If they stopped all Buck hunting.

[phade]

Without a doubt...id spend less time hunting deer. As much as i love bow, id probably be a gun only hunter to shoot a doe or two for meat and maybe a deer drive. Id most certainly not spend the kind of money and time i do now. Id fins other pursuits that are more rewarding. If people find this thread eye opening, i feel sorry for them. Weve went round and round that hunting means different things to each person. No need to get on a high horse in this thread. At all.

[jjb4900]

I wonder how the guys who spent thousands and thousands of dollars turning their property into fantastic big buck growing habitat would feel....that would suck, and I mean that in all seriousness, many live deer and deer hunting year round.

[turkeyfeathers]

no change here whatsoever...it would still mean exactly the same to me, enjoying outdoors, spending time with family & friends and hopefully putting meat on the table.

 

^

Exactly this

[growalot]

Wow ...I believe I thoroughly explained I had no intention of being on a high horse with that statement..Sorry you perceived that a n d it twanged a nerve

[growalot]

I would still be out there doing the exact same things I'm doing now...there is great satisfaction in getting different things growing...watching other animals.... seeing what decides to come by our place...Since I've been here..we now have porcupine...mink...Fisher...all kinds of hawk and owls, wood duck and some malards, rabbits,bear, not to mention song Bird and pheasant...increase in Turkey..still some grouse...Yep no change here...Ohhh forgot about the bald eagle that ride the currents overhead checking things out....

Edited January 11, 2015 by growalot

[NFA-ADK]

I can't say I would stop hunting, I enjoy the outdoors too much and have discovered I enjoy hunting anything that's a challenge, doe included.  I know everyone says the doe are just as hard as bucks and to a point I agree.  Simply put nothing gets me as excited when I find a monster buck track in deep woods or for that matter any 2.5 or older as they seem to be the norm in deep woods.  Over the years I would say I have had shots on many doe that I could have taken but for bucks the opportunity is much less hence the reason I target them as they seem to be in area's less traveled by man. 

 

EX: In the ADK hunting over the years I have had maybe 50 doe I could have shot with 10-15 being adults. 

Bucks I have had about 8 chances, all except one were  2.5 or older. 

Southern zone and LI I would say I have had more than 100 doe shots I could have taken vs less than 5 buck shots. 

 

Adult doe usually have a following (Offspring), travel less with smaller home ranges making them easy to find and target. 

 

For me and my experience doe are easy targets vs bucks.  This is just MY perspective.

[growalot]

I'll agree with that for gun season...my personal experience in bow..especially during the rut.....doe are still harder here...buck wonder around half brain dead...the biggest challenge is finding any deer day light movement the last few years...it's like playing a 3 man chess came with the farming that's moved in here.

[growalot]

OK..So sorry to everyone else...not letting this one pass..Ticked me right off to be blunt...Phade perhaps you should have thoroughly read my response to Paula's request for an explanation...I retract that SORRY for your negative response is purely on you and you alone....done.

[132 eight pointer]

I would still deer hunt . I enjoy the woods in fall and the anticipation of seeing deer too much not to hunt.

[bubba]

I would still be out there.  Would not matter after a few years and all the does were shot off, the deep population would diminish and soon be gone.  I enjoy being at camp and the whole hunting experience.  i would only use my flint and sidelocks though with real black powder and round balls.  I would still watch the hunting shows and see how the real hunters do it.  

[thphm]

FSW , the 2 year old deer in my area are not that big in weight and antler size. They are not fenced in and fed with types of food to produce deer as on your farm.

jjb4900 , there are deer in my area that are 3+ years old , I have left one walk for 5 years and it wound up being a nice 10 pointer which I think someone shot last year.

And as First-lite said , I also would be happy with a mature doe.

[Elmo]

I never liked the taste of antlers anyway.

[NFA-ADK]

I have seen the bucks when they are love crazy but I just seem to find more young bucks that I do not target.  Rarely do I ever see a 3.5 or older wandering for doe during the rut.  (They never seem to be where I am hunting.) 

 

For me any buck I take is a trophy and I will mount every one to tell the story of the hunt.  Is it about bragging rights or to claim how well I hunt, maybe.  Personally it is all about self discovery and enjoyment of the outdoor adventure I go on.  Every time I look at one of my mounts it brings back the memories of the hunt and why each one is special. 

 

To each his own I say.  Some claim it is all about the meat but I would venture to say that most of them would shoot the 12 point buck vs any of the 4 doe with him. 

 

PS:  Even thought I mount my trophies I will never enter my big bucks into P&Y or B&C.  I would have mounted the spike I missed this year as I was using my best friend and long time hunting partners gun, RIP Chis, we miss you!  Each deer for me is special in some way and the mount allows me to tell the tail of the great whitetail and the adventure he takes me on.  Right or wrong it is what it is, you be the judge but I will not change.

[hunter49]

no change here whatsoever...it would still mean exactly the same to me, enjoying outdoors, spending time with family & friends and hopefully putting meat on the table.

