The Psychology Behind the Quest For Trophy Racks

[Nomad]

Everyone wants a trophy, be it deer or wife .

Hey I know I got a trophy wife , well not a big shiny first  place one, more like a " hey you showed up here's your trophy ."

[moog5050]

13 minutes ago, Larry302 said:

Everyone wants a trophy, be it deer or wife .

Hey I know I got a trophy wife , well not a big shiny first  place one, more like a " hey you showed up here's your trophy ."

It would help if you stopped measuring your wife by antler size Larry.

[Nomad]

she does have a longer G3 then G2, would you say that's genetics or poor nutrition?

[grampy]

20 minutes ago, Larry302 said:

she does have a longer G3 then G2, would you say that's genetics or poor nutrition?

Could be something in her habitat...............wink.......nod!

[helmut in the bush]

1 hour ago, Larry302 said:

Everyone wants a trophy, be it deer or wife .

Hey I know I got a trophy wife , well not a big shiny first  place one, more like a " hey you showed up here's your trophy ."

Your a savage comparing a bucks rack to a girls. Lot of similarities, looking back, there were some bucks I passed on that I wish I had shot, same with the girls. Then there were some bucks I shot that I'm still wondering what I was thinking. Now when I'm trophy hunting in the woods or the club. I like them big in the woods, small in the club, I'm all about the hunt. Your more likely to see the big ones in the club, which makes the A cups way more elusive, you need to put in a little more ground work to get a glimpse, and when they dress out they usually have nicer hams 

[phade]

Much better gentlemen. Much better!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dbHunterNY]

3 hours ago, Larry302 said:

she does have a longer G3 then G2, would you say that's genetics or poor nutrition?

no i think that means she's just giving you the middle finger and thus the dominant one in the immediate area.  does she snort wheeze at you if you don't give her attention or come over?

[Doc]

19 hours ago, phade said:

Doc - you can't see the forest for the trees. Your curiosity aside, this thread is filled with people making accusations about imparting the standards for why they hunt into others standards and belief systems.

But, you assume I didn't read your post and also assumed that I was speaking only to you.

There are 120 posts and half are about telling others what they should believe in.

No, your absolutely right. The thread has evolved into something other than the original post, but that's no reason to say there is "No value in threads like this". There may be individual replies that can be citicized, but the thread was written and posted without judgment as a simple set of questions involving why people use antlers to establish trophy status. It is not the fault of the original thread if it morphs into something else. And by the way, thread evolution is not rare on forums, and even the way things have gone on this one does not mean the thread was bad. Perhaps people have need of refining their ways of expressing themselves, but I always value opinions from hunters whether I agree with them or not.  

[tuckersdaddy]

The push for the rack is a push for the cash. Gadgets, bait, clothes, gear, TV celeberties selling said stuff all on the premise of getting bigger racks. Wouldn't work if the promtion was shooting the most spot on the fur.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Five Seasons]

On 6/30/2017 at 5:25 PM, wolc123 said:

which I believe shows more respect for the deer. 

this from you is knee slappingly funny. The texas heart shot and 100 yard crossbow shooter.

f'n gold. 

[Five Seasons]

On 7/1/2017 at 0:40 AM, stubby68 said:

    I know this isn't dire Ted at me but would like to give my answer. I been in similar situation. I will take the 1.5 everytime. For me it would come down to which one taste better. That would be the younger smaller one. If I shot the big one I would donate it and be out a tag and the meat in the freezer.

               Here's a question. A guy sets up a tree stand in a spot he knows there is lots of activity. Does not know what is i  the area just knows it has alot of activity. He has a week to hunt and plans on sitting this spot every day for that week or until he gets a buck. Sees no deer the first 2 days. On the third day a 140 inch 10 point walks by and he kills it. He had no clue that deer was using that area or was even in the woods for that matter.  Other side of this is. Same guy knows this buck is in the woods and knows he is active in that aera. This is the reason he put stand there. Still only has 1 week to hunt and plans t of sit that stand for that week or till he gets that buck. Sees no deer for first 2 days on third day the buck walks by and he kills it.

 

              Which shows luck and which skill? The only difference is that in one case the hunter knew the deer was there before putting up the stand. In the other he had no clue. Does knowing the buck was in that area mean it was skill that the hunter used to get the buck? Point is that even if you know a big buck is using an area you set up in it is still all just luck that he walks through while you are there and gives you a good shot.

     Skill would be knowing a big buck is in your woods and being able to state the time and place you were going to kill it before you went out.

             

I've read your stance on this a few times in the past. I've had some rough mature buck venison. It's hard to deny that it's a reality. Although i would argue that the time in the season is more important. 

The counter to that would be amount of venison. There are ways to prepare tougher meats and i'd argue that the extra meat on a bigger deer outweighs a slight disadvantage in taste.

