It’s just a deer.

[glen]

44. You will move to the next step as a hunter and it will become “just a deer”. I hunted whitetail hard until my kids got to hunting age. Then I worked a lot harder setting the places up and deer that wouldn’t have gotten shot by me were trophies for the kids. Have seen many kids take their first “trophy” on places I set up. Sure many were younger up and coming 3-4 year old bucks - but to those kids they were and I’m sure still are deer of a lifetime. I had a guy approach me about a kid shooting a 4 year old 10 point he had passed on- Offered to give him his $3500 back and he popped off and said yes- 3 years later asked if he could come out with his kid. Guess what. I let him and when they got there I told the kid shoot the first trophy you see. So yea to me they were just a deer- Would have gotten bigger- but on the day they stepped out in front of a kid they were a trophy. And those deer that kids killed mean more to me than anything else I have hanging on the wall or pictures of.

[glen]

Heck the deer in my avatar is one of those deer

[Hoss163]

Try telling that to folks who absolutely just have to kill a buck every year no matter what . To me it’s not about killing a buck every single season sure I would love to but geez I have killed plenty in my day .Another 130”deer isn’t going to do me any good I’m not going to kill a deer just to kill it I want to be satisfied when I do kill it . And I understand some folks have different standards but play by the rules just like everyone else are don’t play at all and find a place we’re you can go do whatever and shoot whatever there are places like that. That’s just my opinion it cost so much money to Deer Hunt now days so folks just go crazy about hunting and think they have to get there money’s worth . But in the end to me it’s not about killing the deer it’s about enjoying the outdoors and watching the wildlife.

[BrianG]

Some deer do have better racks than others

That's a high fence rack!

[Burntorange Bowhunter]

I am not in the rules and camp boss hater group. I did, however, grow tired of the huge management minded lease with 18 members. No one was ever on the same page, new members killing 3.5 year old 10 pointers, idiots doing dumb ****. Drama drama drama. I have enough of that at work and home. Hunting is supposed to be relaxing.

3 years ago I got on a small 87 acre place. Cheap by todays standards. Just me and/or wife and grandson. I have killed 2 of my 3 biggest to date. Both over 150. My grandson killed a 2.5 year old 8 last year. His first. We are after a much older management 8 currently.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[44mAG]

44. You will move to the next step as a hunter and it will become “just a deer”. I hunted whitetail hard until my kids got to hunting age. Then I worked a lot harder setting the places up and deer that wouldn’t have gotten shot by me were trophies for the kids. Have seen many kids take their first “trophy” on places I set up. Sure many were younger up and coming 3-4 year old bucks - but to those kids they were and I’m sure still are deer of a lifetime. I had a guy approach me about a kid shooting a 4 year old 10 point he had passed on- Offered to give him his $3500 back and he popped off and said yes- 3 years later asked if he could come out with his kid. Guess what. I let him and when they got there I told the kid shoot the first trophy you see. So yea to me they were just a deer- Would have gotten bigger- but on the day they stepped out in front of a kid they were a trophy. And those deer that kids killed mean more to me than anything else I have hanging on the wall or pictures of.

I never said anything about score, or even age in my post. Every deer I take has meaning, not "just a deer". This last weekend my wife was able to kill an old buck that probably scored 110". When she was holding him afterwords, he wasn't "just a deer". There was still a lot of money, time, and emotion that went into hunting for him all year. It was her 9th sit this year hunting for that buck. Now I totally agree with the fact that when a deer disappears for any number of reasons, it isn't the end of the world, and there will always be another deer to be obsessed over pursuing, even if that happens to be a doe.

I guess at the end of the day, I don't agree with OP's "Just a deer" phrase. I totally understand that a deer I pass will probably be shot by the neighbor if given the opportunity. I am totally okay with that and will be happy for them. To me, saying it's "just a deer" reminds me of people I have heard in the past say things like "I wanted to test out my long range rifle, so I shot at the furthest deer I could see in the field. He didn't drop right there so I didn't even go look for him. Oh well, it was "just a deer".

[monsterspike]

if you are "its just a deer" guy then tell the LO upfront about it. man up and be proud of your stance. just explain that mistakes will happen, and should be expected. tell him that you are looking for a lease that does not set stupid rules that could lead to hurt feelings.

[okrattler]

And with all the rules you can’t just look at the rack anymore and decide if it makes you happy. Sometimes you gotta make a management decision without knowing what he rack looks like

That's a white tail, that I do know. I have to ASSume it's got a decent rack on it.

[glen]

OK I can guarantee the whitetail has a trophy fee attached to it that I could not maintain. I still like to stop at high fence places and look though

[TexasRough1256]

Great post, Bud. To expand, why do we hunt; for the meat, comradrie, solitude, and many more reasons. If I happen to,shoot a deer, i’m Happy, if I don’t I’m still happy. I own the place I hunt on and for the last several years, the guys that hunt on my place with me have killed bigger deer than me. Happy for them. Every deer I shoot is a trophy because it is the culmination of the HUNT. That’s what we do, some for different reasons. Would I ever pay for a guaranteed big buck, nope. If we all look at the racks of the deer we have taken, everyone comes with a story and after all they are just a deer and each year we are in pursuit of more.

Agreed! Each deer brings its own stories along with it...Doe, spike, cull or trophy !

[okrattler]

OK I can guarantee the whitetail has a trophy fee attached to it that I could not maintain. I still like to stop at high fence places and look though

I know what you mean. It never hurts to have hopes and dreams of someday mounting a whitetail like that.

[Pkripper]

Save your lease money and purchase your own land and manage as you see fit. Then you can enjoy all the racks.

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[mpotts]

I like some big racks. I also thoroughly enjoy hunting big deer.

^^^This is me as well^^^

[glen]

Pkripper- can I just come hunt on your place. I try my hardest to be respectful of your management but no promises

[TxDispatcher]

I never said anything about score, or even age in my post. Every deer I take has meaning, not "just a deer". This last weekend my wife was able to kill an old buck that probably scored 110". When she was holding him afterwords, he wasn't "just a deer". There was still a lot of money, time, and emotion that went into hunting for him all year. It was her 9th sit this year hunting for that buck. Now I totally agree with the fact that when a deer disappears for any number of reasons, it isn't the end of the world, and there will always be another deer to be obsessed over pursuing, even if that happens to be a doe.

I guess at the end of the day, I don't agree with OP's "Just a deer" phrase. I totally understand that a deer I pass will probably be shot by the neighbor if given the opportunity. I am totally okay with that and will be happy for them. To me, saying it's "just a deer" reminds me of people I have heard in the past say things like "I wanted to test out my long range rifle, so I shot at the furthest deer I could see in the field. He didn't drop right there so I didn't even go look for him. Oh well, it was "just a deer".

I don't think that is what the OP was saying at all...but we all interpret things differently