What to think of this?

I’m after more quality bucks…you can catch and release I’ve done it 8 time this year I took a photo……when I had the chance to take a good clean shot at a doe I took it. I don’t believe that everyone has to pass up smaller bucks Youth and first few year as a hunter sure go ahead and take a few smaller bucks….I think the guys that have shot a good share of smaller bucks should think about starting to let them pass to grow up. I don’t care what anyone says we all are out there for a chance at that big one…..The DNR is trying everything they can to get us to harvest more doe, I do remember the days when you sent your four names in and if you we lucky your group received a doe tag. If we don’t change our thinking a little we will be doing the same thing for Bucks.

I don’t believe in Wi if you harvest 5 doe a season and give them to friends and family that don’t have the opportunity to hunt is being a slob hunter in Wi with the shape our heard is in.

Take a picture let the small bucks walk.

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No, we’d practice catch and release. It’s a benefit that fishing provides. Hunting, however, doesn’t provide that same priviledge. Once you shoot, there is no release option. If for some reason Buck and I all of the sudden couldn’t eat geese, then yes, we would have to quit hunting them. I’m simply not going to shoot something that I won’t make use of. That’s why we don’t choose to hunt every moving creature…. I tried squirrel once…. just didn’t quite acquire a taste for it. I too grew up with the philosophy that if you aren’t going to eat it, don’t shoot it. If my brothers shot it, they ate it…. and they choked down some very nasty meat before they decided to shoot wisely.

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That is all well and good to each there own, there is nothing wrong with only killing what you are going to eat, and I agree with you on that for all other game except for deer. Unfortunately if everyone that deer hunted only took what they could eat we would never get the buck to doe ratio where it needs to be. As long as the deer is not going to waist there is nothing wrong with giving it away to someone else who can use it. If the deer numbers were way down then I would agree with you to only take what you can eat but we all know that this is not the case. Until this year I had not killed a buck for two years but have passed up several young bucks that I could have easily taken, (kind of like catch and release) in the last five years I have taken way more does than bucks, in those five years I have only killed two bucks both of them for the wall.

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I guess I just have to wonder what your goal is as a hunter. Are you only out for a trophy? Because it really sounds as if some of you are….. even as Whatsa talks about improving the genes, I hear the need for a wall hanger, a world record, a big rack. It’s not about the meat….. it’s about the trophy. If you’re looking for a trophy, sit in the woods quietly, wait for it to arrive and take a picture….

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You are right for me it is more about the trophy than the meat, there is nothing wrong or illegal with that, I have said that more than once in these forms, IMHO too many deer hunters hide behind the excuse that “they only hunt for the meat” sorry I don’t buy it. You can not tell me that most deer hunters do not like the kill or do not care about putting a big buck on the wall, and for the question why not just take a pic, well let’s face it a pic is no where close to the real thing.

Please do not get the wrong idea I have no problem with someone who wants to only kill what they can eat, more power to you just do not look down on me because my main goal is to put a trophy buck on the wall and at the same time to try and do my part to help balance out the deer heard.

The problem I see with not shooting smaller bucks and only taking Does is I spend way too much time and Travel and expenses to let one walk……Weather it be a small,medium,large buck or a smaller doe. I won’t shoot a small deer just because there isn’t enough meat on them.I’m there to shoot my deer!weather it’s a small Buck or large Doe…I don’t care! I spent too much money not to take “something” home! I shot a 150# 5 pointer this year…..Guilty?? Absolutely not! It’s the only deer my son and I saw!

Sounds like your playing the stock market and you need a return on your investment……

Steve,
I’m right with you. I try to do my part with herd managment. I also don’t need to keep more than 1 deer per year. I’ll even go on record by saying that I prefer beef over venison. I’ve donated my share of deer to both friends and to the state sponsored donation programs. When I decide it is a good time to put the down, I get a thrill out of taking the shot, tracking and field dressing the deer (regardless if it is a buck or doe). I feel fortunate that I don’t have to hunt for the sole purpose of putting food on the table.

