Tazman

Good post bowdacious, I do not call myself a trophy hunter by any stretch of the imagination, when you have the deer numbers we have where I hunt I feel you are hurting the entire herd by not thinning them out. I do let fawns walk and until the day I have no venison in the freezer it has to be a mature buck before I will take him, I messed up last year and killed a 4 point that I thought was a doe, saw the whole body, no antlers I thought, heck his antlers were pinky thick and barely to the top of his ears.

Bowdacious hunting, be it bow, blackpowder, or gun is fun, it is not a contest for me, makes for some meat in the freezer though.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

MOCraig

No offense, but this sounds like a regurgitation of an article that ran very recently in a bowhunting mag.

I personally no longer get any sort of thrill or enjoyment out of shooting small bucks. I knew it was time to become a trophy hunter after killing my last average buck. I really did not get any sort of thrill or charge out of it. I killed it on autopilot, and it meant very little to me. After deciding to hunt for a P&Y or nothing, the excitement came back. I had a goal, and I had a lot of enjoyment watching bucks and taking does for the freezer.

Trophy hunting is not possible for many people, especially if you hunt public areas or areas that receive a lot of pressure. Some areas simply don't have the genetics and/or nutrition to produce numbers of large deer. I live in northern Missouri, and belong to a hunting lease with 250,000 acres in the three-state area. For me it makes sense.

MOCraig

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Shaggy2

I have patiently been waiting for a large buck to shoot since Oct 1st. I have spent hour upon hour watching doe's and small bucks dance around me.

I have finally gotten to the point where I am extremly cold and still have no deer. I decided that I would take one of the small 6 point bucks I have been seeing however for some reason or another I have not been seeing any deer. The rut is over along with a big part of the excitiment. I now wish I would have taken one of those bucks.

Shot gun season is fast approaching and I so wanted my bow tagged filled before than because i hate to bow hunt in late December.

Don't get me wrong. I love to be out there but I don't think any hunter should ever regrete passing on a deer.

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6ptsika

Shoot whatever makes you happy, as long as it's legal. Honestly, if anything you're doing is making hunting less fun, you're probably in the sport for the wrong reason, and would be much happier in some other "competitive" sport.
I shoot the first adult deer I see each year for meat, then wait for mature bucks, then thin the does out in the late rifle, blackpowder, and bow seasons. That's what makes ME happy. And that's the only reason I'm out there, to find some happiness in nature. I put my standards at a point where I usually see only a handful of "shooters" each year from the tree, which adds a challenge, but doesn't seem impossible to reach my goals. Some years I get the big one, some I don't, but I shoot a few deer every year, and love every minute of it.



"In heaven, even the fish have antlers"

JRW

When I read the responses I notice a common thread. Most, if not all, are hunting and deciding what they do or don't shoot based on their own personal satisfaction...and that's good to see.

If sending an arrow through a basket-rack eight or doe doesn't make you want to jump for joy, you probably shouldn't do it. If holding out for nothing but "wall-hangers" makes hunting less enjoyable, again...you probably shouldn't do it.

What's best about this thread, thus far, is that no one's belittling anyone else based on the deer they choose to take.

JRW

Hucklburry

My personal goal is a buck with a spread outside his ears. I know there is a nice 10 pt and a 14+ out where I hunt. I let "Pete" walk. he is a nice 8pt with a big body, but his spread is about 1" inside his ears. I had him in my sights during gun, and had him at 9yds during bow. It was nice to see he made it thru the first 7 days of gun season, hope it makes it thru the rest.

I agree though, hunt what makes you happy. I personally would love to hear someone let bucks walk and shoots does, but if the buck makes ya happy, go for it. Clean honest kills are the most important thing to me.

--Jim

BenfromVa

Good for you!!!!!! I have taken, now 68 deer with a bow, three so far this year, the latest was a 4 point last Monday night. I still came home excited, I still called all my hunting buddies on my cell on my way home. I am really wanting this Piebald I saw on Saturday,but if I don't......... so be it. I love the hunt and every animal so far has been MY trophy. When they no longer are concidered trophies to me, I'll give it up for good.

Hunting ; an act of love for nature guided by the strongest spiritual forces.
http://www.adventuresoutdoors.freehomepage.com/

BOWFANATIC

Good for you Bowdacious!<img src=icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle> Getting enjoyment out of hunting is the most important thing! If your into big racks , good for you. If your into small racks , good for you. Like shooting does only , good for you.
There have been a few comments in this thread that could be taken as a shot at trying to belittle experienced hunters for shooting small bucks<img src=icon_smile_dissapprove.gif border=0 align=middle>
Whatever gives you the most enjoyment out of hunting , go for it , just dont belittle those that get enjoyment where you dont.

Those Kansas 1 1/2 year old bucks must be real stupid. If you try calling in a 1 1/2 year old buck in Wi by saying &quot;come here boy&quot; or whistling , your gonna be in for a long day