Trophy vs Meat ! or is it really....

[Robhuntandfish]

In the live from the woods thread there were several comments on "no more trophy hunting for me!  its all about the meat".  Well, I would challenge that it's not about either of those for 95% of us.  

For the most part, no one here on this forum is starving and neither are their families.  And if it was truly all about antlers, I could buy those on eBay for the price of one article of clothing from First Lite.  The reason I hunt, and I offer this to the rest of you, is for the hunting and the experiences that go with it.   Set those perimeters of what type or size of game you take by what works for you.  If you find it is more enjoyable to shoot a smaller buck and not have to grind out a season but just enjoy it and the fruits of your labor, then have no regrets or shame in doing that.  If you feel you want to chase a giant and possibly not get a deer that season then enjoy that for the chase and chess match it was.  It's all relative to you and what you deem is your goal or most enjoyable.  

In a way, I think trophy hunting gets a bad rap at times.  Remember hunting for that trophy buck in essence gives you more time to hunt.  If the hunt itself is the true enjoyment then what's wrong with that?  On the extreme hand if you would just shoot a 12-point out of your car window and cut the horns off well that's a special POS.  99% of the people here are not like that.  They enjoy the game for the table to share with their families and friends and that's part of the accomplishment.  

That being said I passed several deer this year hoping for a larger buck.  I took one I was very happy with that others might have passed, but if I was put to a decision to leave the horns or the meat in the woods, the horns would stay every time.  Luckily we don't have to decide and we can choose based on what we have available and the goals we set for ourselves.  And if no buck stepped out that i was looking for ANY deer would have been in play to fill the freezer. 

I will always want to fill the freezer with game as I enjoy it and it is a tradition I will always honor.  The parameters of what I take or hunt for are based on the personal challenges I set for myself, the options I have available, and what I enjoy.  I hunt a property in which I feel anything 5 points or over is a good buck.  This isn't heaven or Iowa, but part of my enjoyment is that it is 5 minutes from my house, I get to work on it and try new things to make it better, and I get to share it with my best friend of 40 years, and I feel confident that at some point I can fill the freezer with a deer of some sort.  There are no horns or meat I would trade for all that. Set your goals to your enjoyment, it's supposed to be fun, yet we don't expect it to be easy, nor do we want it to be.  

[phade]

Queue the first day of a closed season (for most of NY anyhow).

Let the shenanigans begin!

I am not a huge fan of venison. I’ll eat some butterflied backstraps and some ground in Chili, and maybe some sausage/hot dogs/jerky but it just does not compare to beef for me. What’s weird is I don’t like the tenderloins for some reason; would much rather eat a backstrap. One deer a year is all I can consume.

I end up supplying a few elderly folks who used to hunt but no longer do. They very much appreciate it, and the 30 minutes of BSing about the hunt during drop off. I actually think I like that the most of all about hunting beyond hitting a personal goal.

[Robhuntandfish]

1 minute ago, phade said:

Queue the first day of a closed season (for most of NY anyhow).

Let the shenanigans begin!

I am not a huge fan of venison. I’ll eat some butterflied backstraps and some ground in Chili, and maybe some sausage/hot dogs/jerky but it just does not compare to beef for me. What’s weird is I don’t like the tenderloins for some reason; would much rather eat a backstrap. One deer a year is all I can consume.

I end up supplying a few elderly folks who used to hunt but no longer do. They very much appreciate it, and the 30 minutes of BSing about the hunt during drop off. I actually think I like that the most of all about hunting beyond hitting a personal goal.

yeah I figured I'd get that off "Live from the Woods"  lol 

One deer a year is also all I need.  Love the passing along to those that used to hunt but cant anymore. 

[Otto]

I posted this in LIVE so copying and pasting here:

• My attitude about it changes as the season progresses.  At the start of the season I plan to shoot a doe and then a decent buck with my bow.  I’ve only bow hunted a few years, so I don’t have “lots of deer” from over the years to fall back on.   So far, that plan has not happened.  I have yet to see a lone doe  close enough to harvest.
   

During gun, it’s any decent deer, and then come December, it’s brown/down as I love venison and cooking it!  

[mowin]

Here's the thing... 

Everyone is different. While MOST of us like venison and it's probably one of the main reasons we hunt, some just like the challenge or being with a group of friends having a good time in the woods. 

