I bring this up b/c I've been on several hunting trips where I'd either passed on taking a shot or just didn't see a shooter animal. I recently returned from two weeks in BC and two weeks in AK for Stone and Dall sheep. I took a Stone but never saw a shooter Dall. I've been getting flack for 'only' taking one animal. Several yrs ago I went to WY and passed on a 5x5 elk as I wanted at least a 6x6. Man, did I catch grief from my friends for that. Then I went on a mountain goat hunt where the weather was just abysmal. Only got to hunt one day and the only thing to get a goat was a bear up on the mountain.
I'm fortunate in that I get to fish our TX coast and bass fish in some nice areas. I also do some deer hunting. I guess what I'm getting at is I hunt with the expectation of taking something but only if it meets my criteria. Although this thread sounds like I don't have much luck, I went to Africa and have a wall of animals to display (58" kudu, 39" gemsbok and an exceptional Nyala just to name a few). I took a 7x7 elk on BLM in WY (a year after seeing that 5x5) and of course a very nice Stone sheep. I think my luck is just fine.
I guess what I'm getting at is, are people's expectations so skewed that they think we're suppose to take something every time? Do you think it impacts hunters and their ethics b/c they're shamed into doing something they might otherwise not?

I will go a long time without pulling a trigger if I do not see what I want. My wife thought I would come back from Africa without shooting anything. It has been suggested that I should have my trigger finger removed since I do not seem to know what to do with it.

For Me, it is not how much, how big, or what I KILL.

I like to HUNT. Do not get me wrong I like to shoot "stuff", up close if possible, especially DG. But I have passed on animals and come home empty handed. I still had a GREAT HUNT.

The main reason I hunt is for the FUN and the ADVENTURE.

Oh I hunt for the trophy, and for the meat as well. But I do not have to kill something to have a fun and successful hunt.

The friends giving you flack are not the superior hunter that you are.

There's nothing wrong with being selective.

n e 450 no2
+1

I try to shoot everything I see! BUT not always with a rifle.

My soon-to-be wife's family has 3,000+ acres of dedicated hunting property along the Mississippi River in southern Miss. Countless deer stands and food plots are scattered throughout and connected by a complex network of trails and roads, all fastidiously maintained by her retired dad. (I love that man's life).

Anyway, I see a lot of "borderline" bucks that I would consider shooting, but the gentleman's rule regarding shooting bucks remains: "Shoot it if you'd mount it"

Fair enough for me. I actually like that rule a hell of a lot. (During archery, those rules are lightened a bit)

I've been fortunate enough to kill some really nice whitetails and mule deer in my life, so I am rather picky and have only shot does there to date. Given that, I always bring along my Canon SLR camera and a 300mm lens with a 2X doubler. I get a freakin' kick out of taking pictures of those borderline bucks! It's fun because I know if I can shoot 'em with a camera, I can shoot 'em with a rifle too. It's a good time and everyone looks forward to seeing my pictures back at the camp at night. I capture pics of a lot of other critters too: turkeys, coons, etc. The hogs and coyotes, however, get blasted FIRST, then pictures later. haha

So, yeah. I guess I do pass on a lot of animals. But it makes it feel better when I can shoot them with my camera, as if to say, "I could have you if I wanted you."

I can also thank my dad for that. He has lead by example while I was growing up hunting the lava beds in northern California. We'd glass for hours spotting some really impressive mulies, then he'd say, "he's a monster, but let's let him grow a little more." I appreciate that more now that I'm older.

-Kenati

The Camp:

Well, I grew up in a "hunt for food" household. Failure to fill my tags was just that, failure. I've killed a lot of game over the years, and I've actually killed some nice bucks. Over that time I have on occation filled an "A" tag with a doe on the last day or so of the season. This past year my wife and I ate a cow elk, five antelope and two deer. If I get more I've got non-hunting relatives that are more than happy for the meat, I give it away cut and wrapped or as sausage I make myself.

The biggest fear I had about going to Africa that first time was that I would not "get" anything. Money spent with out "something" to show for it was deeply ingrained in me by my grandmother, Great Depression, etc. As a result I hunted for representive heads and filled my dance card so to speak. Very happy with what I got.

