deer

watching some deer hunting on tv when i hunt i take the first legal deer i see i want to fill the freezer on tv they pass many deer to get a better score witch fine just wondering how many do this

I hunt like you, to put meat in the freezer.

Antler worship has killed hunting.

The times I have passed on a shot,were when I wanted to extend my hunt. One was 20 minutes into opening day-I just didn't want my hunt to end so soon.
Tom

All a matter of opinion and I'm not really sure any are right or wrong. As I've aged, I am much more picky than my first 30 years of hunting. I am not a meat hunter, eat plenty of it but don't need it to survive. I have come to realize that I like the larger antlers as opposed to just punching a tag. As I tell my friends who shoot anything that walks by, ' this years spike is next years 8pt". Yet they tell me I'm hogging up all the trophy bucks when I pas 8 or 10 small ones just to shoot one nice one. Just don't be that type of hunter who shoots the first small spike or forky, then sit around and complain about never killing a big buck.

I pass on spots and those that recently had spots.

if you say well that is deer worth butchering , on land we have permission to hunt on , and a safe shot , you should grab you knife I already pulled the trigger.

Brown is down, some of which have been very nice bucks. I hunt for the meat like my Neanderthal ancestors.

Moosetrot

I just wonder when we will start catch and release deer hunting, like all them sport fishermen do? Now a days you can't keep that big fish you got to turn him back. I am ready for catch and release hunting.

If you have a tag for it and you want to shoot then shoot it. If you want to let it walk, let it walk.

Too much infighting among hunters these days. If you enjoy waiting for a big buck, live your dream. If you want that button buck that steps out first, go for it.

They say the young ones are tastier anyway.

My motto is, as long as you aren’t breaking any game laws, do what you want and enjoy your hunt. But please, don’t put any other hunter down for his choices in what he or she wants to kill or with what weapon they choose.

I apologize for the short rant.

Here is a little one I killed last season, he had an injury where I think someone missed high on him and sliced his back strap just above the spin. How it healed and he was walking around I’m not sure...

It depends on who I'm hunting with and how I'm hunting. If I were bow hunting alone I'll shoot the first thing I can if I can't see another bigger deer coming in at the time because it is so boring and I hate setting out there waiting. If I'm group hunting, pushing deer and having fun, I'll shoot one for the freezer based upon if its close to where we can drive to pack it out fast and easy, if its in a tough spot it gets a pass, only shoot big bucks in tough to access areas. Frankly, finding deer for the freezer is easy around here, I prefer a small buck so I have less trimming to do to get it ready for processing into jerky, summer sausage, deer stick, etc... I only save the back straps for eating as steak bites.

I hunt for meat but will definitely pass on a smaller deer if I feel there are bigger ones in the area.

Regulations play a big part in it too depending on where you are. Since we have the early doe rifle season, between the wife and kids slaying the slick heads, my freezers are full before buck season gets here so I would have absolutely no reason for shooting a small buck.

I shoot mostly doe deer and pass up almost all bucks. I’d rather let the kids kill the bucks. We eat a lot of ground venison and cube steak.

If the deer are plentiful and I have the time I pass on a lot of deer I prefer to shoot lone does without fawns or the bigger buck, near the end of season I’ll take a deer in decline to cull it out.

Shoot any legal deer you want and don't worry about what legal deer any other hunter shoots and you will be happier and a better person. People worry way to much about stuff that does not effect them at all, myself included.

Keith

Shoot what makes you happy and be happy about what you shoot. I hate to see someone that shoots a legal buck that's not a "trophy" then make excuses why they harvested it. The biggest draw back to this trophy thing is some are ashamed of taking a less than trophy size deer even though they were excited and enjoyed the experience of harvesting it.

I personally want to shoot mature deer. I would rather give the younger deer a chance to grow and get bigger. If I wanted to only fill the freezer I could shoot a spike or a doe (both legal in many areas of Wyoming) in the first few minutes of hunting, and it would decrease the deer population further, as it stands many the younger healthier deer stand better chances of making it through a tough winter and we always lose some older deer of the winter. I don't chase inches of bone but I do want to shoot older deer.

Its always puzzled me why those that say they are only meat hunting will shoot a young antlered buck instead of a doe when both are standing there. But, its not about those antlers...right?

I usually hunt on club lease land in Bama, usually 8pt or better, I like to shoot big bucks
But on my property, deer destroy my garden , i shoot any deer that crosses it,
Kill what you want and don’t worry what others say
Happy Hunting

I hunt, fish and trap for the challenge and sport of it. There are added benefits to all of it but the first reason is for the recreational side of it. Trying to hold out for the more mature bucks adds more time in the field and ups the challenge.

No swamp wolf I'd shoot the doe. I fill my tags as they come along. Have shot many "trophy" deer and many deer of every size shape and description. I hunt shotgun, rifle, bow and crossbow fill my freezer for my family and have a great time doing it. Racks are in the barn on the walls for me to see and reminisce about. Not on Facebook or any other social media. For me it's about feeding my family and doing what comes naturally to me outdoors and I love it. Let Everyone chose themselves what path they wish to take. There is no right or wrong as long as it's legal.

