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It's still a loaded question, how about an option? I tried for a trophy and failed, but God blessed me on the last day of the season with a 4 pt. Everyone wants to shoot a bigger buck, that is a given. I have a lot more hunting friends that do not go on the internet who could care less.
It was not meant to have options just a straight forward question . I passed 5 different bucks all small last year down here on public land . 3 of them I could have killed multiple times and walked up to them .
2 different things and if a flock is flying in yes im looking for the drakes .
Well, I probably passed up well over a dozen bucks the last few years myself. Some were 6 point bucks, some smaller.
Its just they way I was brought up , And the way I see it . If more people would there would for sure be more quality animals killed . Its pretty simple . im not above killing smaller deer I just don't do it down here where the deer number suck . Michigan is 2 tag system and I kill the first legal deer for the meat and trophy hunt after that . 2 bucks a day is per person is way to much down here.
More than likely they might be afraid to be attacked by the brown its down clan. The same few folks posting on this thread that are always willing to say folks that want APRs suck at hunting. Proof:
So in other words, if you want APRs its because you suck at hunting and can't get a trophy. We've been over this. Nothing easier to shoot in the woods than a spike buck. So your logic once again makes no sense. All I hear are a bunch of people who are afraid to hunt a mature whitetail.
I write assessments and extract data for analysis for a living and your survey is pitiful in terms of collecting anything viable. It's also a couple years late, as FWC did the same thing before the regional deer TAGs began meeting. That's part of the reason why these APRs went into place, hunters wanted to see more mature bucks (as indicated on the surveys and public meetings) so the younger ones needed to be protected. It was zone A that raised the 10" beam issue because private land bios said they see a lot of 2.5 year old deer that are cow horn spikes and should be legal.
Everybody wants to shoot big deer, but if I have a 3 day quota hunt and can only hunt mornings, I'm shooting the first legal buck I see- period. Those that do the same aren't any better or worse a hunter than another. Before I had a family I'd sit all day and was picky about what I harvested, but I don't have that luxury anymore. Rather, like many others, I now take my kids with me and they'll shoot the first legal deer they see too and we'll carry on, whoop and holler like it was old mossy horns.
Not every hunter is at the same stage of life, has the same responsibilities, or goals in terms of what they harvest. Most people just want to tag a legal buck so creating as many opportunities to do just that is what I'm about.
But I also agree that many of us embrace the natural progression of wanting to be challenged as they mature as a hunter.
I am also very fortunate to hunt private land where I can manage my freezer meat in bow season and take advantage of doe week and tags, so I feel for the public land guys are getting kinda shafted because of the 'no does' policy of most WMA's.
And while Benelli's message may often come across as wacky, I fully support his ambition to have accurate deer counts for management reasons, and unopened land opened up so more can enjoy our pastime.
I understand and support Bin in almost everything he says I was just pointing out most hunters want to see bigger and better bucks . Bottom line is let them grow . You don't have to kill something every year when deer hunting . best part is being off work and being out in the woods . That's what I was taught by my father and would pass on to any kid brought out to the woods .
I think everyone is in FULL agreement on this comment but to create more opportunities to shoot a deer doesn't there need to be more deer? Of course opening up more land for access is a big part of that but isn't the solution also managing the herds we have on the lands we already have open? Like Dorado mentioned in his earlier post not everyone that wants APRs is in it for giant antlers.. I think most just want to see more deer and have better opportunities to harvest one.
Im curious to see what happens at Corbett the next few years.. Big problem I see there is a lot of people don't give a **** about the rules.. They kill what they want when they want so APR's don't really matter..
The new regs make for a more flexible harvest. My daughter would have had a good crack at two spikes last year had they been in place then. I'm sure there are other instances of deer with a 10" main beam that were passed on because they didn't have 3 on a side as well. So in those terms, more deer wouldn't have mattered as much as the inability to harvest those deer legally. I agree though, most just want to see more deer and have an opportunity to harvest something.
Why not expand quotas to 4 days instead of three? Why does Jones have 4 days for archery hunts but only 3 days for muzzy and gun hunts? Why does Dupuis allow does during archery but not rest of the hunts? They could have a fixed number of doe tags for rest of the hunts that are issued without wiping everything out.
With that said, I will gladly shoot a small buck on occasion if my freezer needs filling but if I have a choice, I will shoot the bigger buck every time. I say if you don't like shooting big bucks, shoot a doe.
Who would you prefer chooses which bucks you can and cant shoot:
1) You
2) Someone Else
Just as biased, but in the other direction. Both this poll and my example are seeking to answer the same question, and would come up with much different results simply because of impartial wording.
With that said, I'm not going to vote because I'll be taking my deer hunting to another state anyway. While I do go out occasionally down here to just get out in the woods, I prefer to hunt up north where a small doe is 120 lbs and decent mature bucks frequently fall over 200 lbs.
I said it and I have been killing deer and eating them for close to 40 years now. It's always the same, ranker than a caught boar hog.
Websters defines insanity as doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.
Not saying you are insane by any means, but something seems out of whack.
I would take a close look at my entire process if I were encountering rank meat from any deer.
More gamey I would say, it's always the full rutting bucks. I soak them in ice and drain every day, sometimes for a week. Not once have I ever had a problem with any other deer using this method. Never had a nasty doe or any other deer for that matter. I'm not talking about shooting a deer off of a feeder, I'm talking about one that has been running non stop chasing does. I think it's hormones in their blood or something like that.
Agreed. Any step in the process that is off can throw the whole thing off. Just a chain with one weak link. And I second Chuck's method of aging the meat. I did one in a similar way this past year leaving the deboned meat in sealed bowls for about 21 days. There is simply no comparison when you let it tenderize and drain out for that amount of time.
I get what you're saying, but the last two bucks I shot in Florida were both tongue out looking, not chasing, but were definitely on the move, and their meat was as good as any mature doe I've ever shot.
Now, full disclosure: At our camp, I dress my deer after they are hung so I can be very careful not to puncture the bladder, rumen, bowel, or intestine.
I know when I used to field dress them, I wouldn't be as careful due to my creeky knees killing me!
Im thinking you need to change your cooking
Humble Hunter? Maybe not so much. You need a new handle.
WAS THINKING THE SAME THING
There is plenty of ways to cook hamburger incorrectly especially if your not adding pork fat to it while grinding just makes it so much easier to screw up being as dry as it is .