Why I Trophy Hunt....For TJ!!!

[Jimmer Negamanee]

I didn't take what you said in any negativity just was explaining a little better and thought you would get a kick out of it.

I'm honored. Thanks!

 

TJ

Class acts, gentlemen. I've met TJ briefly a time or two but have yet to be lucky enough to meet Becker. Both of you are welcome around my campfire any time. CWT.com is a great site. Thanks for helping make it so.

[2 Full Curls]

This is an interesting thread, and I agree with the aforementioned comment, that it is an example of the classiness of the CWT membership.

 

I would like to share my perspective on the trophy hunter topic, as it has been an evolution of mindset over the past 15 years.

 

Growing up ( 8-15 years old) harvesting any coues buck was the accomplishment in our family. Not that it isn't today, but 15 years ago, we did not hunt with binoculars on tripods or use scouting cameras. Flush 'em in the brush.....

 

As I got into my teens, and harvested my first buck (a little forky fantex), the addiction set in. I studied them more in books, learned how to hunt with tripods and swaros, and found CWT.com.

 

At the age of 16, I was listening to a seasoned hunter around the fire on a sheep hunt, and he said something that struck a chord, " If you want to kill big animals, then you need to hunt one or two animals". Trophy hunters know the bucks or bulls they are looking for, and they don't settle for less.....(enter Becker)

 

I took those words to heart and over the next seven years, I pretended to be a 'trophy hunter'...who only was going for big, ole' bucks.

 

But I lost sight of the big picture. Over those seven years I passed up several nice bucks (80's caliber deer) pursuing bigger 100" deer,... I would glass the bucks up but would not make moves on them, and when I found bigger bucks I was never successful in harvesting them.

 

Last year I realized what I was missing... experience. I tried to go from a forky to a booner with nothing in between. These animals are unbelievably challenging to harvest, and I am going to need the intangibles to eventual get my big bucks someday. I need to put stalks on smaller bucks, and see how they react. I need to shoot more deer to learn how to control my breathing in that moment of adrenaline. I need the confidence, that comes with continued success, so I can be in the right mindset when I am after 110" deer.

 

So now I take the 'PR' approach... I'm looking to harvest a personal record each year. Last year I did that with a 72" three point on opening morning. I am still scouting, putting up cameras, backpacking in, and doing the right things to find big deer; but if I see a mid 80's buck this year on opening morning, I will be pulling the trigger.

[wildwoody]

you guys

[bigorange]

Great thread...I think the two strongest statements were that the trophy is in the eye of the beholder (more importantly the tagholder) and no matter what you're after, do what makes you happy.

 

Mr Quimby and 2 Full Curls describe very well the stages of hunting that are taught in most hunter education programs and boils down to the same thing...it's what is most important to you at the time of your hunting life. I like to think I'm in a later stage and not only chasing the size of the antler, but I think I'm actually in the first stage since I took about 15 years off hunting during college and early working career. Now my goal is "any antlered deer" due to the long dry spell with a rifle and never having connected with a bow, but I do really enjoy the spirit of the hunt and just being out in the hills with my hunting buddies and it's not even about the kill for me anymore. When I first started hunting as a teenager all I wanted to do was kill anything and everything, so have definitely grown beyond that mindset.

 

Thanks for posting this thread...it's an interesting read.

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

Great to see a civil "food for thought" thread on here... Knowing TJ and Becker I can say that they are both class acts on and off this forum.

 

Any hunter who is OCD on coues deer and has watched particular bucks grow up can relate to what Becker wrote. For myself I look for many of the same attributes in a deer when I have a bow in my hand and have let many P&Y deer walk because I love watching them grow! However we hunt public land and the "baby" deer I have taken are on my wall because I knew they would die at the arrow of another before season was out.... that is why today I try to hunt pockets of deer with little to no hunting pressure... but the lions often foil my conservation plan...LOL. Not to mention that I still believe in letting every person choose their own level of "trophy hunting"... My wife was gunna shoot any racked deer last August.... the only buck she had a chance at was a young 110+ that ducted her arrow.... in a way I was heart broke (as was she) but we have seen him on camera this spring again and I hope one of us gets a chance at him this year again... we are hoping he grew some... but she will shoot the first racked buck again and I will hold out... we have very different goals. She wants to get bloody... I want to watch deer grow... that is why We "Trophy Hunt"... and make no mistake any coues with a bow is a Trophy!!

 

Good hunting Friends!

[Guest 300ultramag.]

Great read gents. My view of a trophy hunt is much different then most and doesn't end with a harvest always. Some of my hunts just stand out in my mind far more clear and distinct then others- for whatever reason they just do. These are my trophy hunts. And on my shitty days at work or school these trophy hunts I can go to a spot in my mind and relive the hunt!!!! That's gold!!!! Or how about you can't help drive past a spot on the highway and not help but remember man this is the spot where that day happened. Whether you got out of a hairy situation or you made a shot you surprised yourself. It's all about that one dAy!

[4Falls]

My progression has come back to the start. I've killed a couple of really good bucks and even considered my self a trophy hunter of sorts.

 

Then came "The Slump". Its been over 9 years since I harvested my last big game animal. And that was an archery javelina in January of '04. Whether it be with my bow or my rifle that next buck, bull or cow or whatever that I kill will be my greatest trophy.