The older I get, the less I care about actually shooting a deer, so I wait until something, in my eyes, decent size walks by mainly because I just love being out in the woods.  

[crappyice]

Not only do I and my family like the venison, I like the entire process from the scout to the hunt to the track to the field dress to the  skinning to the breaking down and the butchering and of course the cooking! 
 

If it holds some bone, that's cool. But I prefer to find those bones shed hunting (extends my outdoor activities). And since she's hunting is harder(uh oh!) than buck hunting, I like that challenge!!!

 

[Otto]

11 minutes ago, crappyice said:

Not only do I and my family like the venison, I like the entire process from the scout to the hunt to the track to the field dress to the  skinning to the breaking down and the butchering and of course the cooking! 
 

If it holds some bone, that's cool. But I prefer to find those bones shed hunting (extends my outdoor activities). And since she's hunting is harder(uh oh!) than buck hunting, I like that challenge!!!

 

Careful hunting those "she's" - that might not sit well with the Mrs! 

[ATbuckhunter]

I'm fortunate to hunt in a part of NY that I can pretty much do both. This year on my first day out I shot an easy 130" 10 that was taken from me. I also passed numerous does and a couple 110" bucks that Id like to make it past the shotgun season here. I can fill my freezer fairly easily with doe here and on LI there's always a chance at a 130+ any day. Being that good bucks are always around, it makes it easy to pass the little ones and shoot does instead. I get just as much excitement about shooting does as I do a big buck. I eat a lot of venison and feed it to my dog as well so I like to shoot between 3-4 deer a year if I can. 

Edited December 20, 2023 by ATbuckhunter

[crappyice]

34 minutes ago, Otto said:

Careful hunting those "she's" - that might not sit well with the Mrs! 

Damnit!!! 

[Belo]

2 hours ago, Robhuntandfish said:

but if I was put to a decision to leave the horns or the meat in the woods, the horns would stay every time.  

 

wanton waste laws make that illegal in many states. It should be illegal in all. 

[Belo]

1 hour ago, mowin said:

some just like the challenge or being with a group of friends having a good time in the woods. 

I actually like being alone in the woods. My life with 3 kids and a demanding job is crazy, chaotic and stressful. I hunted yesterday morning in a blizzard mostly to just have some peace in the woods. Didn't see a damn thing and loved the hunt.

[fletchny11]

I consider myself a meat hunter. I do hunt for many reasons and besides it being part of my being, one main reason is to harvest meat. From the butchering, processing or getting processed into all kinds of items that will be enjoyed by friends and family for the year. And my passion for cooking, grilling and smoking I look forward every harvest to all the fine meals and treats. While I love nice antlers, I would still hunt even if you could only hunt for does. The areas I hunt are not farm hunting so I do not get all the doe sightings a lot of those folks do. I am sure if I saw does every day just standing in fields my take may be different. I find it fascinating even just in our state how different our terrain, density, history impact on how we all go about it.

I could live without venison, as yes we have grocery, but that would suck. We eat 2-4 deer a year and I'd rather eat that than grocery store meat, just my preference. 

[Moho81]

I just like to take my gun/bow/muzzloader out in the woods. They get bored in the safe and need fresh air every once in a while. I always hope I don’t see any deer while sitting in the woods as that would just disturb my peace and quiet. It would also give me work to do and I’m far to lazy to do more work than necessary. 

[mowin]

34 minutes ago, Belo said:

I actually like being alone in the woods. My life with 3 kids and a demanding job is crazy, chaotic and stressful. I hunted yesterday morning in a blizzard mostly to just have some peace in the woods. Didn't see a damn thing and loved the hunt.

Don't take everything literally.  Most hunt alone, as do I. It's my time to decompress.  It's getting together before/after the hunt and having a good time with friends and family that I'm talking about.  

[Belo]

20 minutes ago, mowin said:

Don't take everything literally.  Most hunt alone, as do I. It's my time to decompress.  It's getting together before/after the hunt and having a good time with friends and family that I'm talking about.  

wasn't taking it literally, just stating my stance on it, because many do actually hunt with buddies and friends. I think surveys have shown the vast majority of hunters who buy a tag just go out opening weekend of gun and that's it. They enjoy the comradery of it all, as do I. But these aren't the guys that join forums and obsess over it like many on here do.