Trophy Hunters

[BT]

Remember the first team butchering job we did on those Hogs?!. ;D
DUDE!

Yes it will bring people together and damn near kill them all to boot.... if they are not careful about how well they do on any given occasion. ;D

[Greg Krause]

I was just going to edit my post to include that! LOL. In the deer butchering above, we even busted out the propane burner and frying pan and cooked damn near as much as we wrapped!

[BT]

Thats sounds like the way to do it!. You do cook that venison really well

[ccwilder3]

I honestly believe that TV hunting shows are the worst thing to ever happen to deer hunting. While I liked the old ones where just getting a deer kill on video was enough, now they apologize or make excuses for a deer that’s under 150".
When I leave the state of Florida on a hunt, my personal goal is to only kill a buck I will mount. It doesn't have to be P&Y, it just has to be a deer with a rack I like. I will also kill a doe if she is polite enough to be very close to the truck.
Here in Florida, it just depends on the situation. If I am hunting a particular mature buck, then I let everything else walk. If I am meat hunting, then a mature buck that I don't want to mount gets to walk while his girl friend or little brother might get to go home with me. I like to eat 1.5 year old deer, buck or doe.

[BT]

Apr 25, 2013 13:30:42 GMT -5 ccwilder3 said:

I honestly believe that TV hunting shows are the worst thing to ever happen to deer hunting. While I liked the old ones where just getting a deer kill on video was enough, now they apologize or make excuses for a deer that’s under 150".
When I leave the state of Florida on a hunt, my personal goal is to only kill a buck I will mount. It doesn't have to be P&Y, it just has to be a deer with a rack I like. I will also kill a doe if she is polite enough to be very close to the truck.
Here in Florida, it just depends on the situation. If I am hunting a particular mature buck, then I let everything else walk. If I am meat hunting, then a mature buck that I don't want to mount gets to walk while his girl friend or little brother might get to go home with me. I like to eat 1.5 year old deer, buck or doe.

This is how I roll. The horns have never made my blood rush... Unless it was a very large body Buck. I guess it's a cultural thing.
In Maine we judge a good Buck by the body mass and not the horns.
Like Barry Wensel said.... I just like to kill Sh*t ;D

[shootstraight]

I've shot some big deer, bucks and doe's. I don't care for pulling the trigger on a young stupid deer although I have, it's the hunt that determines when I shoot. If the hunt is difficult, the shot hard, the conditions bad, a number of things the the trophy is the game I bring back to my family. Each and every one of those hunts means a great deal to me. One in particular is very special and it ended with me taking a small doe. It was a hunt I was on with my brother in an area we'd never been. We had a great time doing a trophy shoot afterwards, he died last season coming out of the Virginia mountains under his 4 wheeler, 2 deer strapped on it, hit a ledge in thick cover and flipped.

He missed me taking this last year, he would've been so happy. This guy was an action hero, when I butchered him I found what I thought was my slug but couldn't figure out how it got where it was, turns out it wasn't mine because mine was right where I left it. This was one he took years earlier because the wound was completely healed over, it was like someone surgically planted it in him, not a speck of trauma left, just the slug.


The hunt is my trophy, the people, the places, the memories and the game.

[smj]

Trophy hunters? I think we should probably define what a trophy hunter really is... Or maybe what one should be?

When a person goes out to bag one particular animal, few would argue that this is trophy hunting. Buck or doe, bull or cow - that's a trophy.

When a person goes out all summer counting animals, stalking and watching, compares antlers and body size, and goes out with a list of, say, 3 shooters out of the bunch - again, that's a trophy.

When a person goes out, passes on several animals because they weren't big enough or didn't have the right color, or for any other reason, most would consider this "waiting for the right one" to be trophy hunting.

The person that goes in the woods and shoots the first legal animal they see is probably not considered a trophy hunter... If that animal is huge, well, that person is usually considered lucky! But to be honest, if it is with a bow, how can it not be a trophy?

I have no trouble with any of the above. These all belong as parts of the sport we call hunting, and there is room for every single one of them. At the core, these are all hunters.

