This is the exact reason why I don’t post any of my hunting time on social media… no longer on FB and never was on IG etc… People always have something to say about someone else for any thing… but just in the hunting world you hear, why would you pass that deer, hunting with a Crossbow… taking a shot with a Bow from to far… you name it we have heard it. I was on a lease several years ago on prime property and a few of the guys that were on the lease would shoot anything, and I mean anything. Doe with her fawns early season (and fawns too) small spike bucks etc… then have the nerve to wonder why no bigger deer were to be found. So I get your point about antler size shouldn’t make or break a harvest, but isn’t it up to the individual and their preferences as to what they want to shoot? As long as it’s legal?… I think so. And who knows where a Hunter is in their life…. Maybe they have shot deer that size in the past and they are wanting something a bit bigger, larger etc… I’ll never really understand why people always take to social media or talk to other people and complain about what other people choose to do in their lives (as long as it’s legal who am I to say what they should or shouldn’t do)
I don't watch much of the more commercial stuff, but I'm pretty sure I've seen does/cows taken on Randy Newberg's and Grants Wood's Growing Deer episodes.
"Bow hunt or die" and "the hunting public" as well. Not sure about anything on TV. I just watch streaming services or YT anymore.
Growingdeer.tv is a great resource. I think Growingdeer.tv is more of a teaching series than just a plain hunting program. They certainly teach about why we shoot does, healthy buck:doe ratios, food plot, deer ducking arrows, pre-rut, and lots more. This site does a nice job showing doe kills also....LOVE it!!!
I understand you. But what I am saying is , everything we see and read about is about mature bucks this and that. It would be nice just have a little bit Dan Fitzgerald old school bowhunting. Deer hunting at is basics. How just find deer in general
I think everyone should just do what makes them happy. I never tell people what sized deer they should be shooting.
I agree. But this isn't really about that, it's more about how hunting for "mature bucks" has simply taken over. When 10-13 yr old kids are not getting excited to see a doe or small buck and are passing waiting for a giant and they only have a handful of kills under their belts it just seems like the hunting experience is fast tracked and all the lessons learned and mistakes made don't happen. Maybe it's personal I guess, but crawling before you walk comes to mind. But hey, this is the age of the "easy' way right?
I think it is more so where and to whom you're looking to get your content from. There are an awful lot of good content creators out there that yes, now are typically the types that have hunted for a long while and it just doesn't trip their trigger to shoot young bucks BUT are not the big bucks only crowd...you see them talk about younger hunters, even taking young hunters and telling them shoot whatever legal buck they want. They show a mindset that isn't the "this is the ONLY way to hunt" type even if all they do is chase big bucks. Now sure, many even streaming channels are driven by and make it (fiscally) by producing big buck content...if all they did was shoot or show hunts of guys killing yearlings or two year olds they wouldn't come close to meeting their cost into the endeavor (gear, equipment, videographers, staffing and advertising all cost money)... It's just rare that young hunters are out there producing watchable (have to stress this, watchable) content where they're slinging arrows or squeezing the trigger at any buck that gives them a shot. That said I do think back to basics type content there is a niche for it, but more so to have available for mentor hunters to show young or inexperienced hunters that need to see and learn the true start from scratch type stuff. It wouldn't get a ton of views because the large base of hunters that watch content out there are going to skip over a video titled "What a scrape and a rub are" type stuff...but it would have a massive value to those young hunters that need to see it.
Agreed 100%. But all this industry is about is mature bucks. Does anyone learn how to bowhunt just deer in general or is just hunt for big bucks?
Learn, I'd say the majority of young bowhunters absolutely learn to just hunt deer and are slinging arrows at slick heads and young bucks still - as they should. At least the vast majority of young or inexperienced hunters I know of all ages.
Yeh but not just that, are they learning how to find deer, scout, read sign etc? Lots of young people sitting on food plots these days. never really go into the woods.