But that's the key to happiness - Not to get what you what, but want what you get. So, if you are a strict trophy hunter and are happy, even with tag soup, then you have "filled your tag" in my book.

I rarely use other peoples standards in regards to anything. Mine being higher, in most instances.

Let them give you grief. I suspect you have nicer trophies than they do.

Yep, I've heard it.

My standard response. "I'd be glad to go on a hunt and shoot whatever YOU WILL pay for."

I applaud your discretion. If you don't set goals and stick to them, you almost never reach them.

bluefin

Sounds to me like you're a hunter -in the honored sense of the word.

My grandpa hunted several years with his two buddies w/o a gun in camp. They all had their tags, but not a rifle in sight. I never realized why until I go a bit older.

I guess I was 6 the last time anyone told me what to shoot or not shoot. No one ever gave me any grief over not shooting something. I guess part of the reason that no one gives me grief over it is that it stops being fun really quick.

There are a lot more times that I don't shoot something than when I do. I shot one little management buck last year and that was the first deer I'd killed after two seasons of passing on shooting anything. The boys put plenty of meat in the freezer and I didn't have to skin a one of them.

I have never had an animal mounted and although I think about it from time to time and wonder how another head would look on that wall or some ducks or a bass or trout the whole thing has never been that important to me. I will put the antlers on a plaque but even that is not a priority for me.

Years ago I had an itch to hunt elk (moose too). I never scratched it. Then I got a look at how big those two animals are and realized that it would take a bit more than just me on a weekend hunt to do that sort of thing. I do want to go someday on a full meal deal horseback camp in the mountains for two weeks elk hunt but it won't be anytime soon.

If I go and don't kill an elk then I will come back the same for the trip. Successful. Because you see, I wouldn't be going to kill an elk. There are tons of places that I can drive to, pay a helluva lot less and shoot an elk and be home by dark if that's all the hunting was about.

The next time someone gives you some grief about your hunt tell them that you're going hunting for you, not for them, and they should be thankful.

Alan

quote:

Originally posted by Jon Beutler:
My grandpa hunted several years with his two buddies w/o a gun in camp. They all had their tags, but not a rifle in sight. I never realized why until I go a bit older.

I am impressed. Thanks for telling us about your grandfather and his friends.

I have seen it from both sides of that fence, getting a razzing because of what you killed or did not kill.

I have seen a lot of folks thru the years start up with, "Why did you kill that, I have let bigger stuff walk away".

My normal response when it has been directed at me, has been, "When YOU start funding my hunting, then I will kill what YOU want me too, until that point, I will kill what I want to as long as it is LEGAL".

If they ask me why I did not kill anything, I tell them it is because either I did not see anything to shoot, or what I did see was not in a position where I felt confident in taking a shot, or I did not have a tag/license for what I saw.

I had an epiphany a couple of years back, and realized that I enjoy hunting/hunting camp a whole lot more than I used to, if I do not pick up a rifle.

Being Camp Bitch, and doing the cooking and camp chores and helping other folks get their animals is a lot more fun than if I pick up a rifle, simply because when I pick up the gun, my full intentions are to go out of camp and kill something and I do not care what it is as long as it is legal.

I do not set standards as far as antler size goes, in fact I could care less if I ever shot another buck white tail in my life.

That does not mean that if I were out hunting, and that was the first deer that stuck its head up, I would not shoot him.

But let me come up on a buck and a doe standing together, that buck would have to be something really special for me not to shoot the doe first.

Over the years, I have been hunting, I have found out that people are gonna look for anything they can find to say, to try and gain that little level of "One Upsmans Ship" over everyone/anyone else.

Everyone has their own individual standards/desires/goals, when it comes to what they are willing to pull the trigger on.

As long as that person is content with his/her actions who cares what others think or say. JMO.

I like to shoot game like the next guy, but I look at it this way. Any day spent out in the forrest with a rifle in my hands (or any firearm), whether I shoot it or not, is better than a day in the office..........

