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Post by BuckMaster on Dec 7, 2006 16:58:37 GMT -5
Well here are my thoughts on this.
I hunt for these reasons....
My goal each year is to harvest a Mature Doe and a Mature Buck. The doe is for meat and to do my part to help thin the heard. A Mature Buck would also be for meat (Jerky) as well as for the challenge of taking on an old brute in his own elements.
Every hunter has their own reason for the way they hunt. Some hunters shoot 10-15 deer a year. These hunter are doing their part to thin the herds which is needed. I only have the means to shoot one or two, for I am the only one in my family that eats deer, nor do I have the time to handle more than a few deer.
It is because of this reason that I am selective when it comes to taking a Nice Mature Buck. I believe in letting the younger bucks walk to live another year or two and get bigger. I hunt for bucks that I would mount on my wall. I feel that a buck at this stage in his life is a trophy....actually any buck is a trophy...hell so is a doe. I don't see "Trophy Hunting" as being a bad thing because you are letting the smaller bucks get big, now if I saw an injured buck that would be a diff story.
But in the end the main reason I think we all hunt is to be a part of nature. To feel the cold air and watch as the world wakes up every morning. To be with good friends and share great memories.
That is why I hunt.
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Post by nybuckstalker on Dec 7, 2006 17:01:12 GMT -5
Trapping is hard work, for those who still do it, have at the hide! And lets face it, we are all rack hunter's, we just eat the meat cause its good:) Thank god it is illegal to spotlight in MD! If it was, i think there would be a lot more idiots out there jacklighting big bucks. I will never forget finding what I thought to be a huge doe, on our property, was a bick buck with big bases sawed off above the hair line. Idiot didn't even get the scull cap!!!!!!!!!
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Post by ohiobowhunter on Dec 8, 2006 8:57:59 GMT -5
Trapping is hard work, for those who still do it, have at the hide! And lets face it, we are all rack hunter's, we just eat the meat cause its good:) Thank god it is illegal to spotlight in MD! If it was, i think there would be a lot more idiots out there jacklighting big bucks. I will never forget finding what I thought to be a huge doe, on our property, was a bick buck with big bases sawed off above the hair line. Idiot didn't even get the scull cap!!!!!!!!! I agree 100%... my entire family traps... and to be honest we do trap for the furs but you wouldn't believe the number of animals you can eat just from trapping (my family is from kentucky) Believe it or not muskrat and beaver are very tasty! ;D And yes I would love nothing better than to kill a giant whitetail every year, but if that was to be the case, hunting wouldn't be what it is today, nor the next year if all we did was kill a deer everytime we saw it. That's where deer managment rolls in. Nybuckstalker, I have seen this numberous times, huge bucks with their antlers cut off at the bases...I think if I were to be as stupid as those who do this, I would have enough sense to skull cap the buck instead of destroying a trophy. That's just what I think of the entire situation.
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Post by THE DEER HUNTER on Dec 8, 2006 9:37:30 GMT -5
How do they get the deer to hold still long enough to saw the antlers off
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Post by brettgerhart on Dec 8, 2006 9:41:07 GMT -5
I must admit, for me, it is hard to let a young buck walk away. My first year, I killed a small six pointer that could have grown to be a bigger buck. It was the first deer I saw that season and I wanted meat. There are other people that hunt there, or near by, and any small buck I leave has a great chance of being taken by someone else at a young age or when it gets bigger in the coming years. I guess I am a little immature when it comes to hunting. I was told that if I would have left my 10 pointer go one more year, he would have been a monster. I guarantee that I would have not been able to kill him next year inless I built a 20 foot fence around him. I have no problem killing does and I will admit that I wanted to kill the 10 pointer behind my house so I can say that I have killed a deer with a, in my opinion, large rack. I wish so much that I had a property that I could manage. Please forgive any blasphemy that I may have committed!
