Do you hunt solely for trophy?

[9mmforMe]

Thanks JRT...good to know and not a surprise that folks against hunting would spread propaganda, though I'm sure there is a small percentage of hunters who are not ethical.

Thanks Heeler...very interesting. I had never heard of the point system you spoke of...just heard folks who hunt talk about the points their buck had.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

^ I agree. As long as the meat isn't wasted I don't feel that it's my business what someone else does.

 

[CoRoMo]

But how do you feel about hunting just for the kill/trophy?

• Hunting... just for the kill? Like say, varmint control? Prairie dog eradication?

It is often an essential task; something that must be done, one way or another.

• Hunting... just for the trophy?

It is a good way to spend your vacation days. It also has a good many collateral benefits, besides the wall decoration.

 

[9mmforMe]

"It also has a good many collateral benefits, besides the wall decoration."
-CoRoMo

Of which benefits do you speak?

 

[CoRoMo]

...meat for the pot... thinning a herd...

These. Plus economic benefits.

For instance. We have a few members here, and obviously a great many hunters around the world, who hunt Africa, purely for a chance at a trophy animal. Often, they are guided on an animal refuge or game park, where the area, the herd, even the very animal is sometimes pre-selected by the local management org. If successful, the meat may go to feed the locals, and the animal population is ultimately healthier. The money, that the hunter paid to take the trophy, will help out that economy by employing guides, trackers, porters, etc. amongst other things.

Even though the hunter did it, purely for the wall trophy, it has a ripple effect that benefited the ecosystem, the local economy, and the bellies of those who get a piece of the meat.

 

[Yarddog]

I don't hunt solely for trophy but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to kill a big buck. I have no qualms about shooting a doe when legal though, and here in Arkansas, that's pretty much any time deer season is open. If I've got a couple of doe in the freezer, I'll pass on one, especially in the rut.
Like others here, I have no use for anyone who would keep a trophy and waste the meat though. I would imagine that goes for pretty much everyone though. The jackasses like that are the exception, not the rule.

Agree I Drop the first Deer I can in bow season, & If I'm hunting public land
I'll take a few But on my club, I shoot 6pt or better, Now that the freezers FULL I have Cam Corder in stand kind of catch & release Unless It's a Mounter
& I've only mouted one B&C 133 Class, That's Great for N/E FL ; )PS I've got a stack of little basket bucks a Few 8pts7s,6s,Ect.
Y/D

 

[Armored farmer]

There seems to be a natural "progression" from the youthful desire to "kill the limit" or "kill a monster"...(my son) to ultimately having too much respect for game to enjoy killing a game animal...(my dad).
I find myself about 2/3 of the way through the progression. I don't get much thrill out of killing a doe or small buck. In fact, it seems that I can only get excited about taking a big buck....and only then if I handicap myself by using a bow, handgun or muzzleloader.
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the hunt...spending time in the stand and the scouting and strategizing.....I just don't want to spend the time taking care of the kill, unless it is a trophy.
I guess that makes me a trophy hunter.

 

[gbran]

I quit trophy hunting years ago. I'd certainly take one, but I usually just hunt what I'll eat or give away. I do hunt some pests, varmints, etc.

 

[Ike R]

Its amazing what "trophy hunters" will spend in the pursuit of their sport, travel thousands of miles, spend thousands of dollars, all in pursuit of the biggest racks and most dangerous animals on the planet.

I will shoot a trophy, I have a system, one for the pot, one for the wall. If I don't see one that is bigger than the last big one I shot for the wall, it walks so normally I get one for the pot and thats it for me. I do enjoy the time away looking for that wallhanger though.