well, imo you did the right thing. you decided on what you wanted and stuck to your guns, unfortunately it seems to me anyway letting a sitting duck walk by is the kiss of death but it was the right thing to do. you may want to re-think the order next year. fill the freezer first, then get picky about horns. reminds me of times when you go deer hunting with someone you don't know well and they shoot a squirrel or bunny and spook all the deer just cuz they have the need to kill something. I'm sure this has or will happen to most of us at some time.
In almost every thread of this nature there usually is posted comments along these lines (not from anyone in particular):
I shoot every legal deer I see, if I don't the next guy will.
If I shoot more than I can use, I give the rest away to someone who can.
It's the total hunting experience for me just being out there, I don't care if I ever kill another deer.
I guess I don't understand the totalness of these three usually combined together. If the attitude is that if you don't shoot it the next guy will, it is no wonder the deer herd on the average size is small. They are not given a chance to grow. And just because you pass on a buck doesn't mean it will get killed, if you kill it then for sure it's dead. If it is the total hunting experience and you don't care if you harvest a deer, why do you carry a gun/bow and shoot every legal deer you see? Lastly why do you continue to kill if you already have all the meat you can use? For every hunter that has killed all they need there is another wanting to be able to harvest one for his/her family.
Maybe it's just my own thoughts but at some point it seems to me to go from hunting to killing.
I've shot enough deer in my life that I don't have to kill one anymore, yet I do enjoy the challenge and the rush after making a kill shot. I will take what I can use and enjoy it, as well as share it with a few friends. If I ever get to the point where I've got to kill everyting thing in sight, well I hope I never reach that point.
Question- our bucks aren't meant to grow to full maturity and I don't see why everyone just assumes we want them to? If i want to kill mature bucks I'd hunt in other clubs preferrably out of Florida. Especially to mount one.
We want to knock out all those 1.5-2.5 year old bucks. I would like to revoke my previous post, I'm there to kill bucks and as many as possible. if I don't kill 5+ a year then I feel it's a terrible year. I don't care about anyone else in the club but myself and my hunting crew and friends, if they cannot put forth the effort and skill to kill as many then they better step their game up. There's an honest answer for ya :rockon
I agree with Nacho. When you go hunting and you have dertermined that you will only shoot a such and such sized deer, wheter or not you get one you have been successful in achieveing your goal.
That being said, if you enjoy eating deer then there is nothing wrong in my eyes to shooting a few legal deer to put in the freezer and then setting a goal for a bigger sized deer. Kinda tough to call and it is up to each person to decide.
I remember when I was a young teen and I had shot a buck on opening day. It was nothing special and today I can not remember what size it was. I asked my Dad if I could continue to carry my rifle (we used to do deer drives and push the deer for/to each other). He stood there looking off into nothing for awhile then turned and looked at me and said "OK, you can carry it BUT if you shoot another buck it better be a monster." I did not shoot another one and don't recall that I ever did (PA had a one buck limit). I guess I learned that day to decide if the buck I was fixing to shoot was really the one I wanted or not. If it was I shot it and was happy, if not it got a pass.
Here in Florida there is a different set of rules, 2 bucks a day, so there is more flexiblity on what you decide to shoot. For me it has been for a long time If The Deer makes me happy and excited to harvest it, then I will. If I would walk up to it and ask myself "why did I shoot that?", then I will not kill it.
DH, as long as it's legal we are all allowed to do as we please, but your last post made my jaw hit the floor. when/where and by who was it decided that Fl deer were not supposed to be allowed to reach maturity? that's news to me and I doubt sincerly that it is the wish of the majority of FL residents that pay taxes and hunt. and how did they come up with that magic # of 5? I've got no idea why you feel you are not doing your job or pulling your weight if you don't hit your "quota", nobody is keeping score or will think less of you if you only got 4 or god forbid got skunked one season, and if there is, then I'd re-think who you feel obligated to. I would think more of someone that has the grit to make a decision and stick to his decision than bend to the will of peer pressure. jmo, Dave
DH, as long as it's legal we are all allowed to do as we please, but your last post made my jaw hit the floor. when/where and by who was it decided that Fl deer were not supposed to be allowed to reach maturity? that's news to me and I doubt sincerly that it is the wish of the majority of FL residents that pay taxes and hunt. and how did they come up with that magic # of 5? I've got no idea why you feel you are not doing your job or pulling your weight if you don't hit your "quota", nobody is keeping score or will think less of you if you only got 4 or god forbid got skunked one season, and if there is, then I'd re-think who you feel obligated to. I would think more of someone that has the grit to make a decision and stick to his decision than bend to the will of peer pressure. jmo, Dave
I think we are comparing two different places- I am using our dog lease as an example and you're using the whole state. I honestly don't care what goes on in the state as long as a very restrictive seasonal bag limit is not implemented. I don't hunt public land and they can do whatever the consensus decides to do with it- I have no opinion as long as it's not affecting my hunting.
If our lease makes 2 point on 1 side legal, common sense says they don't care about bucks reaching maturity. It's hard to count points when they are flying across the road in front of dogs anyway, and our rules are more restrictive than the state's already.
5 is my average. When I went through my divorce last year, I didn't kill but 3 and didn't even pull my bow back on a buck,much less kill 1.
I am in constant competition with myself more than anyone else. I like to see myself progressing at anything I do.