Oh the degredation of woodsmanship in general is suffering. That's the case with A LOT of things these days...no one can read a news article anymore, they have to have the audio version....even then brief podcasts that last ten minutes are more likely to get play than an indepth podcast that talks about the same topic in depth and for an hour. Folks simply don't care to learn deep anymore. I think a lot of things in hunting would benefit from people getting back to the small game hunting...I plan if my son shows any interest in hunting getting him on rabbits and squirrels first...allows us to make some noise, walk not just have to sit and offers an entire classroom of observations we can make from types of trees the squirrels like (deer often too), plant types on the floor and what animals like them...observations of game trails and where we see them more and where we don't... ...I'll likely be a rare one but my son will not be allowed to just go straight to deer. We will launch .22 CBs at squirrels and rabbits well before we go after big game like deer. That's if he shows interest though...he doesn't seem to exhibit a desire yet...but five is way too young to know yet.
shoot every doe you can within herd health limits. Nobody who's hunting opinion I respect thinks shooting does, esp. mature does, is particularly easy to do with a bow. That said, immature bucks (esp. -2.5) are dumb as heck, comparatively plentiful, mistake prone, and somewhat easy to shoot. I don't think any experienced bow hunter has particular respect for the level of skill it takes to put an arrow into them. I have no issue with anyone who does to fill the freezer, and hunting any deer helps make you more experienced and skilled hunter, but one doesn't have to bloody an arrow to have a successful encounter with a young buck. Plenty of other things one can do to hone your skills- practice standing up without being detected, getting set to take the shot, pantomiming a shot, remembering where the deer is located on the ground when you *would* have shot at a more mature deer...all those things hone your skill set and contribute to future success against an older deer- to me, those are 'successful' encounters. Think of it in terms of baseball- I have a massive amount of respect for 41yo Justin Verlander still striking out MLB players at a 7.4 K/9 clip in his 19th professional baseball season. But if he somehow went back to high school at his current age, and ran up a 12.0 K/9 clip and 3 perfect games against a bunch of teenage boys, that wouldn't be very impressive would it? Especially if he went on ESPN or socials and bragged about it. Personally I like to leave all the -2.5yo bucks running around as there are a lot of casual hunters out there who are fine punching their tag on the first set of antlers they see, leaving the more mature deer for those of us who target that class of deer. Plus every deer I pass at 2.5+ is a chance, however small, I get to see what they may become next year or beyond. I also think you may be conflating people who post content on the internet (and this forum counts as content) with the general hunting public. I don't have any evidence of this, but it stands to reason that those who post hunting content are passionate and/or experienced hunters (that passion could be about many things- attention, money, accolades, or what have you; but posting about big bucks can get you all of those things) and they are more likely than gen pop to be after and talk about a more specific target set/trophy class of deer. In other words, you see it more so you think it's happening more. The majority of hunters I personally know don't post content here or anywhere. They just hunt. Some are trophy hunters, some are freezer fillers, and some just use it as an excuse to get away from their wives and drink beers with their family and buddies over a campfire for a long weekend. But you wouldn't see it to know unless you were there personally. I dunno, was my post disrespectful of the animal? Maybe. I'm certainly not proud of my season to date. Been hunting for most of the past 30 years, and passed multiple dozens of older/bigger bucks than him, including several this season- https://forums.bowhunting.com/posts/1820212/ That said, he does taste good. He's not going to waste. I (hopefully) learned something from the experience of killing him. But that experience is certainly not something to brag about on the internet. If I hadn't entered the contest the only people who would know I killed him would be my hunting buddies (inc. the property owner) and close family.
I agree with this thinking. I've never killed a truly BIG buck, but I'm at the point in my hunting life where I will only shoot a buck if it's bigger than my previous best. I've killed lots of deer in my life, so killing just isn't that important to me anymore. I'm just thankful that at age 67, I'm still able to get out and enjoy the woods.
