Trophy or Meat?

Which one do you go for?

  • The six point buck

    Votes: 63 38.7%

  • The doe

    Votes: 84 51.5%

  • Neither, wait for a trophy

    Votes: 16 9.8%
  • Total voters
    163
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Horns aren't edible morsels

As my Dad used to say upon looking at bucks or bulls I had harvested . . . "those horns ought to be delicious" . . .
 
MCGunner, I've been invited to come out and shoot a horned dog in SW Texas this year.:) I can't wait for december! I'll be looking for at least a 4x4.
 
The last few years I've had a need for a small amount of antler material for knife handles, flint knapping tools and the like. A pair of 6 point antlers would have enough material for a couple of knife handles and some pressure flakers with a little left over for scrimshaw or beads.

Given that my hunting area has a lot of activity which makes the bucks disappear after the first few days of the season my first choice would be the 6 pointer, followed by a couple of does later in the season. I'd be too tempted to hang a pair of bigger antlers on the wall (meaning I'd still want to get a younger buck) and consider the venison from older bucks to be less tender than from reasonably young does so would tend to put a trophy deer in firm third place on my list.

Subject to change at short notice. :p
 
I just shoot the first deer I come across. I'm not a big deer hunter. Just want a little backstrap now and then. I take whatever needs culling.

Smoke
 
i would shoot the first one I got a good shot at. I dont personally see the appeal of a trophy. Sure its cool to look at on the wall, but not the reason that I go hunting. Frequently when people find out I like to hunt and they ask me what I hunt i usually respond casually that "I hunt meat" ;)
 
that 6 pointer will get shot. I like mature bucks, but around here they are few and far between. I hunt a lot of public land and a 6 pointer is a good deer to take off public land around here.

Since I love venison, I'll take smaller bucks early/late in the season....hold out for something bigger during the rut
 
Seems a lot of posters to this thread think a 6-pointer ain't a mature deer, period. In my part of the country, a 6-pointer is a mature buck a good many times you see one. Around here, a spike or forkhorn can be a mature buck, but that's a problem with feed/forage and genetics.

Also, most posters here think a buck will taste gamey. My 3-4 year old 3-point buck last fall was a surprise... didn't taste gamey at all. Now, to those who disagree with my shooting that one, there's a couple of reasons why he needed taking out. One reason was his genetics didn't fit him to pass on the genes for big antlers to another generation of bucks. Another reason was that broadhead with 10-12" of aluminum shaft he was carrying from when another hunter pulled the shot and put it under his spine and over his guts. And he was still out there running the does with that arrow in him. Despite all that, the steaks taste real good, especially grilled over a mesquite charcoal fire.
 
Area with a lot of deer? Both. Can't imagine having two tags to use in a place w/o a lot of deer. My state, we only get one tag, and it's NEVER for does.
 
Over the last 20 or so years, the deer population has exploded and moreso recently. We have several million deer in Georgia and there's several million more in Alabama.

I remember when we were allowed one buck and three does... that was Daddy's tag when I was a kid. Our tag now... excuse me, "deer harvest record"... includes two bucks and ten does.

Some counties in Alabama... and they don't seem to have tags there, but I'd like to hear for sure from Alabama folks... but in the Alabama county I'd hunt, it's either two does per hunter per day, or one doe and one buck. That's PER DAY mind you.

And for all the deer and all the hunters in these two states, we're really not putting a dent in them. That's according to studies done by each state's respective DNR.
 
Meat I have three carnivores who get down right testy if they don't eat regular.
I guide so I get to be in on others trophy hunts. It's more of a kick to me to watch someone connect with that once in a lifetime shot.
 
I buy buck tags, but if CA offered doe tags, I would buy both. I love deer meat, but looking at horns on the walls always makes me take a trip down memory lane.

Edit: Opps...I would not have posted if I saw when this thread was started. Sorry.
 
Edit: Opps...I would not have posted if I saw when this thread was started. Sorry.
Click to expand...

Don't fell bad, this thread has more life after reincarnation than it did when started. I had to do a double take when I saw a thread that I started but had forgotten about!
 
I've always believed that the life of any animal should not be wasted. If you are going to kill it, use it - as much as possible. So, if you need the meat, (and these days who could not use one less item at the grocery check-out), take the deer and nothing wrong with a trip to the taxidermist for a trophy treatment. However, I think that hunting strictly for a trophy is murder - plain and simple. And a great waste of a beautiful creature's life. Glad to read that most here seem to agree.
 
I voted for my boys...

My youngest is a first time hunter this year. He has drawn a Mule deer doe tag for his first chance at Venison.

My eldest still qualifies to apply for a doe tag. He was also rewarded a doe tag for this season.

We'll keep applying for these doe tags as long as the state biologists feel that area has an improper buck to doe ratio. These are youth only hunts for does.

I'll be there with them and will be hunting bucks. The rule is 3pt or better on one side. I'll be looking for a good 4x4.

The eldest cut his teeth on a doe his first outing. TENDER BACKSTRAP! This year they'll be hunting does, but if the opportunity to take a buck presents itself, (and I'm not standing there to plug it), then either boy has the option instead of a doe.

Do I have a few trophies? Yep! Do I hunt for the meat though? Yep!

-Steve
 
It is funny how every now and then an old thread will revive, and this is an old thread.

Meat for the freezer is first priority. If it happens to look good on the wall too, that's a happy chance.
Click to expand...

I may at some point in time get past that fact, but at this time me and my family like deer meat too much to pass on any good animal.

As I write this I have the very last of last years Venison Sausage on the grill. My son will be in heaven when it is done in a few minutes.

I like trophies, but not at the expense of meat. I have a friend who is an experienced hunter that is quite skilled that will wait to the last minute to make a kill in order to try to hunt a trophy. I am not that kind of hunter.

The most important part is to have fun.

Good luck, season is just around the corner!
 
Depends.

If deer are overpopulated in the area, I'll take the doe. If population is good or under, I'll take the buck. If it's a specifically managed area, I'll follow the rules and wait for a "trophy".

Personally, I'm a meat hunter, never found a good recipe for antlers. However, I have absolutely no problems with those who hunt for trophy animals. Just different sides of the same coin.
 
I'm a meat hunter, so points have little relevance to me. However, we are severly overpopulated with does on our land at the moment. I'd probably take her.

As mentioned earlier on this thread, I'd be reluctanct to shoot the young buck for "investment" purposes. I mean, just because I hunt for meat doesn't mean I don't have a trophy or two in my past. :)


-- John
 
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