NY Bowhunter

Very good post skeeter!

I could really care less about score. I do try to pinpoint a few different bucks that I will hunt during the season. I try to take the biggest/most mature buck in my area that I've scouted all pre season.More because they present more of a challenge to hunt rather than a number they will score. I will pass on several small bucks during the season in pursuit of what I'm after. The small bucks just don't do it for me anymore. I'll shoot does for the meat. I'll eat bucktag soup before shooting a young buck. That's just me though. That's what personally makes me happy while hunting. Doesn't for 1 second mean everyone should adopt the same theory. Again.... to each their own.

And to date my favorite hunt ever was on a buck that would probably score 100? It was a long time ago and I wouldn't shoot that buck today, but I'll never forget that hunt. I still hunted him for over 3 hours.Long story short...ended up cutting him off and getting him within bowrange and taking him. It was absolutely awesome. That whole experience got the ole heart thumping and more memorable than some of the BIG bucks I've taken that are like textbook hunts. Set up... wind is perfect..steps out dead broadside at 15 yards.... no clue you're there..... TWAP!!!

longrifle1000

At this point in my life, I hunt for venison. I could care less what is sitting on top of the head. And I consider myself a trophy hunter. The trophy, in my eyes, is any deer. As for high fenced "canned" hunts, it is not my thing. I would not partake in it, but that is just me. I'm not gonna bust someones chops for doing it though. It is their life, an dit's also their money. What ever gives them that warm fuzzy feeling inside is up to them, not me. As for a guided hunt, this is a broad spectrum. From being babysitted every second you are in the field to being dropped off at a stand and picked back up.If I ever traveled a great distance to hunt, I would find a guide service. Someone that knows the area, and can help me by sharing their knowledge, and experience. I hunt cornfed deer in Illinois, I gaurantee my hunting style would not work at all in the Rocky Mountains. Nor would I even know where to begin. And If I am investing that kind of money on a hunt, I want the best chance at seeing a return of my investment.

Ethics is a word that get thrown around a lot. Really it all boils down to each individual on a personal level. What I may consider ethical, others might not. That is why I have always felt, as long as you are within your legal rights, it isn't up to me to make judgement. I'm not the one who has to think about what they did every night.

bigcountry

For me, I will try anything once within reason. If someone hasn't tried something I really don't believe they can make an opinion on it. I have tried the pen'd in dog Hog hunts, and have formed the opinion, that it sucks. Never felt more disgusted with myself. Tried the pen'd in hog hunts no dogs with bow. Well takes alot more skill but still I just couldn't get that feeling you get when you kill a wild freeroaming animal. Tried guided moose hunts and would do that again. I mean if you are stalking a moose, you end up just running up on him no matter if you are guided or by yourself. As usual its mostly luck. So thats pretty cool. Jury is still out on whether I plan on hunting deer in Alberta out of a tower. One, you see some different land, and different animals. But not much else. I have tried baiting and it was a waste of time for me. That was several years ago. I draw the line on no baiting.

DoctorDeath

Jess well travel on down to Alabamaand when you come be sure to use B.R.G.S ..... I think you will be satified cause they take a LOT of deer !

dd

cardeer

We pay to be married whats the difference ????

DoctorDeath

LOL ..now THATS a FACT Cardeer

dd

GregH

Maybe I don't understand this post. I wouldn't even consider a hunt that wasn't 100% fair chase of free roaming animals. If it wasn't, it'd be called shooting instead of hunting. Another thing I don't get is everybody saying they don't care about antlers. BS, Everybody is impressed when they see a big deer with huge antlers. A lot of people will never even see such an animal. I love hunting whitetail deer, I live on the venison that I killed and I hunt from Sept. until mid Jan. For burger and sausage, you can't beat big bucks or does, you get more meat on bigger animals. For tasty steaks, chops or loins, you can't beat the 1 1/2 year old deer. In my case the does need thining out to keep the ratio in balance, so I shoot them for all my tasty meat. Then I love to hunt for BIG bucks. They are like a different species. I think it really tests your skills to match wits with big bucks. I am competing with no one but myself. I do it for me. Its what I like. A personal thing. In short, with the length of most deer seasons a person with reasonable skills and an enormous amount of time ( like I have ) should be able to get all the tasty meat they desire and still have the oppertunity to try for a big buck. If you get one great! If not, Still great, you still got to be out in the woods enjoying yourself. That is what hunting is for me. Some one is always going to get a bigger deer than me. good for them they probably deserved it. But I still feel good about the skills I've accquired from hunting big bucks. Big horns means mature animal, different playing field. It may not be for everybody. That's why its to each his own. Make yourself happy. But don't say you don't care about the horns, just say you don't have the time for such a commitment. Big horns are cool, who wouldn't be pleased to take such an elusive animal?

DoctorDeath

News flash Greg ...there are those who do not care about big horns ..I hunt with two older men in Tennessee that will only shot doe's ...thats it because they are meat hunters....now I have to admit I LOVE big racks (on deer to) but some guys really could care less ...

dd

GregH

Well DD, It's not really a news flash to me about the people you describe, the meat hunters, but I thought all the old timers with that belief had either retired from hunting if not from from earth itself. You get a lot more meat from a 200 plus pound deer than a 125 pounder. Like I said, you can have your cake and eat it too. Shoot all your meat deer first, then try and match wits with a big one. The last time I heard some one say " Ya can't eat the horns ", the guy was from the depression era. No ya can't eat the horns, but ya sure get a lot of summer sausage and burger from those big ones. Most people that I hear talk about deer, even non-hunters, seem genuinely excited when they see a big buck. " You shoulda seen the huge buck that I saw the other day, horns out to here!". When they see normal deer, they aren't nearly as excited if they even mention it at all. You know, " Yeah, I seen a couple deer the other day, nothin' special. couple of does and a small buck." That kind of thing. And what about deer camp talk, Mossyhorns, The Grey Ghost and King of the Woods. Those were the storries that got me fired up when I first was starting to hunt. I'm sure glad it wasn't " Come on, lets get us some meat and don't shoot nothin' with big horns, ya can't eat them!" That wouldn't of inspired me much. I just think that most people admire big horned bucks. It wouldn't be such big bussiness now days if it were just for the meat. The "I just want the meat" guys are the smallest percentage of hunters now days or guys that don't have a lot of time to try for big bucks. A lot of people that say that kind of thing are just BSing and trying to make themselves feel better. If a huge buck appeared in front of them would you bet your last dollar that they wouldn't shoot it?

Charlie P

It's the ones that are raised like cattle that I don't care about.One that are accustmed to a human's.

I will admit this, killing a deer off the ground with my bow, would mean more to me then killing a large racked deer from a distance with a gun that I didn't know was around.

Being able to spot and stalk a large racked buck and kill it with my bow. Or patterning a big buck and killing it. Just the thought of it gives me goose bumps.