Trophy buck or meat in the freezer?

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Lennyjoe

Lennyjoe

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Got a dilemma here that I need some words of wisdom on.

I went out scouting again today looking for deer for the upcoming bow season at the end of the month. What I found has me second guessing.

Here's what I'm dealing with.

Last year I was on a big 4X4 mulie buck but couldnt get a shot at him. This year (2 weeks ago) I seen him and a fork horn in the same exact area that I chased him around last year. The rest of the day I haven't seen any other deer in the area. The area is grassy hills with mesquite trees and a couple of water holes.

Today, I go out to a new area and seen 18 whitetails to which 7 were bucks. The biggest horns I seen were a 4X3 but the antlers were small. The rest were either fork horns or 3X3's. The area I seen the majority of the whitetails is rocky hills and wash's with some decent cover.

Now here's my question. Do I hunt the big dude or do I go where the odds are better and stick a smaller whitetail for the meat?

In the end, the meat is the reason I hunt. I don't worry about rack size but that darn mulie has got me thinking of him day and night.
 
How many deer can you take, do you rifle unt later in the season?
I kinda like to enjoy the bow season, and only look for a big buck. Some years I go dry too, but gun season comes in for about a month and a half and its no problem getting deer for meat.
 
"...The biggest horns I seen were a 4X3 but the antlers were small..." Jehosophate! Deer have antlers. Cows have horns.
"...In the end, the meat is the reason I hunt..." You've answered you're own question. What time is dinner? I'll bring the wine and cook, if you insist. A nice red Bordeaux.
 
I second everyone's opinion

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with trophy hunting, I hunt for the same reason you do. Got a family, wife is a home-maker, not an executive. We get by without game in the summer, but it tastes good and is easy on the wallet. Besides, I haven't found a good recipe for antlers yet.
 
Every now and then a fella oughta test himself, find out just how good a hunter he is. Meat in the pot is a Good Thing, of course, but ambushin' doesn't give the same satisfaction as huntin'...

Art
 
How many deer can you take, do you rifle unt later in the season
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Only 1. No, I didn't get drawn for a rifle hunt this year. I dislike Arizona cause you have to get drawn for rifle and can only take 1 deer during bow season.

To me, meat in the freezer is a good thing but having a mount on the wall would be nice too.
 
I hunt for the sport mostly. Every day is a new day with new experiences. I enjoy the solitude and being emersed in nature. I don't like freezing my butt off though.

I would go after the large buck in the early part of the season and shift to the area with the higher population if you don't have any luck. Who knows? You may just see him on opening day! If you hunt, most people do want to be successful, but my ego does not require the score if I have fun. This year it is going to be a handgun only hunt for me (choose no rifle this time) and I am really looking forward to the chase.

Meat? My wife hates it and I have to give it away or eat it myself. Sometimes I sneak and make a meat loaf containing a blend of beef and venison. What she doesn't know, won't hurt her!! :)
 
Lenny - Since you're going to MO and WV later for deer hunting, I would suggest you go for the horns on this hunt. Although eastern whitetails are quite a bit bigger than our Coues whitetails, the mulies have IMHO a more impressive rack than the eastern whitetails. Fill your freezer with the eastern rats with antlers, and challange yourself for the horns here in AZ.
 
go for the challenge. don't cop out w/ a 'freezer' buck if you have a crack at a good one (your actually better off to shoot a doe than a small buck). how good of a hunter are you? can you match wits, and beat, a buck who has bested many others? chances are, an old buck like this that has been around the block a couple times, and has heard the salvos announcing season opener is very tough to hunt and you may not get him... but, when you bust one of these guys, the satisfaction level is thru the roof.

test your skills and go head-to-head w/ the difficult hunt. go for horns.
 
I'd decide to go where I'd have the best odds for success with the bow even if that meant less than the trophy rack. Had I been drawn for the rifle tag, then I would more seriously consider going for the horns. But from where I sit, grasslands with some mesquite doesn't quite sound like a high percentage setup with a bow. The bruiser may still be there next season in even more glory, and you never really know exactly what will show up in that higher percentage area. There could be fine trophies waiting back east as well.
 
In the future, save yourself the agonizing and just apply for doe tags. They're $25 a pair, and if you're ever going to see the Hartford stag it'll most likely be when you've got antlerless tags in your pocket.

If it'll help, price a shoulder mount at your favorite taxidermist.

You're going for the big boy anyway, aren't you? Sure, you want us to talk you out of it, but you've got a score to settle and you're not gonna rest until you stick that toad, are you Ahab? Atta boy!
 
