Trophy or meat?

Just wondering how many of you are hunting / shooting deer for a wall hanger or to put some venison in the freezer. How many others actually hunt or just like to go to “Deer camp”?

I’ll go first since I posted it.

I want to put some venison in the freezer first. I’ve shot a few nice bucks but every hunt is a great memory, every deer is a trophy, some you can take pictures of and hang on the way, others just cost a lot of money to hang on the wall. Since my family doen’t have a “deer camp”, I hunt all day. No drinking or card playing till the hunt is finished.

I usually will hold out for the big boy up until shortly before the gun seasons open at which time I will take a doe if I get the chance. If I have not taken a deer with the bow prior to gun season I will then take a deer during the first shotgun season so I have venison in the freezer. During shotgun season I am usually only able to hunt the first 2 days of the 5 day season. I will normally hold out on the first day for a nice buck but come the second morning I will drop the first deer I get a shot at if I haven’t yet taken a deer with my bow. I have already put fresh venison in the freezer this year so I can be a little more picky. I have already let several fairly nice bucks pass by that I might have taken in years when I have not yet taken a deer. They just weren’t quite the trophy I am looking for. A few years back I took a very heavy Pope & Young buck with my bow and now I find it hard to settle for the smaller bucks. I always tell myself that these not yet trophy bucks will be much nicer deer the next year. The trouble is that most people don’t quite feel the same way and most of these bucks end up in somebody’s freezer and never make it to full maturity.

Eyehunter

I’m basically hunting to fill the freezer. I’ve got no problem dropping a doe if I get the shot. Trophy bucks are nice, but they are not the focus of my hunting efforts. Matter of fact, last year I shot a nice 10 pointer, during the rut, and that wasn’t the best tasting venison I’ve ever had. It actually smelled and tasted bad.

ive shot many bucks over the years, and it is ALWAYS nice to get a buck, but i really dont care anymore, i just want the venison hamburger, sausage, and jerky, and a few roasts! Antlers are neat and all, but they sure dont taste very well and theyre really tough to try and chew! i saw at the local meat market here they are also making venison bacon?! anyone every had this?

Beings i put meat in the freezer with a doe during eigther shotgun or blackpowder season i wait until eigther the second shotgun season or the late blackpowder to get them. I hunt for the bigger wall hangers with my bow from about mid november to the end of the season which is janurary 10th. If i don’t get a nice buck for venison i have the does or fawns. I make sausage and hotdogs out of the buck and doe and table meat from the loins from the doe and fawn.

Every deer is a trophy in my opinion because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think I am more proud of the very first doe I shot than the biggest buck I have taken which grossed green at 174″. I hunted hard my first year without seeing a lot of deer. She was the first to present an opportunity and it was at 30 yards quartering away nonetheless. I feel confident about my abilities so I drew on her and realeased the arrow to find the perfect mark. Sounds silly, but the sound of that arrow penetrating her has pretty much instilled the love of bow hunting in me. I will never pass up the chance to harvest a doe because there is nothing finer than fresh tenderloin on the grill but I’ll let the younger bucks walk everytime.

With multiple tags, BOTH !!! Anyone that says they are not out for the BIGBOY, probably is not breathing. I don’t know a hunter who would pass him up, for a little doe meat. Remember, big bucks have backstraps too !!!

big g

I have so many tags I just shoot stuff…Big, small, short, tall, horns or whatever…I fill the freezer and put stuff on the wall…..

I shoot does to fill the freezer but I just can’t bring myself to shoot a young buck.

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With multiple tags, BOTH !!! Anyone that says they are not out for the BIGBOY, probably is not breathing. I don’t know a hunter who would pass him up, for a little doe meat. Remember, big bucks have backstraps too !!!

I couldn’t agree more! Back in the days when I only got one tag and hunted with a large group I would take pretty much any deer and whatever it was (buck or doe) it was a trophy. Now being able to purchase multiple tags I can fill the freezer early on during bow season (which I have already taken care of) and hold out for the big boy the remainder of the season. Some will say that the bigger bucks don’t taste as good but I have no problem eating the venison from a large buck. It all boils down to when and how you take the deer and how you process it. Bucks that have been shot at and chased around during gun season have high levels of adrenaline in their systems which gives them a stonger flavor than bucks taken earlier in the bow season. If you take care when you field dress and process a big buck it will taste just fine. I gut the deer right away in the field and then hang and skin it as soon as I get it home. As soon as the meat is set (cold enough) I will quarter and bone the deer just as you would a beef. I worked as a boner in a beef kill plant many moons ago so I bone a deer just as I would a beef. I end up having ribeyes and New York Strips along with a few roasts and some jerky meat and the rest gets ground into burger. Too-many people still let the deer hang for a few days before skinning it and then just haul the caracss as is to the processor. Then they complain about how strong flavor is and how much it cost them to process the deer. Yes big bucks do have a slightly stonger taste than do young “butter” bucks and does but if you handle the deer correctly it is not an offensive taste. I like the flavor of venison. Too-many people believe that venison is supposed to taste like beef but it is not beef and has it’s own distinct flavor.

Eyehunter

I’ve got EAB in my zone this year and I don’t have a qualifier from last year, so I’m doe first and then big boy if I get lucky.

Much of deer hunting though is about the camraderie of camp, and the great relaxation time of sitting in a stand in some beautiful country.

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I shoot does to fill the freezer but I just can’t bring myself to shoot a young buck.

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I agree with Gator, Let the little bucks walk, and shoot a nice sized doe. Remember, those smaller yearlings can also be bucks too They need to go so they can grow

Right on that comradarie part

big g

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I have so many tags I just shoot stuff…Big, small, short, tall, horns or whatever…I fill the freezer and put stuff on the wall…..

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Sorry I should clarify better…If I’m shooting a buck it is a bruiser…the other descriptors are about flat heads(does)Most who know me, know we are huge into game management.

If it’s brown, it’s down

If it flies, it dies!!!

I do my fair share of Doe takin for the meat and to keep the herd stable but during the rut I am after the big boy which I cannot seem to find this year! They are either a small 8 or big 6. Hopefully a big boy will walk through!!

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I shoot does to fill the freezer but I just can’t bring myself to shoot a young buck.

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I agree with Gator, Let the little bucks walk, and shoot a nice sized doe. Remember, those smaller yearlings can also be bucks too They need to go so they can grow

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What he said. Lately, we can get so many tags I just see no reason to shoot a small buck. I usually will shoot a nice mid-sized mature doe sometime after noon on the first day. The first morning, I’m holding back hoping for the big boy to show!

When bowhunting I will take either a buck or a doe, but when rifle rolls around I am strictly a buck hunter, mostly due to the fact that the area I hunt is so remote and rugged that I ain’t shooting anything back there that ain’t of trophy class….there are easier places to get a doe, that’s for sure!