Does anyone else consider themselves strictly a meat hunter?

[Arkansas Paul]

I was always told that medium sized does were the best eating

I would agree with that.

I will usually pass on a buck in favor of a doe

I will if the buck is small. If its a basket rack 6-point that is a young deer, I'd rather shoot a doe. There's no sense to me in killing a young buck, IF you can take a doe any time you want. In our lease, you could kill a doe nearly any day you go out, so its easy for me. It would be stupid to kill a small buck that you couldn't brag about anyway. If you want meat, great. Kill a doe.
Now you folks that hunt in areas where you can't kill a doe, you have to do what you have to do to bring home the backstraps. Or if where you hunt isn't heavily populated I understand.

 

[wyohome]

Why is it stupid to kill a tasty young buck?

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Why is it stupid to kill a tasty young buck?

Please don't misunderstand me. I didn't mean it would be stupid to kill a young buck if that were your only choice.

I was saying where I hunt, it wouldn't be smart to kill one for a few reasons. 1) There are an abundance of does that could easily be killed 2) Taking a young buck out of the breeding pool isn't smart for deer management, especially when we are so overrun with does 3) The people I hunt with constantly complain that they're not seeing many bucks, thus it wouldn't be wise to shoot the young ones before they get a chance to mature

I realize that everyone is not in the same position as I am in regards to the legality and abundance of does in our herd. I would certainly never begrudge anyone for shooting a young buck if their area didn't allow the harvest of does or if deer in general were scarce.

Heck, I wouldn't begrudge them anyway as long as what they're shooting is legal. It just may not be the way I would do it.

 

[HB]

As far as deer go I will shoot about anything, especially during bow season. Im a broke college kid and from October through February my diet consistents mainly of deer meat and velveeta. I will let a young buck walk in favor of a doe but I am certainly happier when a 10 pt walks by.

I also kill a lot of birds. This is mostly for sport as there is nothing more exciting than calling a turkey in or seeing ducks fly to deeks. I can't imagine shooting them on the ground and I wouldn't hunt with somebody that did. There is something in the fair pursuit of game that makes the bounty taste that much better.

HB

 

[Arkansas Paul]

HB grind up what you can't steak out and get some Hamburger Helper. That's poor college kid fine dining right there.

 

[Double_J]

I don't hunt that often, but when I get the chance it is for meat. I did a lot of fishing when I was younger, and that was for meat, I never cared for catching a "trophy" fish. I figure a good photo of a "trophy" and a freezer full of meat is a better way to go. My father is the one who taught me that, and he grew up eating what was caught, hunted, and raised. He grew up in a very desolate small area and learned the value of living off the land so to speak. The land will provide if you are willing to work for it.

 

[newfalguy101]

I am a meat hunter, however, I wouldn't pass on a big ol bruiser if he strolled within range. I will have an either sex tag in my pocket opening morning with a "bonus" antlerless only tag............I am gonna pop the first legal deer I see. then with the meat in the freezer, I can wait for something bigger buck OR doe.

 

[MCgunner]

I won't shoot a small buck, and the definition of a "small buck" around here is, a buck with 4 total points or less... If i want meat, i shoot does,

That's okay if you can take does legally. In Colorado county, Texas, you can't during gun season. You can in Calhoun county, but I've never shot a doe on my place, there. Things are tiny, most of the one's I coulda shot. There was one nice sized doe, but I shot the nice 8 point that was chasing her. I have killed a few spike deer, a 6 point and a 5 point there just for the meat. If I didn't shoot it, the neighbor would. My 9 pointer last year was far from anything special, but he's the biggest I've shot there, but he wasn't more'n 3 years old. I got him after a neighbor spooked him and missed, ran right past my stand. LOL!

Location, laws, and the situation has a lot to do with it, I reckon. I have shot some big doe for meat in the past where it was legal.

As far as deer go I will shoot about anything, especially during bow season. Im a broke college kid and from October through February my diet consistents mainly of deer meat and velveeta. I will let a young buck walk in favor of a doe but I am certainly happier when a 10 pt walks by.

I also kill a lot of birds. This is mostly for sport as there is nothing more exciting than calling a turkey in or seeing ducks fly to deeks. I can't imagine shooting them on the ground and I wouldn't hunt with somebody that did. There is something in the fair pursuit of game that makes the bounty taste that much better.

HB

I agree with you on bird hunting, but I'm quite sure you don't flush your turkey before you shoot, right?

As for being a broke college student living off game, I have walked in your shoes many moons ago when tuition and fees were a LOT cheaper, but minimum wqge was a buck 60 an hour. You'll have stories to tell some day.

 

[osprey176]

I suppose I am a meat hunter too. But I kinda prefer meat that grows under nice antlers.I have taken my share of does and young bucks when I lived in Florida.But since I moved out west,the hunting seems much easier,and I can be choosy about what I shoot.Not saying I won't take a doe,but so far I've managed to bring home antlers each season.Seeing and holding the skulls help me relive the hunt, and that means a lot to me. At least as much as a good meal.

 

[sixgunner455]

I've never killed a buck. Deer are for the table. I would kill a buck, have a buck tag this year in fact, but I am just hoping to see one. Elk are table fare as well - I hunt for time afield, and for food.

Birds are not rewarding to shoot on the ground, and I hunt with a dog, so they are not safe to shoot on the ground. I shoot them flying. I eat what I shoot, but I primarily hunt birds for the dog work time.

 

[Jason_W]

I can't imagine shooting them on the ground and I wouldn't hunt with somebody that did.

I'm guessing you've never hunted northeastern grouse

Even I probably wouldn't shoot stationary waterfowl unless my survival depended on the meat. That's a pretty big taboo in hunting culture, even if it does defy logic to a certain degree.

