Shoot those 5-month-old deer they don't have CWD. And they load easy.

Witch one ?

Rifle season here is during the peak of rut. The bucks stop eating, lose weight, get gaunt, and I've had some that were downright inedible. I'll take a doe or young buck over a monster for eating purposes.

NY has done a good job of that. The chances of killing a B&C or P&Y buck in northern NY are slim to none. Lewis County, where I live has never had a P&Y entree. So if you don’t eat the antlers hunters should move here. LOL

Long Island has a lot of deer, you can keep getting permits for as many does as you want, The State is practically begging for you to kill them, but it's archery only for the most part and most of these guys only want a huge buck, using the does to attract them.
Not many killers among them except the nuisance guys.

Those who hunt big antlers want you to pass on little deer to change the herd's age structure. This gives trophy hunters a better chance of tagging a booner. Making their quest easier is not your duty. And, killing a big one would not be as special if there was a trophy buck behind every tree so to speak.
So you enjoy shooting what you want and the trophy hunter should appreciate doing that which is difficult.

You do you as long as it is legal.
I will admit to being a bit of a hypocrite as I like to see catch and release of big bluecats so I can CPR bigger fish. But, it's pretty difficult to CPR a deer.

My 2 cents.

Those little ones are " Veal of the woods "

Here in Washington Co Va the early ML season is 14 days and day 7 of 14 is the only either sex day. Early ML is followed by 14 days of firearm season, the last 7 of which are either sex. Late ML is 22 days ending in early Jan, the last 5 of which is either sex. Clearly VDWR has no problem with hunters shooting the crap out of small bucks. Consequently we have very few bucks of any size, but there is little point in trying to fight the management strategy of the VDWR. Shoot what comes along and be happy with a freezer full of good meat That said, I will pass small bucks for a while if I have one with a decent rack on trailcam, but eventually I am likely to end up shooting the spike or forky.

Right!
We always say “shoot the one you can put in your pocket!”

Hard to compare state to state. Heck even regions in the same state. In Ky eastern part bag limits are tight. 1 doe 1 buck. As you move west the limit increases. Most counties in western Ky are unlimited doe. I think that may play a part in one’s decision on shooting or waiting. If crop tags are involved I don’t look at age Only if it has a slick head. Button bucks are fair game. Easier for my draggers! Lol

I am not above wiping the milk off their mouth after shooting them

Ed my philosophy is your tag your choice. But if legal there why not shoot a doe and let that fork horn walk ? I used to think I had to fill my buck tag or the world would end. But that was years ago and we couldn’t shoot does.

I hunt different properties differently. I have a small 20 acre tract that I hunt that normally has a bunch of does. No matter how many I killed they would be back in the full number the following year. On the years when I was killing does the bucks would stay away for the most part. Now, I decided to let the does do their thing and to only shoot bucks off of it. I have been trying to get a buddy his second deer and I would much rather have him shoot a small buck than doe out there. I hunt some places where I would pass a lot of deer that I would kill on other places. Hunt however makes you happy.

God will make more deer. Shoot whatever you want/need.

Im with you there.Trophy blue cats take decades to get that big.

Same reason a guy wants to shoot a spike moose, they eat way better

Hahaha Thumper

I think it is all about where you live. At my place, taking a small buck is harvesting meat - you dont really have to do much hunting. However, we dont shoot many does because all the neighbors think of them as freezer fillers and seem to forget that is where future deer come from. Again, it is relative to where you live

Always the first legal moose. Antlers are pretty, but they don’t cook up very well.

I agree. Good number of people in Michigan dont recall that whitetails were virtually non-existent in southern part of the state not that long ago. My grandparents and great grandparents use to tell stories of the very few locations where there might be deer yarded in winter, etc. Before the Mackinaw bridge was built in the late 50's they'd cross into the UP by ferry just for a chance to shoot a deer. Even as the herd expanded across the south, the deer hunting culture of years past continued. Does tags were hard to come by and shooting one was often frowned upon. Any buck was a trophy and food for the table. Things have change alot. Now the herd in the southern part of the state is so big that hunting likely will never be able to slow down its expansion