Deer Shaming

[coonhunter]

God! I am glad I have this site to go to and enjoy. It is sickening the crap I have been reading on facebook sites and other forums. Although we have a few good debates on antler restrictions every year, for the most part the posters and the moderators keep things down to a dull roar. Christ, every post has to have some snide comment on it if it is not a big buck. Who cares if you have a big lease and raise deer like cattle with tons of money spent on plots and the lease? Not impressed with hunters trying to be like the tv personalities. If you have the money and want to spend it, that is your business, but don't make it so bad that people are afraid to show their bucks they are proud of, or have them saying that it isn't a big one. If someone takes it legally, they have a right to be proud of it. It is even to the point of hunters shaming kids by saying too bad they aren't getting taught the right way. 

I was shooting mature bucks way before this antler craze came along. Now, I hunt the big ones with a bow, and only shoot does with a gun. Guess what, that's my choice. I don't cram it down anyone's throat. I take what I learned in bow season and give it to the gun hunters that hunt the same properties. The farm I hunted the most in bow season is leased by a group of 8 from the city. I didn't pay a cent to hunt this land, but I had plenty of scouting information for these guys that work hard all year just to come up for a week and hunt. For the first time ever, all 8 guys got a buck in the first couple days. The biggest was a 2 year old 8 about 15 inches wide. 

I will guarantee you there is not a happier camp in the state than this group right now. They have all week to shoot some does to even add more to the year. I am invited back next year, and my family is invited to a pig roast and huge dinner next weekend before they all have to go back to life. This is what hunting is all about to me and is what a lot of us older hunters grew up on, camaraderie at it's finest. I still have to get back over and shoot a couple more does to fill my obligation to the farmer and the leasers.

Once again, thanks everyone for making this an enjoyable site. 

[BigVal]

Great post, I agree shoot what makes you happy. It's funny I have the opposite problem, I have been starting to pass tons of deer in an effort to shoot big mature deer, for the challenge and more time in the woods. Most of the guys I hunt with during gun with the exception of my dad tell me I need to shoot anything that walks by. And give me crap for passing deer... Lol funny the stuff people come up with. 

[Moho81]

Agreed. Shoot what makes you happy. We are all hunting because it’s something we enjoy doing. I’ll never tell someone they should have passed on a buck or doe. Seeming someone smile because they harvested a deer is all that matters.


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[Jdubs]

Glad you posted this.  I was actually debating whether or not to post my first harvest pic here or to fb because it isn't the massive 6 pt I passed on for being out of my comfortable xbow range.  My first is a button buck.  And you know what?  I couldn't be more thankful!

This is only my third season of hunting, but the first season that I have been seeing any deer (not including the 5 deer I helped my neighbor to drag out and process).  I passed several deer in xbow, experienced xbow malfunctions that cost me two other "first" harvests and basically continued to make plenty of mistakes.  However, I stayed positive, made adjustments and kept going back out.

So it doesn't matter one bit to me what anyone thinks.  This was a 2 year process filled with a countless amount of trial and error, supported selflessly by a few close friends who are experienced hunters.  I must have asked those guys a 1000 questions, easy. 

So I posted my pic, proudly, here because this forum has also helped me get to this day.  It's not a beast, but I don't care.  The humane kill shot to the heart matters to me.  The brotherhood of my hunting buddies matters to me.  The meals this harvest will provide matters to me.  And most of all, a profound sense of gratitude for being blessed after all my hard work matters to me.  And I suspect that same gratitude was experienced by those 8 hunters aided by coonhunter too.

[BowmanMike]

24 minutes ago, Jdubs said:

Glad you posted this.  I was actually debating whether or not to post my first harvest pic here or to fb because it isn't the massive 6 pt I passed on for being out of my comfortable xbow range.  My first is a button buck.  And you know what?  I couldn't be more thankful!

This is only my third season of hunting, but the first season that I have been seeing any deer (not including the 5 deer I helped my neighbor to drag out and process).  I passed several deer in xbow, experienced xbow malfunctions that cost me two other "first" harvests and basically continued to make plenty of mistakes.  However, I stayed positive, made adjustments and kept going back out.

So it doesn't matter one bit to me what anyone thinks.  This was a 2 year process filled with a countless amount of trial and error, supported selflessly by a few close friends who are experienced hunters.  I must have asked those guys a 1000 questions, easy. 

