All you Junk Shooters - Yeah You!!!

What emotion and passion from all....

I little emotional rise and true conviction are great for people. Glad to see all of you are still alive.

I have been hunting for 20 years and Bowhunting Hard for 3 seasons. I have passed on every deer I have seen. Could have shot many 1 1/2 and few 2 1/2 year old bucks. And at least 50 does. I choose not to because I love to hunt.

I started all this with a little bait and most of you bit.

My partner and I have 300 acres of Bottomland. We started with a 1 acre food plot the 1st year and now have 13 acres in 6 different plots in 3 years.

We have game cameras and video all of our hunts; we name all of our bucks each year and keep a log of how to identify them. We have so much fun trying to identify animals and seeing new deer either in person or film.

We have shot "Dinks" before and will kill "Rag Horns" we know are genetically inferior.

We prefer to be horn hunters but in Oklahoma it is difficult to be one because of the above mentioned from DB. Just like the rest of you, we have neighbor problems, and every time we let those 6 and 8 pointers walk. We are scared to death someone is going to kill it.

We all have to try to improve the deer heard and maybe just maybe…… Pope and Young will come calling your name before Saint Peter does.

I look forward to many chats and stories with all of you. Again, Great Emotion...That is what make life so grand.

Gary
Mathews - “I did not know there was anyone else”

Strong 1 said:

Time to rant---

I am sick and tired of people killing little deer and saying "it was a good kill" or "any buck with a bow is a good kill"

God forbid we try to manage the doe herd and grow trophy bucks..

Click to expand...

I think I uderstand what you're saying? BUT, you'll never convince most of the lil' deer slayers to take the next step! One only has to take a peek at many of these forums "BIG" buck contests and see all of the lil' yearling 40 and 50" bucks to realize the seriousness of the problem! They'll continue to kill any deer they get a chance at and still pat themselves on the back for doing so. The lil' bucks are all fine and dandy when you're a kid but after a few seasons it's time to up the bar and set goals! I think they totally wear out the "if I don't kill it, somebody else will" excuse, I personally get tired of hearing it. However, as mentioned, it's their choice I guess. You certainly did come on a bit strong especially for a first post! Obviously you're anger comes from poachers but it sounds like a lot of your frustrations may come from your areas "hunters". Talk to 'em, try to set up a QDM meeting? Pass out flyers and try to make the locals aware. Contact the QDMA and they can assisst you in trying to "educate" area "sportsman". Good luck with your management goals.

Holy crap guys lets think about this a little bit.

- We have some guys in the midwest hunting private land saying that smaller bucks should be passed on.

- We have guys in the northeast hunting on alot of public land or small tracts of private land saying that small bucks is all there are.

Maybe, just maybe, it depends alot on where you are. I live in North Dakota and also hunt my family farm in SE Ohio. Yes, I let alot of bucks younger bucks go. I do that because genetics, hunting pressure, land access and alot of hunting time give me that luxury. That is my choice and I won't push it on anyone else. If I, or many of you, lived in a suburban neighborhood in the northeast your attitudes might change. Many of the midwestern hunters are letting bucks walk that would be trophies in other parts of the country. Instead of pointing fingers maybe we should be thankful and maybe offer one of our eastern AT friends a midwest hunt.

Regardless of what we shoot for bucks we should all be trying to harvest some does to keep the populatin under control and reduce the buck to doe ratio. I mature doe is harder to kill than a 1 1/2 year old buck.

We are all in different situations. Let's not judge one another until we have taken a good hard look at where they are coming from.

Naturally deer should be managed properly for the overall health of the population and to maximize hunting opportunities…

But then that’s not what many people mean when they talk deer management now is it??

Most mean to manage the deer so there are more opportunities to harvest a big set of antlers. In essence to fuel an ego and to end up with a decoration for the house. Really that’s what it’s about isn’t it ? Bragging rights.. a since of self worth in the hunting community ??? An attempt to gain respect from friends.. families and other sportsman?? What other reason would so many hunters choose to spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours hunting only to pass up on every opportunity besides what I just described..

But if that is your thing (and in part it is mine) go for it… Just don’t hide behind quality deer management as the reason to shoot only BIG bucks. Shoot a doe whenever possible if your after the kill alone. Take a smaller buck only if it looks like the only way to fill a tag for the season. But don’t be an idiot and take a buck for the sake of taking a buck. If you won’t proudly display the rack then simply don’t kill it. What do they call the top echelon of hunters that take most of the trophies?? I think the 10% club… Well the other 90% have other motives besides ego it would appear. Yes please do everything to maximize a healthy deer population and help grow some nice racks. But please enjoy the sport and your times in the woods. To compare that time in the woods with the quality of the rack?? Foolish at best

Cornfed I hear ya. Wow anger can be a beautiful thing huh? What's good for the goose isn't good for the gander! Taking it up a notch was mentioned by someone I think and I like that. Personally I also let alot walk as I love to hunt and spend time watching, scouting, unraveling rublines etc. I don't care what Joe Blow does,as long as it's not on my property. That whole theory of If I don't shoot it....B.S. If those bucks aren;t pressured,they usually will
stay on that piece of land,and use it as a haven once the bullets fly. I hunt a 40 acre property that has several same size tracts around and about 8yrs ago I just told myself hey I am going to see what happens if I let everything walk that isn't at least 18 inside as a start. Guess what lives or at least spends alot of time on our 40 now? Deer aren't stupid and again if they are left alone and not hassled all the time they'll hang. We have more 8-10 s
on our piece than ever before. Plus all the hassled animals run thru my funnel
to hide in the back of our 40 because we don;t run around on it or over hunt it. I saw some real dandy's come thru during gun season this year and never had a clear shot on the big boys that got pushed from other propertys and got to watch a few 8's walk by within bow range. Yes I have that choice,but
as the seasons pass and you take a few animals I just thought that out of sheer respect to the great whitetail and one's self one would naturally progress into taking mature animals as opposed to kids. Now that I know that isn't what everybody works towards it's sad. A seasoned hunter taking immature animals is a little weird I think as a personal observation. Take a few does anyday but to take buttons and yearlings every year...............
For every one that shoots immature animals,you will never know what could be behind that small buck you shot or maybe one year you will and watch the monster run away because he watched you draw on the smaller animal.
To each his own but how many bucks are you going to see if you kill everyone of them and your neighbor's doing the same thing? Food for thought,don't choke on it though as it's just a question to think about.
Break the cycle man,sometimes the sense of pride a man gets watching that
buck walk on by surpasses any bragging session of days gone by. ETHICS!

By the way,the guty that started this,I think where you lost everyone was the room and buckshot thing,maybe it's just me though.