What happened to deer hunting?

[AntlerCollector]

It's basically a weenus measuring contest for lots of folks....deer breeders and TTHA started the down hill slide back in the early 90's. Everything is Trophy Buck now.

The dudes that kill big deer on Public land are the real kings!

Gotta agree it started with TTHA and has continued from there b

[Gumbo Man]

This I am on board with. A trophy for me is something most of you would laugh at. I, like some of you have already stated, just determine a trophy not necessarily by what it is wearing on it's head. Again, I do not diminish those that choose to hunt differently than I do. One day I'll be to old to scout, hunt, and climb trees in the wild woods and may have to resort to sittin in a box. I'd rather do that than sit on the couch.

Seems that I took your original reply out of context and considered it judgemental. For that I truly apologize to you sir. Keep on with the keeping on.

[Duckologist]

Seems that I took your original reply out of context and considered it judgemental. For that I truly apologize to you sir. Keep on with the keeping on.

It's no big thing man!!

[Bucknaked]

Something similar popped up on another forum but instead of trophy hunting it was social media ruining hunting.

I find it hilarious how people b**** and moan about others and the way they hunt, why they hunt, or what they get out of hunting. Reminds me of the mask holes that think everyone else should wear a mask to protect me.

I hunt because I love everything about it. I love all types of hunting from killing a monster buck to removing does, I love the chase, I love the hard work, I love the primal instinct of you vs nature, it’s all a blessing to be able to do and it consumes my life. I love seeing pictures of others with a deer they killed, I love watching videos of someone’s hunt they filmed to share, I love hearing others stories. If it’s all about inches to someone so be it that’s what they like. If it’s all about mounts, so be it. I love having my animal mounts on the wall, it’s artwork for me as well as preserving a memory (kind of a visual que). As for they just all disappear when we’re gone, I guess I’m the exception. When my grandfather passed myself and all 7 of my cousins had to draw straws for grandpas heads he had on the wall as those were meaningful to all of us as memories. One day I’ll point to those antlers and tell the story to my kids about their great grandpa and this special buck or bull.

What ruins hunting is others trying to impose their ideas on others trying to tell them it should be experienced this way and not that way. Be happy for someone who is outside enjoying the outdoors and not sitting watching tv or participating in a downfall of society. Don’t get me wrong some hunting is ridiculous and should be called out, like wasting meat, you kill it you better freakin eat it or that’s just bloodlust. Hunting is a lot easier and enjoyable when you stop worrying what others might think or concerned with how or why someone else is hunting.

Winning Post! Thank you Sir!

[txtrophy85]

The dudes that kill big deer on Public land are the real kings!

I'm so sick of the "my public land deer is better than any private land deer" sentiment I'm seeing and hearing alot lately.

That is just further divisiveness and quite frankly ridiculous, as 99 out of 100 public land hunters would hunt private if given the chance.

Is public land harder to hunt? in many cases yes, but in many cases not any more so than overhunted private land is

[Dale Moser]

You are letting other people's trophies affect your experience. What difference does it make to you if the other guy wants to kill a genetically altered 300" deer? The only one affecting what happens in your blind, is you.

[txtrophy85]

There is two sides of every coin.


The other side of the coin is that somewhere along the way, a certain group of hunters got tired of the vast majority of buck harvest being 1 1/2 year old deer, so they started to implement better herd managment, got others on board thru various means ( yes magazines like TTHA played a part ) and popularized bigger deer that were a by-product of age. For every person who is ok with consistantly shooting 2 year old bucks, there is an equal or greater amount of those who are not.

Have we taken it a bit too far as a hunting society? Perhaps. I can see the argument people have with breeders (and I believe that breeders can play an important role in ranch managment), but most are not nearly educated enough on the subject to form a valid opinion, its just emotion that is fueling it. We track deer 24/7/365 nowadays with trail cams and other surveillance tools, we have weapons far more effective nowadays than we had just 30 years ago. All this goes hand in hand but everyone wants to blame the Trophy or Horn Hunter for the "downfall of the sport of hunting"

For every "you can't eat the horns " guy my question to them is; why shoot a buck at all then? most places have doe heavy herds and they need reduction". They normally don't have a valid answer for that.


Antler score really doesen't mean a whole lot to me generally but age and herd health certainly does.

[rolylane6]

The only thing others do that affects me is vote for ***holes!
Kill whatever deer you want however you want and be happy about it. Let others do the same.

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[rolylane6]

why shoot a buck at all then? most places have doe heavy herds and they need reduction". They normally don't have a valid answer for that

Because I only have 2 doe tags
Make no mistake I hunt bucks for horns too but I like venison as well. If I haven't shot a "trophy" by seasons end, I'm shooting something to fill the freezer. Age/horns isn't the determining factor.
Oh and I'm on 2 leases now so it's not as hard to fill tags on does now so I may lay off the youg guys for awhile.
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[Ag 89]

Deer hunting is big business for some people and provides a good livelihood for their family. I am always amazed at the amount of money people will spend to kill a bigger whitetail deer. For me it is about the experience. Don't get me wrong I would be extremely excited if a huge deer came out and I had a shot opportunity. The excitement is why I hunt, especially with a bow. A doe still gets my heart pumping with a bow. Now my youngest son is getting his first real hunting bow for Christmas and I am praying it is just as exciting for him and me. If we do not pass the love of hunting on to our children, our grandchildren will never experience or understand the thrill of the hunt. Our petty arguments over whether to let a deer get older or not is totally up to the person asking the question. If we can give them information to help them make a decision then we have helped. Otherwise, we are just arguing and trying to be king of the internet forum.

[RedYote]

Greed.

Think Im done getting mounts. We have 4 shoulder, 2 euros, 1 rug and a pelt at 3 different taxis right now and Im really only looking forward to getting 1 of those back. I know no one else cares. I keep a cool collage of hunting and fishing pictures in my garage that everyone seems to like.

Killing anything on public land is more trouble than its worth for me.

[Traildust]

I'm so sick of the "my public land deer is better than any private land deer" sentiment I'm seeing and hearing alot lately

Except for your statement.....I don't think I've ever seen or heard that in Texas or my hunting circle. Where are you seeing and hearing this?

[MadHatter]

I'm so sick of the "my public land deer is better than any private land deer" sentiment I'm seeing and hearing alot lately.

That is just further divisiveness and quite frankly ridiculous, as 99 out of 100 public land hunters would hunt private if given the chance.

Is public land harder to hunt? in many cases yes, but in many cases not any more so than overhunted private land is

In almost all cases it's harder.
Don't use an exception to the rule as a point of argument

[Duckologist]

In almost all cases it's harder.
Don't use an exception to the rule as a point of argument

Overhunted private is still easier. You can sleep later, don't have to worry about not getting your spot, don't have to scout, you just sleep in and show up with no worries. Don't need a plan B,C and D in case some random citizen is in the spot you planned to hunt. So yeah, it's harder, always harder.

[jshouse]

these are always fun.