timekiller
No, you can't pet him.
Thinkin Rut said:
What he said
What he said
Thinkin Rut
PMA Member
My point to Cooter is that THERE IS A LOT OF BS TO WADE THROUGH. It's well worth it to me...I have my waders on. Take what you want from it and leave the rest.
As far as the commercialization side of hunting, I don't have a problem with it but it has indeed changed hunting forever. You can track any negative of hunting today back to commercialization but I would not change capitalism for nothing.
As far as the commercialization side of hunting, I don't have a problem with it but it has indeed changed hunting forever. You can track any negative of hunting today back to commercialization but I would not change capitalism for nothing.
bloodhoundhandler
New Member
X 2:drink2:
OK- what a guy shoots on here has ZERO affect on my hunting, ZERO. If every guy on here shot 1.5 year old bucks, wouldn't hurt my hunting one bit. My standards... Am I pushing them on you? How bout you RE-READ every single post I've made on this thread, am I forcing you to change what you shoot?? Even if I was (which I'm not)- I'm ONE guy, who cares. Seriously, WHO CARES if I want to pass a 4.5 year old buck and target 5.5 year olds - who cares?!!???? No one on here hunts in the neighborhood by my home, makes no difference to me. I RAN A POLL, I am not going to track you down if you choose something "less than my standards". I'm dang happy for you if you're over there shooting whatever you wanna shoot. I will admit, I'd be frustrated if a guy wanted to hunt my fence and shoot all the 3.5's and my goal was to shoot 5.5's BUT that's MY PROBLEM.
Ok, with the wanting the 3.5 year old 160" to live and shooting the 140" 8 point that's 7.5 years old- what is wrong with that? (and which one would you shoot????) Don't you want the same thing? Even if you choose to shoot the 160" 3.5 year old, do you not at least acknowledge the BIOLOGICAL benefit to the herd of the state from what I'm saying? I'm not saying you have to care about the BIOLOGY of herd management, age structure, age ratios & genetics BUT at least you have to understand where I'm coming from???? Maybe you don't care, maybe you just want to shoot the buck with the "biggest rack" - FINE!!! But, you cannot argue with the BIOLOGICAL facts and I can't see why you have a problem with me believing this and caring about the Biological aspect of hunting.
You really have your "Cooter" in a bunch over this. I really don't know what is getting you all jacked up, I think there's some far deeper issues here which have nothing to do with me, not sure if you're pissed off because you've lost farms to hunt OR your neighbors are trying to convince you to shoot older or bigger deer and let small ones go and it's really bothering you- I don't know what your experiences are out there, far different than mine from what it sounds. I enjoy hunting, I enjoy reading about others opinions and sentiments and obviously you have some other frustrations with hunting I am not aware of.
Ok, back on track here fellers
............
Last edited:
Now that's funny right there!!
*I am going to have a group of guys come pay you a visit and rough you up this week, better watch yourself!
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
Note to self: Buy this guy a beer (or twenty).:way:
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
bloodhoundhandler
New Member
:way::way:
thats a fact and a great point life is short to short to worry about what your neighbor or friends think about a stupid deer that you shot. If you got excited and enjoyed every part of the hunt from setting the stand to having friends over for some beers to hear your story that is all that matters. If somebody wants to go out and take pictures and name his bucks and try to let them reach their maximum potential hats off to them I myself am not into that I make a farm payment every month and have decided that I am going to try to get the most enjoyment out of it and part of that is my sons and I harvesting animals off it. In my opinion if you don't have control over at least 500 acres a good share of those bucks you are passing stand a good chance of getting wacked by someone else to each his own just enjoy being out there remember there is probably a soldier somewhere in a foreign land that would love to be hunting or somebody in a wheelchair seems like we take a lot of things for granted
THA4
A Few Steps Ahead Of You
*I am going to have a group of guys come pay you a visit and rough you up this week, better watch yourself!
Those guys you would call to rough me up.... Well, I'm in charge of those guys.... just note-to-self
THA4
A Few Steps Ahead Of You
That's and seriously?:grin: Glad you aren't a sport's writer.
proofing my posts takes too much time... and I'm not a sports writer, just fyi
:moon:
:drink1:
I actually think it's harder for folks to "advocate" shooting older bucks, bigger bucks, etc. Sometimes for good reason, sometimes not- it's easier to say "all deer are trophies", "whatever gives you a thrill", "if it's brown it's down", "you can't eat horns", "I hunt for meat"- you're automatically a jerk if you disagree with that or don't have that belief yourself. You hear that FAR MORE than the guy wanting to shoot mature bucks. I actually think the guy who wants to shoot mature bucks for a variety of any reason often gets demonized and crapped on, especially on the forums.
