based on Boone and Crockett score alone. I hunt for mature, trophy bucks. Period. I have taken younger deer in desperation over the years, but I got a good one last season, so the pressure is off. But I am not about to condemn anyone who shoots deer for the meat alone, regardless of the rack size. Different strokes. But someone who says one thing and then does antother is just a lousey hunter. I set the rules on my property and last season( our 14th there) was the best ever. That buck I posted the picture of was #2, just barely better than #3 and #4. I'll get pics of my uncles Ol' Pitchfork and post them. That, my friends is a hell of a deer.

Deerslayer_37

In the last two years of hunting our 640 in iowa, we have taken 8 bucks off the property in shotgun season, plus 3 in bow season(that we know of that havent gotten poached or tresspassers got in). of the 11, the smallest was a 16" inside 8 pointer taken by a friend with a bow, the biggest being a 165" 12 pointer, the rest in teh 140" range. thats since we instituted a QDM policy. now, like i mentioned earlier, our policy is that if you shoot a buck, it gets mounted. i think QDM shouldnt be pressed on people. on public lands though, like deadshot mentioned, if the people that hunt it regularly want it in QDM, it should be put that way. i think hunters as a majority would like to shoot bigger bucks.

Poaching is a problem across the rive rin iowa because all the big shots and rich guys want a big racked mount for their office, so thers alot of deer around here taht get poached for the antlers.

slayer

TXhighrack

mammasboy and GaDeerhuntr:


Why is that so sad?? Around here most people practice deer management or they hunt on ranches that practice it. When I see a picture of a guy posing with a 1 1/2 or a 2 1/2 year old buck, the only thing I think of is "why did he shoot that". Should I feel bad for that? No, its my opinion. There is just no good reason why a guy should shoot a young buck around here, but very few guys do. Most of the young bucks that are shot are normally taken by kids, which is fine, but once they take there first buck they are told to set there goals higher and hold off for something better. All the kids that I have taken hunting, I would always make them pass on young bucks and wouldnt let them shoot until a mature management/cull buck walked out. None of them seemed to mind passing on young bucks and waiting for an old one.

And about taking away the guys gun/bow, that was just a joke.