changes?

[2506]

I have been reading posts to this site since my experience with a young and impressionable hunter during the November hunt this year. As with many of the people that are regular visitors to this site, I am literally obsessed with hunting this venerable and formatable advisary. It has become clear that many of the people that hunt, or think they hunt, have a very distorted sense of what it means to be afield.

 

My friend and I spent the better part of opening morning watching and stalking a very nice 3 point when another hunter, who couldn't stand the idea that we would likely harvest this deer, decided to shoot from a rediculous distance, something in the neighborhood of 600yrds., with the end result of sending the buck over the ridge.

 

Making a quick decision we decided to give chase. After crossing a saddle and then a small ridge we heard shooting and I knew we were to late. After picking up the shooter in the glass. We decidedd to see if he would like help finding the buck.

 

This started a very interresting conversation. The youngster described what had transpired. After hitting the buck twince in the chest, once right behind the shoulder, with a .300wm it became very appearant that he would need some serious help but not with findind a downed animal.

 

He and his father told me about how dedicated the youngster was to hunting. He could shoot 3" group at 300yrds., had been given $1,700 pair of 15x56 Swaravski's for his birthday, and had been reading from this site for over a year. All this preparation so that he kid could kill a trophy.

 

This was his first deer hunt and all the youth could talk about was how many inches he hoped his first buck would be. I know that hunting means many things to many people but his expectations were lofty at best. He has obviously been watching to many hunting, using the term hunting very loosly, shows!

 

When did it become everthing to shoot a monster 120"+. My family has harvested 9 bucks over 100" on public land hunts in 5 different units in Southern AZ. but it is much more about sharing time with each other than killing a trophy. I have been reading about everyones bad experiences or how many inches the deer is or how they walk and shoot farther than anyone else but have read few posts about the good times they shared with freinds and family.

 

To close, we never recovered the downed buck but I did see that crafty son-of-a-gun again on the last day but he won't make it through my December hunt. I guess my whole point is that much of what I have been reading, seeing, and experiencing is sending the wrong message to impressionable first timers.

[muledeerarea33?]

personally I feel that being out there and having fun is what its all about and a trophy is just extra. I cant speak for everyone but thats probally how everyone feels on this site. I think it might come across in some posts that a "big inch buck" is all that its about but really its not. I struck out on my mulie hunt earlier this month after walking my fat butt almost to a heart attack but after all the soreness went away I wasnt dissapointed that i didnt get a deer ( and I wasnt holding out for a trophy I just couldnt get close enough) I was just happy that I was out of the city for a few days doing what I love and what I grew up doing

[Guest Ernesto C]

Welcome 2506,every one is different,I personally do not have to harvest a buck to be succesfull on my hunt and I'm sure there is a lots of people that think like me and I'm sure some wont.

 

To me,the oportunity to be out there,having fun,enjoying God's blessings and creations and to return home safe etc etc etc. is everything;if I harvest a buck of any size that's a blessing.

 

I wont lie to you,I do want a 100 inch buck or better,it hasn't not being my time yet but...............it will come.

 

Again,welcome.................why do you hunt and will you love to kill a big buck? God bless.

 

Ernesto C

[grizzly]

are you saying the kid shot the animal twice in the chest with a 300 mag and the buck lived to be seen again? maybe I misread but that seems incredible.

[DesertBull]

IMO, the scoring systems are the worst thing to ever happen to hunting.

 

Can you imagine shooting a 95" inch buck and actually being disppointed because your "buddy" shot a 98"?

 

I've seen it ruin friendships and turn what should have been a great week in the outdoors; hunting, camping, swaping lies around the campfire, etc. , into a near brawl.

 

Can't we just go hunting and be thankful for the hunt, the meat, the fellowship, the solitude, the clean air, and the absence of the everyday grind anymore without making it an ego trip?

 

I think some of these people actually have more stress on their hunts than they do at work.