[stubby68]

50 minutes ago, Belo said:

I've read your stance on this a few times in the past. I've had some rough mature buck venison. It's hard to deny that it's a reality. Although i would argue that the time in the season is more important. 

The counter to that would be amount of venison. There are ways to prepare tougher meats and i'd argue that the extra meat on a bigger deer outweighs a slight disadvantage in taste.

            The extra meat means nothing if I can't eat it. If you need to do more then a little salt and pepper to the meat to make it edible then it wasn't very good meat in the first place. That goes for any meat. Cows,chickens pigs are all butchered at a young age for a reason. Go to to dinner at a good restaurant and order a steak you can bet it didn't come from a 8 year old beefer. 

        Not a slight disadvantage in taste it is a huge one. Even the strong smell can't be mistaken. It even has a strong oder before it is cut up. Not to mention the stench from it cooking. Sure all the seasoning can help that and soaking it for days in a brine can make it tender but then all you are doing is tasting the seasoning. Might as well put the brine and seasoning in a bowel  eat that and throw out the meat.

[dbHunterNY]

15 minutes ago, stubby68 said:

            The extra meat means nothing if I can't eat it. If you need to do more then a little salt and pepper to the meat to make it edible then it wasn't very good meat in the first place. That goes for any meat. Cows,chickens pigs are all butchered at a young age for a reason. Go to to dinner at a good restaurant and order a steak you can bet it didn't come from a 8 year old beefer. 

        Not a slight disadvantage in taste it is a huge one. Even the strong smell can't be mistaken. It even has a strong oder before it is cut up. Not to mention the stench from it cooking. Sure all the seasoning can help that and soaking it for days in a brine can make it tender but then all you are doing is tasting the seasoning. Might as well put the brine and seasoning in a bowel  eat that and throw out the meat.

you talk like that's the norm and it would make a billy goat puke.  i just ate some of a 5.5 year old bruiser of a buck with a messed up ankle and scares on it's face and hide.  taken on scrubby thick state land and not harvested out of an ag field.  seemed just fine to me.  i've also had others that were just as old and older.  it's true you get bucks that are closer to what you described for various reasons but subjective as it may be, i haven't found that to be common place enough to worry or effect what i harvest.  i was raised on a registered beef farm so my standards are high.

[BizCT]

Are implants on women the same as HF deer racks? nice to look at, but they don't count.

[grampy]

Not sure of the "older bucks taste bad" comments. Of the dozens of 2,3, and 4 year old bucks I have taken over the years. There has only been one, that I could not eat! And he was injured before I shot him! The three year old buck i killed, from last year, will melt in your mouth! Just had some over the weekend. Shot on Nov. 18th chasing a doe. Scarred up, and ears split from fighting. Sure he smelled like a rutting buck during field dressing. But after skinning and processing there was just the " meat" smell! Perhaps I should come over and shoot a three plus year old buck, to make sure they don't make it to your freezer. I have no problem putting him in mine!

[stubby68]

You are welcome to everyone of them. If it is down to the end of my hunting I will take an older buck just to make sure my tag is used but it gets donated. I have never had a buck over 2.5 that wasn't tough, tasted strong and you could smell while still in the freezer. Had my fill of them when younger. 

   We each have a different taste for foods . I like to enjoy the meat not the seasoning.

        How many of those breeders were kept around till they were old shoe leather before they were butchered.

[growalot]

So grampy what did you do with the...."I could not eat" venison?

[Doc]

Yeah I have had some pretty ugly venison. I was not around when the buck was butchered so I have no idea just what the cause of the rank taste was. This was one very old 10 point buck. It was back when I was a kid and the handling of venison was a bit different than what we typically do today. I know there was the traditional "aging" of the venison as the deer hung from a tree in the yard, with the hide on, through many cycles of freezing and thawing in the sun. It seems that was what everyone did back then. I politely did my best but couldn't get beyond the first bite.

So sometimes nasty tasting venison may have little to do with the age of the deer.

[grampy]

3 hours ago, growalot said:

So grampy what did you do with the...."I could not eat" venison?

I made chili and such with some of it. Still tasted bad. I had other deer in the freezer we ate first. When the next deer season came around, I threw it out.

Now I'm not going to say, a three year old buck tastes as good as a yearling doe!  But if I choose to shoot a deer, I'm eating that deer!

[growalot]

Me too but with mine i had the option for it not to be a total waste......though the boys did'nt vsre much for the sausage...

Of course they can taste as good..in all tbe years I've hunted that big swamp buck is the only one to taste like that..but he smelled the moment I walked up to him and he didn't go more than thirty yards before dropping I shot him through the heart. I thought jerky could fix anything ,what a waste of time and electric.

[Buckmaster7600]

I made chili and such with some of it. Still tasted bad. I had other deer in the freezer we ate first. When the next deer season came around, I threw it out.
Now I'm not going to say, a three year old buck tastes as good as a yearling doe!  But if I choose to shoot a deer, I'm eating that deer!

