Whether you're new here or have been here from the beginning, be proud of what you kill. Stop starting off with.... not the biggest, but,... wasn't the one I thought it was, but.... was going to hold out but... You killed what you killed because it was time to kill. Own it, love it and eat it. 99.2% of us do not judge, the rest are just A-holes. Kill it, post it, eat it...
Wish this was the norm at every hunting social media platform. As long as you have a tag and legally take an animal it’s not an issue what you shoot/kill. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Disagree. If when you walk up to an animal you think you probably should of held out for something bigger then maybe you should have. Only person who can make that call is the person with the tag. Nothing wrong with owning it. I would hope you are gona eat it regardless. Just don’t let other people tell you how to feel about it. It’s your hunt. If you shoot one and are proud of it don’t let a a-hole change your opinion Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I love this thread and appreciate you guys here as a hunting community. I shot a nice 9 pt one year the UPS guy that trophy hunts said " nice deer imagine what he'd look'd like next year". That comment stuck with me and always will. Liked the guy actually but he tainted my opinion of him that day.
I have a guy at work that’s the same way. Always saying should have let it get bigger, imagine what it would have been etc. Drives me crazy. I don’t hunt the same property as him so why should he care. I don’t even live in the same county. Not everyone is in it for the trophy and not judging those who have the time to hold out to shoot a big buck. I’m in it for the experience, the meat in freezer and time in the woods. I don’t get to hunt very many days with life’s other commitments so I don’t let many deer if any pass. I appreciate this forum because I think most of us are here for the same reason. We enjoy hunting, and helping others get the same enjoyment out of it.
Jealousy is an evil When I was in a big lease with 30 plus guys and someone shot a nice buck it would invariably be said " imagine what it would have been" I've heard it said that to kill any buck is a trophy with stick and string. To all those jealous Practice what you preach, and bite your tongue!
Lots of great comments! I find that the older I get the more I could care less about only shooting a good buck. I've always enjoyed eating wild game, but more and more I find myself looking forward to making jerky, sausage, etc. out of it. With only one tag a year and a long season I do hold out for a while, but it is more because I want to keep having the excuse to go sit in the woods. For the last 8 years or so I hardly ever pick up a CF, I simply enjoy trying to get closer to them, so the bow or muzzleloader go with me. If I can shoot something with archery or a patched roundball, I'm pretty darn satisfied. My normal routine these days seems to be hold out for a good buck and then shoot a doe at the end of the season. I'm just fine with that.
Think about Joe, he busts his ass every year and will go an entire season without even seeing a deer. Many of us are lucky to have the choice to hold out for "something bigger"; my favorite deer I've ever taken is still the big nanny doe I shot from the ground.
No qualms with that, I have no problem with someone beating themselves up for not holding out or second gueasing. We've all done that. I'm talking about people that post up about their kill and start it off with an apologetic like reasoning for it, like they are expecting to be criticized for their kill rather than congratulated because it's not up to everyone elses standards or something.
Here is the deal for me. I do not shoot small bucks for a few reasons. 1. we have an antler size restriction on my property. 2. I have big bucks that live where I hunt and I have 3 buck tags. and i can kill as many does as i want. So small antlers are useless to me. 3. and most important, if you want big bucks to hunt don't shoot the small ones...that's basic knowledge. With all that said, yes, be proud of what you shoot and make no excuses for it.. I don't "hunt" for big bucks. I hunt deer. Most of the time I kill does, every once in a while I get a nice buck. I am an opportunist. I don't name deer, I don't hunt one specific deer, and I don't give a rat's ass what the score is. The whole thing with score is out of hand...Guys measuring the damn thing before they can even get a tag on it or get it out the woods... geez, show some respect for the animal and our community!
I actually can 't blame them. I was on another site and posted many more buck cell cam pics than I do now. I posted one 8 and happen to say hope he makes it to next year. Which I actually felt at the time. Well no deer and gun rolls around. I watch this 8 pt jump my fence and immediately shoot into my woods. Nice body, nice rack, and meat! I estimated where he would go and took aim with my 20ga at an opening and waited. He came in perfect and at 80+ yrds. Shot. He went 60 or so yards and piled up. I was really proud of that shot and posted the kill. One guy noticed it was the buck I had posted weeks earlier...Well the absolute pile on that he initiated by guys on that site was epic! So anyone that has gone through such a thing, I understand doing a self flogging first to avoid the public one some sites see. We all like to share success and want to share, its one reason we are on sites. This site has hunters not sportsman IMO
The only problem I have with it if it comes with an excuse like well I shot it because there are no big ones in my area, or if I did not shoot it a neighbor would.
I watched the latest hunting public. He made a decision and everyone was happy and excited for him. THAT is what hunting should be. That said...I guarantee their were a whole lot of guys out their thinking and maybe saying " Too bad......... "
My grandpa would shoot nothing but yearlings. We would all go deep into the woods looking for that old bruiser and he would sit on the front porch drinking Sanka instant coffee. He was always done with gun season about twenty minutes after it opened. My point, shoot what you like and be proud of it, legally of course. His pride was always in his sausage making and cooking the absolute best sour roast, Sauerbraten, you've ever had. He got annoyed one year bc this big old buck kept chasing the button buck he was trying to shoot..
Clearly those dudes don't understand the concept of hoping a deer makes it a year doesn't necessarily mean you wouldn't be happy with them. Shoot, I have bucks each year I hope never give me a shot because I know I'd be tickled with them, but fully know one more year is the year they are gonna really become something "special"
I miss when hunting was a community type thing ( hunting camp) Now don't get mad at this guys read the whole thing This all changed with bow hunting becoming popular. Bow hunters were and to a point still are lone hunters. It was an accomplishment for a BH to take any deer with a bow. Then equipment advancements pushed the bar to bigger rack, then to older deer. In the mean time more guys entered the scene and media showed up . A flood of " shows" that pushed the big buck narrative. Here comes the sports narrative in that sports being competitive. It went from hunters being competitive with them selves, to being so with other hunters. A bias between gun and bow hunters reared it's head. Then in all that, the " science " was pushed... It started with shoot those doe to get that big buck and save all the woods. This went right to where I knew it would. Ooopppss we went too far and now we see few deer of any age..ya doe birth future bucks and breeding doe duh.... Then ooppss maybe we need to actually cut timble and reduce canopy to save woods. So we started seeing a reverse on some shows doe shooting. Deer births regulate to their habitat, like all animals. Yes they need help in this with hunters but, by general #'s not age groups. Are my statements " science" No, they are watching #'s rise and fall due to weather, DEC blunders, hunter #'s and habitat changes . This especially in farm country,which can change yearly. Many, many years in the woods,watching and reading. I do like seeing the community atmosphere of deer camp coming into the bow hunting community. Guys and gals coming together as a group effort to hunting in bow as well as gun. Teach our young hunters to take pride in a great shot and quick kill on what ever deer they choose for that is the real trophy you receive. Set your own goals and be happy with those accomplishments. Be happy and supportive of other hunters accomplishments what ever they are. We are NOT SPORTSMAN competing with others. We are all hunters competing with our selves and the animal we hunt.
the worst thing I have seen on tv is deer farms...kieth warren...can't stand him. who in their right minds wants to scientifically change the genes of their local herd? Maybe some do but I think it's not natural
Embrace the hunter you are and the hunter another is...if you can do neither, please take up fishing - hunting shouldn't be your thing. (Signed - every hunter) *operating under the assumption of legal being assumed
