Trophy hunter versus meat hunter

[catfishrus]

just wondering what everyone thought about these two. i know you cannot eat the horns but when you shoot a yearling or year and half old buck all your getting is half the meat you will have next year. around here a yearling will only weigh 50-75lbs by the end of december on the hoof. i just see some folks dont care about trophy hunting and to each his own but why not wait till next year and get the big steaks. i been on both sides of the fence over the years. i know some folks that just kill to give the meat away too. so what do you all think about it?

[billcatfish]

if im not going eat the deer im not going to kill it as for the small deer i wont kill a small 1 onless its getting closs to the end of season to fill my tags at the price of them you have 2 as for trophy bucks every 1 wonts to kill the big 1 but i cant eat them horns

[bigcatmaniac]

I have tried every way possible to cook the horns so they wouldn't be as hard but i haven't found one way yet. I will shoot a small doe if i see one for the simple fact that they are better to eat, i try not to shoot a small buck if i can avoid it. I have shot small bucks in the past close to the end of the season.

[Believer]

I'm a new hunter and I primarily hunt for meat. It doesn't much matter if it has a big rack or no rack at all. That being said, I wasn't about to pass up the 10 pointer that walked by Sunday! :big_smile:

[Scott Daw]

I consider myself to be a meat hunter. Here in PA theres a 3 point on one side requirement for bucks. so if its legal it'll be time to tag & drag. now of course should 2 bucks come by at the same time and one was bigger then the other, then I'll take the big one if I can.

[laidbck111]

When I did hunt I hunted for meat. We were also, at the time, using doe tag's, meaning a controled harvest. So for the most part it was bucks that were being taken. When the doe restriction lifted we harvested what could be had.

[vlparrish]

I consider myself to be a meat hunter. Here in PA theres a 3 point on one side requirement for bucks. so if its legal it'll be time to tag & drag. now of course should 2 bucks come by at the same time and one was bigger then the other, then I'll take the big one if I can.

I'm a meat hunter also. Not that I won't shoot a big buck if I have a tag to fill and he is there. Also we get one tag for a visible antlered buck and I will use it on just about any buck out there. I could maybe hold out and wait for bigger like I have done in the past and leave the season with an unfilled tag and an empty freezer. JMO Vern

[SkiMax]

I don't hunt very often but when I do it is for the meat. OI honestly don't care about bucks. i think a doe's meat taste better and would rather shoot it. I have passed up 10-12 pointers hoping a nice tasting female will walk by. I hunt for food and fish for braggin' rights.

[bootshowl]

I know what you are talking about Mike. I actually wondered a few times when I lived over in Ky. looking at the small weight and size of the one's being harvested off Fort Knox. You'd stop at the Dairy Queen for coffee and look, heck; my dogs bigger that. I meat hunt but have seen em so small you could butcher em out in an apartment kitchen. I don't mind a small rack, but I want one that looks healthy and is worth the effort. Ya want a buck who'll dress out at a least 150#. A doe that will dress at least 80#. Here in Indiana in most counties, you can take an additional 8 does if you can pay for the tags. That ought to tell you something about the deer population here. We don't hunt the deer we ambush them. But there should be sportmanship in that. Hopefully one shot, one kill, one worthy. And there's luck to it just like fishing. This year I do have an eye out for the one that got away though....maybe it's because I'm reaching that age where I wonder how many seasons I have left? Nice thread.

[derbycitycatman]

Id have to say Im both a meat hunter and trophy hunter. So far this year Ive let the same 7 pointer walk twice and just took my third doe yesterday. I wont take a buck unless its a shooter to me.

[Believer]

Id have to say Im both a meat hunter and trophy hunter. So far this year Ive let the same 7 pointer walk twice and just took my third doe yesterday. I wont take a buck unless its a shooter to me.

Since my 1st buck was a 130 class 10 pointer I have a feeling it will be tough to beat that with a bow, so the small buck had better watch out or he'll be on my table! :cool2:

[jim]

Its an old axiom that each hunter and fisherman goes thru 3 stages.1st is kill all I can, fill my limit, harvest all the law allows.2nd Trophy hunter,biggest horns, heaviest fish, largest trout etc.3rd conservationist,still harvest a big buck or an occasional fish or maybe take a fat doe,or a mess of catfish but for the most part more concerned about preserving the resource for the future.I would add that as you get older and the reaper is out there and you know it you become more reluctant to kill anything because you realize just how precious life is.For a healthy deer herd or any species for that matter harvesting the does ,small bucks etc is necessary.Hunting for the meat is the essential tradition of both hunting and fishing.Regulations and limits ensure we dont damage the population.So harvest what you legally can and be sure and utilize it.All phases are just as honorable as the next so no distinction should be made.I don't hunt deer much anymore but I'm still after those Elk.:big_smile:

[Paraguayguy]

I love to shoot deer. As a boy anything that was legal. I'm lucky that I get to hunt two family farms and the farms of two good friends. All are over run with deer and all have been in Virginia's deer management program for years. Way back when the buck to doe ratio was 20 does to every buck. Why you ask? Plain and simple, we were whacking anything that had even the smallest nodule of an antler on its head.

Flash forward 10 years.

There are still the same number of deer on the properties but the ratio is down to close to 2 does per buck. You still see loads of deer hunting with the added benefit of about half the deer sighted being bucks. All the guys hunting the properties pretty much respect the no small buck rule so every year we see some whoppers and a few end up hanging from the meat pole beside all the does we shoot. On my brother's farm, we took 33 does and only two bucks last year. Both bucks were nice mature 3 1/2 year old deer sporting ten and twelve point racks. This year we have seen three big ones and many many small six and eight point 1 1/2 year old deer. I'm already licking my chops thinking about what they will be like next year.

To each his own. I absolutely love to crunch deer with bows, muzzle loader, rifle, and shotgun. I just don't shoot little bucks anymore. As pointed out by many of the previous posts. "Doe meat is better"

I got an email from my brother's neighbor that his hired man got a 15 point 24 inch wide buck yesterday. If I get a hold of the picture, I'll post it. He has his ground in Virginia's deer management program also.

[squirtspop]

I had 11 does and little ones walking all around me Saturday morning. They came within 15-20 feet of me. Saw me, stomped their feet and bobbed their heads up and down. I froze and never even blinked. Evidently my scent cover up worked. They went back to grazing and eating acorns. To bad I never had a doe tag. They was there for what seemed like about 45 minutes. I was squatted down and leaning back on a blackjack tree. Both legs and feet went to sleep and when they left I couldn't hardly stand up. But all in all it was truly enjoyable just to watch their antics.

[derbycitycatman]

Since my 1st buck was a 130 class 10 pointer I have a feeling it will be tough to beat that with a bow, so the small buck had better watch out or he'll be on my table! :cool2:

Congrats thats a heck of a first buck. I dont have to shoot a bigger buck every year just one that I consider worthy, no little ones or yearlings. I leave them for the kids and new hunters if they want them, really just personal choice. If I had to shoot a bigger buck than my last one 174 5/8 net, or the one before that I doubt Id ever shoot another one.
Ive been thinking about not hunting the rest of gun season and pulling out the bow. Been wanting to take a deer with rifle, smokepole and bow all in one year.

[IrishO'Brady]

Im not saying you implied any enmity between the two groups, but as far as I can tell, I just don't like putting "versus" between any hunting or fishing lines. I think both hunting and fishing receive a lot of pressure from outside political and media sources, and if they had their way we would not be able to harvest fish nor game. Not that I am saying this thread is over controversy, only stating that whether you keep all your cats cause your hungry, or you cpr all of them, whether you hunt for a 12 point buck and give your meat to a charity organization, or take it home to throw in the freezer, we are all sportsman. So long as we all abide by the laws and rules that "govern" fair play and sportsmanship, we should all have eachothers back, regardless of preferance.

I see a lot of opinions here (some the same, some very different) and yet we all find a way to respect and aid one another. Groups like this only help to further our cause on a daily basis.

threads like these are why I love the BOC

-Chris

[catfishrus]

thanks for all the post on this subject. chris maybe i could have used better wording but thats what came to mind at the time. i really dont think either way is right or wrong on this subject.

jim i really like your post but it did make me fill older. i guess it kind of like my dad told me one day. he said i use to look around and everyone was old, now i look around and everyone is young.

[TDawgNOk]

i know some folks that just kill to give the meat away too. so what do you all think about it?


I'll be more than happy to take any that someone wants to give me!

[savage308]

I hunt 2 ranches. One here in Victoria county. We can shoot 1 buck must be 13" inside spread, 1 spike, and 2 doe. On this ranch we have great deer and I only shoot 1 buck here. I limit myself to 10 pointer or better and only shoot 3-1/2 yrs or older deer. This is my trophy ranch according to this thread.

The other ranch is in the south texas hill country where the deer are severly over populated. This ranch I take 1 buck and it's pretty much anything that I feel like shooting. Very seldom will you see a deer over 130 B&C.

I shoot 2 deer a year and this supplys my family with enough venison to almost make it through the year. (sparingly eaten)

[Cherokee]

It would be real nice to take a trophy buck and may be one i will. :big_smile:

[catfishrus]

I'll be more than happy to take any that someone wants to give me!

how long will it take you to get to nc?:lol:

[flathead willie]

Luckily, I have the best of both worlds here. We have a severe overpopulation problem and our laws are such that I can take as many Does as I want for the freezer. We can also take three bucks (antler visible above the hair). That means that I can fill my freezer and still wait for a big buck. With that in mind, I usually fill the freezer with Does and yearling bucks during bow season and let the medium size bucks walk so they can hopefully reach trophy size in a year or two. I'd rather shoot a 2 1/2 year old Doe than a 2 1/2 year old buck.

[cats4uandme]

ive been out 10 times bowhunting.ive seen nothing. im a meat hunter. so tomorrow when firearm season opens im shooting the first one i see. i aint gonna chanch getting nothing. next years BIG steaks aint doing me no good now.:cool2:

[CMJ]

Well, I when I first started hunting here in N.C. in the early 80's it was kill any buck you see and leave the does along.I was on a hunt that didn't even want you to kill a doe on doe days. Now people get criticized for killing a young buck. Now, I try to leave the year and a half bucks along and kill one at least two and a half. The area where I live if you wait for a mature three and a half buck you might go for years and not shoot. Its hard to get all the neighbors that hunt small tracts to trophy hunt, and then you've got the one's that start gun hunting a month before the season comes in. There's not enough game wardens to cover it all. I guess I would say if the deer is killed legal its o.k. with me. I know one thing I hate to see dead deer laying all over the road this time of year, we need to start killing more does.....:big_smile:

[CatfishHateMe]

I know what you are talking about Mike. I actually wondered a few times when I lived over in Ky. looking at the small weight and size of the one's being harvested off Fort Knox. You'd stop at the Dairy Queen for coffee and look, heck; my dogs bigger that. I meat hunt but have seen em so small you could butcher em out in an apartment kitchen. I don't mind a small rack, but I want one that looks healthy and is worth the effort. Ya want a buck who'll dress out at a least 150#. A doe that will dress at least 80#. Here in Indiana in most counties, you can take an additional 8 does if you can pay for the tags. That ought to tell you something about the deer population here. We don't hunt the deer we ambush them. But there should be sportmanship in that. Hopefully one shot, one kill, one worthy. And there's luck to it just like fishing. This year I do have an eye out for the one that got away though....maybe it's because I'm reaching that age where I wonder how many seasons I have left? Nice thread.


up to 8 does in most counties. but if you want to bag alot of deer here in indiana, you could get a total of 498 does in a season if you paid for all the bonus antlerless tgas you could. thats rediculous. i kno theres alot of deer here but the population isnt big enough to give peoplke the promission yo take so many does it could feed all of our active army, navy, air force, and marine corps troops.

[flathead willie]

It's like that here, too. You can buy all the doe tags you want. However, hunting is like fishing in that 10% of the hunters kill 90% of the deer year after year. With the overpopulation we have here, the success rate is still 24% which means that 75% of the 300,000 licensed hunters go home without a deer. Those that kill more than 3 are less then 1%.

[flahead_61]

We have unlimited antlure-less tags and one any deer. The way the economy is today I meat hunt during both gun and bow season. I am more likely to try for my trophy with my bow I consider that hunting and gun putting meat on the table.
I have problem with trophy hunters who don't harvest the meat. I've came across more than a few kills left laying with head/antlures cut off. :angry:

[blackhorse83]

I try to kill an anterless deer every year for eating, mostly jerky and summer sausage, from that point on it is trophy hunting for me. I also take a camera with me on every trip and the pictures remind me of the deer or what ever else I see that could have been. Also I have a reference on those deer for the next season.

[IL Hunter]

I meat and trophy hunt. We have an over population of deer, and getting the herd down with does is the best way to do it, plus they are the better eating. I only like to shoot bucks that have a nice rack on them. I still eat them, but the doeas are much better.

[jlingle]

I always get kinda tickled when I see the meat hunter vs. trophy hunter debate discussed. Why does it have to be one group vs. the other? What's so wrong with either group? I've got a buddy that is currently hunting one single deer, and he won't kill any buck but the ONE ignorant deer he's after. I've been kidding him calling him a deer snob, but you know what??? If he wants to do that and it makes him happy, then what the hell do I care?

I also have plenty of friends who shoot the first buck that walks in front of them. They don't give a flip if it's a biggun or not, they're gonna eat it and that's just that. To these guys, deer are just deer and I'm cool with that too.

Me, I trophy hunt mainly. That doesn't make me less of a person. I don't hunt deer to eat them anyway. I have lots of spanish guys who work for me and I give them all the deer I kill. Now they really do need the meat, and I don't. I always kill several does a year to give to them and theyr'e very thankful for them. I just don't like killing small bucks. I won't do it. Others will and that's fine with me, but I'm not in it to just walk out into the woods and kill any old buck.

Some like horns and some like the meat, but I don't think there's anything at all wrong with either concept. JMIO (just my ignorant opinion.)

Jerrod

[Cathooker]

I have no problem with what ever a person wants to shoot. They have the right to choose as long as it is done legally. A trophy is a matter of perspective. When I was young ANY deer was a trophy...40 years later that has changed.
Here in Ga we are allowed 10 antlerless deer and two bucks. One buck can be any size horns and one must be 4 points or more on one side to be legal. In my area the buck doe ratio is so out of whack it is pityful. There is 15 to 20 does per buck in many areas. Guys n Gals if I can get em in my sights I shoot does until my tags run out. Which is rare...lol. I let the small bucks walk. It is no problem at all to fill your freezer in this area. We process all the meat and waste none. While hunting here in my own backyard I am realistic...the big wall hanger trophy bucks are few and far between. The soil is not good...there is very little agriculture....and the majority of the one and a half year old bucks are killed every year. We do have a high deer population. IN one year my wife hit two deer, my son hit three, my daughter hit 2 with their vehicles. Two vehicles severly damaged and one was totaled. My son was in the totaled one and came real close to death that night. So while hunting here I am a meat hunter. BUT, when I go to Kentucky my mentality changes. In the area that I hunt there is a real chance of taking a Big Wallhanger Trophy. So for a few days each year I change my spots and become a trophy hunter.
We are ALL deer hunters and it should not matter to anyone what someone else kills. LEGALLY.

[catfishrus]

cathooker i agree with your post but i do find myself at no understanding when hunting a area that has a buck to doe ratio such as you and i have and someone shoots 1 1/2 year old bucks for meat. i just feel like sometimes those buck should be left along for a couple years to balance the herd back out but i like to hunt big bucks. them corn feed giants from the mid west taste as good as any doe i ever eat. thanks for all the post. good to see different opinions.

[catfishbills]

Well, My wife wont eat deer, only our son who is now in college and I will eat it, so I only hunt for a (what I consider) trophy buck and in the last few years cut up and given the meat to friends. Last Friday I shot a 19" spread 9-point and stayed up most of the weekend butchering and doing jerky.......our son drove home from college and ate a 2lb bag of it before he went back to school(took some with him too!)I also hunt because I just enjoy seeing and watching deer! I let a nicer deer walk yesterday to grow one more year since I had already killed the other buck!:smile2: I will probably NEVER see him again! BUT thats the chance you take! You can ONLY put so many on the wall! I do however take a digital camera with me (just like fishing) and once I know he's not a SHOOTER, take his pic(if possible).

[SuCoTraveler]

Its an old axiom that each hunter and fisherman goes thru 3 stages.1st is kill all I can, fill my limit, harvest all the law allows.2nd Trophy hunter,biggest horns, heaviest fish, largest trout etc.3rd conservationist,still harvest a big buck or an occasional fish or maybe take a fat doe,or a mess of catfish but for the most part more concerned about preserving the resource for the future.I would add that as you get older and the reaper is out there and you know it you become more reluctant to kill anything because you realize just how precious life is.For a healthy deer herd or any species for that matter harvesting the does ,small bucks etc is necessary.Hunting for the meat is the essential tradition of both hunting and fishing.Regulations and limits ensure we dont damage the population.So harvest what you legally can and be sure and utilize it.All phases are just as honorable as the next so no distinction should be made.I don't hunt deer much anymore but I'm still after those Elk.:big_smile:

This is an awsome thread!! I used to hunt for meat, but killing does really got to easy with a rifle and I'm not starving yet, so I took a couple of years off from deer hunting, now I'm back, hunting with a bow, much more dificult and trying to wait for a nice shooter buck, then take a doe, this is the important part, taking does control deer population, here in Kansas, 95% of the does give birth to twins, the rare thing is seeing them give birth to triplets. Seen it about 2 miles from home.

[Stlnifr]

I guess I am a meat hunter, I take my share and I eat everyone I shoot, and take any if they are given to me. This way I buy less beef during the year. I also raise rabbits for my personal consuption.

[coltsfan]

where i live here in ohio i'm allowed two deer. one buck and one doe or two does,not two bucks.so i guess i'm both. my doe tag is filled with the first doe that walks under me,so i can concentrate on my big buck the rest of the year.i already have meat in the freezer so i can wait on the buck that i want but usually end up still hunting the last day freezing my butt off and only getting the earlier doe

[gargoil77]

When I did hunt I would hunt for meat. My first deer I shot was a 6 pt'er and I had it mounted. I wanted my first deer mounted regardless of sex. I don't believe in the point of killing any animal just because it would be considered a 'trophy'.

[catfishn72]

It Does Not Matter To Me I Shot A Small 6 Point With My Bow And 2 Yearling Does With My Gun Thats Here In West Virginia, I Also Have An Out Of State Lic For Ohio Where Ill Try For A Wall Hanger.

[SIVART22573]

I put some meat in the freezer then i hunt for antlers