What is your deer hunting philosphy when it comes down to it?

I am just curious what everyone's mindset/philosophy is when they enter the woods during the archery season. Do you holdout for a big buck? Do you only hunt for meat? Do you take does? What about small racked bucks? Do your standards for size decrease as the season gets closer to closing? Do you mind not filling your tag if it means passing on something small? I have been struggling with this for years. We hunt on private land in Dodge Co. and have been on the same tract of land for 43 years. It is just over 350 acres and it has everything...marsh, hardwoods, food plots, etc. My uncle shoots anything because he literally loves the meat and goes through about 3 deer a year. He eats it everyday. My dad isn't picky either. I have been holding out for a nice buck, but have come up empty the last 3 years with the bow. I usually get at least one with the gun. I got sick of always turning down easy shots so this year I took a small 6. I was happy I made a good shot (right through the heart), but honestly, the small racked buck really didn't do much for me. So, there is my conflicting situation that I ponder every year. How do you folks decide what to and what not to shoot?

Now here's a good thread. My goals for deer hunting usually involved trying to get on the board early season before October. This then allows me to be little more picky as we get into fall where I always liked to get at least one more. The more success early the less I have to work during gun. The ultimate goal was always three deer, two for myself and one for my parents. I've never been a trophy hunter, unless you define a trophy as vacuum sealed packages of venison in my freezer. I've shot some nice bucks over the years, but the antlers just go in a box with the other ones. I'm after the meat. That's the way it's been for the last 50,000 years minus the last 20 or so. To me the amount of money it costs to mount a deer is much better spent on something more tangible and useful. But thats my philosophy and to each their own.

"Manitoulin...do you ever contribute anything other than attempts at sarcasm or pot stirring?" No, you pretty much nailed it QDMA Guy. That is his MO. While he might up the amperage on the sarcasm and pot stirring, he never breaks character and adds anything useful.

I think we've gotten to the point that we worry to much about what others do or think about hunting. Bottom line should be going out and enjoying the time you can. If you enjoy yourself the size of the deer doesn't really matter. Only you know what your family and life's needs are. Just enjoy, year and a half 4 pt or 6 to 7 year old 12 pt, if you enjoyed the hunt what does it matter what someone else thinks or does.

I'm struggling with this as of late. I'm relatively new to bow hunting. I believe this is my 7th or 8th season. I shot some small bucks and does the first several years. I've now been holding out for something bigger and I won't shoot a doe on my Jefferson county property as there isn't many around. Where I'm really struggling is between work and family, I don't believe I have near enough time to dedicate to hunting to make harvesting a mature buck all that realistic. I think it is likely complete luck/chance should I happen to get one. Needless to say, I'm getting frustrated and I'm wondering if I need to reconsider why I do this. I've always told myself I don't hunt to kill, it is just time alone to clear my head and enjoy nature. That is true to an extent, but coming to the realization that there is a good chance I'm never going to shoot anything really got to me this year. I hunted every chance I got this fall and saw 1 mature buck on his feet during shooting hours, and he stayed out of range. I'm seriously considering rethinking things for next fall. I think I had more fun when I got a deer, regardless of size.

I have read this and lived it. When you are a newbie, you shoot the first thing that walks by. As you progress, you get confidence in your ability and you naturally up your standards. Eventually, you realize that if you do not intend to mount a buck, why shoot it? You might as well shoot a doe. 350 acres and only about 4 deer taken by your family should allow some decent bucks to make it through the season. If you hold off blasting the first few little bucks and get a big one, the other guys might change their goals too. Nothing gets your neighbors and hunting buddies more more on board than shooting a couple of big ones. Trail cam pictures of big bucks will also help you and others get an idea of what is possible on your land. Mrt.

I hunt public land now, but hope to buy my own land in 10 years or so. On top of hunting public I don't have a ton of time, my wife and I work opposite shifts so when she is at work, I'm watching the kids, she gets home and I head to work. Reduces my scouting and hunting time greatly. For the past couple seasons I didn't shoot a little buck. You know what they say, if you let them go they grow. Well not where I hunt apparently. Still only 1.5 year olds on camera and sighted from the stand. A 2.5 year old is a treat. I like the whole process of the hunt, the antlers aren't as important to me as other people. The shot, tracking, butchering, etc is what is fun for me. Plus my son is getting into asking me if I got a deer when I get home and he gets excited when I do bring one home. That's fun for me more than anything now. He could care less how big it is, he just points at it and says 'eat'. He likes his venison sausage and backstraps. I go into a season hoping for 2 deer. There was a time where I was a glutton, I admit it. I've learned. We do like to eat venison though. I usually hope for a doe with the bow, then a buck. If that doesn't happen I'll wait until after gun season to see if I get that second deer or not. If not I'll go out late season to try and get one more.

