We preach respect for the quarry and dignity and quick kills and talk ethics till we are blue in the face? Are we reaching the point where we are strictly killing? Are we being glutenous? Now we are talking about taking way more from the land than we can use (Reminds me of the Great Plains, Buffalo Men??) and donating it to someone who will hopefully use it. Now I've donated deer, back when my family didn't care for he meat. I took what I could use from a sinngle deer and would donate the rest as to not waste. But to just go out and kill more would not be my definition of "hunting". I know we are talking of legal kills here and thats fine. If I knew a particular family or family member who asked for a deer... that's different than simply killing in excess and hoping it gets used. A point was made in a previos thread about donating...this is just a counterpoint. Take from it what you will.
If I didn't donate deer, I would only need to kill one every couple of years. We just don't eat that much venison at my house. I get 4 permits per year minimum, I hunt with full intentions of filling all of them. I give a deer to my neighbors, another to a family friend, and have one guy that would probably eat a buzzard if I shot it. We've gave him as many as 4 in season at times. The deer I shoot aren't going to waste.
The area I hunt is overpopulated. If we only killed what we could eat, the population would continue to grow. It is not killing to kill, it is being a steward of the resource.
As long as the herd remains strong, there is nothing wrong with lighting up several does each year. I could kill 5 does in my neighborhood this year and it would not dent the doe population one bit.
You had me at hello.. GR8. In the home I was raised in.. you only killed what you could eat. My dad was a bird hunter.. could have killed a hundred birds a year.. but only hunted about 3 times a year.. just to take from the earth only what he could make on his dinner plate. I (unfortunately sometimes) have this trait of this etched into my skull.. and therefore have only ever killed enough deer for my home to eat. 1 season I did break that mark.. but vowed never to do it again.. and have not since. My home can consume a maximum of 3 deer per year.. and that's only after giving smaller amounts of the meat to family and neighbors. So I only take 2 or 3 deer a year.. no more. If another man takes more than he/she can eat.. so be it.. it never bothered me and I don't think they are less of a human because of it. Don't bother me what another does. I just can't.. blame the house I was brought up in. I don't donate meat.. for fear of my own justification of killing for fun.
I'm torn on the subject. My family does not eat venison, period. They will not eat it. My dad would but only when a friend of his cooks it as they know what they are doing. So growing up hunting, this left me one of two options 1. Line up someone wanting and willing to take the meat in order to go hunting 2. Not get to hunt Easy option for me as we found a guy living down the road from my Uncles farm who had no electricity. He was a diabetic and lived SOLEY off wild game (for the leaner meat). He was the nicest old man ever, and always got the biggest grin on his face when we pulled up with a deer. We would field dress it, take it to him, and I'd help him as much as he would allow to finish the process. After the first two, we took the next to a butcher and paid for it to be done and gave him the finished product as a gift. We have given him squirrels, two packs of turkey breasts, and 3-4 deer. He was VERY gracious for all of them. it was a good fit as it allowed me to hunt, and helped supply him with his only source of meat. Another example was my recent trip to Alaska. We killed 6 deer in 10 days. We ate like kings while there and gorged, but downing 300 + lbs of meat is no easy feat.:D When we returned to Rob's house from our hunt, we had two options. 1. Pay around $400+ dollars in luggage fees PLUS buying enough coolers to fly it home.... 2. OR line up a guy with Rob to accept the meat. One of his friends loves deer meat and wasnt able to get out this year to get his own. We called him before we left for hunting, and he said he would take as much as we could give him. We cleaned, sorted, and trimmed the meat when we got back to Robs house, and called him to pick it up. He showed up up with 2-3 cases of beer, he was dumbfounded how anyone would just be so willing to put in so much work for the deer and give it away. We were sure gracious he saved us several hundred dollars, and he was sure gracious we gave him and his friend enough meat to feed their families through the winter. It was a great scenario. I can see where some instances it is pure laziness (such as killing one, THEN finding someway of donating it to not have to fool with it which I see a lot here locally), but I can also see instances where it is nothing but positive.
Here in Texas I see many "well heeled" trophy hunters that want nothing to do with the meat. Dallas Safari Club helps them out with the hunters for the hungry program they have. I don't get it. I just don't get it. I guess even if I became a rich trophy hunter,(not likely!), I'd still enjoy venison.
DNR uses hunting as a way to manage game. If we, the hunters, cannot manage the game, keep the numbers at a reasonable carrying capacity, then how can it be done? DNR could bring in snipers or, if the anti's had their way, we would put all of the deer on birth control . Part of our responsibility as hunters is game management. A certain number of animals must be killed to properly manage the herd(s). Yes, at times, we may be killing and not hunting, but that doesn't mean it is any less important. If the animals that die are used as food, whether the hunter actually eats them or not, then it is a win/win situation. I donate money to the FHFH every year as I do not kill enough deer to donate them. But, if you were to kill deer you won't eat and donate to that program you are doing your herd a good service and you are doing your community a good service also.
