Let them walk.

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I will start out by saying that I do not trophy hunt. If I have a big buck and a good sized doe in front of me then I will usually shoot the doe. If I have an older buck and a younger buck, I will shoot the younger one. If trophy hunting is your thing, that is your choice, but it is not mine. I will avoid the ethical arguments.
The reality is that we must protect the rights that we have and not quibble about each others ideals.
Be safe out there, and good shooting.
 
Mmmmm. Orkan making with the no true scotsman fallacy for dinner. It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see how it works out for him.

If you don't like how other people hunt then work to change the rules that govern their behavior rather than get all holier than thou on keyboard warrior dot com. If nothing else you'll seem like you mean it rather than someone that cries in their beer professionally.
 
If you're a "trophy hunter" then obviously you have the tools and time at your disposal then you can get waaaay back in there where they did have a chance to get big or pay that big money for someone to get you to where the big guys are. Don't get me wrong I'll shoot the biggest one that's in front of me and if it's big enough to put on the wall then I will. Since I started hunting things have changed a lot and it seems everyone "must have" the latest most expensive hunting gear with that brand new 4x4 pickup truck yada yada yada. I've seen people buy all that expensive stuff and go out and buy a bunch of land dump tons of money into it only to take trophies and seems if they come across someone who doesn't trophy hunt, they shame them for that. If someone wants to call the shots on what is taken and what is not then buy enough land to let them get as big as you want them to
I've seen people (trophy guy) let deer walk all the time (where I'm at on small tracts of land) just to be shot by the guy (brown it's down) just across the property line. I get both sides but you can only do so much with 40 or 80 acres.
 
As a hunter education instructor we taught that hunters can go thru stages in their lives. Level one is the excitement of hunting for the first time. The sounds, the mountains, the smells, the gun or bow, the not knowing but soaking it up, is all part of what causes the next hunt to be a sleepless night in anticipation of the season opener. Level two is bag limit level if you can legally have 10 rabbits you are trying your very best to get 10 rabbits, or three pheasants or a limit of ducks or trout, etc. Level three is the method level where you go from one caliber to an other or one gun to another, or a gun to a bow. Level four is the trophy phase where the sportsman only harvests trophies. If it is not big enough he will not take it. level five is the top of the game level where it is all about the experience, the friends and comradery, the location, the mother nature beauty, the weather. Level five hunters don't have to harvest to be satisfied. It's almost spiritual it's when the passing of the torch to younger hunters most often occurs. I'm 64 now and I have been hunting since I was 11, my sons and daughter since they were seven. We have hunted for food, for fun and for the heritage on the same mountain as my great great grandfather. I do believe in stewardship. I have passed on many animals and I do not fault another hunter for anything in any of those levels that is legal. To me it is all a part of participation. My suggestion is for every hunter is to enjoy every level and try to experience them all. By the way some people fly through the levels, some people skip levels. some stall out in certain levels and some people quit hunting all together with out experiencing multiple levels.
Big Buck 2.jpg
 
As a hunter education instructor we taught that hunters can go thru stages in their lives. Level one is the excitement of hunting for the first time. The sounds, the mountains, the smells, the gun or bow, the not knowing but soaking it up, is all part of what causes the next hunt to be a sleepless night in anticipation of the season opener. Level two is bag limit level if you can legally have 10 rabbits you are trying your very best to get 10 rabbits, or three pheasants or a limit of ducks or trout, etc. Level three is the method level where you go from one caliber to an other or one gun to another, or a gun to a bow. Level four is the trophy phase where the sportsman only harvests trophies. If it is not big enough he will not take it. level five is the top of the game level where it is all about the experience, the friends and comradery, the location, the mother nature beauty, the weather. Level five hunters don't have to harvest to be satisfied. It's almost spiritual it's when the passing of the torch to younger hunters most often occurs. I'm 64 now and I have been hunting since I was 11, my sons and daughter since they were seven. We have hunted for food, for fun and for the heritage on the same mountain as my great great grandfather. I do believe in stewardship. I have passed on many animals and I do not fault another hunter for anything in any of those levels that is legal. To me it is all a part of participation. My suggestion is for every hunter is to enjoy every level and try to experience them all. By the way some people fly through the levels, some people skip levels. some stall out in certain levels and some people quit hunting all together with out experiencing multiple levels. View attachment 376825
Stated so elegantly! I wonder, is peer pressure or all the "sports" marketing that drives people to trophy hunting?
 
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