disappointed hunter
 

Its not often I create a posting but I just felt that this one had to be addressed. To make a long story..short...Ive hunted all over the southeast with alot of different folks some good some bad. Now we all know hunting land is getting harder and harder to come by and where I currently live youre lucky if you have 30acres to hunt. Im sorry folks but to me the true definition of a trophy is anything that im able to put in my freezer to feed my family and friends. Thats how I was raised and thats how i will always be. I was really disappointed when I heard this guy crackin jokes about a 4pointer this fellow killed. His response was "Man he was proud of that thing".....and laughed about it. My point is all this "trophy hunting" is getting ridiculous ....dont get me wrong its nice to kill a nice buck to show to your buddies but come on meat is meat. I was raised to kill only what im gonna eat. If you wanna hunt only monster bucks fine so be it. But dont crack on the next man when he shoots a young buck or young doe that could very well be his families meat for the year. And to top it off what really disgust me was I heard 11-12 yr old kids being taught this same selfish attitude about the size of deer that people kill in our area. Remember you dont eat the antlers!!!!!

RE: disappointed hunter
 

The big mouth that said that probably never shot a deer

RE: disappointed hunter
 

I hunt for meat in the freezer ...if I get a "trophy" while doing it , then thats great

RE: disappointed hunter
 

Same here, exactly.

For the first time in MY LIFE, I sort of "trophy hunted" last week and really kind of regret it. I say "sort of" and "kind of" because it was still fun and I still got meat.

A good friend ( who has helped me a LOT in getting good hunts) and I decided to hunt a more remote and unknown area. Since we were out there together, we would be carrying out kills together so we agreed on what we'd shoot. Normally, we're both strict meat hunters but we thought this area would present a chance at a big deer. Since he'd been so helpful to me over the years, I told him whatever he wanted to do, I'd help him out. So he decided that on the first day at least, he wanted to wait for a nice trophy and we'd go for the meat after that if necessary. That day I passed up two nice does and a spike buck. Actually, I had decided to shoot no young bucks anyway, so really I passed up two nice does. But I had good shots (steady cross hairs on standing animals) on three deer that day. First time I've had a shot and not taken it. Quite an experience keepting that trigger finger under control!

He passed on 4 or 5 possible shots. Next couple of days I didn't have another shot although he managed to get a couple young does. That plus the deer our other partners had shot filled the meat requirement, so no harm there. It's just that I didn't personally take a deer when Icould have. Live and learn - like I said, I still had fun, but it was an experience against my own persoanal tradition and reason for hunting.

RE: disappointed hunter
 

I'm just in favor of someone hunting and enjoying it. If you want to try and manage your herd with the expectations of raising trophy deer, then go ahead. If you are a meat hunter, then go ahead. I just hate to see a division among hunters just because some don't hunt the same way. Most of the methods of hunting are handed down, and it is just the natural way of hunting in the area among friends and family.

RE: disappointed hunter
 

I have seen both sides of this coin before,lol. There are pro's and con's to this. You pass and you pass and then all the tags are filled by the friends, or sometimes you get lucky and get the big one by waiting. But the more you wait and the longer, less chance of any shot on anything. If you hunt for racks be ready to go home without, if you hunt for meat, shoot what will fit on the bbq.

RE: disappointed hunter
 

ya i cant stand people who are like that... last year i shot a small button buck.. i got so much crap for it, but it turns out that it was the best eating meat! it tasted better then my dads 8 pointer.. his was to tough lol

RE: disappointed hunter
 

I definately agree with you , a trophy is in the eye of the beholder. However I personnaly will not shoot young bucks, I take does for meat and let young bucks walk. To tell you the truth its a lot more challenging taking a big 'ol doe than it is a young buck. Does are a lot keener than young bucks so to me a mature doe is a trophy. If taken with a bow even more so. I took two does this year with my bow and have let a few small bucks go.
But I would never belittle anyone for what they harvested.

RE: disappointed hunter
 

Agreed. Last year I passed on a small bodied 6 point on opening morning. He looked like a young one but he had a nice rack. The next day I was able to bag another six (smaller in the antlers) but he field dressed at 215 lbs. Had plenty of meat in the freezer for winter.

RE: disappointed hunter
 

ZREXPILOT your reply is definitly right I totally agree with you.As for shooting button bucks that is totally insane.Why shoot a button buck on purpose?If you are going to shoot a button buck on purpose why not wait and shoot a doe?I passed several deer in archery season this year and the season come and gone without shooting a deer.

RE: disappointed hunter
 

Thats definetly true you cant eat the antlers, im just as proud of a doe as i am a buck. The biggest buck i ever killed was only a 7 point about 13 inches wide, but i was really proud of him. I love deer meat and dont care what it is, buck or doe, as long as i have tenderloin in the fridge. I get irritated when i hear people knock someone who kills does, saying we should only take bucks, heck a few years of that and there goes your buck population. I actually look forward to does season more than buck, cause i hardly ever get the chance at a really nice buck. Most of the bucks i have killed were spikes, 3's or 4 points, but they all tasted great. Just my two cents im sure alot of people will think diffrent.

RE: disappointed hunter
 

I'll second that.

RE: disappointed hunter
 

I agree. If you want to hunt and kill trophies then so be it good for you that is your personal way to hunt, but don't bash someone for hunting the opposite of you, that too is their personal way to hunt. I remember a few years ago i killed my first buck it was a small 4 point that probably weighed less then 100 pounds soaking wet and man i never heard the end of it from my uncle (which passes up almost everything he sees unless its a wall-hanger). It was my first buck for crying out loud I can't believe some people even my own uncle are so critical even of someone's FIRST BUCK!! But in all truth some of those little bucks need to be taken for good buck management so that people like my uncle will have a better chance of seeing a older, bigger buck. So I personally found the positives in my kill like good meat, my first buck, and it was a step toward good buck management in my opinion.