Here is another scenario….When I was in college my roommate and I would eat 5-10+ deer a year. The tags were cheap and you got a lot of meat which meant more money for beer. We didnt waste a scrap!! Since then, I really don’t like to eat it; but I love to deer hunt more than ever and I sometimes have a hard time giving away deer and the foodshelf drop off is 30 miles from my house
Does this mean I can’t hunt?
Everybody hunts for a different reason and the DNR manages them accordingly. The one thing that makes the deer regulations different than most other game is the management approach-deer are managed to balance the sex ratio AND keep the population in check. In my area (WI 60M) it is considered a metro zone and earn-a-buck, you can harvest 2 does per day from Sept 15 – Jan 31st…That is about 270 does each year. I’m sure that no one has done this but the DNR is giving us every opportunity to do so because it has to be done for the good of deer hunting in general. They are the experts! I don’t always agree with them but for the most part I always realize that it is for the best.
BUT, tell this to someone that lives in a sparely populated hunting zone and they will no doubt disagree! If I only saw a few deer a year I would be furious with that guy that offered free deer to the public(if he was hunting in my area). But I’m not, if he loves to hunt and needs to place an ad to make sure the venison never goes to waste then that is OK with me The people that answer his ad must really want the deer right??

Mark

Imagine the DNR applying this logic to fishing….”You must harvest 3 x 20″ walleye before keeping a 10lb wall hanger”.

Chappy
If you were hunting in Wi in an Earn a buck Zone you would have had to pass on that buck until you had harvested a Doe. That is what I’m trying to get across.

I’m not trying to single out anybody for shooting a small buck and if that was your situation that is fine with me, but I’d guess that isn’t the case for the majority…..We have put so much pressure on ourselves to shoot a buck that its put our deer herd in Wi. in an unfavorable condition. If the condition continues here in Wi I do believe we will have a lottery for a buck tag. We already have Earn a Buck in about 1/2 of the state and the rest of the state is herd control. What that means is they are giving away doe tag with every purchase. I think in the near future if that buck was the only deer you had seen you will be forced to pass him up because we’ll only be able to shoot DOE.

Hunting is a very expensive sport….I don’t hunt for the meet, the meet is a bonus. If I looked at what I spent on hunting……clothes, guns, bows, shells arrows, dogs, dog food, gas, lodging……I could buy a couple side of beef for a lot cheaper.
Whatsa

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The problem I see with not shooting smaller bucks and only taking Does is I spend way too much time and Travel and expenses to let one walk…..

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That statement in and of itself disturbs me. I can fathom using that reasoning to kill an animal. I seriously hope I am misunderstanding your explanation. What the heck would happen if one spends all the time and expense and then never sees a deer? Go to the zoo and get something there?

Fishing and hunting are completely separate issues, there is no catch and release in hunting (consider phototgraphy if you want to, I don’t). If someone wants to catch their limit of bass and give them away every day, well, I guess that is their right. If they don’t let them go to waste and somebody eats them all, I guess I don’t ethically have a problem with it unless it hurts the population, which then I guess the limits should be changed (as they are for duck when a population gets low). Don’t know why really you would want to, the sport is in catching the fish, and you can catch it and release it live, and who would like to eat bass when you can catch a limit of much better tasting panfish easier. TO each their own I guess. If they come out with some kind of net gun, maybe I’ll catch and release more ducks.

I have no ethical problem with shooting ducks, deer, squirrels, whatever, and giving the meat away to someone who likes to eat duck but doesn’t want to or can’t hunt for various reasons (health, time, oppurtunity, choice). If someone has a problem with my choice on this matter, frankly I don’t care.

The ethics of “trophy hunting” you all can argue among yourselves.

You guys are all talking about herd management so you can shoot huge bucks….it isn’t about hunting or the meat…it is about the ego trip as someone mentioned above.

