If they stopped all Buck hunting.

[jjb4900]

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...

see, I say I respect guys who hunt for big bucks..but as you've proven those same guys can't turn around and say they understand why guys hunt for different reasons...believe me when I say I could give TWO SHITS  LESS IF I EVER KILLED A BIG BUCK...NOTHING WOULD BE MISSING FOR ME IF I COULD NEVER SHOOT A BUCK AGAIN...GET IT?...Jesus F'n Christ why is that so hard to understand?

Edited January 12, 2015 by jjb4900

[fasteddie]

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...

 

I call BS on this reply . You aren't bursting any bubbles here .  Would I like to shoot a buck ..... sure . If bucks were off limits , shooting doe would be fine . I am not about to pass up any shot on a doe (unless it's a fawn) . I don't think the original post was about choosing one over the other . It was about if you weren't allowed to shoot any bucks , would you change your hunting . It's about putting meat in the freezer . Some guys won't shoot doe and several landowners that I know don't want those guys on their property as they want the herd reduced and have less crop damage .

I have never shot what would be considered a trophy buck . The biggest I have shot was a 7 pt and 8 pt . I have shot doe larger than several of the bucks and have gotten more meat off of them . Buck or doe , whatever crosses my path . Will I wait for the big one to come along ? No way . NOTHING WOULD CHANGE !

 

[Elmo]

Maybe I'm not fortunate to hunt private land or have large tracks of farm land and food plots to hunt over but I don't go out specifically to hunt a buck or a doe.  I'll take anything I'm fortunate enough to take.  If it happens to be a buck, sure, I'll keep the antlers and display them but that's not what I'm going out there for.  I would be just as pleased with a fat doe.  I guess the only thing that would change is if the only thing I see all day is a buck and I'm not allowed to take it.

[GreeneHunter]

No change for me !

[greg54]

Stay the same.

[Paula]

I would show off any deer I was able to get. I think people would be more interested in a buck than me showing off a doe.

[upstatehunter]

I get a rush shooting a buck or a doe.....just knowing I out smarted a deer in its territory

[JFB]

I'm really surprised so many of you admit you'd stop hunting or that it would greatly change your hunting, AND if I'm not mistaken many of you are the ones quick to lash out at guys who want to shoot big bucks. 

 

Isn't that hypocritical? Call people trophy hunters obsessed with antlers... but then admit if they didn't let you buck hunt you'd quit? But.... put a set of fork horns or a six point on a head and suddenly you're back in the game? Who's the antler maniac??

 

For myself, I'm not sure how I'd change exactly. I know I'd start by taking a nice camera out and I honestly think I'd LOVE seeing so many monster bucks battling it out. I'd shoot the doe, and take pictures that would make your jaw drop because the bucks would be awesome I assume. 

 

 

[Ford]

Hmm, Interesting question. I guess I would keep at it. I like having Venison.

 

Would make for a very short first season where I hunt. I could park myself on the small food plot and be done in the morning.

 

After that? I guess does would get very scarce. If most hunters kept hunting, It would be doe annihilation that first year and the next. I wonder if they would eventually get to be like bucks now? Meaning extremely wary.

 

After a few years it would be funny to see all the huge racked bucks walking around. A few years after that, there might not be many deer around at all.

[Jennifer]

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.

 

I apologize if my question was poorly worded. Many animals display striking sexual dimorphisim; and others do not. Deer do, most notably during the months that they have antlers. My question was perhaps too hypothetical; I was thinking perhaps more along the lines of deer evolving without antlers. Bucks would still have all of their normal biological functions from testosterone to mating drive, to wariness and "ghost of the forest" status for smart, older bucks. In this situation, I wonder if many people would still be interested based on the "sport" and challenge of outwitting a smart but still antler-less buck, or if the antlers alone really are the game changer.

 

 

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...

 

I have been just as excited about the does I have taken as the bucks I have taken. I am willing to admit that I may be in the minority. I'm sorry that you can't accept that there might be some folks that truly do feel this way. It doesn't make me feel better or worse to put it this way. I don't feel better than anyone- you are all brothers and sisters in hunting. It's just the way I am.