In the future, save yourself the agonizing and just apply for doe tags. They're $25 a pair, and if you're ever going to see the Hartford stag it'll most likely be when you've got antlerless tags in your pocket.
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Yeah, except we live in AZ where doe tags are only given in one unit, and then only for juniors hunting. If you're over 17 there's no way to get any antlerless tags, even for archery. There certainly is no way to get a pair of tags, buck or doe.
 
I shoot does, so meat in the freezer is all I'm interested in. I've got a couple 10 pt bucks on the wall - gave that up about 6 years ago and started shooting does.
 
I'd shoot a doe in a heartbeat if it was legal. Like sumpnz says, can't do that here unless you get one of them special permits.

I think I'll take the challenge and go for the big guy. After all, thats what bowhunting is all about. The challenge.
 
I will try for a big bow tilll the last week
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Most of our rifle deer seasons (elk too for that matter) are barely a week long as it is. You can only the particular season your tag is designated for. Archery season is quite a bit more generous in terms of time (IIRC there's two seperate month and a half seasons - Aug-Sept and Dec-Jan), but there's no ability to use your rifle at the end if the bow wasn't enough.
 
That is a dilemma. I guess for me it would depend on how much time I'd have to hunt. If had lots of time, I'd definitely go after the big boy. If my hunting time was going to be limited this year, I'd go for the meat, and pull the trigger on the first good eating whitetail I'd see and be done with it.

My hunting has evolved. Once upon a time, before a family and kids, I had lots and lots of time to hunt, so I was choosy and really wanted to get the bigger bucks.

These days, if I get out hunting 2-3 days a season, I'm lucky, and I'm very grateful for a doe, spike, forkhorn, etc. because if I waited around for the big daddy like I used to, my freezer would always be empty. Horns are nice, but so is jerky and sausage.
 
Our bow seasons run like this.

First season is 26 Aug-22 Sept and then again 16 Dec-31 Jan which is during our rutt.

Rifle hunts are in between them two times which there is only 1 mule deer hunt in that area. It runs from 28-31 Oct and only has 75 permits available.

The other area that I seen the whitetails is a pretty heavily hunted area during rifle season. They hand out 1600 permits for whitetail deer for the Oct and Nov hunts.

My plan is to hunt the mulie the 1st two weeks and then if I don't have any luck I will go after the whitetails.
 
Never seen a recipe for horns......

I used to hunt for horns. Then along came a wife and two kids. Meat from the butcher shop is expensive. Venison is cheap (and tasty.) My 4 year old turns his nose up at McDonalds hamburgers, but loves venison steaks, burgers, spaghetti, etc.

I like the system in Illinois, for $25 we get a combo Archery Tag (1 Either Sex and 1 Anterless Only) So, you can get a Buck and a Doe or Two Does. I also get two Shotgun tags (same thing -1 Either Sex and 1 Anterless Only.) Mrs Scout26 says Bucks taste gamey to her, but Does taste good. So, I get two deer for our freezer. If I get a third, that goes to family and friends. If I get a fourth that goes to processor with a check for $20 to feed homeless/poor. Nice thing is with two tags, I can always fill the Anterless Only tag, unless I see Mr Bigrack first. :D

Mission one is to fill the freezer. I got hungry mouths to feed.

You gotta decide what easier, bringing horns back from MO or WV or meat.


Besides those horns on that boy will just get bigger next year......

Good luck !!!!


P.S. Just got a copy of Illinios Hunting Regs for this year. Non-resident Antlerless Only tags are only $25.50. You don't need to buy anything other then a Non-Res Hunting licence (5-Day-$28.75) and State Habitat Stamp ($5.50), so for $60 you can find a good Doe for the freezer. (Can you tell Illinois is overrun with Deer ???)
 
P.S. Just got a copy of Illinios Hunting Regs for this year. Non-resident Antlerless Only tags are only $25.50. You don't need to buy anything other then a Non-Res Hunting licence (5-Day-$28.75) and State Habitat Stamp ($5.50), so for $60 you can find a good Doe for the freezer. (Can you tell Illinois is overrun with Deer ???)
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P.S.S. My brother works for Continental and it costs me $100 round trip anywhere in the U.S.. What time should I show up. ;)
 
Week before Turkey day. We hunt the Shawnee National Forest, Southern Illinois, not far from St. Loius, MO. Mostly Johnson, some of Union and Pope Counties.

Here's what I took last year. Saw a doe come out the woods, took aim at her boiler room, saw her look over her shoulder, and out he stepped.
 

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