i will shoot a doe any chance i get but in illinois we get two tags one buck one doe. as for the trophy aspect of it i will not shoot unless i believe it is a mature animal a 150" class or better preferably better.
I'm a carnivore and you can't eat antlers, no matter how long you boil them. So, for me it's all about putting groceries in the deep freeze. Headgear is a bonus.
Well I am pretty much addicted to bowhunting, and if I had to say big bucks would be my needle. If I need the meat I'll shoot a doe, which I always do anyway, but I'm out there to manage deer to get big bucks. So my answer would be both but... BIG BUCKS!
100% for the antlers. Every deer I shoot, buck or doe, gets donated to a feed the hungry program. Example: last year on the last day of late muzzy season I watched over 20 deer parade in front of me but my tag stayed unfilled simply cause I didn't want to spook a pair of 115" bucks in the group .I was hoping they would stick around for the winter and leave me sheds.. I am hoping those two bucks will stay in the area for a couple more yrs when they will be mature . I don't eat much deer, I like beef!
If the freezer is empty on the last day of season and a 1.5 yr old 6 pointer is walking by at 10 yards then I'm hoping that there are some good buys in the grocery store over the summer. I always have gun season here to fill up on some fresh meat, so I don't stress out much about not taking a buck.