If you wanna shoot small bucks, young bucks, whatever- the glorious thing is: the law is on your side and you have every right to, no one will stop you! You will ALWAYS be able to shoot that small/young buck BUT the guy that wants to shoot mature bucks will likely have little or no laws that make sure they have mature bucks around to hunt.
I think we have an over-abundance of guys that want to crap on the guys that advocate trying to shoot a mature buck OR do what makes the best biological sense for the herd. Like some have claimed- we don't enjoy hunting if we do that. That's boggling to me. Or, supposedly, folks have an agenda, have big buck insanity, it CONSUMES them, they don't ENJOY hunting anymore. See, everyone claims the attacks come from the guys who push shooting older bucks on everyone- I don't see it that way, I see far more people going after the guy that CHOOSES to pass a 3.5 year old buck or WHATEVER. Life is short, hunting should be about enjoyment BUT lots of folks are enjoying these short years pursuing a challenging animal- older and smarter bucks- I can't see why people have a problem with that?
I also think sometimes the guy that demonizes the guy that CHOOSES to go after mature bucks has other things going on, maybe they aren't able to shoot mature bucks, maybe they hunt in crappy areas, maybe they don't have the time (or sure, maybe they don't care). I do have some friends that rip on guys that target older/bigger deer - they go out and kill the 1st buck that walks by- talk to them through-out the year and most are complaining how crappy their hunting area is and how they want to hunt somewhere better - they shoot lots of little bucks, rip on others BUT I know many who are NOT ENJOYING that type of hunting. I can't think of any buddies that shoot monster bucks that aren't enjoying themselves- not saying they don't exist BUT I sure know far more guys that are not happy with their hunting that shoot the 1st buck that walks by. It's not even close in comparison from my experiences with guys I know in both schools of thought.
*It takes 30 seconds to criticize the guy who works & enjoys hunting mature bucks. It takes a guy YEARS of experience, work, understanding, patience, management and dedication to be able to shoot mature bucks with consistency.
If you wanna shoot small bucks, young bucks, whatever- the glorious thing is: the law is on your side and you have every right to, no one will stop you! You will ALWAYS be able to shoot that small/young buck BUT the guy that wants to shoot mature bucks will likely have little or no laws that make sure they have mature bucks around to hunt.
I think we have an over-abundance of guys that want to crap on the guys that advocate trying to shoot a mature buck OR do what makes the best biological sense for the herd. Like some have claimed- we don't enjoy hunting if we do that. That's boggling to me. Or, supposedly, folks have an agenda, have big buck insanity, it CONSUMES them, they don't ENJOY hunting anymore. See, everyone claims the attacks come from the guys who push shooting older bucks on everyone- I don't see it that way, I see far more people going after the guy that CHOOSES to pass a 3.5 year old buck or WHATEVER. Life is short, hunting should be about enjoyment BUT lots of folks are enjoying these short years pursuing a challenging animal- older and smarter bucks- I can't see why people have a problem with that?
I also think sometimes the guy that demonizes the guy that CHOOSES to go after mature bucks has other things going on, maybe they aren't able to shoot mature bucks, maybe they hunt in crappy areas, maybe they don't have the time (or sure, maybe they don't care). I do have some friends that rip on guys that target older/bigger deer - they go out and kill the 1st buck that walks by- talk to them through-out the year and most are complaining how crappy their hunting area is and how they want to hunt somewhere better - they shoot lots of little bucks, rip on others BUT I know many who are NOT ENJOYING that type of hunting. I can't think of any buddies that shoot monster bucks that aren't enjoying themselves- not saying they don't exist BUT I sure know far more guys that are not happy with their hunting that shoot the 1st buck that walks by. It's not even close in comparison from my experiences with guys I know in both schools of thought.
*It takes 30 seconds to criticize the guy who works & enjoys hunting mature bucks. It takes a guy YEARS of experience, work, understanding, patience, management and dedication to be able to shoot mature bucks with consistency.
Last edited:
Iowa_Buckeye
Active Member
When I was a young and immature hunter, I shot young and immature deer (aka 'dinks') and loved it! Now I prefer to match witts with mature deer. And all the better when they have big horns on their heads.
I also respect the folks who pull the trigger on every buck they have a chance at, as I understand people hunt for different reasons.
I also respect the folks who pull the trigger on every buck they have a chance at, as I understand people hunt for different reasons.
