antlers vs meat??

[bwhoffman]

Yum...Antler soup, my favorite! ya, right.
I just as soon watch them. Fill the tag and move on. Even more so now that I dont hunt. Family wont eat it and I have shot more than my share of deer and elk when I lived in the heartland of Oregon big game areas. (opprotunity!)
I like pictures these days and the success stories and photos you all post here! That works for me!
The hunt for me nowadays is either just being there or knowing what I could have brought home!

 

[smoothy]

In the 1700's or the 1800's those that hunted deer normally did so to put meat on the table. So from a "traditional" hunter standpoint using a "traditional" firearm, its no different for me. I will have to admit that I get much more excited when trying to put a big buck in my sights. Maybe I'm concerned at that point about bragging rights. Would I like to get a big buck with a flinter? Heck, yeah.

 

[Turbojet 54]

I love everything about deer hunting! The anticipation of the hunt, the good friends, some of which I only see about once a year when I see their trucks rolling into deer camp, the good food, drinking a couple of beers around the camp fire telling lies, having a new hunter to help & maybe have a little fun with him. I had my brother walking around his first year hunting with deer poop in one pocket & coon poop in another, to mask his scent. :rotf: Just being in the deer woods is great, & seeing deer is a big plus. I am fortunate enough to see deer every year. I am not a rack hunter, but I sure would enjoy taking a monster. I love deer meat so I would prefer to put a big doe in the freezer. :grin:

 

[Snowshoe]

Just spent the first weekend in Northern Minnesota's rifle season. Very little deer movement. We have been plagued by the big antler syndrom so long that whole hunting parties will kill only bucks while holding multiple bonus doe tags. About four years ago they found Bovine TB in the local cattle herds. The US Department of Agriculture determined that the (overpopulated) deer herd was spreading the desease.
For the past 3 years they have had intensive hunts, sharpshooters and have been killing deer from helicopters,all at tax payer expense. It was recently reported that,if enough deer are not regisered, they will resume shooting in our area and possibly in others as well.
In my opinion hunting is a manegement tool to keep populations regulated. It seems that too many hunters are somehow degraded by shooting a doe. I think it is time for this type of thinking to change. Believe me you do not want this to happen in your area.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/deer/tb/index.html

 

[Finnwolf]

You can do it Swampy - get out there and knock down some of theose yotes. Next year will be better for you and the deer.
Finnwolf

 

[luieb45]

I hate when people will make fun of you for shooting a doe. I donate most of my deer to the locker that is funded by local churches to give to local food banks. So when I go hunting I feel if I don't shoot something someone will go hungry tonight.

 

[Protrucker]

I hate when people will make fun of you for shooting a doe. I donate most of my deer to the locker that is funded by local churches to give to local food banks. So when I go hunting I feel if I don't shoot something someone will go hungry tonight.

I used to hold out only for the bucks & would let tags go unfilled if that's what it took. There were years that I wouldn't even shoot a small buck. I always felt that there was no need to take more deer than my family could eat in a year. The last few years I've been making a point of filling more tags, both buck & antlerless, so that I could donate some to the food banks. :v

 

[Snow on the Roof]

I hate when people will make fun of you for shooting a doe. I donate most of my deer to the locker that is funded by local churches to give to local food banks. So when I go hunting I feel if I don't shoot something someone will go hungry tonight.

Unfortunately this attitude is far more prevelant than I care for. Previously on an archery web site, folks where called "kill mongers" for willingly participating in the Illinois late antlerless season. These "Horn Hunters" havn't a clue. They have forgotten the joy of just being in the woods, hunting deer with a primitive weapon and enjoying the pleasure of venison on the plate. As I have said in a previous post, I appreciate a heavy racked buck but I keep in perspective why I am in the deer woods. The hunting community's current obsession with "mega racks" is detrimental to the sport, it forgets the intrinsic and asthetic reasons for being in the woods. I get very discouraged when I hear a young person voice disipointment when they don't "score on a big one". They have lost, or pehaps never learned, the pure joy of the hunt and the pleasures of woodsmanship. :shake:

John

 

[rdillion]

+1 :thumbsup:

You are dead on the mark there Partner. Great post. :hatsoff:

 

[meathead]

