Looking for "Humble Opinions"

[stilllearning]

I copied this from another site here in New Brunswick but thought I might get some opinions on here as well.



In a post on another site I said
"Are you kidding me after not getting a deer in 8 years due to lack of time in the woods IF I do get out this weekend and I can see a horn that up on his head and it is only one horn............ Down he goes.

If the big one comes out I will take it but the first legal deer in front of me will go down. My goal is meat not horns. I actually prefer the younger deer as well, especially this late in the season.

just my humble opinion."



Now let me explain or try to explain what I am getting at.

Remember each post is a "Personal Opinion" so no attacts. thanks.

I Have had better luck with liking the younger bucks meat as well as liking the doe meat. So my preference like I said above was to shoot a young buck. Like other said though what about a doe if that is the case. They were right. I in fact will take a "Dry doe" as well as a Young buck if I in fact have the doe tag. I have not got one for a while. Now I say Dry doe because I think the fawn will have a better chance of survival if Mom is still around when winter hits so she can show them where they can get food. Again a Humble opinion but if a doe with young or Non dry doe gets shot I have no problem with that cause it is very easy to not see a fawn when a deer steps out. It happens so don't Deni it.

I have in fact shot a big 10 point and myself and the kids did not like it as much as the two young bucks or the dry doe that I have also shot.
The other point I want to make is why hold out for a buck that is ready to breed and produce when the younger one is not ready or will only breed maybe one or two. I know some have to survive to help the heard stay healthy and I think a fair number do because there are hunters that prefer the mature buck and do not mind the more gamy meat. I think that is awesome that they will wait for that big one. With that big one comes more meat and with me being the main deer meat eater in the family I may not eat the all of the big deer. Some would say well give the meat away. True. But again the best luck we have had and the deer that makes the family and I most happy is the dry doe or young buck.

Why shoot something I am not really going to enjoy?

Now be honest here. What meat is the preferred meat that you like. The older more mature buck, the younger buck, or even the doe meat?

Give your opinions as to why you like that meat.

Thanks as I am curious.

[lockmaster]

All young deer are very tasty...buck or doe. Old does tend to be more gamy and tougher IMO. Older buck have more muscle (meat) mass and have developed a kind of more "solid" texture to them. I will take young deer any time for meat.

I have never seen any difference in young deer...bucks OR does....but any of them with some age....3.5 up tend to be tougher no matter what sex they are.

I have taken older bucks over the years for the look of the horns, but they were always tougher if they were over the 3.5 years in age. I have taken older does that were tough and gamy too.

For the sake of the herd, I will let younger bucks walk if they appear to have a well developed rack and if they look really healthy...and gladly take a nice young healthy doe instead. There are always many more does than bucks anyway.

Only problem is, unless you have your own property and some decent acreage, there are plenty of hunters who WILL take them if they see them..and that makes it really hard to "manage" your herd.

I let quite a few deer walk this year including a spike and two 4 points because they looked like they may be nice breeding material. (I let some does walk too which in "afterthought) I should have taken).

Anyway.....yes, younger deer are much better eating whether buck or doe. I don't think there is ANYWHERE where you will have much of an effect on the deer population if you take does or the younger ones....and your venison meals will be very tender and tasty.

There are PLENTY of nice bucks that ALWAYS make it through season so taking young bucks don't hurt the herd, it just stops the growth of what may be a really nice buck for "someone" in the future. They don't sport nice "headgear" by being stupid!

[bowman]

Any younger deer is best to eat that year and half old doe is great eating along with the year and a half old buck but for tenderness you can't beat a yearling doe.

with that said I think all venison is good the older deer just need to be prepared properly to bring out the flavor and make tender.

I think it all needs to be deboned, gutted quickly and aged properly.

[oldgun]

I much prefer a yearly doe or spike yougn buck, it's the meat I'm after , it's just what I like on the table.

[BT]

As you can tell....I prefer lambs
Just look at the past years of posts where I am in front of a deer that I am bigger than
The largest deer I have taken in the last two years were for others and not myself.
I always look for the fawns/lambs and if there are two... then zap the one in the rear (near always the female)
The exception is an old Buck.
If he is big and nearing the end of his run, I will take the shot for selfish reasons....but it's not what I would try for

The lamb (?) I got this year was the smallest deer I have ever seen without spots
IT IS EXTREMELY DELICIOUS!!!

[CopperHead]

I consider myself a meat hunter. This year I took one deer for the freezer and then have been holding out for mature deer. Needless to say it has been a dry season in regards to meat for the freezer. I have passed on several deer that I would have normally taken in hopes they would grow and develop a decent set of horns or see the ripe age of 3 or 4. Well each of those yearly bucks that I could identify have made it into the back of someones pickup.

In regards to table fare the 1.5 year olds and younger are the best eating. They are usually never gamey if handeled properly and are in most cases very tender. Not to mention easier to transport out of the woods.

The quest for bone can be quite dry and drag out for years if you do not do your home work. I can honestly also say that I have never really had a true brute in front of me within bow range. Well not since I have been prepared for one.

A trophy is in the eyes of the beholder. We each have own own opinion of what one is. Mine is any deer taken legally.

[madoktor1]

Nov 23, 2008 18:25:51 GMT -5 CopperHead said:

A trophy is in the eyes of the beholder. We each have own own opinion of what one is. Mine is any deer taken legally.

I could not agree more with this statement. I hunt primarily for the freezer as my whole family loves venison and for this reason I prefer a doe to a buck, (not to mention I have a 3 doe a day limit here) But I will take what presents itself that meets my personal standards. On my lease we have buck restrictions but that is what we want and it's in a different unit than where we all live and it's primarily buck only so why not try to get bigger ones. But, back to topic, I prefer doe over buck especially during the rut and definitely agree with deboneing and aging.

[SPIKER]

Nov 21, 2008 15:47:53 GMT -5 oldgun said:

I much prefer a yearly doe or spike yougn buck, it's the meat I'm after , it's just what I like on the table.

Young spikers are my specialty..

I believe that an apple fed yearling, of eather sex is the best table fare of them all. I agree..the best trophy is the meat on the table.

[smj]

I tend to shoot what ever the good Lord puts in front of me. Some times it has horns, some times not. Probably the best eating deer I have ever taken home was a big doe mule deer. She was shot in a place that has huge amounts of high alpine graze. The fat pile was large enough to notice along side the gut pile! If eating is the main goal, I'd take a deer like that one any time.

[Greg Krause]

I like young deer for the tender meat and older deer for the challenge. That being said, I still love the meat of even big old bucks, especially of a deer that has been eating well. The older deer may be a bit tougher and taste different, but still not "gamey"..........just different like chicken isn't beef. I love it all and if I find a particular tough animal, I fire up the crock pot and slow roast that sucker until it disolves in your mouth!

Any legal deer you want to take is fine with me! They are all trophys in some way!