Thinkin Rut
PMA Member
This is probably the most frustrating thing for the average hunter that gets caught up in the big buck craze. You can devote years of experience, work, understanding, patience and dedication to hunting but without the key ingredient of management and a place to manage, you start to bang your head against the wall. You have maxed out. You cannot go to the next level. Most will never acquire a piece to manage. Passing on a 160 inch 3 1/2 year old isn't hard if the odds are in your favor you will see him the next year but passing on a 160 inch 3 1/2 year old deer to never be seen again is self abuse. You can take any of your hunting greats from TV or video and put them on average ground and they will be average hunters. It's hard for the average hunter to accept the buck of a lifetime when some enjoy a lifetime of big bucks.
loneranger
Well-Known Member
Most all serious hunters would like a chance at a mature animal every season. As already stated, you can put in time and effort, but if you cannot afford alot of property, or if your area just does not produce, for whatever reason, poachers,neighbors, quad coarses,,my area,,,you will just sit and wait. sitting and waiting gets old after awhile. There is always an adreniline rush when you decide to let something fly to bring down your target. If your area does not meet the standards you see others have, you can fret with envy, like wishing you had the bigger houses others have or better cars. Or,,you can be thankful for what you have. Not worrying about what others are doing,, and enjoy hunting and eating what you hunt. Fretting over what you do not have is a waste of time.It takes practice to follow thru, when the moment of executing a kill, is taken. If you just sit and pass for very many seasons, you will get rusty at this,"Moment of Truth". You can practice on does. In my area the doe pop is so low, this comes into question too. So I wait for the biggest I think my area may produce. Most seasons, that is not an "Old Animal", well,,probably old for my area.
flugge
Well-Known Member
Last year I had pretty good success by saying, "Im gonna shoot the first deer that walks by"... Opening night I said that, shot a big pig of a 8...when I was filling doe tags, said the same thing... It doesnt matter if its a spike, a monster, a dink, or a doe... any deer you harvest is one to be proud of, and I know I sure am, no matter what the size. Any deer with a bow is a trophy...:way:
I absolutely believe your standards, goals, targets and challenge will depend on the ground and area you hunt- no question. Back when I lived in MI- the vast vast majority of guys shot every 1.5 year old they saw. I'd say 90% of the 1.5's were killed each year. We decided to try and hold out for 2.5 year olds, that would have been really good for that area of MI which a 2.5 year old was a RARE animal. Part of the reason some of the guys in MI around where I grew are now shooting mature bucks is because they left to hunt areas with a reasonable chance at a mature buck (part of that years of dedication, work, effort and knowledge thing).
See, I don't necessarily agree with a lot of that. Everyone that answered the poll chose everything from 1.5 all the way to 5.5 year old bucks (or score) and everything in between. Every area out there has "bigger/older" deer FOR THAT AREA- whatever that is. When I lived in MI- I knew it was a MAJOR CHALLENGE to shoot 2.5 year olds, SO I enjoyed trying to get a crack at one. Average hunters in IA might say that it's a challenge for them to get crack at a 3.5 in Iowa where it's EASY to get a shot at a 1.5-2.5 each year- that person MAY choose to hold out for the challenging animal of that area- I'm sure most ENJOY doing that. It all depends on the area BUT in ANY AREA- there's usually a caliber/age/size of animal that's attainable BUT difficult, for those that chose the challenge and hold out for that animal (whatever it is). That is something that happens all the time in any neighborhood. and sounds awesome to me! I also think the BEST hunters in AVERAGE areas will be able to get that class of ATTAINABLE but DIFFICULT animals in that situation- maybe the rare animal is a 3.5 or 4.5 year old- in those areas, most guys will shoot the 2.5's BUT the best hunters will likely be able to get a crack at the more rare 3.5-4.5 in those examples. It's all relative to the area BUT ability, dedication, ABILITY, choice, knowledge and homework can work in ANY hunting situation, anywhere!!!!
See, I don't necessarily agree with a lot of that. Everyone that answered the poll chose everything from 1.5 all the way to 5.5 year old bucks (or score) and everything in between. Every area out there has "bigger/older" deer FOR THAT AREA- whatever that is. When I lived in MI- I knew it was a MAJOR CHALLENGE to shoot 2.5 year olds, SO I enjoyed trying to get a crack at one. Average hunters in IA might say that it's a challenge for them to get crack at a 3.5 in Iowa where it's EASY to get a shot at a 1.5-2.5 each year- that person MAY choose to hold out for the challenging animal of that area- I'm sure most ENJOY doing that. It all depends on the area BUT in ANY AREA- there's usually a caliber/age/size of animal that's attainable BUT difficult, for those that chose the challenge and hold out for that animal (whatever it is). That is something that happens all the time in any neighborhood. and sounds awesome to me! I also think the BEST hunters in AVERAGE areas will be able to get that class of ATTAINABLE but DIFFICULT animals in that situation- maybe the rare animal is a 3.5 or 4.5 year old- in those areas, most guys will shoot the 2.5's BUT the best hunters will likely be able to get a crack at the more rare 3.5-4.5 in those examples. It's all relative to the area BUT ability, dedication, ABILITY, choice, knowledge and homework can work in ANY hunting situation, anywhere!!!!
Last edited: