antlers vs meat??

Halito Birdman!
(Hello Birdman)
Interesting topic, good words from many here. I hunt, I hunt 365 days a year, just dont put some thing on the ground every day. We, my family, does not buy meat, we hunt it, we consume what we kill, just a personal choice that we have made. Here in Texas we have so many animals to hunt, native and extoics, that we dont have to worry about buying meat from stores. I work not only as a ranch hand but as a hunting guide as well. I shot doesand heaven forbid, "Cull Bucks". Bucks that dont meet the station the land owner and Texas Parks and Wildlife have placed on them, not my doings, but I make a living doing it. People wanta spend money shooting high quality bucks, let them, it pays my bills, but I'd rather shoot doe deer of any specie than a big buck. Calcium deposits are nice to look at but they dont do well on the table and since I feed my family from hunting, I'll stick with what we can eat.
Sine I get most of the hides to tan or trade out and the meat its a win win for me. Just my two cents worth, but buck hunters can have them, I know they work hard for them and they do earn them, but meat is our number one reason for hunting.
:thumbsup:

Can I come to your house for supper? :grin: I do pick up sheds to make powder measures, knife handles, etc. Venison would be all my family ate if were my choice. Some of the guys at work will turn and walk off when you tell that you killed a nice doe. I bet some of them will just cut the head off of a buck and throw the rest away. When I hear people say they wouldn't waste their tag on a doe is when I turn and walk away. :shake:

Here in Idaho we can only get 1 resident tag. If we want a second tag we can buy a non resident "expensive" tag. We also have draw tags in good areas, and open hunt tags.
For me it depends what tag I have. If I don't draw a good tag I am happy to shoot a doe or a small buck in a open area, BUT most does are a draw only. Also I am not going to spend much going on a small buck or doe hunt. That kind of hunt is about meat and doing it cheep. For that kind of hunt I might also try a new bullet or a different gun to add something to the hunt.
If I have a good tag in a trophy hunting area, I am not about to use it on a doe or a small buck, even if the law allows it. I will try to take the biggest buck I can find.
My son has not yet been bitten by the trophy bug. So far he has been content to shoot does, when he can’t get a moose tag. Sometimes he uses a centerfire bolt action rifle, sometimes a muzzleloader. He might use a lever gun this year.
Hunts are what I make of them. Like what was said before. It is my tag I will go after what I want. Most of the time I want a big buck.
Hunting a mature buck mule deer at his peak in life is a challenge. Getting a trophy mule deer is considered one of the hardest animals to get. Mostly because populations of trophy class animals are not that great. I have heard that whitetails are great to eat. Some day I want to find out. But for now big mule deer are my passion and the reason for me to keep buying deer tags. Ron

It's an attitude thing and I hear it all the time at work and from guys in my own camp. If your not a trophy hunter they won't talk to you and seem to think you're too poor a hunter to do anything else. In my younger days I trophy hunted also. Now I challenge myself by hunting with a flintlock, longbow, recurve bow, and hunt on the ground. A doe with a ceder arrow fletched with turkey feathers from a bird I killed is a trophy to me.

I shoot between 6 and 12 deer a year, I've shot 3 already and we (a family of 6)have eaten them all except for 6 steaks and one back strap.I balance my hunting with 2 bucks a year ( 3 when I draw a muzzleloader buck tag) and the rest will be does, so for me I'm both I guess, because I will target big bucks and only shoot the big ones with those tags, but we eat a awful lot of wild game, to the point where I don't buy much meat until Feb., or March. Some old does are pretty smart and bucks get pretty dumb in the rut so I don't think one is more sporting than the other.

rdillion said:

"...Some of the guys at work will turn and walk off when you tell that you killed a nice doe..."

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Nothing wrong with that...the fact you happened to kill a Doe simply may not be in the realm of their areas of interest.

"...I bet some of them will just cut the head off of a buck and throw the rest away..."

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In the context of this thread...meat vs. antlers...that comes across as a very negative, actually sour grapes...type of statement implying that those, who at a point in time in their lives have become interested in holding out for a nice rack, would do that...reality is it's only the rare, occasional slob poacher who might do that...not real hunters.

"...When I hear people say they wouldn't waste their tag on a doe is when I turn and walk away..."

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Again, if they lived in a state were tags are limited and their interest is not in using it for a Doe because of their different interests than yours, it is inappropriate for you have negative reactions about how they choose to use the tag(s) they've bought and paid for.

In closing...care needs to be taken not to stereo-type hunters in general based upon your few personal declarations in the extreme...the common theme throughout your comments is a put down of any others who happen to have interests and priorities different than yours...and the fact that others have different views doesn't make yours the correct ones...it just means that you don't understand theirs...if you did, you wouldn't make such negative statements.

:v

In some states where you have to draw for a deer tag I can understand being selective. In Arkansas we are blessed with liberal bag limits. I really have no problem with people who trophy hunt. It's hard work. I know , I've done it. My problem is the attitude some of these hunters have toward people who don't trophy hunt. This subject really strikes a raw nerve with me. Not the trophy hunting itself. Just the attitude of some of those who pursue it.

A funny story about meat hunting:
When I was in College my roommate and I both worked part-time construction. In the winter this meant little work and few groceries. The only time we had to hunt was during the Christmas break. In our hometowns of southeast Ark. this was a week-long M.L. season. We both did our darnest to fill our tags before we went back to school. This would be the only meat we had until spring. Ah, the good ole days. :thumbsup:

I think I'm a victim of what wasn't 40 years ago. Back then you were lucky to see a track here and took us until 79' before our Shotgun season tagged over 100 animals. So I guess for a long time I was very protective of Does where I hunted. We started riding a wave that started in the late 80's and still shows no sign of letting up as far as Deer numbers go but I still remember those early years and I started hunting in 75' when it was a big deal just to see a track.

Yes I'd rather shoot a buck, antlers don't mean much to me, yes I can appreciate a nice pair of antlers but I'm no "Antler Trophy Hunter" by no means. I don't have legs and can't hunt like most of you, so hunting bucks is just another challenge I place upon myself just to make it a little harder. I need to put 4 deer in the freezer for my family to get through the year so yes I will take a Doe sometimes but I cringe every time I do because I remember the way it once was here 40 years ago.
http://nimrodsplace.com/rii.html

The only mount I own is my grandfathers 8 point with a 16 1/2 inch spread that he killed in the mid 1950s. I can only imagine how proud he was of that deer. Just seeing a deer in those days was a big deal.

Swampy, :hatsoff: My hat's off to you. :hatsoff:

I believe a trophy is what you make of it. Some will attest that the spike elk they harvested with their bow is a trophy Boy, I whole heartedly agree! I spent a weekend with a friend's kids on a cow elk hunt. The two cows we packed back to the trucks were hard earned trophies. And those kids were PROUD! My first archery buck is a big trophy for me (not refering to antler size either).

There are some good discussions in this topic. :thumbsup:

I have no problem with guys who choose to hold out for a decent buck, especially in states where they have to draw for a tag, but I absolutely despise what I've come to call the "horn porn industry".

That said, I'm strictly a meat hunter. While I might take a big buck if given a chance, I would have a tough time deciding between a big buck and a young, tender doe. It would probably depend on how much meat is already in the freezer.

I never thought I'd say this, but I guess in a way I'm lucky to hunt in NJ, where we have unlimited bag limits on antlerless deer. We typically eat venison all year. The only beef my wife and I have bought in the past year was at a restaurant.

fyrfyter43 said:

.... but I absolutely despise what I've come to call the "horn porn industry".

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:rotf: How true. That's one of our biggest gripes out here is the influence the "horn porn" industry is having on our Fish/Game department and sportsman's groups, it's quickly overriding the average Joe's ability to enjoy a hunt, or even hunt at all. It seems to me, at least in my state, that hunting is fast on the road to being a rich man's game.

Horn porn. :rotf:

You might laugh now about "horn porn" but tune into the VERSUS channel at 8PM Fridays and watch the guy who has a share of Tecomate deer ranch in TX and his 2 daughters and wife describe bucks after they have killed them. Jeff Foxworthy is part owner or a guest. You won't be laughing at horn porn anymore.
There is room for both philosophy boys. Pennsylvania has long protected does and to this day, you can legally take only 1 deer unless you buy a bonus antlerless tag. Hard to pass up a legal buck (3 points on a side) if you like venison but I usually look for Mr. Big in the regular rifle season right after Thanksgiving. If I don't see him, a lesser legal buck or doe in the special blackpowder season is still a trophy to me. I hunt from the ground with a flinter, PRB
from 26 December to 10 Jan. Anything I see that is legal between those dates is a trophy, if I deem it so. I have let does and lesser legal bucks walk but that is a decision I make based on conditions on the ground at the time. Someone said a farmer doesn't look over the fence and take just any animal. No, he usually takes the sick one or the old one, the one that won't last one more winter. Wonder if a lot of you trophy guys are farmers or VERSUS watchers.
Finnwolf