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Post by ohiobowhunter on Dec 8, 2006 12:39:56 GMT -5
brettgerhart, Man don't beat yourself up so much about it. I and the other guys on here don't mean that you can't kill a buck no matter the size of him, we're just saying that if you have land that you yourself can manage then you should be, but in your case, as well as alot of others, if you see a deer go for it, and it being your first, it wouldn't have mattered if it were a 5 point basket rack, you know, it was your first. But now since you killed one of that size, you can reserve your buck tag for a monster.
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Post by nybuckstalker on Dec 8, 2006 13:52:19 GMT -5
Good point Ohio! I still have an itchy trigger finger, especially when it comes to bow hunting. With my work schedule, I never know how many days I will be able to hunt in a given season. If any buck offers a good bow shot, I take it! The way I look at it is, I'm still young and could use the experience. With all the things that can go wrong, I would rather have ten under my belt than wait for a monster just to get nervous and miss. This was the first year that I actually let small bucks walk by without even drawing. I wish I hadn't though! It is a work in progress with self-control. I just don't like it when somebody shoots several small bucks in a season. Just my opinion, but I think that is greedy. The first one is with out a doubt fine but the second and third should be let go. That’s when a guy needs to be trophy hunting.
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Post by powdernut on Dec 8, 2006 14:20:45 GMT -5
Dont worry about what others think as long as you did what you felt was right I wouldn't sweat it. My first buck was thirty years ago and only a 6 pointer and like you I wanted meat. Now that I own a nice piece of land ,I have the option of being selective in what I harvest example today I took my first one of this year a nice mature doe for meat .have been out every chance I could get since the start of bow season in sept. and have passed on many a deer waitin for the big monster to appear . He's out there see him all the time but haven't had the right shot to get him thought some one might have got him but just saw him thurs morning eating off the apple pile .
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Post by jlwade on Dec 8, 2006 16:12:23 GMT -5
the trophy is in the eye of the beholder, my wife shot her first deer this year a huge 6 pointer (check out the pics in the new pictures section) and it makes my deer look like runts but i enjoyed hunting those animals and any other i take, be it a doe or a buck
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Post by Hardcorehunter on Dec 8, 2006 21:33:38 GMT -5
I can see everyone point. In years past I have taken 5-8 deer a season. Giving alot of meat away and keeping alot. This year I have seen a great deal of small bucks and does I let go by. Took a doe opening week for meat. Lost a nice buck in a swamp during the rut. The next buck I saw I harvested because he offered a perfect shot. He was a huge bodied four point. Yes he was not a mature buck but I needed to build my confidence back up and have passed on every small buck since him. Trophy is in the eye of the beholder. When my two year old saw him you would have sworn he thought it was Bill Crutchfields buck. With a buck and doe under my belt I plan on passing on anything less than a mountable deer.
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Post by ohiobowhunter on Dec 11, 2006 11:18:38 GMT -5
Very well put hardcorehunter... I couldn't have said it better myself.
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Post by BuckMaster on Dec 11, 2006 14:23:22 GMT -5
Hey I used to be KING of the SPIKES.....My first deer ever was a spike with a bow. I shot 5-6 more spikes after that, never had a chance at a bigger buck till a few years ago. After going form spikes to a Monster 9pt it was kind of hard for me to shoot anything much smaller, I guess a big weight was lifted off my shoulders having finally shot a nice wall-hanger, I kind of just sat back and relaxed with my hunting. The season is soon coming to an end and I have yet to take a Nice buck...Thats OK because I know there is always next year....
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Post by reed on Dec 12, 2006 10:56:19 GMT -5
I haven't shot many deer and don't get the chance to hunt to often. I am the last person that will probably pass on any deer during bowseason that is worth dragging out of the woods. That said, does anyone think that quantity is often used as a substitute for quality? I have heard many hunters argue that they don't care that someone shot ONE big buck last year because they shot 6 spikes. they kind of use it as proof of being able to get deer in front of them (which is one of the hardest parts of hunting).
And good point buckmaster, most people that have shot quality deer usually start passing on smaller bucks because they don't compare to the monster they had before. Its like being on a drug, always looking for a better high. Once you get used to a certain size deer, you need a bigger one to get the huge rush. But any deer usually gives you some sort of buzz!
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