After Atlas'thread, I have to ask this. Do any of you get sick of so much talk about the age of bucks and this obsession with killing mature deer and only mature deer? everything has to be measured and discussed and guessing the inches before we shoot?? Im ok with it for the most part, but it seems like it takes the fun out hunting sometimes...I mean guys are so driven to kill a 150, 170, 190" buck that it becomes a job to them, they become a slave to it so to speak.. I love to shoot big bucks just like the next guy, but does everything have to revolve around inches and age??
I don't know. It's been discussed numerous times before, and while I feel some do not really enjoy hunting, rather they do it to fulfill an "image," I feel many find the constant "upping" of their standards is just as fun as is the hunt itself for the average Joe. Hunting is a personal activity, and as long as I'm happy, it doesn't bother me what others wish to do. The only time I will ever take notice and concern for others actions is when those actions are detrimental to our sport in general.
Not in my world. Dont get me wrong, i would love to kill large scoring or mature bucks but i'm not so sure it possible on the properties i hunt. Atleast not on a consistent basis. I just try to kill the best deer i have access to.
I don't get sick of it but, then again, I don't pay very much attention to it. I pay attention to the threads that discuss hunting techniques and in some of those the techniques are geared for mature, "big" bucks. The techniques work on other deer too so I don't really focus on the "mature deer" aspect of it, just the nuts and bolts of the different hunting techniques and styles for different areas.
I never get sick of it, it's what I live for! Inches and age are just part of the big picture. As a matter of fact it's one of the parts I like the best! Big bucks!
I dont get sick of it, if that is what some people want to spend their season hunting for thats great for them. I was able to kill an old doe this past year and was absolutely thrilled w/ her but you know what I was absolutely thrilled with the other younger deer I killed too. I would definately loke to go for a big buck next year though I dont care how old he is as long as in my eyes I see him as a big deer.
It ain't no big deal. Some people take things in life more serious than others in all aspects. Jobs, cars, hunting, everything. What some people consider a "job" others see as normal enjoyment.
good answers, and very honest ones. I like it when we can have these discussions without arguing. I love to hunt for big bucks, or rather hope that one comes by. I don't care really what one guy does, I do get sick of the TV shows and movies that basically have a damn measure tape on the buck the second after it hits the ground.. I get sick of the constant scrutiny of QDM. I know guys like GregH live for hunting mature bucks, and he's damn good at it. I take advice from him, often, and Greg has every right to do it. But Greg does not look down on those who do not hunt this way. Im not saying that we as hunters shouldn't practice some sort of control when it comes to shooting bucks, I pass on small bucks every year, passed on 11 this year, however,I would have killed a 2 1/2 yr old 8 pt with a 16" spread graveyard dead if he would have offered a shot or came by..is it the best way to hunt?? Probably not. But in Va we don't have the luxury of passing on deer like that b/c as soon as the hounds hit the ground everything is shot. If a deer makes past 3 yrs old, it's b/c he is very smart or not hunted.
Nah. It's the same in every sport. Look at baseball......there's a stat for every damn thing you can think of, and they're always used to measure one against the other..... I'm shooting what I want to shoot this year, and I'm not gonna so much as give a first thought as to what anyone else thinks about it. If we're not out there doing this for ourselves.......What's the freakin point??
I only get sick of myself when I make idiotic judgemental comments about people. I do not get sick of anyone else and their motivations. Although it can be tough in the places I hunt, I can honestly say I am happy that I hunt in a hard place to kill big mature deer. It has made me really step back and reflect on what I am doing and why I am doing it. I know why I am hunting, it is because I love it. No more no less.
practice control b/c if you run out tags jeff you don't hunt for the rest of the season. Simply, the question is do you get sick of all that being shoved in your face on tv or mags?? not really a huge deal and we don't need to argue over it.
I hunt for food. If there happens to be a rack that goes along w/it so be it. Mind you, I have passed on small 6ptr, but that's because I already had a doe in the freezer. If not, that deer would have been down. We eat 2-3 deer/yr. So it's a bonus if it has a really nice rack. But where I hunt, there aren't many trophy deer anyway, so I don't have to worry about it.
Not at all. To be honest I wish my neighbors who hunt their land would par take In this some. It would sure help an area like mine and theirs that's lacking In mature bucks. The neighbors were complaining again this year that they didn't see any decent bucks but yet they had 1.5 year old 6 point and a BB In the back of their pickup opening day of gun season. This 6 point had an awesome 1st rack!! For yourself It's ok, don't do It for someone else. Shoot what makes you happy and If that means setting a minimum for yourself, have at It. I do this every year and hardly ever succeed at It but I'll never settle on anything smaller. You have to stick to your game plan If you want It to work no matter what your neighbors are doing. For some people It Is a job, and yes they have to become a slave to do It because there's very few of these In allot of places. Other places a person doesn't have to become a slave as much, more of them around. When It' all done and said, you better be damn proud of what you shot after that arrow Is released no matter the size, age. I'll shake anybody's hand and congratulate them as long as their happy with their animal.
Boys will be boys...........EVERYTHING has to be a contest. I know most people will say that they only hunt for themselves.........I think that is BS for the most part. That's like saying people play fantasy football because they love the game.
I hear you VA! Where I am in NC they start running the dogs in late Aug. or early Sept. to get them in shape, so by the time bow season is in the 3 1/2 yr old and older bucks are not moving much at all until after dark You are doing good just to see a 3 1/2 yr old much less get within bow range. I am not saying "hound hunting" is wrong...I'm just saying that in my opinion it does make it more difficult to see/kill your bigger bucks.
If it is legal to harvest and I have a clean shot and a tag, I will shoot it. I hunt on VERY VERY crowded public lands and I have hunted seasons and not see a single deer while in the stand. It sounds terrible but the If its brown, its down usually applies in my woods. I did not get to harvest a deer with my bow all season and had the oppurtunity to take a cull buck with my rifle the last week of season. I've been enjoying that ever since, right beside the taters!
Jeff we can only kill 3 bucks in Va and 2 in western Va for those guys, so tags are an issue for me and i would rather shoot a bigger buck than a small, but I have been known to shoot small bucks as well as big bucks, Im an opportunist, and a hunter!! Im really not against what anybody does or how they do it, I just get tired of the scores being thrown around so much that we forget what really means the most, and that is just hunting with family and friends and reaching into our souls from a blind or up a tree to get the good stuff.....
