I grew up in Colbert County and I remember going hunting with my dad for many years and never ever seeing a deer. This was in the late 60's and early 70's. I was taught that if you killed a doe you were one of the ones whom a special place in Satan's domain was reserved for. Those old traditions still hold true to my dad and the old timers who helped establish the herd we have today in North Alabama. Without restraint and foresight to let the does walk, we would still be squirrel and rabbit hunting instead of chasing deer. I just can't shoot the mammas like some people can. To me the ultimate test of a hunter's ability is to consistently kill mature bucks every year. A person cannot consistently kill mature deer and kill off the does at the same time. My daddy always said "Wherever you have women, there will always be a few old men hanging around". Just my two cents worth.
I remember those days. A very good example of the two extremes of deer hunting. Myself, I love to eat a good smoked deer tenderloin. I hunt to eat it, not to hang it on the wall and admire it. I hunt family owned land so I do not have to worry with club rules. I shoot the first 2 or 3 deer I can get in the crosshairs unless they are buttons or spotted. Once I have enough in the freezer, I will hunt for horns just for the sport. We have old bucks on our property but to be honest my impact on the doe's/bucks is not great enough to sway a herd one way of the other.
The other extreme is people hunt for the challenge of finding that record buck. That's ok too. Thats the sport in it and perfectly fine.
To each his own, just don't bad mouth either side as they are content and happy in the way they hunt.
