Hunt to hunt: perspective on modern deer hunting

[Jackson Marsh]

I don't concern myself with what other people kill.

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[BCam]

To each their own as long as its legal.
I'd feel too much like a liberal if I were telling people what they can and can't shoot.

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[Dewey]

I feel bad when I hear a kid or new hunter say "its not he biggest"...Who the cares? Be proud!

I agree this bothers me too. So many newbies think everybody kills big bucks because that's all they see on tv. I go out of my way to give congrats to guys killing smaller bucks because I remember the huge sense of accomplishment when you kill your first deer no matter how big they are.

I really dislike the guys that talk like big buck killers and knock on guys for killing little bucks. Funny thing is these same guys go year after year rarely filling a tag and always seem to come up with lame excuses why they weren't succesful. Big antlers do bring out the worst in some people so I can see where this article is going.

Nothing wrong with being obsessed with big bucks but you have to be reasonable. After killing some great bucks I went 4 straight years eating tag soup because I set my standards too high. I love hunting but the grind was starting to take some of the enjoyment away so the last two years I killed smaller bucks. End result is I am having more fun than ever again and that is all that matters to me. Nothing wrong with having goals in life but don't sacrifice fun to reach them. Life is truly way to short for that.

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[Swampbuck]

This topic slices through so many levels it's hard to be cut and dry. I think deer farming has put a horn porn agenda out there for sure. But i also think poor management on the state level has frustrated alot hunters , so you see people complaining about to many young deer getting killed due to that and it jumbles up the whole thing

My state has pretty liberal limits as a whole and poor numbers in relation to the better quality states. So long term hunters kill 3 does and 3 spikes for the sake of filling tags is fine as its thier right but it just illustrates poor management as a whole . On the flip I saw a guy kill his first public land deer, a spike the other day, I think that's the coolest thing.

Theres just so much goes into this topic that makes the whole thing so muddy. But i think jealousy, greed and poor management put alot of different outloops at odds

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[goldtip5575]

I agree with you there, but it is a slippery slope when applied equally across all hunters. I've seen great properties become great and subsequently die on this slippery slope.

You can have greatness or mediocrity...very little in between. The practice of "standards" separates the jaw dropping results of some Midwest areas from medicore results of others. Those areas that practice it well know of fragility of their resource.

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Believe me, I do not disagree with the effectiveness of sound management and solid standards, it is the many casualties along the way as people strive (generally in vain) to achieve that 'greatness' you speak of. Lots of guys end up severing ties with friends, family and are at odds with their neighbors over a piece of dirt and some large antlered varmints.

I have personally found myself on the wrong side of posted signs many times on hundreds and on one occasion thousands of acres I grew up hunting. I have watched friends and family members who casually enjoyed hunting, hang it up due to loss of access. If I didn't have a true passion for it, i might be an avid angler right now that used to hunt…

I really feel that the infectious disease of the little yellow sign spreading across the country may be benefiting the deer (and a small percentage of deer hunters)on a micro level, but is damaging the tradition and future of deer hunting on a macro level.

Not saying I have the answer, I certainly understand why guys have to post their property with all the yahoos in the woods nowadays. My family owns a decent amount of property and none of it is posted and every year they deal with a lot of nonsense. But like you said, it is a slippery slope...

Being from Florida not sure if you pay much of anything for property taxes but that is a debt to a lot of farming property owners,alot more for non farming landowners who get charged rec rates for taxes.So you have to decide let anyone hunt for free or lease my property to cover my tax bill.

[Southern Man]

Nothing wrong with having goals in life but don't sacrifice fun to reach them. Life is truly way to short for that.

Amen to that!

[hoyt]

Only deer I've killed this yr. and glad I did because I got sick and couldn't hunt for the last part of Oct. until second wk or so of Dec. I'd let two other small bucks walk by me that morning within 12 yds or so and several more earlier in the season. Don't see many does anymore so decided he would be fairly easy packin out and let him have it.

Sometimes I shoot them sometimes I don't. Just according to situation.

[MACHINIST]

I feel bad when I hear a kid or new hunter say "its not he biggest"...Who the cares? Be proud!

damn straight!!!

[GRUD]

My state has a 1 buck rule so if you shoot a small one your done unless you have property in an urban earn a buck zone. The one buck rule is tough on decision making. If I could shoot two bucks I would definately put down a small cull buck with trad equipment. With electronic check in now, nobody but the state knows what you have shot. I avoid the check stations now and love being able to take my deer home immediately and get it cooled down. I hated having to drive an hour to find a place to check in a deer that the guy never even went out to look at.

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[Master Chief]

I have heard people make comments about others shooting small bucks, but I have also taken a lot of abuse for shooting big ones... It goes more than one way, a lot of hunters are very judgmental about everyone. Look at A.T. and the way people attack others for being not like them... I even see it here on occasion. People need to just worry about themselves.

It really grinds my gears to have someone ask me "would you have shot him" People will automatically assume you are some elitist because you only shoot very large antlered deer. I limit myself to 130" or better on TN public land. I'd be an idiot to down anyone for not shooting my "standards" but I hate seeing people say to me that they also are only 130 or better type people and then they'll kill a small buck as if they aren't confident in the hunter they really are. People fail to realize that we all have different reasons for going out hunting. I would not hunt if it weren't for the work I put into it. That is what I truly enjoy doing. The kill means so little to me personally that i am not going to shoot it unless it is a special deer to me (history with a buck makes it better) I just have little desire to shoot a lot of mature bucks just so I can say "hey look at me" like everyone thinks I'm trying to do. If it weren't for deer meat I would give up my weapon for cameras. I hate admitting this, but even my 10 from this year was bittersweet. Killing him ended the fun he brought me. Would I go back and pull the trigger? At this point I'm saying yes, but what would the future have been like if I let him go and followed him 'til his natural death?

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