"I hit one doin 60 with the horn blowin and the lights on high beam.Elusive buggers aint they?"

in nh i know guys that have gone many seasons without seeing a deer if we had more deer maybe i would let some go if you want meat and you get a shot here you mite want to take it i never worry about what others say if it makes you happy out of all the deer i have shot i have only one big one a 9 point with a drop tine

I hold out for the biggest deer I have on cam on that farm. If the next biggest one shows up he dies. BUT if it's snowing or raining every day during gun season then any decent buck will do. I have 12 crop tags for does so I get plenty of meat.......

x2. I think today's hunting shows and their sponsors have hurt the sport as far as this goes. When I took my grandson out for his first deer hunt we had a nice little six point come out for him at 30 yards and he looked at me and asked " but when will the big one come out?" I quickly realized he had watched a few too many TV hunts.

We eat venison year round, hardly buy any beef at all so filling the freezer always takes priority - one of the farms I hunt is usually lopsided with does so the freezer gets loaded early on. There are a couple of farms I hunt that have some pretty good genetics so when I hunt those during the rut I'll wait on a mature buck and give everything else a hall pass. It all comes down to enjoying the hunt and taking what makes you happy - I never fault anyone for the deer they shot if done ethically and legally.

A couple of seasons I passed on shootable legal deer only to eat a can of Tag Soup. Venison tastes better!

Chris

Bucks are easier to process. No trimming all that fat off the does.

Unless you're on property that mandates harvesting certain class of deer, the the ones you want.

Everyone that hunts or traps does it for their own reasons, don't doubt your reasons just because someone else has other reasons.

They all look to have about the same amount of fat to me. If they do have fat its on top of the silver skin anyway and I take all the silver skin off all my deer meat. I dont care if they have spots or a 180" rack. If I want a deer then deer I will have.

I dont have a problem with what/which deer folks decide to shoot. Its those chest thumpers that dont want to put in the time it takes to kill mature bucks so they say Im a meat hunter...cant eat them antlers...

In my job, I interact with hundreds of folks annually that preach they are meat hunters but when presented with a young buck or a doe....they shoot the young buck everytime. I just shake my head......and tell them their deer sure has big feet!!! Lol

I think there are plenty of deer to go around, small, medium, and large.

I hunt trophy bucks all season long. I mean BIG bucks. The last week of the season, I will take a doe. A couple pounds of jerky for myself and the rest goes to the needy.
I havent harvested a buck in 5 years. I'm incredibly picky. My last buck scored 186 6/8. I've passed many, many 150 inch bucks in the last 5yrs. One luxury of living in Iowa is an abundance of deer, with the occasional monster to keep me satisfied.
To each their own, as long as it's legal and enjoyable.

Iowa sure does grow some nice deer.

For years I shot to fill tags and freezer. Now I just decide how I feel when each deer comes, not a trophy hunter at all. But some days I want to just fill a tag, others days I just decide nothing today unless it’s a decent buck. Even have done the “if a deer comes and stands right there, I’ll shoot”. Doesn’t matter to me anymore to make sure I get a deer, but I also have a lot more time to hunt than many.

My thought has always been; Hunt and shoot what you want and is legal, and let others do the same without passing judgement on them. ( the one exception has been the fella that talk about how they only shoot Big Bucks, and then you here about them shooting not big deer). That’s more of a “unjust shut up” kinda thing

I'm on both sides I guess.. If I am lucky enough to get a tag in this wonderful state of ours.
I always start out with the attitude of that this year is the year I get my wall hanger so I pass up on the medium forkies or 2x3's..
Next thing I know I have 2 days left of season and it turns into meat in the freezer..

I try and only shot bucks that I plan on putting on the wall. I did shoot a decent 10 pointer last year only because I haven't shot a buck for 5 years and wanted to. Big bucks, bucks that are in rut and old does are tougher and taste more gamey to me so i try to just shoot does that are a few years old. I only need 1 1/2 a year for myself but sometimes I shoot 3 or 4 and give the other 2 away. I usually pass up deer during every hunt.

I'm real picky...yeah that's it...
Last year I shot a good 10 pt. 1 of the biggest I've killed, the year before...
shot a little 1 about 40 lbs....and loved both. The little 1 just didn't have as.much meat...lol


Donnie

Yeppers not much th too them but they eat good

I tend to think this is a regional thing

imagine you have a 9 day gun deer season

it starts the Saturday before Thanksgiving and ends the Sunday at sun down after thanksgiving.

for a great many people in WI deer season lasts a weekend maybe a weekend and a day.

we go to my great aunts house we hunt the weekend and go home Monday , she packs up and gets ready to leave to go visit her kids for thanks giving leaves out Wednesday .

minimal time out of school for the kids , the holiday it generally means not 9 days of hunting more like 2-3

if you have 2-3 days of hunting shooting what you see that is worth butchering is how it goes.

if gun season was months long like archery season that would change things a lot.

Meat in the freezer.