Taking does

[SPITFIRE]

I personly would take a doe over a buck especially during the rut.Need I explain? Anyway horns do nothing for me. Don't need bragging rights and you can't eat the horns, at least I don't.

[bob1961]

1. doe's need to be taken to keep a check on the herd population....

2. doe's need to be taken to keep the buck/doe ratio fairly even....

3. doe's meat taste pretty good too, as the same as a buck's meat....

4. i'm not a gaga horn hunter that has to take a buck to prove my manhood in the tribe....

hunting is my time to feel unpresured and to get away from the everyday rat race that life dishes out to each and every one of us in our own way....plus the only thing i use the antlers for is to stir his stew i just made from him ..........bob

....

[vixenmaster]

Why should we take Doe's ? Several reasons lowers the ratio Buck's to Doe's, helps to get herd in balance & they eat good!

[Boo]

What I find amazing is that some people put so much stress into hunting racks that they first, cannot possibly enjoy deer hunting as a relaxing sport and secondly somehow expect everyone else to take does on their behalf(he understood why does should be taken). It's not that I dislike headhunters but it's like they aren't part of the true sport of deer hunting. It's almost like we are deer hunting and they are doing something else.
Yes, I ran into one earlier last week. He does not eat the meat and does not take does. He got no thrill from getting close to deer. Has anyone else figured these guys out? Again, I don't really dislike these guys I just cannot figure them out. They have a right to be out there but do you think they enjoy themselves without taking a good buck? Do you think they respect the animal they hunt?

[DirtyGun]

Deer hunting, to me, begins when the season ends. I happened to learn that practice from someone who posts on this forum on occassion and who has plenty of good bucks to his credit.

Well before the next arrow will fly, I put the time into the areas I hunt, scouting (from a distance) vigourously, using scouting cameras and taking note of buck to doe ratios, keeping in touch with the landowners to get their take on what type of deer they're seeing on their property and then deciding what 'targets' need to be established.

If the doe to buck ratio is lopsided, then does are definitely a target. I should also add that during the past three years, I have let 40-50 different bucks (individuals, not the same buck, even on different occassions) walk, due to being deemed 'immature'. Yes, I'm one of THOSE hunters. I let the spike bucks and the basket rack bucks walk. Plenty of does out there, according to my ratios, to fill the freezer instead of taking a buck before he even reaches his prime.

No matter how many people you have out there who state 'doesn't matter...meat is meat'...I'd love to see that same person let a mature buck, in his prime, walk, because 'meat's too tough'. We all want to shoot big bucks. It's part of the allure of deer hunting. No one can deny that. But, if you even want the chance to shoot big bucks, the 'if it's brown, it's down' mentality has to be tossed to the curb. What I find fun...is drawing on those young bucks, holding on them, letting them walk out of range and then resting the arrow. Had them close...but I chose not to take them.

Three years of this practice and the results are beginning to show. There are a number of big bucks now running around in the areas I hunt. Not only are they beautiful, in terms of their stature and antler growth, but, they're smart as hell, due to a few years of experience in the bush. That, for someone who doesn't depend on a deer harvest to feed their family, or even for a supply of venison (I have a friend who farms deer), is the allure...outsmart a mature whitetail buck...one of the ultimate challenges.

[Pydpiper]

I can sure understand why some people like to pursue big bucks, and I also understand why people who can't hunt them get bent out of shape with those who do.
It is the same in every sport, when we swing a bat we want a home run, but we will enjoy a single, when we bass fish we go for the big guys, but enjoy the small ones too.
The goal for some people when they participate in a sport is to maximize the outcome, not just participate, and to be the best at the hardest part, that is where the satisfaction is derived from. Not everyone is satisfied with just any deer, some need to pursue the trophy, it is a whole new level of hunting and one that I admire. Anyone can shoot a deer with a crossbow using today's technology and a bit of time, but not everyone can take a trophy buck that they have spent time hunting, studying and scouting.
We are all athletes in this sport, but some wont be happy unless they are in the hall of fame, and I can only admire that kind of conviction.
People who have experience with herd management know what they are doing, the heart of this thread is no mystery.

[vixenmaster]

I don't hunt Racks as my only choice, its more of a 1st come 1st served thing fer me. Example the Doe & the Spike, i didn't just let the Spike go but the Doe was 1st n she gave me a much better n closer shot. So i killed the Doe, the Doe with those 3 spottys came up with in 10 yds. I don't shoot spotty's nor their Mama. 8 pt the Spike was with him but the 8 pt stepped out clear 1st at 19 yds. I killed him, before i even knowed he was a Buck i saw them through the trees n such. My heart was in my throat pounding just on the sight of tick toters. They were thrilling n exciting to see & knowing it was them against me plus i had to shoot him right handed. Yes after i made my shot i shook the whole time i lowered my gear to ground & while climbing down the tree, plus all the time on his blood trail. I do that on every tick toter or hog or any large game i hunt. Wahooooooooooooooooooo!

