2021 rifle season

[JT708]

I say to each his or her own. Not everybody has a lease or private land with feeders or food plots. On some of the public land if your a meat
hunter you take what presents its self or the next person it crosses in front of is going to

 

[Toothpick]

I have shot numerous yearling bucks when I was young. All legal and sometimes filled all of my season limit. My wife will tell you we survived on deer meat, I must have sold that point well but spent a good deal on gas and “accessories that could have bought a bunch of 39 cents/lb brisket. Until last year I had shot only does for 9 years and I have convinced 3 boys and worked on a neighbor or two about shooting does. But…. I am not going to call out someone I don’t know for attempting to harvest a legal deer unless I know you well. And then only if I know your situation.
That being said, I wish he would have recovered the deer.

 

[16colt]

Growing up I also took spikes, four points, etc. Times were different back then. There were even “doe days” during the nine day rifle season. If I remember correctly, you were only allowed to shot a doe on the last weekend of the season. I also spent a lot of time hunting Oklmulgee WMA. Antlered deer only there regardless of size. You can bet that I was going to stick the first legal deer I saw!

Deer populations are much better now and my hunting tactics have changed. I don’t have many “awesome” bucks in my area, but I do let all small bucks and young bucks walk. I enjoy just watching them anyway. I do try to take out a doe or two by end of season.

I support a hunter’s decision to shoot any legal deer when/if he choses to do so.

 

[retrieverman]

I read somewhere that arguing on the internet is like stepping in dog sh*t when you have the option of going around it, so on that note, I’m out of this discussion.

 

[Toothpick]

I read somewhere that arguing on the internet is like stepping in dog sh*t when you have the option of going around it, so on that note, I’m out of this discussion.

I wasn’t trying to argue, just pointing out how my thought process has changed over time and as I’ve been blessed.

 

[El Pablo]

I think if people hunt deer for horns, they should be banned from hunting. Granted if I ever saw a white tail deer with horns, I’d crap my pants or shoot it, more than likely do both.






(They don’t have horns)

 

[Cowbaby]

For me just hunting for trophies is exactly how you end up with an entire SE corner of the state with a bunch of basket racks. Ask me how I know this. A lot of buck deer don't deserve to breed and will never amount to much and neither will their progeny without a supplemental food source and minerals. Bad genetics is just what it is and I can see this with a series of horns taken on the same places over the years.

Take what you need no matter what it is and leave the rest for your grandkids. I personally like 2 deer a year to eat and am not real fond of the taste of a dried out sucked down doe that has raised a young one. I prefer to eat smaller buck deer. Just my outlook.

 

[El Pablo]

For me just hunting for trophies is exactly how you end up with an entire SE corner of the state with a bunch of basket racks. Ask me how I know this. A lot of buck deer don't deserve to breed and will never amount to much and neither will their progeny without a supplemental food source and minerals.

Take what you need no matter what it is and leave the rest for your grandkids. I personally like 2 deer a year to eat and am not real fond of the taste of a dried out sucked down doe that has raised a young one. I prefer to eat smaller buck deer. Just my outlook.

I stopped hunting deer because I don’t trophy hunt and I hate the taste of deer meet. I’ve tried cooking it every way possible, I just don’t like it at all. Now elk, that’s good.

 

[Cowbaby]

I stopped hunting deer because I don’t trophy hunt and I hate the taste of deer meet. I’ve tried cooking it every way possible, I just don’t like it at all. Now elk, that’s good.

I understand completely. I was raised on a cattle ranch back in the 60s and quite frankly back then you could not afford to eat your cattle unless there was something wrong with them physically, it was your livelyhood. Well we cound'nt anyway.
I grew up eating it and was blessed with 2 families of expert hunters that knew how to care for game and expert Southern cooks who could flat rattle them pans and prepare all manner of dishes from it so I have an acquired a taste for it.
I like elk meat too but I haven't gotten one of them in quite a number of years. Getting too dang old for that big mountain stuff.

 

[huntemup]

Funny to watch people on
hunting forums argue about what deer other people should be killing. As if hunting is rooted in taking that 160” buck on your personal hit list. It’s also pretty rich to see people tell someone who hunts to fill the freezer that they should take a die instead. If a person is looking for meat and meat presents itself, you take it. And when you have multiple tags you don’t have to try and rationalize that a mature doe would’ve been more meat bc if you get the opportunity, you can kill both.
It’s even funnier seeing many such comments by people who are still perpetuating long disproven myths of moon phase/deer movement correlation. And still funnier to see people pass judgement on others when they can’t be bothered to put boots in the woods and actually hunt primary scrape locations, bedding areas, heavy cover and opt instead to pour corn into feeders or piles as they sit perched in a box hoping something shows up during a shift that works with their schedule.
Point is, we can all judge each other’s hunting tactics and philosophies bc we all do our own things and while I myself and not a meat hunter and have the luxury and desire to pass on smaller bucks, I do t for one second forget that hunting at its core is not about putting tape on antlers for bragging rights. It’s not about that trophy pic or waiting 8 months for that mount to come back.

If a guy wants to shoot a spike go for it if it’s allowed where you’re hunting. But by all means if you don’t hear it or see it go down for good, learn that the thing to do is back out and give it time to die instead of finding out just how tough these critters are and how strong the will to live can be.