Well said "Snow on the Roof"
Everybody hunts for a reason. Some want fame out of it(trophy),some want the satisfaction of harvesting their own meat(meat hunters)and some want the thrill of killing(assholes).
Trophy hunting is a money thing and is ruining hunting here in Central Montana! The best places are for the wealthy elites and the privliged few. Thrill killing,poaching and most unlawfull activity seems to be centered around "trophy" class animals.It is starting to get out of hand. I suppose that the Outdoor Channel showing "select" ranch hunts have sent the wrong message to some hunters, and some will never enjoy the simple pleasures of enjoying the hunt.
Everybody hopes to take the Bull or Buck of their dreams, thats natural to any hunter. But as a hunter and a Meatcutter for 38 years, I have more respect for a fair chase hunter who loves the outdoors, respects the game and fellow hunters, and takes care of their meat.
That is what it is truely all about. In my opinion, Hunters who choses a traditional muzzleloading rifle or archery seems to have a handle on what hunting is all about.
I wish good hunting to all in this forum. :2

 

[wirehairman]

The meat vs. antlers argument always seem to bring out varied and strong opinions. Given that everyone on this forum has chosen to "handicap" themselves by using traditional equipment to one degree or another, I would guess that most if not all of the hunters hare are the type that truly enjoy the hunt and the experience.

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love hunting the bruisers but only fill my buck tag every fourth or fifth year. We can buy up to 7 doe tags here, so I put a couple of juicy does in the freezer each year and then hunt horns. Mostly, it's an excuse to extend my deer season, but I do relish the challenge of out witting a big buck.

On the other hand, many of my friends and family feel like a lesser man if they don't fill their buck tag every year. Of course, these are the same guys that think a perfectly placed 600 yard shot is the ultimate goal. Some guys want to be hunters, and some want to be marksman. To each his own . . . :shake:

 

[smoothy]

This will be the 2nd year my 14 year old gets out muzzleloading and the first year my 20 year old gets out. I'm hoping one or both get one, just not a yearling. The hunt itself will be a good memory for them. Last year my 14 year old was their when I got a doe with a smoothbore. He had a chance, but was too hesitant. Better safe anyway. My 20 year old has people asking him why we will hunt with "antique" firearms since they would use the most advanced tools on the market. I guess if we had to explain they wouldn't understand anyway.

 

[Headhunter]

I love hunting with my Hawken Rifles. I hunt everything I can with them. I love hunting does in doe season here in Missouri. And my Hawken, "Ol Grizzler" speaks poison with two tongues.

I do save my buck tag for something big.

This deer season, I am packing a M16A4 and a Beretta 9mm in Afghanistan. Ain't seen a whitetail yet.

Good luck to you boys. Shoot one for me.

Headhunter

 

[Stumpkiller]

This deer season, I am packing a M16A4 and a Beretta 9mm in Afghanistan. Ain't seen a whitetail yet.

God bless 'ya. Don't be afraid to waste some meat and hides by putting a few extra holes in for safety's sake. :hatsoff:

 

[gmww]

Hey bud, your welcome to as many overseas tags as you can possibly handle. Best wishes, safe tour, and keep your powder dry. :thumbsup: :bow: :bow:

 

[FyrepowrX]

Sir, thanks to you from my family for serving us. :hatsoff:

in the meat vs horns debate, i admit if a nice buck walks out side by side with a big doe, i would more likely shoot the buck.

However, i am fortunate to be able to hunt my own land that i have cultivated to have a large deer population, with food plots and a a management program to make it attractive to deer all year.

In the week of muzzleloader season i passed on 6 bucks & twice that many does before i found a deer i wanted to take, so in my case if i was meat hunting i would have been done hunting opening morning.

i have pretty much got to the point i am hunting specific deer that i have seen over the year, mature bucks, and i let others walk. so i guess to me its more about the hunt & being in the woods than meat OR horns. (Although, most of my 4.5yr old bucks have some nice headgear.)

 

[smoothy]

Thanks for serving. I have a son in the Army, but has not been deployed as of yet.

The first deer I got was a spike buck back in '77. My dad cut the spikes off and gave them to me. I didn't know what to do with them, but kept them with my hunting gear for many years. Then a few years back I decided to make a handle out of one of them for a knife. The left over tip I made a powder measure out of. Now I carry them with me during my traditional hunts.