The turkey I shot in the Adirondacks this year was inedible. The dogs wouldn't even eat it. It sucks when it happens but sometimes there is just nothing else you can do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wolc123]

I have never had venison that tasted bad, including several bucks that were 3-1/2 or a bit older.   If the meat is properly aged (that means 1 week minimum for a 1-1/2 year old, 10 days minimum for a 2-1/2 year old, and 2 weeks for a 3-1/2 or older, at 33-43 degrees temperature, then they all taste about the same and have similar texture.   6 month old deer are in a class by themselves, and are tender and great tasting even without aging.   Even they are a little better after 3-4 days of controlled temp aging however.  The livers are another matter however, and the 6 month old ones are all that I keep.  1-1/2 year old deer livers are a little to tough for me to enjoy, and the 2-1/2's are worse yet.  By contrast, beef liver stays pretty tender up to 3 years of age.

The poor taste that others have experienced can probably be explained my improper aging after the kill, A sloppy kill that caused the deer to suffer before expiring, or deer from remote areas that don't get any quality feed.     

I am always amazed by the volume of hunters who have absolutely no clue how to properly age venison, and then wonder why their wives and girlfriends turn up their noses at the meat.  Here is a tip for you: Learn how to make that venison taste good and she will encourage you to spend more time (and money) on hunting.  Whats wrong with that ?     

[wolc123]

12 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

The turkey I shot in the Adirondacks this year was inedible. The dogs wouldn't even eat it. It sucks when it happens but sometimes there is just nothing else you can do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was never a fan of turkey, even the farm raised stuff.  That is the main reason I did not go after them when I was up there this last Memorial day weekend.   My wife and kids love it though, so I would have went after one for them but I was scared of ticks, and I did not hear any gobbling around the lake at daybreak like I did a few years ago when we were up there at that time.   Up on the NW corner of the park, where my in-laws live, there is some Ag including corn.  That might explain why the venison from up there tastes as good as it does at home in WNY.  It might also make the turkeys taste better than they do down on the SE corner of the park, where you hunt.  Didn't you say that the deer don't taste too good down there also ?

I guess the only way for me to find out if the turkeys are good, from up there, is to shoot one in the fall with my crossbow.  I think the fall Turkey season ends the Friday before ML season, which should give me up to 3 days to get one with my crossbow.   Maybe I will be blessed with such a "target of opportunity" while I am deer hunting.   The only bird I ever liked the tasted of was ruffed grouse, and the ones from the NW corner of the Adirondacks are every bit as good as those from WNY.  

[BigVal]

I just like nice big racks. Both types 

[Five Seasons]

19 hours ago, stubby68 said:

            The extra meat means nothing if I can't eat it. If you need to do more then a little salt and pepper to the meat to make it edible then it wasn't very good meat in the first place. That goes for any meat. Cows,chickens pigs are all butchered at a young age for a reason. Go to to dinner at a good restaurant and order a steak you can bet it didn't come from a 8 year old beefer. 

        Not a slight disadvantage in taste it is a huge one. Even the strong smell can't be mistaken. It even has a strong oder before it is cut up. Not to mention the stench from it cooking. Sure all the seasoning can help that and soaking it for days in a brine can make it tender but then all you are doing is tasting the seasoning. Might as well put the brine and seasoning in a bowel  eat that and throw out the meat.

I'd be lying if i told you I've never had bad or tough venison. To expect kobe beef quality venison from every part and every deer so all that's needed is salt and pepper is also a little unrealistic.

However, if you told me that every 2.5 and older buck you shot (using this example because you said you'd shoot the 4 pointer) was bad then I would tell you that you're doing something wrong.

90% of how a deer tastes on the table is how it was harvested. I've heart shot with a broadhead some deer and had them pump themselves dry. They are always the best tasting. Late season deer allow me more time to skin and butcher because of the temp. Early season bucks are more fatty and less stressed. Gut shot deer or poorly hit deer that take a while to die can end up tasting less than ideal. And this includes deer that sat too long after they died. Making a mistake during the gut process can cause issues. Hanging by the head and not the feet will allow blood to pool in the hind quarters. heck, some guys dont hang at all before they drop it off at the butchers. Not properly trimming wound hemorrhaging, leaving hair on the meat or silverskin can cause poor venison. 

And lets not forget taking your deer to a butcher who may not refrigerate the deer or take proper care of your deer can lead to poor tasting venison. There are lots of things a hunter can do to make sure his venison tastes good. Most of this applies to steaks and roasts. I can't think of a single rutty old buck I've eaten that had bad tenderloins and/or backstraps. And if you're that sensitive to the occasional tough or gamy piece of meat, call up Costanzas. You'll be lighter in the wallet but happier in the mouth.

www.costanzasausage.com/home.htm