I don't give a hoot about trophies. I want my freezer full.
My idea of a trophy is a full freezer.
I don't give a hoot about trophies. I want my freezer full.
If I take a buck its nice if its a good one but for the most part I am a meat hunter so Ill happly fill my doe tags and if a buck happens by Ill take him as well...Id much rather eat a young doe than an old buck. back in the day when I had more time to hunt I was all for hunting the biggest boy in the herd....I just dont have the time it takes to hunt big mature bucks.
Option 4:
The smaller the antlers the better the deer will taste.
You can not eat the rack.
I love to deer hunt and love to put meat in the freezer. Any doe is usually fair game with me and I'll shoot them any chance that I get so long as I have a need for the meat. I'm fortunate to live in a county where deer are plentiful, so it usually isn't too difficult to put 3 to 5 does in the freezer a year.
However, when it comes to bucks, I am extremely selective in what I shoot. I'll admit it that I am an antler junkie. It has to be a mature buck and a certain antler size or characteristic that I am after. I have no problem NOT shooting a buck in any given year, as like I said, I'll gladly shoot my share of does. So for me, shooting a buck is not about the meat. It is totally about the antlers for me. It is not a bragging thing. It is not an ego thing. It is what I like. Some guys like fast cars, some guys like black guns, some guys like a trophy wife ... I like big antlers.
That being said, I have no problem whatsoever in others shooting any size of buck. I've always felt that taking a deer (ANY DEER) is a very personal choice. Shoot what makes YOU happy and then be happy about it. My only annoyance with some hunters is when they shoot a smaller buck and then get all whiny and complain that they are disappointed with the size of the rack and that they never see "big" bucks. If you are going to be disappointed, then DON'T SHOOT IT. Like I said, shoot what makes YOU happy and then be happy about it.
That's true, you can not eat the rack, but you can not look at and cherish the meat as it hangs on the wall for the rest of your life either.
You can't save up wild animals like they were money earning interest.
If you have animals you CAN save up like money, or like you describe, you are not hunting any more you are killing livestock and the horns don't mean any more to me than a blue ribbon at the 4H fair.
I'm a hunter, not a farmer.