Finnwolf, Actually when the farmer looks over the fence to choose one for butchering, he looks at one that has reached it's best and fullest potential. It is the animal that anymore money spent on it, will not profit him, but actually take money away. If you are looking over a dairy cow, you would look at one that is going down in health and no longer produces the poundage of milk it did at it's best or no longer produces good calves. A meat farmer will look at when it no longer gets a profitable gain from the pounds of meat to feed ratio. You can look at deer the same way. There is buck that still has potential yet to grow and become worthy of the name or the doe that has reached her full size and breeding potential. For meat hunting, personally I make sure it is not a button buck but actually a yearling doe. Not a doe of that year, but the one that is about 1 1/2 yrs. old. It will probably have the best tasting meat and still provides me with the challenge of the hunt. Anyone knows that an old doe is a very worthy trophy. She is not only caring for her safety, but she is the matriarch of the family unit, and watches for their safety. It is her experiences that leads them to the best food sources, bedding sites and away from danger. Personally, I like to keep her in that position for that reason. Again, this is how I feel about hunting deer. Do I feel elitest about this, no I don't at all. I feel in somewhat this is like you choosing a mate. It is a life long choice. You want to enter into it with eyes wide open and the course of action you take is forever. The taking of any life to me is not to be taken likely, hunting to me is not catch and release. If you are happy with your choice, I am happy for you, whatever that choice maybe. But to judge others on what their experiene to the hunt is about, is kind of elitest in it's own right.

Roundball, thank you for your last post. :thumbsup:

Finnwolf said:

You might laugh now about "horn porn" but tune into the VERSUS channel at 8PM Fridays and watch the guy who has a share of Tecomate deer ranch in TX and his 2 daughters and wife describe bucks after they have killed them. Jeff Foxworthy is part owner or a guest. You won't be laughing at horn porn anymore.
There is room for both philosophy boys. Pennsylvania has long protected does and to this day, you can legally take only 1 deer unless you buy a bonus antlerless tag. Hard to pass up a legal buck (3 points on a side) if you like venison but I usually look for Mr. Big in the regular rifle season right after Thanksgiving. If I don't see him, a lesser legal buck or doe in the special blackpowder season is still a trophy to me. I hunt from the ground with a flinter, PRB
from 26 December to 10 Jan. Anything I see that is legal between those dates is a trophy, if I deem it so. I have let does and lesser legal bucks walk but that is a decision I make based on conditions on the ground at the time. Someone said a farmer doesn't look over the fence and take just any animal. No, he usually takes the sick one or the old one, the one that won't last one more winter. Wonder if a lot of you trophy guys are farmers or VERSUS watchers.
Finnwolf

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Since I don't have VERSUS or any other cable/dish type channel, care to enlighten me?

Are you talking about High Fence hunting?

Dave K said:

"...to judge others on what their experience to the hunt is about, is kind of elitest in it's own right..."

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Same attitude some have towards the kind of muzzleloaders others use.
Whether its about guns or hunting, I couldn't care less what or how anybody hunts and its nobody else's business what or how other people choose to use or hunt.

That show and just about every other on VERSUS disgust me.

The one your talking about is basically growing steroidal deer, sit in high tower with their high power magnum bolt actions and pick and choose the biggest antlered buck standing out there at 2 or 300 yards and in between trying to sell you something, they shoot it. You call that hunting? No I'm not laughing Finnwolf, the whole thing is sad.

Get down on the grown and stalk the deer. Would love it if it were a smoke pole but it don't even have to be that. Just get back to hunting something most of these programs have long forgotten about. :shake:

I don't watch any hunting shows. They are a joke. Larry Wv :barf:

In my younger days I lived on a "subsistence farm" in northern Minnesota and because the farm had no electricity, the domestic meat was brined in crocks and come late winter, any "fresh meat" was really appreciated. W/ this experience, I never did go through the "horny stage". Have enjoyed many types of hunting and eat everything I kill, so that restricts my hunting to "edible" species and seeing Wisconsin has liberal bag limits, the first edible game that comes along, is fair game and the eating of the meat is greatly anticipated. As to what others do, that's their business, if legal and is no conern of mine. Seeing the "hunting" programs are more or less "staged" and the shooters wait for "big horns", this fantasy type of "hunting" entertainment appeals to some and if they enjoy it, so be it, but hunting is really not a spectator sport...Fred

When I started hunting I would dream of killing that big bruiser and hanging him over a fireplace. It didn't take me long to realize that any animal I harvest is a trophy and will always be remembered.
I would still love to get a big buck someday. Is it a priority for me? No. This year my first deer will be whatever I can get. It will go in the freezer and be enjoyed whatever it is. After that I will be more selective on what I shoot. It will give me more time in the woods.
As for all these hunting shows, I do watch from time to time. To me they just show a fantasy world to some extent. They kind of fill you with what could be on your next hunt. Do I want to do it the way they do. NO. I like getting down on the ground. Last year I didn't kill a deer. i did stalk within flinter range of a doe and it was to dark to shoot. To me that was a successful hunt. The thing about them that does bother me a bit is when someone does take a buck, the first thing they say is "wow look at that he's got to be a 160 or 170 class buck" or more. It seems to all come down to inches, kinda like comparing some other things. :rotf:
Just my ramblings on the subject. Andy