[JACK]

LAST WEEKEND WAS ONE OF THE BEST I HAVE EVER HAD WHILE HUNTIN I WAS WITH MY DAD AND THREE OF MY BUDDIES THE ONLY THING THAT WOULD HAVE MADE IT BETTER IS IF MY MOM AND WIFE COULD HAVE BEEN THERE. WE HAD AN AWSOME TIME AND KILLED TWO GOOD BUCKS WHAT MORE CAN YOU ASK FOR??

 

THEN ON THE OTHER HAND MY WIFES OCT HUNT WAS A NIGHTMARE WE WENT WITH SOME FOLKS WE NEVER HUNTED WITH BEFORE AND A I SHOWED THEM SOME SPOT WERE I HAD SCOUTED AND SAW A BUNCH OF DEER THEY HUNTED IT .THEN WE WENT TO HUNT IT AND THEY GOT PISSED BECAUSE IT WAS "THEIR" SPOT THEY SAW SOME GOOD BUCKS AND THEY FELT I WAS TRYING TO STEAL"THEIR" BUCKS. I DONT GET IT....BUT IT TURNNED INTO A WRECK.

 

WHEN I HUNT WITH MY USUAL BUDDIES IT IS NOT A COMPETITION I WOULD BE HAPPY FOR THEM IF THEY TAGGED AND THEY WOULD BE JUST AS HAPPY FOR ME IF I DID. BUT IT SURE SEEMS TO ME THAT HUNTIN IS BECOMING A COMPETITION EVEN JUST GETTING TO A CAMPING SPOT OR HUNTING SPOT. THE WHOLE KEEPIN UP WITH THE JONES OR SOMTHIN LIKE THAT.

[2506]

are you saying the kid shot the animal twice in the chest with a 300 mag and the buck lived to be seen again? maybe I misread but that seems incredible.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, I was saying the kid had all that equipment and supposedly knew everything about hunting but had no clue that he couldn't have hit a deer with a gun that delivers that kind of energy twice in the vitals and not have lay where he hit it.

[2506]

IMO, the scoring systems are the worst thing to ever happen to hunting.

 

Can you imagine shooting a 95" inch buck and actually being disppointed because your "buddy" shot a 98"?

 

I've seen it ruin friendships and turn what should have been a great week in the outdoors; hunting, camping, swaping lies around the campfire, etc. , into a near brawl.

 

Can't we just go hunting and be thankful for the hunt, the meat, the fellowship, the solitude, the clean air, and the absence of the everyday grind anymore without making it an ego trip?

 

I think some of these people actually have more stress on their hunts than they do at work.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Amen

[TREESTANDMAN]

I thoroughly enjoy the scoring sytem. Different hunters have different perspectives and preferences on hunting. Some hunters may really enjoy the comradery of being with friends and just being out there hunting no matter the size of the buck harvested or even if a buck is taken. Others may feel the same yet have personal goals to take a larger buck and pass on the smaller bucks. Some of us enjoy setting goals on taking a buck that would score over a certain point benchmark. Does that mean we enjoy the hunt less or are hunting for the wrong reasons? Lets quit judging other hunters, we can't read their minds. I've had some of the greatest experiences hunting with my dad and good friends yet I strive to take a buck that will score higher each time I go out. It is a fun challenge to me and I enjoy every minute of it weather I get a buck or not. If you don't care one bit about a bucks score then fine, if you do care then thats fine too. What does it matter as long as you are having fun, building good relationships, and getting that incredible rush of adrenaline?

[az4life]

2506

I feel bad for the impact someone else had on your hunt experience (revised and deleted portion) but

I am not sure you are reading all the posts that I am.

Everyone Buckle up, this could get bumpy!

 

I agree that in some hunters, the focus is on antler size, but that often is a result of poor training and inexperience. I can think of several youth hunters in recent posts who took nice deer, but made excellent decisions and made everyone around them very proud for good decisions and responsible actions. Some great deer but every one had great stories and experiences to share more importantly.