So far I have not heard one person chime in and say they shoot 2, 3, 4 or more deer because they like venison and they want to eat it.

That is my point. People are killing it just to kill it so they can get to their buck or create bigger bucks….not because they want the meat.

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That is my point. People are killing it just to kill it so they can get to their buck or create bigger bucks….not because they want the meat.

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That’s true with one ommission, the DNR WANTS people to kill 2,3,4 anterless deer, and THEY don’t really care if you eat it or donate it either.

Some people hunt for the challenge of getting the biggest buck they can. That’s the reality. I’m not going to argue the ethics of that, but it’s the truth.

Mossboss….not to be point blank but to me it sounds like hunting isn’t the main focus…it is killing whatever you decide to shoot.
Hunting is getting the deer, ducks, geese or whatever else you are hunting to do what you want.
If you are duck hunting and put out an immaculate spread of dekes and ducks are coming in perfect what difference does it make if you push the button on a camera or pull the trigger….you have successfully hunted your quarry.

Fishing and hunting aren’t that different. If I get a walleye to pick up a leech on a lindy I have successfully hunted that fish I reel it in take a picture and throw it back. If I get a deer to follow the trail I want it to and come through my shooting windows I have successfully hunted that animal, I have reeled it in…taken a picture and sent it on its way.

Why do you need to kill it….if you don’t want it. Please help me understand your justification.

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Mossboss….not to be point blank but to me it sounds like hunting isn’t the main focus…it is killing whatever you decide to shoot.
Hunting is getting the deer, ducks, geese or whatever else you are hunting to do what you want.
If you are duck hunting and put out an immaculate spread of dekes and ducks are coming in perfect what difference does it make if you push the button on a camera or pull the trigger….you have successfully hunted your quarry.

Fishing and hunting aren’t that different. If I get a walleye to pick up a leech on a lindy I have successfully hunted that fish I reel it in take a picture and throw it back. If I get a deer to follow the trail I want it to and come through my shooting windows I have successfully hunted that animal, I have reeled it in…taken a picture and sent it on its way.

Why do you need to kill it….if you don’t want it. Please help me understand your justification.

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Because successfully completing the shooting is part of the challenge and the hunt. To me, it’s a part of the hunt, but I don’t know if I can justify it to your liking, I doubt I can. My dog deosn’t get much enjoyment from retrieving digital pictures either.

I have a question for you. What is the difference between if I want it (I do eat duck by the way, but I also give some away), or if someone else wants it and enjoys it?

If they enjoy it that much why aren’t they out doing it themselves??

You mentioned in your previous post that if someone gives bass away you don’t have a problem with it as long as it isn’t hurting the population….so let me ask you this.
Do you shoot bluebills, canvasbacks, redheads, pintails, wood ducks and mallards?? They are all limited to less than a full limit of birds meaning the populations are NOT over abundant. So by harvesting those birds you are damaging the population and then giving those birds away are you not???
That sounds like the same exact thing you said you’d have a problem with??

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So far I have not heard one person chime in and say they shoot 2, 3, 4 or more deer because they like venison and they want to eat it.

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That is because not everybody does…I just said that – but it isnt always about killing bigger bucks or ego either,in my case I ate so much of it I just dont like it anymore but I still love to hunt-period! Is that wrong? In my area, I dont think so….when I drive home there is ussually a dead deer laying on the road within one mile of my driveway and it isnt uncommon to see deer bedded in peoples yards around here either. Who does this benefit?

Lets face it…whitetail doesnt exactly compare to fillet-mignon, but hunting them does! I say it is OK to hunt like you are hungry and give the meat to the people that havent yet had fillet-mignon

Mark

sounds like a bunch of women in a hen house going back and forth. hows about we agree to disagree.

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If they enjoy it that much why aren’t they out doing it themselves??

