Just a Thought for the day.....

Aren't we headed straight for the ol' Participation Trophy that seems to be so prevalant today?
I mean, people keep saying they want more trophy deer and how people will be so happy if they kill one. But, if the AVERAGE somehow miraculously jumped to 150"......a 150" deer would no longer be a trophy, would he?

Never thought about it from the "participation trophy" angle, but I think you're on to something. Those fellas don't get there's more to it than just horns. We can lay some of the blame at the feet of horn porn TV.

Guess that's why I hunt alone or with my son 90% of the time. I don't hand out participation trophies.

The guys on this forum that I know kill big deer, just go do their thing and consistently kill big deer. They aren't on here whining about what their neighbors do and making stupid statements that they should be making decisions for all hunters because they kill bigger deer than others. They just go out and get it done while others complain that they could get it done if their neighbors would just hunt like them.

I'd rather hunt with a good guy who follows state law and just enjoys hunting than I had with some pompous "trophy" hunter that complains that other hunters are the reason he can't get it done.

I finally pulled the trigger on a Bama buck last weekend for the first time in 4 yrs. I myself am super picky what I shoot. I've got young kids though and when they go I give them the choice to shoot or not shoot. Also when I bought my farm 4 years ago I made it a priority to meet my surrounding landowners since our part of the world is smaller tracts and deer travel across several fences each day. At first neighbors were killing a lot of 2.5 yr olds all thinking if I don't he will over there. We now all share cam pics and all agree on which buck is a go no go. I like many used to get all worked up over gun shots I heard but these are free range animals. I've had my chances at some huge deer but the shot just wasn't there and neighbors killed them. I'm never going to tell someone what they can or can't do on their own place but I showed my neighbors by example what can be accomplished by using the right mentality.

I finally pulled the trigger on a Bama buck last weekend for the first time in 4 yrs. I myself am super picky what I shoot. I've got young kids though and when they go I give them the choice to shoot or not shoot. Also when I bought my farm 4 years ago I made it a priority to meet my surrounding landowners since our part of the world is smaller tracts and deer travel across several fences each day. At first neighbors were killing a lot of 2.5 yr olds all thinking if I don't he will over there. We now all share cam pics and all agree on which buck is a go no go. I like many used to get all worked up over gun shots I heard but these are free range animals. I've had my chances at some huge deer but the shot just wasn't there and neighbors killed them. I'm never going to tell someone what they can or can't do on their own place but I showed my neighbors by example what can be accomplished by using the right mentality.

I guess I am just different.

The goal of hunting is to kill.....and, I like to kill deer.
True enough, I do try to kill mature deer. But, that is just a decision, not a goal.

There is nothing wrong with Management, Farming for deer OR Trophy Hunting. They are all great fun for different people.

The line is crossed when one group tries to force their ideas on all the others.

That is simply my opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own.

That is your goal but it's not everyones. That was the case when people were subsistence hunters but that's rare these days.
Most people evolve over their hunting careers.
I've been at it for over 50 years and I definitely see things in a different light than I did years ago.
I can vividly remember the first time I passed up a buck that I would have shot earlier. I got a bigger kick out of not shooting it than I would have from killing it.
I still go most every day, but I probably won't even kill a deer unless its a 130+ buck. I could kill a deer most every day i hunt. Neither of us is right or wrong, just different strokes for different folks.
I enjoy it much as I ever did just in another way

Very good post Matt,I did the exact same thing 4 years ago with some of my neighbors,and they are now reaping the benefits of our collective effort.There were 2 pretty nice 8 point bucks taken just last week,one of which was a 5 year old deer!

100% agree. The buck debate is one thing, but the doe debate is totally different.

People wonder why others are so concerned about what they do on "their" land, but there's a good reason to be concerned.

For people who control large tracts, neighbors impacts are obviously diminished. But, for the people who control small tracts of land, say 500 acres or less, thier whole deer population is based on predation and hunter harvest by yourself and your neighbors.

If you have 250 acres, and you have 4 neighbors that all have 250 acres, none of you have a single deer that lives on your property full time. So lets say 3 of the neighbors are "killers" or "meat" hunters who kill every doe they see. This will effectively drop the deer population on all 5 tracts of property.

So it makes sense that the other 2 guys, who are trying to somewhat manage their property, are concerned and even irritated that the other 3 are killing all of these deer.

I enjoy watching more than killing, lazier than I was 20 years ago. If I'm gonna kill one it will be worth the drag out. I still love to hunt but like I said I'm just lazier now.

I am right where you are in my deer hunting life now.

Only way to nitrate up here is with a plane.

Nope. A plane can get it spread way more even than a minn Kota!

I feel sorry for you NAla boys tonight. All the rain & storms we dealt with last night are up there. Y'all stay safe.

Never seen anything like it this time of year.