 

But to dovetail with what 300 UM said. During "The Slump" even, I've had some amazing days in the field and have had cherished time with my friends and family. Those memories too deserve to be on the wall.

[kidso]

I love the terminology of "the slump". My slump, however, was self-imposed. Twenty years ago, I called in my first bear. I actually had four bears respond on the same stand, and ended up shooting the one that charged me. It charged me because a larger more dominant bear was about 20 yards behind it, so it wanted to consume some protein before it got forced off the quarry by its bigger brother. My bear had a skull measurement just shy of 21 inches, which ended up being a curse to me instead of a joyous pleasure. A curse because I had no idea of the "trophy quality" of the bear I had just harvested. All I knew is that a larger bear was out there, and it had a beautiful red coat that I wanted to adorn my wall with someday. I "trophy hunted" for 15 years trying to find a bear larger than the first bear I tagged, but to no avail. Don't get me wrong, I loved my time and experiences in the field calling in and passing on good and even a few great bears, but never did I meet another monster, which was what I was seeking. After 15 years of this "slump", my wife convinced me that I will probably never come face-to-face with another bear as large as my first one, and that I needed to start pulling the trigger on "smaller" bears or risk losing my sanity. So I still trophy hunt today, but now my trophies are more about various color phases than they are about size.

[Mathews]

This is an interesting thread, and I agree with the aforementioned comment, that it is an example of the classiness of the CWT membership.

 

I would like to share my perspective on the trophy hunter topic, as it has been an evolution of mindset over the past 15 years.

 

Growing up ( 8-15 years old) harvesting any coues buck was the accomplishment in our family. Not that it isn't today, but 15 years ago, we did not hunt with binoculars on tripods or use scouting cameras. Flush 'em in the brush.....

 

As I got into my teens, and harvested my first buck (a little forky fantex), the addiction set in. I studied them more in books, learned how to hunt with tripods and swaros, and found CWT.com.

 

At the age of 16, I was listening to a seasoned hunter around the fire on a sheep hunt, and he said something that struck a chord, " If you want to kill big animals, then you need to hunt one or two animals". Trophy hunters know the bucks or bulls they are looking for, and they don't settle for less.....(enter Becker)

 

I took those words to heart and over the next seven years, I pretended to be a 'trophy hunter'...who only was going for big, ole' bucks.

 

But I lost sight of the big picture. Over those seven years I passed up several nice bucks (80's caliber deer) pursuing bigger 100" deer,... I would glass the bucks up but would not make moves on them, and when I found bigger bucks I was never successful in harvesting them.

 

Last year I realized what I was missing... experience. I tried to go from a forky to a booner with nothing in between. These animals are unbelievably challenging to harvest, and I am going to need the intangibles to eventual get my big bucks someday. I need to put stalks on smaller bucks, and see how they react. I need to shoot more deer to learn how to control my breathing in that moment of adrenaline. I need the confidence, that comes with continued success, so I can be in the right mindset when I am after 110" deer.

 

So now I take the 'PR' approach... I'm looking to harvest a personal record each year. Last year I did that with a 72" three point on opening morning. I am still scouting, putting up cameras, backpacking in, and doing the right things to find big deer; but if I see a mid 80's buck this year on opening morning, I will be pulling the trigger.

This this this

 

I enjoy hunting like this, but it all depends

 

The size of the animal I am willing to harvest each year depends on the unit, the time of year, the weather, the amount of time I have to scout, the amount of time I have to hunt, who I am hunting with (I will shoot a 70'' buck if it means my 7 y/o brother gets to share the experience with me before I shoot a 100'' buck by myself)

 

But Im glad there are people like Becker out there so Ive got pictures to look at and dream about

[idgaf]

I have really enjoyed this thread and it got me thinking on the deeper meaning of hunting and what it means to me. My first thought was I am transitioning into a trophy hunter like some of the other threads stated, but I am really not. Than I thought well I only shoot mature animals, but why is that? The answer for me at least is I am not a trophy hunter in the standard sense I go after mature and larger animals not because I want recognition from peers, but because I want to better my hunting skill and I love the challenge of the hunt itself. I love the feeling of self accomplishment when I have done something that I have not done before and know few people have. Its my version of addiction, my drug of choice. But now its not just the animal that is the trophy, its the method. In a few short weeks I will be hunting again and I will increase the challenge not just by hunting larger animals but by doing it with more primitive weapons. I will put down my trusted modern bow (on loan again to my brother for his elk hunt) and go traditional and see if I can keep my streak alive of taking mature animals. There is nothing like the challenge of trophy hunting in whatever sense it means to you.

[naturegirl]

What I'm learning is that for me each hunt holds a different definition of what a "trophy" is. What a trophy is to one person may not be for another and the difficulty of the hunt can also define what a trophy is.

 

Like I heard others say above, I believe I like the challenge. If I don't feel challenged, I don't shoot. I even started to wonder if I could actually shoot an animal because I have always been selective since day one, but now that I've filled a few tags that question has been answered.

 

I'd be lying if I said rack size isn't a major plus, but it's not entirely about that. The challenge for me seems to be associated with older animals.