For upland game, however, I've found that I've never wounded and lost a bird I've shot off the ground or out of a tree. There's nothing worse than seeing a shower of feathers rain down after the shot and then not being able to find the bird.

 

[ejfalvo]

I wanted to hunt vegetables but they are all in DC and I live in NC.

 

[Jason_W]

I was saying where I hunt, it wouldn't be smart to kill one for a few reasons. 1) There are an abundance of does that could easily be killed 2) Taking a young buck out of the breeding pool isn't smart for deer management, especially when we are so overrun with does 3) The people I hunt with constantly complain that they're not seeing many bucks, thus it wouldn't be wise to shoot the young ones before they get a chance to mature

I wish our deer situation was like that. I would happily spend the first few days of each deer season harvesting an unaware doe or two and then focus on other forms of outdoor recreation.

I'm thinking about getting into bow or crossbow hunting for the sole reason of being able to access the high deer populations that cling to Maine's coastal zones. These areas usually just a little too developed for firearm hunting.

The catch is, in my wildlife management zone, even though thick herds of dear maraud neighborhoods along the coast, only 125 or so doe permits were issued by lottery drawing this year. I could be in a situation where I'm all set up with a nice new bow and cushy ground blind, and see doe after doe that I can't shoot. That would be frustrating.

 

[Gunnerboy]

I hunt the ever illusive blacktail.... so im a meat hunter as long as its a fat yearling buck ill shoot it dont matter how big the antlers are to me, we dont really have doe tags around here unless you get drawn for a special permit to hunt them

 

[ridgerunner1965]

a guess im both a meat and a trophy hunter.we have lots of does here so will shoot them for the freezer. if i see a small buck with a nice rack, that looks like he has potentiol to grow into a real trophy, ill let him walk. if i see a small buck with a messed up skinny rack ill shoot him. if i see a large buck with braggin size horns ill shoot him too.


i know a lot of guys say you have to have a 1000's of acres to actually be able to manage deer for horn size. but it doesnt seem to be the case here on my 3 to 400 acre farm.

my basic plan is to cut down the doe population for better buck to doe ratio.this causes more activity during the rut since there is more competition for does. and the second part of the plan is to remove smaller bucks with obvious bad genetics.


so far after 10 years of this im seeing more and bigger bucks.and still plenty of does.

 

[jack44]

I never was into HORNS.

 

[bigdogpete]

Can't eat antlers. Meat eater here. Yes, antlers...

 

[wankerjake]

I love a good set of antlers and would opt for a larger buck/bull given the choice but I like elk burgers and deer breakfast sausage too much to hold out for long. I I'm primarily a meat hunter, and can kill only one deer and one elk per calendar year, if I am drawn and can find legal game. The meat is more important than the antlers to me.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Meat

 

[Dthunter]

I hunt only non fenced country here in Alberta. I have hunted for that big buck since I was a young man! I would shoot the occasional doe for meat, but always pushed for that big buck. It was a goal I really wanted to accomplish.
When I finally did, it was tremendously satisfying! He was still tastey as well. Now, I dont spend the time hunting like that anymore. Now I will shoot what ever my mood and liscence allows me. As long as we enjoy hunting, thats all that matters!

Hope you like the pictures

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[Texan Scott]

Never kept an antler, tusk, hide, skull, tooth, foot, tail, etc in my life. I have no use for dead animal bits lying around the house. And... call me silly, but the idea of having a dead animal's head (with glass marbles stuffed in it where its eyeballs used to be) hanging on my living room wall to stare at me forever and ever without blinking while I read the evening paper is actually a bit creepy.

Meat is SO tasty, though. I like meat. Meat is good.

From The Silence of the Lambs:

H: Tell me... why do you think he removes their skins, Agent Starling? Thrill me with your accumen.

C: It excites him. Most serial killers keep some kind of trophies from their victims.

H: I didn't.

C: No... no, you ate yours.

 

[MCgunner]

I've got a decent, didn't say B&C, 8 point mounted that I shot out in Pumpville....that's in west Texas 13 miles west of Langtry. Also have a Javelina mounted that I shot out there and a mallard I shot on the Guadalupe delta. Yeah, I enjoy them even still. I ate the deer and even the stink pig, but not the duck.

Now, I misplaced the 9 point rack I shot last year. I was going to use 'em for tattlin' horns, oh, well.

 

[1911 guy]

Meat. I won't pass up on a "trophy" if it falls into my lap, but I will kill anything that will provide enough meat to justify the kill and the effort. If given the opportunity between two deer, I'll take the larger one because there's more meat on it.

As far as shooting upland birds on the ground or in trees, I'm O.K. either way. If I'm hunting with someone who feels it is somehow unethical to shoot a bird not in flight, I'll respect that. I'll also never shoot a bird on the ground when hunting with dogs. Too much risk for the dogs. Same reason I'd never let a rookie hunt rabbits over dogs. I've seen several dogs "peppered" and one killed. A few tag-alongs to see the method before you take shots at rabbits pursued hotly by beagles.

 

[a-sheepdog]

Yes, I am not looking for trophies, though I would be happy if one presented itself. I mainly hunt to stock up the freezer for the next year.

 

[M1GarandDeerHunter]

Meat hunter. Was a subsistance hunter for a number of years, bucks and does, geese and ducks, rabbits and squirrels, grouse etc. Like Art I wont pass on a trophy though. But its more chance than design. Unless you have decent land size you can control, kiss off most trophy hunting here on public land. lots of nice bucks on private land. Once pressured on public lands they flee to where the hunters AIN'T Most land owners however will open up to letting you hunt small game, especially bunnies and geese, or turkeys.