Trevor .... learn how to cook it ... I have turned MANY people that would not eat it, to looking forward to deer season ... but they will only eat what I cook .... I LOVE to cook ... and it transfers into my food .... now I hate to bake ....and THAT tranfers as well :D
I have no issue with killing a deer and donating to Hunters for the Hungry. I shot a deer on Saturday I am not going to eat, as long as deer gets used and not wasted does anyone really care? I am going to shoot another doe this year and donate it, I hope no one loses any sleep Plain and simple in some areas we simple do not have enough hunters anymore, or we kill the wrong deer.
In my situation, I will be able to consume 1 deer this year. I am allowed legally to harvest 4 deer (1 buck and 3 anterless). The farmers on the land I hunt are begging us to fill all of our tags because the deer are hurting their crops. Normally I only took what I was able to eat, but to help the farmer out and families in need this year, I will donate anything I or any other friend or family member will not be able to eat. This is something I have never done before. I see it as a win win win situation.
Thinking about this some more ..... the time may come where 2 deer will feed the house ...... I would STILL shoot a few more, tho I would be very selective, and donate the meat to my family or another family that wants it ... as long as it's consumed ...
Which I plan to do this year, I'm going to grind up a doe mixed with bacon...and not say anything until AFTER they have been eating it for about a week. I also plan to show them just how great backstraps are! But when you are like 12 or 13, cooking for the family falls lower on the totem pole than even scrubbing the toilets, just wasn't an option unless it was easy-mac!:D It's not soo much an issue anymore....I make enough jerky that I consume the deer I kill by myself at this point. I would have to deliberately kill an excess of does to have to donate them (which I just don't have a want to do on the doe part, nor do I have any worthy candidates for donating)
Make sure when you are cooking, you put love in it :D (please don't read more into that ) I hear ya on the 12 year old thing ... ..chili's stews tacos all good ways to feed venison to peeps ....as far as jerky, I had THE most diehard "not gonna eat venison" people, beg me to make it after they tried mine ... have you tried my recipe yet?
I have, and it was GREAT! In fact, I took it to Alaska with me. (the jerky) I somewhat messed up the initial ingredient ratios, but it still turned out great. I used the spicy version, but next time I plan on stepping it up a notch, that doesn't even make you raise a brow! lol One disclaimer you should add, it will make the house STINK to high heaven when cooking the marinade....for atleast 24 hours. lol If at all possible, bring to a boil OUTSIDE.
Mike ... thank you ... jerky season is coming up :D Trev ...go for it ... use ghost pepper sauce if you like :D as far as the "stink" .... that smell is WONDERFUL!!! ....Mom didn't like it?
I'm going to put into my sig line "See Brucelanthier's posts for my thoughts"... :D Above and beyond that, though -- I wonder if you realize HOW many people REALLY could use some quality meat dontated to them because of the situation they've found themselves in? Some admittedly by their own fault, but that's a different discussion. I know for a fact after my wife working as a director of a non-profit for several years before we had kids and she came home that there's WAY more people in need that we can't begin to serve or meet their needs than not. Having said that, I'm not sure that still addresses the root cause/question of your topic, which may be "Should we enjoy killing deer for the pure thrill of it?" I unabashedly state that I REALLY enjoy killing deer with my bow; make no mistake about it. I LOVE hearing that WHUMP! of an arrow striking home in the chest cavity. It's what keeps me from being a pure trophy hunter; I just can't stand to pass all those does and I have to take five or six a year in addition to the bucks I shoot to get my fix. But none go to waste either, even without me donating a single one. Last year, I took six does; I never saw a buck I felt worthy of dumping the string on by my standards I'd set for myself. We eat four full-sized, grown Illinois deer a year, every year -- we just go through that much venison. (I'm one of those guys who HAS to have meat at every meal.) My best friend paid for the processing costs and I gave him one of the deer, and I gave the other to my parents as they're retired on a fixed income and appreciated it greatly.
we often donate to a homeless shelter, I think that is a worthy place to donate it... to feed those that can't fend for themselves... often though I only take 1-2 deer per season though, but I've occasionally taken more and donate it appropriately... its not so much the kill, I look at it strictly as helping others... i see no problem with it as long as the herd isn't suffering, and it isn't...
I have to agree also, maybe I am not right in the head, but like Greg the sound of my arrow going through a deer fires me up
