antlers vs meat??

[Snow on the Roof]

Dad always said "...you can't eat horns." Like most I appreciate a mature buck with long tines and heavy mass. However, to call a fork horn an inferior deer is an insult to the hunt and to the game we pursue. Perhaps because society no longer hunts for survival we have turned hunting into a sport which inevitably evolves into a competition. Its our nature, to compete, to win. In part it is why man survived, why many of us are drivien to excell in our respective professions and pursuits. Still it is a shame. Most here are too young to remember the early days of "modern deer seasons". When to kill a deer, any deer, was a news worthy event. To kill a buck with a bow or muzzleloader would bring people from miles around just to see the slain creature. I recall a time when a season's sucess was not measured by a filled tag or the gross measurements of antler but by the priviledge of simply seeing a deer. This will be my fourty first season with a muzzleloader. Over the years I have killed several with ball and broadhead, the number is unimportant. My greatest pleasure today is getting someone else onto their first deer. I've started a couple of nephews onto their first. This year my young bride is going out with roundball and black powder, and I'm already putting into place plans to get my 10 month old great nephew his first. Seeing the pride in their faces when they take that first deer brings more joy to this old man's soul than any buck by my hand ever could.

John

 

[luieb45]

For me getting a mature doe in shooting range happens about as many times as you guys get good bucks in shooting range. I rarely ever see deer older than 2 1/2 years old. They normally are killed off quick around here. If I practiced management like people do on the big farms it would be useless because it's only a 200 acre farm that's mostly tillable ground and plenty of neighbors who shoot whatever walks in front of them.

 

[rabjr]

"...you can't eat horns."

Not sure when this saying started or came from but I tend to believe it was started by someone who didn't know enough to actually kill a buck. I say that because in my State alone during opening day shotgun season you can drive down any of the State land roads and see "pumpkins", guys all dressed in orange barely 100 yards off the dirt road sitting on a stump. They get out one or two weekends a year, if the weather ain't bad and are lucky if they see a deer let alone a buck. For most the extent of their knowledge is what they see on those huntings shows which usually do not translate well here.

And for someone who spent quite a bit of time in a State deer checking station, having grown up with Fish and Wildlife here. I remember when we checked 90 deer in a season and that was a lot. So yeah for a long time any deer taken here was a big deal, still is in my book.

 

[PJC]

My wife is a fantastic cook. I hunt for meat. I truly cherish a venison meal with an iced cold beer or nice glass of red wine. Here are some of the trophies I enjoy.
Venison Heart. The best steak on the whole deer.
Liver if it is a very young deer.
Venison steak.
Venison roast
Venison Sausage
Venison Pepperettes.
Venison Summer sausage.
Venison Cabassa
Venison Meat loaf
Venison Stew
Venison Chili

Roast Turkey oopps that is a different thread.
I could give a rats azz about beard length.

I also like to share my trophies with city folk who don't often get a chance to try venison. I often warn them that I already killed it once. They don't have to cook it to death. Without exception they are very greatful to try something different and just MAYBE that helps a little bit with the image of hunters. I also hunt on a farm that belongs to a menonite guy with a young family and they enjoy the venison as well. So the trophies get spread around quite a bit.

As far as guys who hunt big racks. I have a close friend that has turned down 140 class deer. It is his tag. He is having fun. What ever floats his boat. Same with other guys. If it is legal and they are enjoying themselves then that is OK with me.

PJC

 

[410-er]

Trophy......as long as there is no spots! :rotf:

 

[Walks with fire]

Ok; you win 4-10er. :rotf:

 

[BrownBear]

Trophy......as long as there is no spots! :rotf:

I dunno about that....

Our deer population fluctuates wildly, and the bag limit goes up and down right along with it. Time was we could take 7 in a 5-month season. Right now the limit is 3.

During one of the 7 deer years, I whacked a doe in timber the first week of December. Out of nowhere this little spotted fawn showed up and started trying to nurse. Ah man......

Did the manly thing and put it down. It was so small that I shoved it inside the doe after dressing her for the trip out.

Got back to the boat and really took a lot of guff from my 5 hunting companions. That night we ate it for dinner. All of it.

And the next day we all went back out looking for spots.

Absolutely the best meat any of us had ever eaten. Pale as veal, fork tender, and sweet beyond sweet.

When the limit gets back up to 7 again, we don't need all the meat we could get from 7 mature deer. At least half of what I'm going to shoot will be suitcase deer.

Never heard of suitcase deer?

Tie all four legs together, pick em up and carry them out like a suitcase. Your load balances a lot better if you got one in each hand.

 

[rabjr]

Yeah seen a few 24 lb dressed deer myself (they always went into the book as 40lbs), I wasn't the shooter, not something I think I can do but I seen a lot of changes in 30 years of hunting Prudence. At first the Biologist's begged us to shoot adult Does and this years deer. I've seen quota's at or near 70 breeding Does on each end of the Island, that means only they counted, nothing else towards the quota so A lot of deer was taken off that Island for years. For a long time the quota was 55 adult Does. I can't see it being 20 this year but I haven't checked. This year they wanted the little ones taken and the breeding Does left a lone because the numbers are so far down. An Island that at one time held over 70+ per square mile.

 

[larry wv]

Swampy the pumkins around here ride their 4 wheelers to the tree their stand is in and park at the bottom. They sit in the stand smokeing. Deer were scarce here when I started hunting and I was tickled to get a doe. But times have changed and I have also. Season is in 2 1/2 months and I hunt morning and evening every day but Sunday.I just like to hunt. But agree some just do it for bragging rights. I will shut up now. Larry Wv

 

[rdillion]

I have a couple of friends who are big buck hunters. I mean they are obsessed with big antlers. That's okay with me but I get tired of the way buck hunters look down on those of us who don't care. They treat us like we are lazy hunters or don't know enough about hunting to kill a big buck. I for one outgrew that "mine is bigger than yours" juvenile B.S. years ago. If they want a real challenge they can kill a doe with a 40 cal flintlock. I got mine this year.

 

[jethro224]

I love to eat good venison and I love big antlers too. Mostly I just love to hunt.
One deer is plenty of meat for me. My wife won't eat any venison and my daughter won't eat much. Still, I always get at least four deer tags. I like to take a tasty doe for the freezer almost every year. Might take two...

One tag is reserved for big bucks only. Lot of tags get burnt, but I will let young bucks walk every time. If you shoot 'em young, you'll never get a chance to shoot 'em when they grow up. What aggravates me is the guys that shoot the first yearling buck they see and then wonder why they never see any big bucks.

The last tag is reserved for MONSTER bucks only. Reserving that tag for a monster buck is a guarantee I'll get to hunt the whole season too. :wink: Unless I get real lucky.

That's what it all boils down to for me. I love to hunt. Does are usually easy for me to kill. Not much challenge there anymore. Young bucks are safe from me. Good size bucks are much rarer and harder to come by. Ups the challenge a few notches. :thumbsup: YMMV

 

[vern faulkner]

:hmm: MY grandPappy used to talk about cook'n up a pot of "track stew" :barf:, but I never saw him do it :shake: . Vern

 

[longcruise]

IMO, there are two kinds of "trophy" hunters. That being the guys who hunt big horns and only big horns.

First type is the kind we find a few of on this forum. They are the ones who have hunted for years and taken many animals and at this point want to make the hunt more challenging by killing only a trophy animal. That type is ok with the season ending without having killed an animal.

Then there is the (usually) young and up and coming guys who are a product of the hunting industry and the hunting video culture. They are obsessed with trophy heads and will only accept a trophy. They will spend huge amounts of money on equipment and guide fees to assure success.

I think both groups combined are the minority of the hunting population. Most are like many of us on this forum who are thrilled if a trophy falls into our lap but are ready to take the first good meat animal that comes along. For some guys in some places they may get only once chance at an animal per year!

I have killed three buck antelope and one scored high enough for the B&C book. But, I went several years without hunting antelope just to get the points to draw a buck tag. OTOH, I have killed about 16 doe antelope and they have been just as much fun to hunt as the bucks. Nowadays I put in only for doe antelope tags so that I can hunt more often.

 

[silent sniper]

I am not very picky in gun season on what deer to take. Here in my part of ohio the first day of shotgun deer season is like WW3. Around here the deer get smart and hid in the thickets and swamps when they start hearing the shots. So we are resorted to doing some hard deer hunting. We have drivers and standers and we drive the swamps and woods. The deer come out of there 100 MPH. It is like rabbit hunting lol. Well sense I am using a frontstuffer it is an added challange. So if I have a standing shot on a deer im going to shoot sense chances are it will be the only shot I will get of the day. Or I will resort to running shots,which I havent been successful at yet lol. In bow season I am a little picker. I dont pass up many does,but I do pass up the young bucks so they can get bigger. I am not a "trophy buck" only guy,but I do really like the big bucks.

 

[luieb45]

We get about 5 or 6 deer every year and we only keep one every year. The rest we take to the locker and donate to the needy.

 

[Dave K]

First of all, I love to hunt. I don't have to fill my tag to have a great season. I hunt for horns. I love to search for the deer of my dreams and then try to get him. Many years I go without filling my tag and that is OK. I also love to see the little bucks grow up and love to watch them go through the growing up experience. I never waste my deer meat, but I certainly do hunt for horns and I am not ashamed of it. It is my tag, bought and paid for and I will fill it when I see what makes me happy. I can fill my tag on 90% of the times I go hunting, but I just love to be part of the outdoor world and if I fill that tag, takes me out of field. We are still in our archery season, but I have already passed up a good number of deer and I enjoyed every minute of it. I feel many times a little like a farmer. I don't lean across the fence and just say let's butcher any animal, I like to look at the animal and feel that animal is ready to be harvested. I have in the past, just taken any deer, just for the meat. I always felt hollow and actually bad about it, so now I try to out wit, what I care to put my tag on. :surrender:

 

[rdillion]

Yeah, doe deer are so easy to kill, er I mean butcher, that I think I will just mount a bayonet on the end of my rifle, disguise it with an apple and let them impale themselves upon it. Nothing personal Dave but this exactly the type of attitude toward meat hunters that I alluded to in my previous post. I grant you that doe deer are an easier target due to the fact that they run in herds and there are more of them. I applaud you for your choice to hunt trophy bucks. It's hard work and takes a lot of commitment but please don't belittle those of us who don't care how big your antlers happen to be. Back in my bowhunting only days, recurve bow mind you, the hardest thing to get a shot at was an adult doe or a coyote. The bucks acted just plain stupid at times. Anyway, good luck and I hope you get a big one.

 

[Goldhunter]

...isn't the gathering of meat the ultimete goal.I sort of get confused here in Pa listening to guys grouse about the does only early season, you can fry, sautee, slow cook, bar-b que those antlers all ya want n they still taste like manure so isn't the meat the real reward? Isn't the time spent in the woods really what we are supposed to be enjoying. Maybe its a contest sort of thing" I got the biggest horns""bragging rights I guess, I compete with myself n never really worried about what others think and the flavor of the meat is what I'm after not the antlers. All this most likely doesn't make sense to most guys but GET OVER THE ANTLERS THING!!!! enjoy the time ya get in the woods n quit complaining , be glad yer able to even hunt, think of all the other places in the world where ya got to jump through hoops to even be allowed to shoot much less hunt. It's the time in the woods either byyourself or with friends that counts not how big a set the buck had

Here's Goldhunter's take on this. For me it's an antler thing. We only get one deer permit a year (unless we don't draw at all) and the program I'm in I can only take two deer in three years. (utah dedicated hunter program, look it up) So I spend my time looking for mister big. And I'm completely OK with not taking an animal in a year if I don't. I VERY MUCH enjoy my time in the woods, that's why I am in the program (I can hunt all three of our seasons if I like plus an extended season that goes into early Dec). I love the challenge of finding, stalking, and outsmarting big mule deer. My goal is to have a nice 27"-30" buck on my wall. Will I ever acheive that? Who knows, 30" muleys are the holy grail of western mule deer hunting. But I'll be fun to keep trying.

Do I like the meat? Yes, I love the meat. But my meat mainly comes from Cow Elk. And with just my wife and I at home, one cow lastest almost two years.

Have I shot big muleys (what's your definition?)? No, but I love trying to take them. Was my buck this year big? Not really, but I'm happy with him (I wasn't going to get anymore opportunities to unit deer this year) and he does taste great. And I have fond memories of the hunt this year and everytime I look at his european mount I'll be reminded of a great time in the outdoors.

And I have years where I can't dedicate the time to hunt big muleys, so I look for something else, it just depends on what I decide that year.

Does my life revolve around mister big? No, my life, hunting wise, revolves around hunting mule deer and elk and the chance to get out-of-doors with family and friends. Do I look down upon those that shoot does and small bucks? NO. It's a pleasure, a great and wonderful thing, to be able to take one of God's creatures and I applaud all that do (ethically and legally). It's quite a country we live in where we get the opportunity to do this. :wink:

To each his own. My .02. :thumbsup:

 

[rdillion]

Your meat mainly comes from cow elk? You are one lucky dog. Wish I had that choice. I am very envious.

 

[Dave K]

Yeah, doe deer are so easy to kill, er I mean butcher, that I think I will just mount a bayonet on the end of my rifle, disguise it with an apple and let them impale themselves upon it. Nothing personal Dave but this exactly the type of attitude toward meat hunters that I alluded to in my previous post. I grant you that doe deer are an easier target due to the fact that they run in herds and there are more of them. I applaud you for your choice to hunt trophy bucks. It's hard work and takes a lot of commitment but please don't belittle those of us who don't care how big your antlers happen to be. Back in my bowhunting only days, recurve bow mind you, the hardest thing to get a shot at was an adult doe or a coyote. The bucks acted just plain stupid at times. Anyway, good luck and I hope you get a big one.

Uh,what did I say that belittled you? Or are we touchy about the way others enjoy using their liecense? It is my tag, I will use it or not use it as I have paid for it for my enjoyment and no one elses. The questions was asked and I responded. :shake: Like Roundball posted about his experience and he has probably been hunting longer than me, just by seeing his age and I have hunted probably longer than you, just seeing your age. It is a maturity thing. When you get some more years and hunts under you, you may understand the way and reason I hunt. But, I also understand the reasons other hunt just as well. I was answering the question as to why I hunt,as for some it is not just about getting the meat. It is the outdoor experience. With the price of tags, eguipment and traveling costs, if I really needed the meat, it would be cheaper to just not take a day off from work and just go buy the meat.