In short....yes

i hunt for meat, but always carry mulie and whitetail B (anterless) tags as well as my A (either sex/either species).

if i have a good opportunity for a nice buck, i will take it and use the A. if a good opportunity for a doe, i will take it with the B. if no good opportunities (which includes shots at a mature animal with a high percentage of connecting), then i won't take a shot at a doe or a buck.

if i fill the B tags, i consider the season successful, with or without filling the A tag. If i also fill the A tag with something nice, that's icing on the cake; alternately, i can fill it on the last day of the season with a doe and get the freezer that much fuller.

my dad gets impatient with my selectivism, but no big deal. my highest priority is not to wound/lose an animal. i've done it before and it sux.

I have given grief and I have taken grief it all depends on how much we I need meat. Or how at the hunt had been going been going.

Mosta of the time I only give grief if the person tells me how great a hunter his and how much he really wants to shoot a critter. If they have been doing lots of bragging Iam more likely to give them grief. Or if the some body in the party has not shot any thing and some one screws up and we go home empty handed.

If a person has spent lots of money on tags guides ect and doesn't shoot any thing thats their descison to shoot or not. But then don't complain that you did not get anything.

Iam more of the type that belives that if you have a tag and a legal critter gives you a chance take it. Unless you are shopping for the biggest and then pass up some little ones. But then don't complain about the hunt guides ect if you decide to pass one up.

my 1st year deer hunting, I got some grief because I didn't shoot a fawn 10 feet from my stand. This year my sister's friends on the indian reservation told her to tell me to make sure I know when to let a buck get bigger. I said tell them I will shoot at any full grown deer i have a tag at until I get my first deer. This year I will get grief because I'm using too big of a rifle even though it's the gun I've always wanted. Every one is a critic, Do what you want with your tags and be happy with your decision. I'll be hunting alone this year just so I don't have to catch grief while I'm hunting.

I hear ya'.

I cannot bear to shoot "dink" animals; I will not shoot does.

I do not care about the B&C score, as long as the animal is a big, mature, older male.

I will pass up medium size deer on the last day, all day and pocket my tag if the type of buck I am hoping for does not come along.

Many years ago I was giving a friend of mine a hard time about his hunting. He finally turned to me and said, "If I wanted to get my ass eat out, I'd have stayed home with my wife". The point was well taken, and one I could understand. That's when I stopped dealing in grief on hunting trips.

Alan

quote:

Originally posted by bluefin:
I bring this up b/c I've been on several hunting trips where I'd either passed on taking a shot or just didn't see a shooter animal. I recently returned from two weeks in BC and two weeks in AK for Stone and Dall sheep. I took a Stone but never saw a shooter Dall. I've been getting flack for 'only' taking one animal. Several yrs ago I went to WY and passed on a 5x5 elk as I wanted at least a 6x6. Man, did I catch grief from my friends for that. Then I went on a mountain goat hunt where the weather was just abysmal. Only got to hunt one day and the only thing to get a goat was a bear up on the mountain.
I'm fortunate in that I get to fish our TX coast and bass fish in some nice areas. I also do some deer hunting. I guess what I'm getting at is I hunt with the expectation of taking something but only if it meets my criteria. Although this thread sounds like I don't have much luck, I went to Africa and have a wall of animals to display (58" kudu, 39" gemsbok and an exceptional Nyala just to name a few). I took a 7x7 elk on BLM in WY (a year after seeing that 5x5) and of course a very nice Stone sheep. I think my luck is just fine.
I guess what I'm getting at is, are people's expectations so skewed that they think we're suppose to take something every time? Do you think it impacts hunters and their ethics b/c they're shamed into doing something they might otherwise not?

You need new friends and to go to Africa. I will not criticize your decision and may shoot for you instead...