[gogo]

I respectfully take exception to Boos comments regarding big buck hunters. We do not expect someone else to take our does for us, what ever other people shoot is their business. We hunt to relax we are no more stressed then doe hunters,and yes we really enjoy ourselves. We respect the animal we hunt and are part of the true sport of hunting. And yes we love seeing does and willife but big bucks makes our heart pound in our chests. To us its about outwitting the top deer in the woods.Personal satisfaction like no other when we are succesful. The way I read the post is that Boo doesn't like big buck hunters even though he says he just doesn't understand them. Just for the record I shot a doe this year because I had an extra anterless tag, but from here on in it's big buck time.

[crazyfarmer]

Boo, why are you concerned with what others do? You like shooting doe.. we like shooting mature bucks. It drives us all year to hunt. Its something we love doing so why make a post trying to dismean something we as hunters like to do. Its no different from why shoot a crossbow posts if you look at it

I shoot plenty doe.. actaully took 20+ last year but im still hunting big racks during the early and rut reasons. yes, the big rack attack hunter took 20+ doe.. hard to believe huh I just dont post about the doe I take.

you will find that most that hunt big racks also do the same, but they dont post it. The guys on the big name shows do their part late season also. I know many of those guys get friends and they take out 100-150 deer on their farms but they dont show that on the shows.

its a obession.. I want the challege of getting something big, something different. I mean i can walk out my back door and take a doe anytime. Hunting is all about the challenge and experience everyone gets from it. Each hunter is different. If you arent obessed with big racks.. who cares.. if you want to hunt big racks. More power to you. Its hunting. I dont look down on anyone that takes a doe or small buck for that reason. Its about the fun and times shared. I know what when I let deer walk I get to see far more action in the fields. Yesterday I had 2 spikes spar 15 yards from my tree. It was a great site! Had I tokk one, I wouldnt have saw that. Even though it was spikes, its still as memory I will remember and I shared with my kids when I got home.

[one shot scott]

Deer numbers are different all over the place and I think it can have a affect one being a "trophy hunter" or a "meat hunter"
Allow me to venture a guess here CF, but I can imagine that If I were you and I saw 10 deer a day, every day, all within range I would quickly get bored and start to chase the bigger fellows that dont show their face all that often. The making of a trophy hunter!

With me in my part of southern ontario, I might go 3 weeks without seeing a single deer within range, let alone a buck. When one comes in its a thrill to take whatever it is. It does bother me when taking a small buck is frowned upon by others.

Different strokes for different folks It does not matter what gets us in the woods, as long as we are all ethical hunters.

[Boo]

I respectfully take exception to Boos comments regarding big buck hunters. We do not expect someone else to take our does for us, what ever other people shoot is their business. We hunt to relax we are no more stressed then doe hunters,and yes we really enjoy ourselves. We respect the animal we hunt and are part of the true sport of hunting. And yes we love seeing does and willife but big bucks makes our heart pound in our chests. To us its about outwitting the top deer in the woods.Personal satisfaction like no other when we are succesful. The way I read the post is that Boo doesn't like big buck hunters even though he says he just doesn't understand them. Just for the record I shot a doe this year because I had an extra anterless tag, but from here on in it's big buck time.

I doubt you know the type of rack hunter I am talking about. The ones I speak of would never take a doe. You are not the type of person that I ran into. I don't think anyone here thinks like this person. This person did not even enjoy being out there. All he could think of was the rack. He would never go onto a forum and share his knowledge. He was so single minded it surprised me.
Again, it's not that I dislike them, I just do not understand them. For the record I did not think he shouldn't be out there with me hunting. He has every right to be there and was not breaking any laws or doing anything immoral.

[Pydpiper]

This whole thread reeks.

Has anyone else figured these guys out? do you think they enjoy themselves without taking a good buck? Do you think they respect the animal they hunt?

I doubt you know the type of rack hunter I am talking about

I don't think anyone here thinks like this person

Huh?
Doesn't leave a lot of room for open thought. How can anyone "understand" who they don't know?


If I were a trophy hunter I would be very offended by these presumptuous remarks. Are there any trophy hunters here? Used to be, but he got ran off by..Hey, wait a second..

cannot possibly enjoy deer hunting as a relaxing sport and secondly somehow expect everyone else to take does on their behalf

it's like they aren't part of the true sport of deer hunting. It's almost like we are deer hunting and they are doing something else.

[SPITFIRE]

Boo, You sure opened a can of WORMS!

[one shot scott]

I dont think Boo was refering to any members here? actually in one of his posts he said that the person does not belong to a forum.

[Pydpiper]

I dont think Boo was refering to any members here? actually in one of his posts he said that the person does not belong to a forum.

Actually, what he said was:

He would never go onto a forum and share his knowledge

Not sharing is not the same as not belonging.

Regardless, determining what the guys gets his enjoyment out of, question his respect for the animals is just not cool.
Started out as "them", then turned in to "he", it was a loaded question from the start. This all about an individual, but was laid out as a generic "why just kill bucks" thread.

If someone asks how you can possibly gain enjoyment from shooting a crossbow (because they shoot a compound) then tells you that you can't enjoy it, then question your ethics (respect for the prey), it is done for one purpose, to belittle.