PT, getting back to your question......... Personally, I don't really care why or how anybody hunts, I just hope they're happy with what they're accomplishing. With that in mind, I find it harder to tell if someone is hunting to impress or for themselves, on the forums rather than in person. Mainly because I don't know what the unseen hunters situation is. My only personal experience in seeing this first hand is with my BIL. The guy is a total dork. When I first started hunting for bigger bucks I latched onto a few guys that were known for taking down big bucks. Within a couple years we became good friends. I met my BIL at about this time. Within a year, my BIL stated he was a serious trophy buck hunter, "Like you guys". This guy doesn't have a clue, can't read a compass, doesn't know wind direction, etc. One thing he does though, is put in the time. In 1996 he lucked into a P&Y in which he was rightly congratulated. That is his only mature buck. He shoots a lot of 1 1/2s and 2 1/2s. He always says, "Oh, but it looked BIG, Greg!" I have always told him to shoot what he wants (and he does), but he is clearly hunting to impress others. Unfortunately, he is beyond help and most of my fellow hunters along with myself try avoiding him during hunting season.
Another group would be the guy that apologizes for what he shot Another would be a guy that NEEDS to post his success ... I love pics, but when a guy posts them over and over ...I can think of ONE example GERM is a guy that does NOT fit the bill ...he hunts for himself ... NEVER heard him even post his opinion on what someone else has killed .... just congratulates them ... Bowhunting Fool, Schultzy, BBM, Buckeye, Mo, Greg, Rob, and many others as well ... they just love to hunt and love that others hunt, no mater how they do it ....
I couldn't care less if someone else thinks the animal I chose to shoot is a trophy or a scrub...It's my decision, and hunting is personal. Don't get me wrong, I don't know any hunter not proud of showing off HIS trophy to others, to some degree- especially if said trophy is at the absolute top the the "trophy scale'. I've never been one to really care what anyone else thinks about anything- I do what I want to do, when and how I want to do it. I'm proud of my friends when they harvest any animal, no matter the size. To answer the questions, I hear and read people making excuses for the animals they harvest all of the time. Maybe they feel that animal is a true trophy to them, but, not to others, so they down play their emotion......Whatever the reason, be proud...ultimately, it's YOUR decision.
I guess i hunt for myself, my family loves to eat venison. I enjoy the time outdoors sometimes alone, sometimes with with friends. My neighbor who got me into bow hunting told me any deer you harvest with a bow is a trophy and meat in the freezer. I love watching all the great shows on TV, but i don't have a sponsor or endorsements. So i guess i hunt for myself and my family. But someday i'll be able to get my own FREAK NASTY!
i am new to this site but i think i know what you're talking about. like when someone posts a picture of a deer that they are obviously proud of and people start in with the "shoulda let it walk" or "it would have been better next year" i hunt because it enables me spend time in the woods and i love providing a super healthy food source for my family. that being said, if a big boy gives me a shot this year i will take it and post the pics.:D
I agree with a lot of the valid points being made here. Whether it be the people that post the same deer over and over again, or the guy that gives apologies right away and down plays his kill in his post when in fact a large smile is shown in the pics. In many ways, it's about WHERE you hunt as much as HOW you hunt, and I think many of the folks here would agree. What I mean by this is that here in WI we do have some great bucks to hunt for and the opportunities to hunt for them, and even then it boils down to other issues like public vs. private land. I know a couple guys personally that awe me with their mad skills at taking down a mature buck on public land every year, and that to me says more than if I manage to get one on the private land I hunt. Fact of the matter remains that the area has to be able to produce said mature bucks in the first place. I think in PA the number in license sales about matches the total herd numbers making things pretty tough for the everyday hunter. Bottom line, are you hunting big antlers or mature deer?? I myself started hunting for bigger bucks when I wanted something more out hunting in general. I really started to watch the young bucks like I had killed so many of early on when I started hunting. I actually felt bad for them in a way because mom just kicked them out, and where ever they seem to go somebody else wants to kick their @ss for being on their turf. I thought these poor boys don't know what the heck to do with themselves other than just try to live. My dad always taught us to take the shot when it presented itself, and he didn't understand when my brother and I started passing on deer, but he didn't make an issue out of it. He would occassionaly say "don't whine when you don't have any venison!", but it was more like a light jab because he had already tagged out. I could care less how other people hunt or their motives for doing so, and I would ask for nothing more than the same simple courtesy. I apologize for being long winded but this subject is rather hard for me right now being I've been trying to get Kimberley her first buck for a few years now, and yet she repeatedly passes on young bucks. I know she does this because she looks at wall mounts here and at her dad's house all the time and wants one of her own, but I can't tell her anything. I do know the smile on her face with her first bow kill last year said it all though...I believe Rob saw that pic. Seeing her and other new or newer hunters experiencing success is better than anything I've experienced with a kill, and between Kimberley and my daughter Jacci, I enjoy their smiles and stories of what they saw more than anything! Take a kid hunting or fishing, or even an adult you could share your passion for the outdoors with...you won't regret it.
Well if I was trying to impress someone I'm not doing a very good job. I'm buckless the last 2 seasons. Glad I'm not burdened with finally connecting on a mature buck. Then I'd have to post pics, brag to you guys, tell stories, etc.....hhehehehehehe. Good thing I'm in a mini drought. Or actually I just suck in general. Either way I hunt for myself. The only way I like it. I work my ass off at it too. For some reason more this year than ever because I'm pissed about the last 2 seasons. It's on this year!!!!
well i didnt get a buck last year..shot 2 does....just never could manage to harvest a buck...had some opp. last year i a few times with a buck..just two small and i past them up....new year...new bucks..
Bottom line guys .... hunt for yourself and have fun .... even the competition can turn good folk into ****** bags HAVE FUN!!!
I would have to say both!!!!! I could give a crap what anybody thinks about what I shoot, but then the flip of the coin I film for a DVD so my standards have rose and that is for others as well as for me.. Walt
Let me give you another example .... not lon g ago there was thread on one of the sites where a young hunter ased if he should shoot a fawn to "get one under his belt" .. he stated he didn't want to ... there were guys on the site telling him to just shoot one v.... I can't fathoim that thought process .... why would you shoot something that you wouldn't be proud off?? I wonder how many guys have shot deer here that wouldn't post the pic becaue they would be embarrassed? That maybe their "rep" might be tarnished ... Another thread ... someone posts a pic of the side of a barn with small racks all over it .... a "big buck hunter", who I haven't seen here called it "A wall of shame" ..I wonder who that guy is hunting for??? these are just thoughts to peruse in your mind, guys ... nothing to get pissed at ...
Actually, he DID state that .... now whether he recanted, I don't know, but his initial statement was that he wanted his first deer to be a buck..
PT, In IL, the buck I shot, I was proud of him, one of the best I've gotten to date. Sure I passed up some that might have been larger and he did fool me a little but I was still proud as heck of him. I had a hunter in camp ridicule me and say I should have been arrested for shooting said buck. I was shocked, hurt and pissed all at the same time. I would NEVER say that to another hunter of his harvest. He skirted me the last few days.