Because of the new limit system in Oklahoma (you can take only two bucks during all three seasons) I've had to change my approach to deer hunting. I hunt all three seasons (archery, primitive, and rifle) and I can't take a buck for every season, so I had to be very selective on what I shot. It ended up that I passed up so many small to medium bucks, waiting for a larger one so I wouldn't waste my tag on too small a buck that I ended up not shooting a buck during muzzle loader or bow season. So instead of getting the two bucks allowed, I only got one becasue I was afraid I'd shoot a small one and then I'd have my tags filled and then a large one would show up. I will say, that I got to see a lot more deer than if I'd taken one early on.

I am so far down the totum pole you guys will cry!
I am a meat hunter ONLY. I hate buck meat and have killed many nice ones but I give away the meat.
Nothing goes in my freezer that is old or has large antlers. A nice doe is great eating. I have let large bucks go by and shot the doe with him.
I don't even have the antlers from the large Ohio bucks I shot, my daughters used them for something or other.
I shot a huge 8 point in Ohio with my bow that stunk to high Heaven and even a pressure cooker would not allow an axe to cut it. The stuff would ruin teeth and was so strong the best thing would be to bury it for a year before trying again.
I gave up the idea of trophy hunting when I found out the meat will be tossed or given away. They tossed it too.
Nothing against all of you that like trophys but I won't kill what won't be used.

some of my favourite hunts have been where i have shot several animals...with the camera of course. Its not all about shooting an animal I just like to be out there, plus its easier to walk out with nothing and gives me an excuse to go back.

I've never had any grief for not taking an animal

Hunting in a caribou camp with 5 strangers and 2 "friends" was the most eye opening.Never would believe the "mine is bigger,farther,my gun is better stories".

I waited till second to last day to take a great bull;was berated to the point I would not eat with anyone but the guides...

Since then I will only hunt alone....

To bad,but I guess "guys will be guys"....

Dan

I like to see and hunt the old ones. They never get old if we shoot 'em when they're young. Save the tag till(and IF) I see what I want.

Yes and I let it roll off my big shoulders! I will fill my tags as I see fit. If I think the shot is wrong or the animal might get away if wounded ( ie. to close to the border in one of the areas I hunt) then I don't pull the trigger. I have a great respect for the animals I shoot. I would rather watch them walk/run away then loose one to a poor shot.
MM

I would imagine whoever was getting on your back about coming back with only one of the 2 sheep you were hunting never hunted sheep! I shoot what I want, I can take the razzing and it doesn't bother me one bit. Don't really get on people for what they shoot, either. As long as whoever pulled or didn't pull the trigger is happy, not much else really matters.

quote:

Originally posted by Kenati:
I try to shoot everything I see! BUT not always with a rifle.

My soon-to-be wife's family has 3,000+ acres of dedicated hunting property along the Mississippi River in southern Miss. Countless deer stands and food plots are scattered throughout and connected by a complex network of trails and roads, all fastidiously maintained by her retired dad. (I love that man's life).

Anyway, I see a lot of "borderline" bucks that I would consider shooting, but the gentleman's rule regarding shooting bucks remains: "Shoot it if you'd mount it"

Fair enough for me. I actually like that rule a hell of a lot. (During archery, those rules are lightened a bit)

I've been fortunate enough to kill some really nice whitetails and mule deer in my life, so I am rather picky and have only shot does there to date. Given that, I always bring along my Canon SLR camera and a 300mm lens with a 2X doubler. I get a freakin' kick out of taking pictures of those borderline bucks! It's fun because I know if I can shoot 'em with a camera, I can shoot 'em with a rifle too. It's a good time and everyone looks forward to seeing my pictures back at the camp at night. I capture pics of a lot of other critters too: turkeys, coons, etc. The hogs and coyotes, however, get blasted FIRST, then pictures later. haha

So, yeah. I guess I do pass on a lot of animals. But it makes it feel better when I can shoot them with my camera, as if to say, "I could have you if I wanted you."

I can also thank my dad for that. He has lead by example while I was growing up hunting the lava beds in northern California. We'd glass for hours spotting some really impressive mulies, then he'd say, "he's a monster, but let's let him grow a little more." I appreciate that more now that I'm older.

-Kenati

The Camp:

Sorry for the thread hijacking, but that is a spectacular looking piece of lodge/property!