   Would still be out there.  Take a mature doe for the freezer.   But I enjoy watching the deer & learning their ways. My best day this year was watching  a 6 pt. & a 4 pt. bristle up & walk stiff legged around each other ready to spar 10 yds. away for 10 min. before running off. Or just being there at the right time to enjoy the rut.  I could always hunt with a camera, see the bucks, get close and snap a pic., hunting the same but don't do the killing.  I have also learned turkey hunting is not all about the kill but doing the calling , seeing the strut & hearing the gobble.

[Jennifer]

This question had me thinking. I wonder if anyone would change their answer or not on this. What if we reposed the question a little? Instead of there being no more bucks ever, what if we simply took away their antlers?

 

If for some reason all bucks of all cervid species stopped growing antlers, but all other aspects of deer ecology and hunting remained the same, would it change how and if you hunt?

[Four Season Whitetail's]

I would hunt but not nearly as much and I certainly wouldn't have the same interest and resolve. I would probably limit myself to bow hunting and crossbow hunting. I don't hunt to fill the freezer and given the area's I hunt and the amount of time I hunt I could do that if I wished to. I do eat what I kill, just to close that possible conversation.

Only hunting does would be more like killing than hunting for me if that makes sense, it just wouldn't be all that difficult to do. I live close to a number of area's that I hunt in and patterning doe groups would not be hard to do.

I do kill does almost every year but I haven't the last two years because I have felt that our deer numbers are down substantially and I wanted to assist in having stronger populations come back.

I would probably become more of a dedicated bear hunter, I like to hunt the mountains and to cover ground and I enjoy all of the experiences that come with that.

Well finally a very well put together post. And for many hunters the same holds true for trophy deer. Some have it and some dont but to kill anything less than a true mature deer regardless of headgear is just to easy to do for some. Hence 10% of the hunters kill 90% of the deer. Land and the hunter himself is the factor. If i didnt have the land. I would go where i could find good hunting land. Did it for years and still do it to this day.

[nyantler]

This question had me thinking. I wonder if anyone would change their answer or not on this. What if we reposed the question a little? Instead of there being no more bucks ever, what if we simply took away their antlers?

 

If for some reason all bucks of all cervid species stopped growing antlers, but all other aspects of deer ecology and hunting remained the same, would it change how and if you hunt?

 

I think it changes things... the whole majesty of the whitetail comes from the beauty of the mature antlered buck... the hormone change in the buck that comes with the production of antlers is what makes the buck so interesting... like the male of the human species.. we are different in our internal make-up than woman... the testosterone is the difference. The buck's antlers are what separates it from the doe population and gives it the magnetism that entices hunters into wanting to hang it on their wall... without antlers a whitetail really has no majesty and is just another cute animal in the forest. Indians that hunted the whitetail for food and relied on that food for survival still sought bucks with large antlers.. and sported them on head dressings as a symbol of their hunting prowess.. the huge whitetail buck has never lost that mystical quality and without it deer hunting would still exist... but would not be the same. This is pretty much true for all game animals that sport antlers... it is a defining property of the animal that cannot be ignored.

[jjb4900]

I think it changes things... the whole majesty of the whitetail comes from the beauty of the mature antlered buck... the hormone change in the buck that comes with the production of antlers is what makes the buck so interesting... like the male of the human species.. we are different in our internal make-up than woman... the testosterone is the difference. The buck's antlers are what separates it from the doe population and gives it the magnetism that entices hunters into wanting to hang it on their wall... without antlers a whitetail really has no majesty and is just another cute animal in the forest. Indians that hunted the whitetail for food and relied on that food for survival still sought bucks with large antlers.. and sported them on head dressings as a symbol of their hunting prowess.. the huge whitetail buck has never lost that mystical quality and without it deer hunting would still exist... but would not be the same. This is pretty much true for all game animals that sport antlers... it is a defining property of the animal that cannot be ignored.

well put, and I hope everyone who are big buck hunters feel that way and aren't doing it for superficial reasons......I agree there is something about seeing and taking a nice buck that really gets the blood going........But, honestly it still would change nothing for me as far as how and why I deer hunt if they were no longer legal. I totally respect the guys who search for the big bucks and accept nothing less, just as everyone else deserves the respect or at least acceptance if their reason for hunting is totally different than theirs.

[growalot]

Would not change a thing for me...would still choose the deer on what ever goal I set for myself...I have set...first time this or that deer...pain in the butt spooky deer....deer with injuries...ones with special colorations...size..... whether they are produce fawns or not triplets and twins or not....getting into garden or eating trees...Most reasons have little to do with crazy sized racks...I would not pass one on a clean shot now, if they wondered by, but really not out hunting with them as the most important goal.

 

PS... BTW because I mention I don't mount racks....does not mean I think less of those that do or the reasons they do...just not my thing...love the pics I take and I take pics of both doe and buck. I love looking at others mounts as well and hearing their stories...But I admit being soooo very cheap I walk away saying man ...what I could do with.......