I feel the same way about all game, by the way. The only turkey I have on display, for example, is a mature hen I took and she was so beautiful to me and the experience so great that I have her wings and tail hung nicely.

 

Hunting is very personal, for many. It's unfair to suggest that others can't possibly have different experiences than you.

[Doc]

With all due 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.

 

The question asked for a personal response as to my reaction if bucks were out of the hunting picture. I am simply saying that my hunting was initiated and flourished in practically that very scenario, and my enthusiasm and dedication to deer hunting grew into a lifetime activity in that very atmosphere. There is nothing about TVs and iPads that have altered that enthusiasm. My hunting goals and the satisfaction that I get from deer hunting have not been influenced by whatever technology that has entered into our lives. My hunting needs and satisfactions go much deeper than that.

 

But you are right, each new generation does allow more and more of their hunting satisfactions to be determined by reliance on technology. Other impacts of the very technology you are referring to have persuaded more and more individuals to sit on that couch with their iPad and 55" TVs instead of going outdoors and doing such things as hunting, which is now increasingly regarded as a "waste of good productive time". Does all of that impact the need for others to require antlers and numbers to measure their hunting success and satisfaction? ..... Perhaps. I'm not sure why, but I do know that it has not impacted any of my requirements of the hunt nor added any pressure to measure hunting satisfaction with antlers.

[Doc]

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.

 

We all measure hunting satisfaction in our own personal way. I think what is even more hard to understand is why some refuse to understand that others place a different standard on hunting success.

 

Is it an ego thing? ..... Who knows what is going through people's heads when they define their wants and needs regarding hunting. All I know is that we are all in it for our own personal needs, and the only time anyone should be concerned about such things is when the thinking and attitudes of others are being forced onto the rest of us who don't share those thoughts and attitudes. Then we have an issue of contention.

[gfdeputy2]

I would not change the amount of time I hunt or my tactics. I am a hunter. I am an outdoors man

I will kill a doe just as fast as a buck. The only thing that would make me change is if I lose  that excitement I get when I am out there then it is time to hang up the bow

[Doc]

With all this focus on bucks, I have often wondered if there were as many bucks as does, which would be the hardest to hunt, the buck who periodically loses his mind over sexual matters, leaving behind highly visible signs of his presence, or the wise old doe who has spent months and years looking after herself and bunches of dopey youngsters. It's an interesting question to contemplate. Are those prized bucks worthy of all the high esteem that we place on them or is all their mystique and supposed superior intelligence simply the result of the fact that they are simply "rarer".

[phade]

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.

Grow you take things way too seriously.Taking back apologies? What are we, 5? No need for an apology anyway. I feel sorry if one thinks that removing one of if not the biggest challenges in whitetail hunting were removed that hunters wouldnt change their behavior.

Pretty clear hunting is a sport where the participant can make up their own mind as to the personal limits of their game, within the law/common decency.

Hit a nerve? No, just funny to think that people are shocked that removing a major challenge wouldnt change participation. Thats some major sticking head in sand there.

Edited January 12, 2015 by phade

[phade]

With all this focus on bucks, I have often wondered if there were as many bucks as does, which would be the hardest to hunt, the buck who periodically loses his mind over sexual matters, leaving behind highly visible signs of his presence, or the wise old doe who has spent months and years looking after herself and bunches of dopey youngsters. It's an interesting question to contemplate. Are those prized bucks worthy of all the high esteem that we place on them or is all their mystique and supposed superior intelligence simply the result of the fact that they are simply "rarer".

Supply and demand.

[fisher2]

i only hunt does anyway so

[genesee_mohican]

I'd still deer hunt for flat heads because I love to deer hunt and we all know how good the meat is. But if it were buck only I'd spend less time on deer hunting and do more small game hunting and other outdoor adventures.

