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Post by badbrad on Feb 17, 2017 8:02:39 GMT -6
Sometimes hunters make hunting too complicated these days. Just have fun guys. It doesn't need to be competition.  |
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Post by sd51555 on Feb 17, 2017 8:05:29 GMT -6
I'm starting to focus on that more and more. I still agonize over some stuff, but more so out of curiosity. Good point to bring up.
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Post by wiscwhip on Feb 17, 2017 8:23:40 GMT -6
LOL! That pic from 1980 literally could have been 2 of my cousins, the guy on the left even looks just like one of them. Cool analogy Brad!
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Post by smsmith on Feb 17, 2017 8:35:46 GMT -6
I started hearing about "inches" sometime in the late '80s. I think we like to romanticize the past. Competition over biggest antlered/horned animals likely goes back to the caveman days.
I will agree that many guys have gone way overboard
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Post by daydreamer on Feb 17, 2017 8:35:59 GMT -6
Always a good reminder Brad. Most of us enjoy the habitat stuff as much as the actual hunting. I'll be doing some pruning this weekend and will enjoy being outside in the sun!
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Post by badbrad on Feb 17, 2017 8:40:01 GMT -6
I started hearing about "inches" sometime in the late '80s. I think we like to romanticize the past. Competition over biggest antlered/horned animals likely goes back to the caveman days. I will agree that many guys have gone way overboard
That is the key right there Stu. Guys have gone way overboard. I blame Michael Waddel, Stan Pots and Keith Warren type.
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Post by daydreamer on Feb 17, 2017 8:48:36 GMT -6
I started hearing about "inches" sometime in the late '80s. I think we like to romanticize the past. Competition over biggest antlered/horned animals likely goes back to the caveman days. I will agree that many guys have gone way overboard
That is the key right there Stu. Guys have gone way overboard. I blame Michael Waddel, Stan Pots and Keith Warren type.
I think I self-measured a deer for the first time in 2000, I was 20 years old and shot my first legitimate big deer. I hadn't heard of scoring until a buddy asked me what it scored... |
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Post by Bwoods11 on Feb 17, 2017 8:49:09 GMT -6
Although I like to shoot mature bucks, antler score is not my focus. Age is key for us. I take pride in 6 year old buck shot in IA that scored 120 at best.
But the key is have fun, some of the best hunts are hunts which I never pull back the bow or fire the trigger. Also watching my boys harvest deer, and it's sure fun to track deer with them and watch the excitement when we find the deer!
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Post by badbrad on Feb 17, 2017 8:51:48 GMT -6
Although I like to shoot mature bucks, antler score is not my focus. Age is key for us. I take pride in 6 year old buck shot in IA that scored 120 at best. But the key is have fun, some of the best hunts are hunts which I never pull back the bow or fire the trigger. Also watching my boys harvest deer, and it's sure fun to track deer with them and watch the excitement when we find the deer!
And there is nothing wrong with trying to shoot old big bucks. We all love big bucks right?
The problem I think is when it has become taboo to just be a hunter and shoot the deer that make you happy.
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Post by Catscratch on Feb 17, 2017 8:52:08 GMT -6
Got to keep it fun! I get questioned on how old the deer I shot was, what it scored, trail cam pics, etc. Basically everything you brought up. Truth is I've shot deer because the were the first deer to walk by after my kids helped me set up a new tree stand. I've shoot deer because I was cold. I've shot deer because it came to a decoy aggressively and made for a fun hunt and good memory. I also seldom post pics of the deer I shoot just to avoid this type of thing and I certainly don't post pics of the bigger one's I shoot as they seem to amp things up.
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Post by buckvelvet on Feb 17, 2017 9:04:32 GMT -6
Hell just look at my land tour thread its riddled with this. I don't give 2 shits how big your buck is as long as everyone had a good time.
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Post by Bwoods11 on Feb 17, 2017 9:34:24 GMT -6
Good topic by the way Brad, I have stepped into the challenge level of take a 3 year old deer or not shoot. Just my choice. Iowa would probably be age 4 or a funky racked buck. Am I having fun, you bet, tons of fun, owning land is just a total (high) if you ask me. The habitat work, food plots, and tree planting are fun too, just an all around great sport
Now on the other hand, when it comes to fishing, I want action and I am a bit more of the opposite. If I had the choice of catching one (10) pound walleye in a day of fishing or 5 (2) pound walleyes, I would probably pick the two pounders.
One hunter told me that what he really likes about deer hunting is every bucks rack is different. You never know what is going to walk out of the woods on any given day, and he loves to hunt for bucks just to see that variety.
Archery to me is the most enjoyable, no hustle or bustle, no orange, you see so much wildlife. Deer, turkey, coyotes, squirrel, pheasant, waterfowl, just a relaxing hunt that doesn't have to end with a harvest!
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Post by buckvelvet on Feb 17, 2017 9:40:18 GMT -6
I started hearing about "inches" sometime in the late '80s. I think we like to romanticize the past. Competition over biggest antlered/horned animals likely goes back to the caveman days. I will agree that many guys have gone way overboard
That is the key right there Stu. Guys have gone way overboard. I blame Michael Waddel, Stan Pots and Keith Warren type.
I don't agree at all with the shot at Waddel. The realtree guys like him and Blanton have shot nice ones sure but they don't shove that crap down your throat on tv. They to me give the feel of normal people just having a great time hunting with friends. Besides your post states thats what it should be about, does it not? Do they have more opportunities then yourself or any of us, sure but that would come with the territory they work in. |
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Post by wiscwhip on Feb 17, 2017 9:44:53 GMT -6
Given I hunt on public ground, if I was worried about harvest, any harvest, I would have hung it up a LOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG time ago! I do really miss the hunts on the weekend after Thanksgiving Day when we would have 15-25 members of our family and friends get together and drive whole quarter sections of County forest land and having a dozen deer running out of every side of the block of woods. Everyone saw multiple deer per day and man was it a BLAST!!! We killed a lot of deer back in those days and everyone had a great time. It seemed like the razzing would never end if you missed, but it was all in good fun. Yup, REALLY miss those days.  |
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Post by MoBuckChaser on Feb 17, 2017 13:12:20 GMT -6
"I blame Michael Waddel, Stan Pots and Keith Warren type."
As your Avatars all have you standing behind big bucks......funny!
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