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Well, my parents neighbor was 85 at the time and couldn’t walk hardly at all, the girl who cut my hair just didn’t want to go and another guy I gave them too just didn’t like to kill anything himself but liked to eat duck. There are more people I have given duck to, but honestly I don’t really remember why they didn’t go out and kill the birds themselves but I don’t really care.

The limits are those birds are set as to NOT hurt the population by harvesting them. If people kept alot more bass than they do now, maybe the DNR would have to lower the limit so it didn’t hurt the population, that is my point. There are limits on both (bass and ducks), as neither are abundant to the point of exceeding their carrying capacity.

Again I ask:

What is the difference between if I want it (I do eat duck by the way, but I also give some away), or if someone else wants it and enjoys it?

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sounds like a bunch of women in a hen house going back and forth. hows about we agree to disagree.

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Fine with me but kinda boring.

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Am I so far out in left field in my thinking that if you don’t want it you shouldn’t kill it??

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Buckshot,
I respect your right to have you own opinion, but IMO, YES, your sitting out on the warning track.

Are there some situations I would agree with your approach. OBVIOUSLY YES.

PS. Man I can’t wait for this day to be over.

I was responding the same time you were Mark so I didn’t see your post until I posted mine.

You ask who does it benefit?? I guess to be the devils advocate…who does it hurt??

Deer are going to get hit by cars whether there are a lot of them or not a lot of them…that isn’t going to change.

Spence…I am not trying to be difficult…..no one has given a single valid reason for killing stuff you don’t want for yourself. The only common thing I have heard is “I like to kill” and “I want a huge buck”.

Your entitled to your opinion bzzsaw as am I.
But if I am SO far out of line….why is it that all I am hearing is what I posted above. I like to kill and I need a huge buck??

If you don’t want the meat for yourself you are killing to kill or killing to improve your odds of a huge buck down the road….what other reason is there??

actually, i think there has been a point raised. that is, to not let the herd get totally out of control. i’m not old enough, but have heard plenty of stories about hunting in the 70’s when you used to have to “work hard” to get your meat. nowadays, the herd is getting to be out of control. like previously stated, some people love to eat venison but for one reason or another, can’t get out to hunt. why should they not be able to have someone give them venison for consumption. bottom line, if the herd isn’t taken care of through means of hunting, disease will come in and take care of everything for us. yes, deer will always get struck by vehicles, but if more doe are harvested each year, the chances are much less.

Let’s look at fishing the big pond. Why do they have a slot limit???? To better the fishing??? To protect some class fish?

I’ll still go back to every single person that hunts or fishes is happy if they can harvest a trophy….Don’t tell me you wouldn’t like to catch a 32″ Walleye or a 54″ musky. We are lucky we have regulations like that, that will produce large fish. There are also lake that they want you to take a certain size fish, and small fish because the lake is stunted.
That IMO is what the Wi DNR is asking us to do…..

Why is it so different to wish the deer hunting could be like that…….

To go back to the original question…..I have no problem with a hunter harvesting 4,5 or 10 deer in Wi in one of the EAB or Herd control zones……as long as it going to good use…..be it me eating it or giving it away. This guy put an add out there and it sounds like he had an overwhelming response from people that were interested in deer. At this point good for him he is trying to improve a resource that is out of balance

Not sure where you been Mossboss but the bluebill population has plummeted the last few year. Canvasbacks are just starting to make a decent comeback because the seasons were closed on them not that long ago.

So you saying those birds are limited so as to not overpopulate is not accurate. They are limited because if they weren’t the populations WOULD be in trouble.

So you shooting them and giving them away IS damaging the population which is exactly what you said you would be against if it was bass.

So either you are saying bass are more valuable or you have different standards for different species.

One thing I TOTALLY agree with you on….agreeing to disagree wouldn’t be any fun at all.

DITTO

One thing I TOTALLY agree with you on….agreeing to disagree wouldn’t be any fun at all.

We all agree on something!