[nyantler]

With all this focus on bucks, I have often wondered if there were as many bucks as does, which would be the hardest to hunt, the buck who periodically loses his mind over sexual matters, leaving behind highly visible signs of his presence, or the wise old doe who has spent months and years looking after herself and bunches of dopey youngsters. It's an interesting question to contemplate. Are those prized bucks worthy of all the high esteem that we place on them or is all their mystique and supposed superior intelligence simply the result of the fact that they are simply "rarer".

 

In NY state I think we'll never know the answer to this question... there isn't much chance of the buck population taking over the doe population in this state... although with all the buck haters on here, who knows?... It is the new thing on hunting forums to have disdain for those that enjoy buck hunting... until, of course, that buck hater gets one himself... then it's the old, "I just want to thank God for allowing me to harvest my best buck to date."

 

The real answer is... The hardest deer to kill, is the one you haven't killed yet. Regardless of gender.

[growalot]

What an all time foolish statement....where did anyone say or even imply, with this 5 page repeat of opinions, even suggest they were buck haters?

[jjb4900]

What an all time foolish statement....where did anyone say or even imply, with this 5 page repeat of opinions, even suggest they were buck haters?

I missed it as well, best I can come up with is that if killing bucks really isn't an important priority for you, that must mean you hate bucks and those who target them..........much like you're considered a liar by some if you say that you would not change how or why you hunt if they removed bucks from the equation.

[phade]

What an all time foolish statement....where did anyone say or even imply, with this 5 page repeat of opinions, even suggest they were buck haters?

 

I think what he is getting at is when people have said not being able to hunt bucks would change participation, some of them had comments made/high horse views.

 

I concur with that.

 

We want the choice to shoot any and all bucks (legally), but yet if we can't shoot any buck, its not OK for people reduce or change participation or interest levels. At least that's my POV. I find that flawed.

 

I don't think we should force what is a trophy to anyone. If they want to shoot a spike and are happy - I am happy fo them. If they want to shoot a doe, I am happy for them. If they don't want to hunt as much because of removing a major component of deer hunting, I am happy for them.

[moog5050]

 

 

I don't think we should force what is a trophy to anyone. If they want to shoot a spike and are happy - I am happy fo them. If they want to shoot a doe, I am happy for them. If they don't want to hunt as much because of removing a major component of deer hunting, I am happy for them.

 

So generally Phade can we assume you are happy?

 

If bucks were off limits, some of my stand locations would change, the extra effort to try to kill the big ones would be eliminated, but I would still hunt.  I like venison, the quiet of being in a stand, and the sunrises/sunsets.  I would also carry a good camera because what else can you do when you see Mr. Big.  Maybe wooly could give wildlife photography classes.  Lastly, I can almost guarantee you that I would spend more time trying to become proficient with a stick bow to increase the challenge of killing a doe.

[growalot]

The term " High horse" seems to be a Buzz word for you on this Phade..I haven't read all the replies..but Don't recall people being on their "high horse" in regards to anyone one's potential lack of interest if bucks were off the table..

Perhaps surprise from what they thought ppl would say...but let me say... having surprise in what one's personal thoughts and reality..Is by no means jumping on any "High Horse"....

[jjb4900]

I think what he is getting at is when people have said not being able to hunt bucks would change participation, some of them had comments made/high horse views.

 

I concur with that.

 

We want the choice to shoot any and all bucks (legally), but yet if we can't shoot any buck, its not OK for people reduce or change participation or interest levels. At least that's my POV. I find that flawed.

 

I don't think we should force what is a trophy to anyone. If they want to shoot a spike and are happy - I am happy fo them. If they want to shoot a doe, I am happy for them. If they don't want to hunt as much because of removing a major component of deer hunting, I am happy for them.

I may have missed it, but I didn't really see anyone bashing someone who said they would not have the same interest in hunting if bucks were no longer legal targets......I found it somewhat surprising as did a few others, and not really in a bad way, I really don't concern myself with why others hunt.........on the other hand, there were without question, those who basically called the one's who say they would not change why or how they hunt liars, for lack of a better word....it seems that some of the guys who enjoy hunting for big bucks as their main, if not only reason for being out, are the one's who don't believe or take issue with the one's who don't really go out there with the same goals. But that's just what I've taken away from this so far.