After killing over a hundred deer, only one graces my wall. A real symetrical 15" 8point. No giant by any means. But the story behind the kill really makes it a trophy to me. Oddly enough, although I am a meat hunter, the meat is the secondary reason that I hunt, a by-product if you will. I hunt for the adrenaline rush when I first spot a deer from my stand. It can be a 60# yearling and my heart will race and the excitement takes over.
If I ever lose that blast of emotion when everything comes together to put me and the deer together then I will stop hunting. After all, what fun would it be? I still have a good time when I get skunked, but the charge of taking a deer after days of hard hunting and patience can't be duplicated.

one more
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I hunt therefore I am.......if it has a nice rack, so be it. Antlers, no matter how much you cook them, they are always tough.

I�ve shot a bought 50 moose most 35 to50 inches, some racks I gave away, some I�ve sold , others I just tossed away. I have some pitchers not many. What do you guys do with all your racks.

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Lots of hunters but how many hunt for the meat the way the cost are.Even for a local it is expensive for tags and gas.

Food or Sport?

Jayco.

I hunt because I love to hunt not because I need the supplement. That being said, I wouldn't take a game animal that I didn't plan on putting on the dinner table. I would sooner throw away a trophy rack than the meat if it ever come down to that choice.

I do both. We end up with 11 to 12 deer and thats what we eat. I will also say I trophy hunt I will not shoot a spike or a small buck just to have meat I think that is what doe's are for. I would also love to go on a late Cow Elk hunt out west one year. My mouth is just watering thinking about that meat in the freezer.

Good statement SteveM70. For many years, I spent a lot of bucks to hunt out of state. However the meat was as prized as the head. (I stopped hunting antelope because I just didn't like antelope meat) Now I just hunt around the place and at long last, its cheaper for me to hunt than it is to buy meat at the store. I figure if I live to be 187, I'll have amortized the cost of my rifles, reloading stuff and hunting eq.

Both meat and sport, but to me sport does not necessarily equal trophy racks!

I hunt for the time in the field. I shoot because the meat is a treat and a nice suppliment to the 'ol diet. Now that does not mean I would pass on a trophy because I think that mature bucks taste bad...

Kinda like fishing...I like to spend time on the water and fill up the cooler, but really like catching that trophy redfish or tuna!

Quite honestly, hunting is mostly about sport, BUT that meat is a mighty nice bonus, the value of which goes far to defray the costs associated with the hunt -- that is, a local, do-it-yourself hunt.

If it's a hunt I drive to, I always bring the meat home. If it's a hunt I fly to, I always donate the meat to someone who wants it, or else a relief agency. Either way, the imporant thing is that the meat is well cared for, preserved, and not wasted. Whether of not it fills my own gut or someone else's doesn't matter............

AD

I try for a big rack whenever possible but will settle for smaller bucks or does in order to get the meat.I also take part in antlerless seasons for elk and deer. It is not cheaper for me to eat game but it is a treat. As for shooting young or does because of better meat I disagree as I have eaten some old grey beards as well as does and babies. Over the years i have not noticed any real difference as long as the game is taken care of properly. Even though it is expensive I still find the game I get from hunting tastes far superior to those golf eggs several friends seem to enjoy.
Those that hunt only for meat or horns are missing out on some very enjoyable time in the field. Likewise those that hunt only for the time outdoors are, I believe also missing out. Somehow a hunt with no possibility of success seems pointless. That is why there are games like silouette or trap.Great fun in their own right but not hunting .

both.

What Murf said sums up my feelings, however, I have gone on hunts with top outfitters in B.C. that cost a fair buck and did not shoot anything; it was just too pretty a morning and I was feeling too lazy to gut and process an Elk. I just love stalking and tracking game animals, but, I pass up a fair number of kill opportunities; after many years living and working among wildlife, I am not as "killhungry" as I was 40 yrs. ago.

To me, hunting is a spiritual, cultural and food gathering activity, but, I will shoot a big trophy, if I can pack the meat out, not always possible for a solo hunter in B.C.

As for your post I have done much the same. Taking an animal is not the only part of a hunt but having the opportunity to is necessary before it is a "hunt'. I have also passed game up and on occassion been skunked but still enjoyed the process.

I go on two elk hunts every year, and my farm is home to many deer. I usually shoot two cow elk, and here on the farm shoot mostly does. While I enjoy the sport of hunting with bow and gun, the wife and I eat game meat several times a week. Since I am retired (except for teaching a few college classes) I have ample time to travel and hunt. Horns just don't do anything for me!

I like the hunt in general and would probably kill more does for meat if not held up to ridicule by my hunting buddies. Now mind you they are not opposed to killing smallish five points if that is all they see, but absolutely think I am less of a hunter than they if I choose to shoot a doe. This year in our camp we have killed two 10-points, an eight, a seven, two sixes, and a five. When I mention that we probably ought to harvest some mature does, they look at me like I am crazy. If it doesn't have horns they won't shoot. I'd be in favor of an eight point minimum and take more does, but as the area we have is just 750 acres they say we can't do that because the other hunters around would kill them outside our property. I think it is some sort of "prove you are a man" thing.

i hunt cause i enjoy it as well as for the food.Personally i don't care about racks if i shoot a nice one ok if i don't that's fine also

I only apply for antlerless tags, as the meat is more important to me than the trophy as far as whitetails are concerned; whitetail racks just don't do much for me, and the hunt is just as interesting. We've also found that it's a lot easier to get trespass permission once the landowner realizes that we're not after the trophy bucks that he's been watching and lusting after all year.