Tazman

I have progressed through the years, I killed a monster in 74 with a gun and started letting the little ones walk after that, killed a lot of doe after that and some decent bucks. I just started hunting with a bow a few years ago and am right now back where I used to be with a gun before the big buck with the gun, I will be glad to get my first buck with a bow to where I can get that under my belt and progress, however with the number of deer we have in my area I will still kill every doe I see.

ButchA

Wow.... That reminds me of two of my brothers-in-law back home in upstate NY. They both were big-time hunters back in the 70' s. They haven' t hunted in years, and have no desire to get back into it, no matter how much I ask. The laws changed for the worst, and most importantly, the land has changed and beautiful hunting properties have virtually disappeared. It' s the same with my dad and uncle. They were hunters back in the 50' s and 60' s too, and have since passed on, so they can' t see how hunting land is slowly disappearing little by little. [:' (]

Butch

Gryan

I' ve always believed that we all hunt for different reasons. I even hunt for different reasons at different times of the year. It really doesn' t matter why you do it, if you have a deep need to be out there taking it all in and feeling alive, then get out there and do it. Kill or don' t kill, that is personal too. It is between you, God and the animal.

I can' t imagine not watching the leaves tumble and fall as I wait for a buck, missing the woodies landing in the decoys when it is too dark to shoot and all I can see is their wake, talking at the truck about cutting Joe' s shirt tale, planning the trip to WalMart to buy shells, practicing all summer in the yard, convincing my wife that I just have to get out tonight and that she' ll have to get the kids to practice, finding the best trails for a stand, checking the swamp for scrapes and rubs, drinking coffee in the truck between a morning hunt and an afternoon hunt, my Christmas hunt, oh yeah, the naps...

[:-]sorry, I got caught up in the memories. Either you need it or you don' t. For me, I hope that when I am ninety, I need it just like now...just like twenty-nine years ago. Don' t question why you let him walk. You did. That is a whole new level of being a hunter. Enjoy it!

Greg

wolfen68

You MUST use the doe tag! If you don' t do it for yourself, do it for the herd and for the future quality of your hunts which indirectly does affect you. Last year I passed upwards of 25 different bucks and the thrill I get from that is second to only bagging daddy rabbit. I love to watch deer much more than I enjoy plunking the first legal deer that comes by. Good luck.

txbowjunkie

Just last night I read an article on another bowhunting site that delt with this topic. I' ll be more than happy to post a link if you want it. It is suprisingly simular to what Taz stated and basically talks about a hunting triangle which is composed of three key attributes, Challange, Experience, and Harvest/Kill.

As hunters mature in the process they bounce around between the areas until finally the experience becomes the most important factor. Made for some interesting reading and it sounds like you fall in line perfectly!

Personally, I wouldn' t second guess myself and continue to do what you find pleasurable. If that for the time being is watching wildlife instead of harvesting it, then so be it. Now get back out there and enjoy your time afield.

A.K.A eastwood

see, this is what i dont understand. your saying that you know numerous hunters that have quit and ive also heard that there used to be alot more hunters back in the day when the ol timers were around. once the older guys stopped hunting, non of the younger guys took to the sport and to reflect the decline, fewer hunting lisence were sold. yet, every time i come on this board i hear someone whinning about how there are too many hunters and they cant get a decent size buck and they have no where to hunt. i think its a bunch of crap. PA has millions of acres of state game land...millions..!!! i gaurantee you i could put you next to a tree where you wont see another person, hear another person, hear a car, smell a fire place, hear a dog bark for weeks! i think the problem is that the typical hunter is lazy and wants to be able to go out in thier front yard and kill a deer.

GR8atta2d

I kind of agree with AKA.
We have a camp in Pa and do 90% of our hunting on State GAme LAnds. Yes go into the woods 100 yards off the roads and you see folks in places. Hike back over 1 or 2 mountains and you have it too yourself. I may see 40-60 deer on opening day of gun season. Talk to the folks on the fringes and they see many less. Yes the drag is easier but it' s even easier yet to drag nothing!

Anyhow on this topic, I appreciate all the replies. I am convinced I did the right thing for that situation. I never really questioned it until I relayed the story to other guys and they were shocked I' d let a nice buck walk. But looking back at the guys in who questioned my decision, they are not lesser hunters nor kill happy, they have just not enjoyed the level of success that I have had. Anyway good luck to everyone this season and may your deer be a trophy if only in your minds eye. And that folks is the most important view! Thanks again

Tazman

eastwood you bring up some interesting points, most older hunters are generally from the countryside and most people who lived in the country did hunt, very few people from the city hunted, as a result hunting was a county thing so there was plenty of property to hunt on without bumping into another hunter. When I first started hunting in the early 60' s I could hunt an entire season and never bump into another hunter while hunting, but when you went to the checking station at the end of the day the place was packed with hunters. It was also very easy to get permission to hunt because every body knew everyone.

As farming has become more modernized it took fewer farmers to farm a large farm and as a result many people who were raised in the country moved into the cities for work, but they kept their hunting traditions and people from the city due to them started hunting more. Well urban sprawl and higher harvest rates from less land has led to less land to hunt.

There are a lot more hunters today than there were 40+ years ago, less land to hunt on and fewer people willing to let you hunt, as a result public hunting grounds are over run.

In a nutshell 40+ years ago hardly anyone hunted who lived in the city and almost all country folk did hunt, now there are a bunch of city folk hunting and we still have the country folk out there to.

cardeer

There less hunters, but there more inconsiderate crackerheads in the woods then it was years ago. Even years ago a hunter would respect your choice of spot on public land.Not today even on posted private land they steal ,poach and all kind of crazy things. I understand about seeing nature and being in touch with it. But I can do that in my back yard dont need to go share it with a orange army. If you want a experience just come down here and spend one day at the border of the local gamelands. A normal day is 40 people and 1 running deer.and thats anywhere on 4800 acres. The roads are double parked with cars. I should not have to travel up state to the big woods to hunt around respectful hunters.Anyway It would cost me 1000.00 a season just driving there everyday for three months

JeramyK

I should have been more clear on my post. I wasn' t referring to public game lands. I understand that there are thousands of acres of hunting property out there that doesn' t get touched. I was referring more to the private areas where people just don' t give a rats a$$ about respecting the property or other hunters.