Sorry if I am being difficult on this….it is the way I was raised…don’t kill it if you aren’t going to eat it.

I know my mom doesn’t read this site so I am safe saying this….had I not come up with better recipes for duck and goose….I woulda quit hunting. She didn’t like it so I think her intention was to make it taste as crappy as possible hoping dad and I would quit going.

She did the same with the venison we got.

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Not sure where you been Mossboss but the bluebill population has plummeted the last few year. Canvasbacks are just starting to make a decent comeback because the seasons were closed on them not that long ago.

So you saying those birds are limited so as to not overpopulate is not accurate. They are limited because if they weren’t the populations WOULD be in trouble.
So you shooting them and giving them away IS damaging the population which is exactly what you said you would be against if it was bass.
So either you are saying bass are more valuable or you have different standards for different species.

One thing I TOTALLY agree with you on….agreeing to disagree wouldn’t be any fun at all.

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Um, if you want to take it to the extreme, harvesting any duck, fish, deer, mammal, bird, etc. harms the population to a certain extent. The limits on duck are set at a level where the people in charge (DNR and FWS biologists) say they can be as to not take the level of a given population below this level. Same for fish and ducks. If we harvest too many ducks, the limit on what we can harvest goes down. If we would harvest too many bass, the limit on bass would go down.

But really, the whole bass vs. ducks thing is irrelevent to the argument. The point of your question to me, which I guess I should have more clearly addressed, was if I would be upset if someone was taking a limit of bass everyday and giving them away to someone to eat, Instead of taking a limit of bass and eating them themsleves, correct? Well, let me state it this way. If someone is taking a legal limit of bass everyday for themselves to eat, or a legal limit for someone else other than them to eat, it is irrelevant, it is still a limit of bass. Makes ZERO difference to me who is eating them, ZERO.

PS, I think the limit of bluebills should be one this year, but I wasn’t asked.

PSS, hunting mortality is a very minor contributor to the decline of bulebills. On Lake Onalaska alone, I bet twice as many bluebills (maybe much much more, not sure), have been killed by the tremetote bug than hunters.

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The only common thing I have heard is “I like to kill” and “I want a huge buck”.

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Holy smokes dude, hyperbole much? If we only hunted for the “I like to kill” reason, every blackbird, robin, sparrow, bluejay, and hawk better be heads up!

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The only common thing I have heard is “I like to kill” and “I want a huge buck

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And apparently you have a problem w/that?

Does wanting a huge buck make somebody less of a hunter?

Each year I never know where i’m going to hunt. I don’t have my own land nor have many friends that that do. I don’t even consider public land an option. So when I finally score a place to hunt, I take advantage of it. Do I take all the meat? YES. I get everything there is to be made – made. Do I still want to get a monster buck? YES…..Do I enjoy Killing – YES. Are there plenty of deer to go around – YES.

Do you not consider giving food to pantries or food drives a charitable thing? Are you going to be the guy standing there chastizing hunters who shot more than they needed?

Our wonderful DNR advises that we need to thin the herd. By YOU only taking what you can eat – I could come to the conclusion that YOU are hurting the deer population. You could easily overstock your freezer and give the meat away. There are plenty of “unprivelaged” people out there that will take the meat. Just b/c they don’t hunt doesn’t mean they can’t eat the meat.

I don’t even understand why this is an argument? Fisherman/Hunters can do whatever is in their legal bounds – If you don’t like …. well honestly (and not trying to sound mean at all)…but too bad.

FYI – this is just a friendly argument, I have no issues w/anyone here – we are all just expressing our opinions…

If it isn’t “I like to kill” what is it??

That is all I am asking…if you don’t want the meat whatever kind for yourself why are YOU killing it?

For every duck you kill just for fun it is one less that a hunter who enjoys eating them will see.

I already gave my views on the self righteous excuse of donating deer to charity above. Groceries are cheaper if your concern is hungry people go to Cub not to the deer stand…you’ll feed more people.