We all know that a well placed arrow will take any animal in North America by around 100 yards, give or take 50 yards. This has been my experience with white tail, mule deer, antelope, elk, and caribou.

Anyone who knowingly takes a marginal shot on any animal is either just a greedy killer, or very unskilled. Which is why I believe new hunters, I don't care what age, should have mentors to help them learn the art of hunting, and what it really means. I don't care what weapon, or which animal you shoot, or why. But when you add greed, it just ruins everything it touches. And the time to "clip" bad habits is at the beginning, not the middle or end.

[Doegirl]

I've seen many kill shots on video that makes me wonder whether it was truly a bad shot, or taken because it was the only shot and some kill footage is better than none. With all the sponsorships, airtime on outdoor cable channels, and deadlines, there better be some big racks hitting the ground.
I watched a show about a "managed farm" and started tallying up the materials and equipment used just on the food plots. It was well into 7 figures. For a deer. And people pay to watch this? So sad.

[BT]

I agree wholeheartedly as to the actual hunt being what determines a trophy animal. The difficulty is the bread and butter of it all.

Great Post....Heck of a Nice deer too

Jun 15, 2013 16:29:38 GMT -5 shootstraight said:

I've shot some big deer, bucks and doe's. I don't care for pulling the trigger on a young stupid deer although I have, it's the hunt that determines when I shoot. If the hunt is difficult, the shot hard, the conditions bad, a number of things the the trophy is the game I bring back to my family. Each and every one of those hunts means a great deal to me. One in particular is very special and it ended with me taking a small doe. It was a hunt I was on with my brother in an area we'd never been. We had a great time doing a trophy shoot afterwards, he died last season coming out of the Virginia mountains under his 4 wheeler, 2 deer strapped on it, hit a ledge in thick cover and flipped.

He missed me taking this last year, he would've been so happy. This guy was an action hero, when I butchered him I found what I thought was my slug but couldn't figure out how it got where it was, turns out it wasn't mine because mine was right where I left it. This was one he took years earlier because the wound was completely healed over, it was like someone surgically planted it in him, not a speck of trauma left, just the slug.


The hunt is my trophy, the people, the places, the memories and the game.

[shootstraight]

Jun 16, 2013 9:37:25 GMT -5 BT said:

I agree wholeheartedly as to the actual hunt being what determines a trophy animal. The difficulty is the bread and butter of it all.

Great Post....Heck of a Nice deer too



The hunt is my trophy, the people, the places, the memories and the game.

[/quote]

It is a heck of a deer, but the hard part was won much sooner than the actual shot which only took about 30 minutes to pull off. The land owner is a customer of mine and because of the way I've conducted business both he and his wife trust me with more than just business. He lives in a populated 330 acre woods that no one hunts, the deer are brazen and bold.
I was at their place early July and the wife began to tell me of the trouble she has with the deer, one even lowered it's head and charged her when she tried to shoo it off her flowers. Up till that point I'd remained neutral to mentioning hunting, but when she said that I said some needed to be taken out, she agreed.

I spent several days getting to know the place. First day of gun season with the only shot direction I'd take I took this guy from the base of the tree I had a stand in, couldn't even climb it because of all the action.

It's a book animal, 270 live, I am getting it mounted, I do have good memories of the hunt, but apart from the skill at making the shot, it's all due to opportunity. I didn't hunt this animal down, I shot it in a park setting. Just one of many hunts I'll always remember.

The nice buck I shot the year before was the real deal hunt and one of the most memorial parts of the hunt was that I was able to put 4 arrows in it quick, it never left the ground where it was bedding. Wasn't 15 yards from the stand and I climbed while he lay there licking himself with his head tilted right in my direction. Why he never picked me up is a mystery to me. I didn't even see him till settling in and starting to glass. Had to turn back around 300 degrees to get my bow and turn back again loaded and ready sending a shaft right down his swollen neck towards his vitals. He reeled to rise but I already had another arrow going and through his chest. He reeled back and I sent another through his chest again. The fourth wasn't needed but 300 yards away is no mans land, he couldn't go there or I'd loose him. That was a rush. He weighed in at 250 live.