 

 

Edited January 11, 2015 by growalot

[Five Seasons]

That's an easy question for me. When I first began bow hunting, that was pretty much the scenario. Not too many of us even talked about harvesting a buck because frankly, they just were way too few and far between. Monday morning conversations at work centered on who actually saw a deer. My gosh back then if anybody even got a shot, they dominated the conversation for the whole morning. And if somebody actually got a deer, there wasn't any of this nonsense about asking what it scored .... lol. Score? .... What's that? It sure was a fun kind of hunting and it really didn't take a lot to get everybody excited. So bucks were out of the picture in a practical sense, and bowhunting was never as exciting and rewarding. Not having trophy bucks behind every tree didn't dampen our spirits any and in fact I think we enjoyed our hunting much more back then.

With all do respect I believe those were simpler times. 3 channels on TV, no internet etc. probably times I'd like to choose over today, but culture has changed and not just with hunting.

Heck I'm writing this note to you on an iPad on my couch with a 55" TV playing HD football in the background. I'd probably enjoy it more in a bar but that's just not as common anymore.

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Edited January 11, 2015 by Belo

[Five Seasons]

If the DEC told me I was guaranteed a doe permit or two during gun season for the rest of my days I'd be a happy camper. That is not the case for me now, and I also have AR's in my area. I could give a crap about a deer wearing antlers just to boost my ego and to have something to brag about. I'd gladly trade for this doe only scenario over what I have now.

Why does everyone assume horn hunters are only trying to boost their ego? It's a trophy. Like finding an Indian arrowhead. I can look at my wall and recall all the stories just by looking at the horns. The doe have faded a little.

Plus bucks have a built in drag handle for us guys without quads

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[Five Seasons]

Paula, the # that said they'd not hunt as much...wouldn't find it a challenge..etc..etc...

There is no way for me to explain my thoughts on this,without it sounding insulting to someone. That said, I actually do not have that in my thoughts...so I'll just say ...it saddens me ...not that I'm sad for anyone..just sad my personal perceptions on hunters was so far off....

The term "as much" would need explaining for me. With a very young family, time is precious. I hunt 2 to 3 times a week when the deer are moving and maybe some precious vacation days during the rut. All together I might make 30 sits. I'd probably cut that in half with doe. 15 sits is still pretty good and honestly if I shoot the first 2 good sized doe on October what am I to do without a tag? Risk not filling the freezer by passing up good shots and risking not seeing deer later in the year?

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Edited January 11, 2015 by Belo

[nyantler]

well put, and I hope everyone who are big buck hunters feel that way and aren't doing it for superficial reasons......I agree there is something about seeing and taking a nice buck that really gets the blood going........But, honestly it still would change nothing for me as far as how and why I deer hunt if they were no longer legal. I totally respect the guys who search for the big bucks and accept nothing less, just as everyone else deserves the respect or at least acceptance if their reason for hunting is totally different than theirs.

 

I do agree that everyone enjoys hunting for a different reason... but even those that say "nothing would change"  would find that something was missing from hunting if bucks were off limits... I find it funny how the "meat hunters" that say the old adage "you can't eat the horns" are awfully excited when they kill their first big buck and can't wait to show everybody... I still say most talk a good game when they say nothing will change for them, but I'm not buying it... and I believe those that really would choose doe hunting over buck hunting could be counted on one hand... but if it makes them feel better to say otherwise, who am I to burst their bubble. But I'm still not buying any of it...

[G-Man]

I have shot over 100 deer, and honestly getting one isn't hard,I've gone from gun to bow to black powider to black powder pistol. I look for an older buck to hunt and enjoy tracking them. My friends call me a deer magnet,I like to think I have better woodsman ship skills than most I know. I still shoot doe and donate them to camp members who want meat. But every year I hunt less but hunt smarter. My enjoyment comes from getting new people involved in hunting. I do not feel a rush or excitement killing any deer anymore.but I do when I see a person get their first buck,doe or fawn. Why do I still go out to hope to find that rush in taking something bigger than I've ever seen or gotten. If they had no antlers I would hunt much less and eventually stop.the young hunters I've taught are killing on their own and can only hunt weekends. The partner I hunt with is gaining age and will not be around forever. Hunting 60 days,a season will be long behind me.

I once read an article where hunters evolve thru stages from needing to get a deer to getting a deer with a certain equipment,to a method, to looking for a trophy,to teaching/mentoring. Some or all stages can be reached in one's life or you may stop at,a stage. The problem is the media has most wanting to bypass the first couple of stages and wanting to start at trophy. Imo it takes a long time and effort to reach a stage where your woodsman ship reaches a point that taking a trophy becomes possible. Media show hunters taking great bucks they don't show they are only one on 400 acres.

[wolc123]

I know of several trophies that have fallen to newbies with almost no hunting knowledge. Those bucks didn't get big by "following" the rules and doing predictable things that are reported in magazines and internet forums. Old bucks have usually patterned the "real woodsmen", but the newbies are an unpredictable lot. Its the same way with fish. When I take my wife bass fishing she cant even bait her own hook but nearly always hooks the largest fish. I always catch more however.