 

I have to say that I see more "electronic high fives" on CWT for the individuals hunt experiences than concern with the animal's score. Almost every thread has questions about the hunt, experience and many even share the true flavor of the hunt in very emotional and thought provoking writing. Some fun has been had on that point by posting with "to be continued..." keeping our interest high.

 

Sure there are estimates and numbers tossed around in some posts but I have not felt the "score" as the focus, but more of an observation or congratulations.

 

A great rack will always have features and details not part of a smaller rack. I think recognizing the Animal and the hunter as well as the story are all part of the experience. Taking away any of these diminishes the overall hunting experience. I enjoy reading the stories and many of the best ones do not involve trophy deer but most are world class stories.

 

As an example, Lately the thought process in public education has been to not "offend" anyone by recognizing individual accomplishments. I believe that step to a "Pass or Fail" system only encourages people to do "just average work", and not try to excell in anything. That is one reason why it is hard to find good help, and why Asian companies are leaving American companies in the dust. has Hard to believe in todays world that Recognizing individual excellence is not P C.

 

I believe this has been a Banner year for Coues hunters and maybe we are a bit caught up in the excitement. Maybe I am reading between the lines but it seems to me that if you use the search function and query "story" for the last 60 days, you will probably find as many or more hits as "big buck". or "monster" or "120" .

 

Everyone, Keep those stories coming!

Thanks for letting me ramble.

[bchoitz]

Let me add a few points on this subject as it is one that concerns me greatly.....

 

After some thought and a couple good points by Treestandman, I realize I jumped the gun and took my impression of this incident from the slightly biased impression that "2506" (Yes, the name does need changing...) gave of the incident.

 

While I do still hope that the youth involved will realize how he came across to the other hunters and learn from this incident, I don't believe my previous comments are of any benefit to him or most of the others here as well.

 

I also apologize for inciting un-needed and un-wanted controversy on this site.

 

Bret

[TREESTANDMAN]

I think you guys need to give this kid a break. I'm sure he and his father's side of the story will be completely different. Isn't it funny how we almost always take the side of the person telling the story? Quit the speculation on this kids motives and the way his parents have raised him. If his parents are able to afford 15* swarovs then congrats to them and to him. It is great that this kid is self confident in his shooting ability. So much better to be confident than have low self esteem. His father is obviously proud of him and that is great. I'm sure he had a blast on the hunt. It was earlier stated he made a ridiculously long shot, if that was ACTUALLY the case then I hope his father realizes the mistake he made and will not encourage it again. I have no knowledge of this situation I just think people should not be judged so quickly, especially with only one persons point of view.

[CouesWhitetail]

I second that treestandman. Way too much judging going on with very little information.

 

I think the point of the thread was more about whether some people are more concerned with the score of the buck than the experience. I know I am not. But I also will try to push myself to hold off and get a bigger buck each time I go out. I think it's more challenging that way. The longer I hunt these deer the more hunts I come home empty handed because I wanted a larger buck than I was able to get. I enjoy the challenge. I imagine it's the same for many people here. But this year I imagine if I don't have a big buck early on, I will take a smaller one later since I really want meat in the freezer after passing on so many deer two years ago and not getting a tag last year.

 

One of the things I enjoy about this site is the excitement people show even when they get a smaller deer. Casey, Ernesto, and several others have killed young bucks this year and were happy and excited to share the hunt with us. I am always happy when someone sends me a pic of their deer and it's not a monster. That way people don't think the only successful hunt is if you kill a 100 inch buck or better.

 

It's funny how people see the same thing and feel differently about it. 2506 says this site is only about big bucks and points. And yet I get compliments from many other people saying how they like the site because it isn't all about big bucks. I try to keep it about all bucks and the excitement we share over this little deer.

 

Amanda

[25-06]

This guy needs to change his name....25-06 is already takin

[azcouesandelk]

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