So I posted my pic, proudly, here because this forum has also helped me get to this day.  It's not a beast, but I don't care.  The humane kill shot to the heart matters to me.  The brotherhood of my hunting buddies matters to me.  The meals this harvest will provide matters to me.  And most of all, a profound sense of gratitude for being blessed after all my hard work matters to me.  And I suspect that same gratitude was experienced by those 8 hunters aided by coonhunter too.

Well said sir,i couldn't agree more. I have only been hunting for 6 years,3 seasons with a bow. I was lucky enough to make a friend who took me under his wing. I didn't get a buck until my third year, a decent 5 point. I also shot him through the heart,and a quick death to the animal is worth more than bragging rights for antler points.

And i agree everyone can decide what it is they want to hunt within the general rules. It will change as one evolves through the hunting career. I love the venison,we make different kinds of sausage and some other stuff. That is all the meat i eat,nothing from the store.

That is important to me,and I find myself passing 1 1/2 year old bucks in hopes that I get a shot at them next year. I harvest does with no regrets. 

And i am having fun for the most part. 

Edited November 20, 2017 by BowmanMike

[Swamp_bucks]

Couldnt agree more. Whatever the reason you choose to shoot a deer as long as you are happy with it thats the most important thing. 

Theres 15 of us that are on a mass text every year and all said congrats except 1 person who busted my balls on my deer this year. He  was lets say put in his place real quick by everyone(only killed one deer in 15years hunting and was a decent 8 last year now he thinks hes the best hunter ever).  And all i told him i couldnt be happier with my little buck my freezer is filled up again and his is empty.

[TreeGuy]

There is big bucks. There are small bucks. There are weird racked bucks. There's big bodied spikes and skinny 12pts. There's also memories. There's comrodery. There's sportsmanship. Theres beautiful sunsets and amazing scenery. Theres time away from work, or wife. Theres steaks,burgers and jerky. Anywhere in there can be somebody's reason to hunt and any deer taken could be a trophy to someone. We can't argue that big bucks are what we dream of, but sometimes that button buck means more than the next state record.

Do your thing. Enjoy what you do. It's your season !!

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[DaveJr.]

Well said. If a doe is a trophy for you, good for you. If a 12 pointer is a trophy to you, good for you. The only person that has to be happy with the deer you take is yourself! Don't let another person prevent you from shooting a deer you would be happy with.  

[coonhunter]

You guys make me glad I posted this. It has been eating at me, but I am not one to stir up a bunch of crap on the internet. I am more of an old school, face to face talker. Plus the fact that I never post pictures or even post a whole lot made me reluctant to bring the subject up. Glad to see it was well received.

I want to take a moment to thank the moderators for taking the time to police this site and keeping it friendly for all hunters and all types of deer hunters.  And to all the members on this site whether you are active a lot, post pictures or not, or if you just show up for deer season, thanks.

[G-Man]

Almost every Hunter has started with a doe or small buck.. Every kill builds experience and confidence.. I was allowed to take what was legal and what i was happy with.. I believe in qdm but I will not pressure anyone into it or Shane someone for what they shot.. I was there once my self.. As we age and experience builds we all change what we want or enjoy.. Life and time move in one direction enjoy it!

[LetEmGrow]

I agree and this is the problem with making it a "social issue".  It beomes "thought crime" if someone takes a smaller buck.  I like to hunt the big ones and I do belive a lot of people are letting the small ones pass.  But organized rules such as one buck per year and/or a shorter gun season would be much better than shaming.  I would never do that.  I hate it.  

[nyslowhand]

^^^^, me too!!!

Part of America's dark history that seems to have been resurrected thru the innovation of social media, Witch Hunts.

As a wise musician once wrote; "...before you accuse me better take a look at yourself."

Edited November 20, 2017 by nyslowhand

[Doc]

I believe that this is a much larger component in the shrinking deer hunter population than most people want to admit. Yes, we have always had pressure to target larger deer, but in this day of social media, we now have the ability to publicly humiliate hunters who started off completely satisfied with the deer that they got. And so many of us seem to enjoy doing that to fellow hunters.

The pressure put on hunters to only shoot huge deer has also become a problem for the DEC too, in that they are experiencing an under-harvest of does because of this public peer pressure to produce monster bucks.

And then there are  the TV shows that start hunters off with the unrealistic expectations of "the only deer worth hunting is  a book-buck". This crazy judgementalism seems to have taken over all aspects of hunting media to the point where many hunters eventually just drop out because of the inability to meet the unrealistic expectations put on them by this new public internet peer pressure.

The internet is no friend to hunting as public expectations and standards for success continue to exceed reality. More and more people are simply saying, "I suck at this", and are dropping out.