My philosophy is to put 2 does in the freezer every year for meat. As for bucks, I am waiting for 150" or better. Can't see wasting a buck that hasn't had a chance to show some potential yet. It is much more challenging chasing big bucks that have been around for a few years than belting 1.5's that are not very challenging. They are just above fawns for inteligence. I observe a ton of deer each year. Mature does are by far the smartest out there. They are followed by mature bucks, immature adult does, immature adult bucks, doe fawns, and then buck fawns. This year on opening afternoon of bow I had a 6 pointer come by me about a half dozen times giving me a variety of chip shots over a 3 hour period. There were some other 1.5's and 2.5's as well that day, but it wouldn't have been very fun or challenging to end it there. Passed bucks into the 130's this year, had my eye on some that were much bigger and are still around. I am more than comfortable in my ability as a hunter to let some buck tags go unfilled. It is fun to learn how to pattern certain bucks over the years and see how they develop. We are very involved in habitat management and have built up a pretty good piece of property, so shooting a small buck would be anticlimatic. As for my 2 does a year, I wouldn't do this if the area I hunt wasn't just loaded with deer. I love eating venison, but am not some slob who will fill my freezer without regard to the status of the resource. Too many people already who do that. We are at the point now of bringing in extra people to enjoy the surplus of antlerless deer in our area. Now, inevitably some chastise people like me for waiting and want to claim every buck is a trophy. I know enough people who shoot any buck and see how differently they treat the occasional ones with 10 point racks they get versus the forks they get every year, so that causes me to not put much stock into that argument. When the horns get left at the butchers or put in a box in the garage, it is a waste. As for the argument that you can't eat the antlers, no you certainly can't. But there is a lot more meat to eat on a 5.5 year old that dresses out at 220# versus a 1.5 year old that dresses out at 115#, and you can eat that. I would rather leave the small bucks for the kids so that they can get some sucess right away and hopefully stick with it. Just my philosophy.

I hunt deer, not bucks or trophies or even does, just deer. There are too many valuable things to spend my time on to take a great deal of time hunting. So, I allow myself a reasonable number of days to hunt each year, with a gun in my younger years and now with a bow and gun since my kids are older and I have more free time. I don't own land, I don't pound the backroads looking for a place to go, I don't have trailcams, etc. I just go hunting when it is time to go, in the best place I can determine at the time. For almost 3 decades that turned out to be public land, anywhere from Adams County to Jefferson County to Trempealeau County to Vernon County, and nearly every county in between. Just like Johhny Cash, I've been (nearly) everywhere. Then, we had a great 12 year run on a private farm north of La Crosse, until the landowner needed cash and leased two of his three parcels out. So, we got bumped back to public this year. Regardless, we shoot the first deer we see until we get what we want for the year, except for small fawns. We have never filled all our tags, and are not "meat hogs". We just feel it is better to shoot something, if you get the chance, and then get back to doing other useful things with your life.

Willfish Those are some awesome animals! Congrats! Not sure where you hunt, but I am guessing near the Mississippi River? Regardless, nice animals. I hunted public land in central Wisconsin for over 3 decades. Purchased a chunk of land 5 years ago. In 5 hunting seasons, I have been fortunate to harvest two 8 pointers about 15-16 inch spread, 126 10 pointer, 137 8 pointer. Still waiting to put a tag on something this year. I can't believe I waited this long to buy a little chunk to call my own.

Keep my wife happy so I can continue to hunt. I value a quality vs a quantity philosophy. I don't think I need to fill every tag. I have eaten many tags. I enjoy watching my son, daughter or wife harvest a deer or turkey. I enjoy planting crops and food plots to feed the deer. I enjoy seeing fawns with spots playing in the alfalfa fields. I enjoy seeing a dozen deer in a field or a food plot. I enjoy not hunting the early season, but monitoring the deer using a half dozen trail cameras. I enjoy Halloween weekend...first hunt of the year. I enjoy seeing multiple bucks on every sit. I enjoy seeing quality animals during the rut. I enjoy seeing a buck that makes my heart beat fast and my legs shake. Many years, I end the hunting season with stories and memories....some years with a mature buck...every year with the want to do it all over again. Quality vs Quantity, that's my philosophy.

"that doesn't mean NOT killing a tender 1.5 year old doe when opportunity presents (or two or three)" Enjoy the WI deer herd. In MN the areas where you can take more than one deer are few and far between.

I think it's different for everyone. For me it's a feeling at the time, if the spirit of the hunt is right I will shoot a doe no questions asked and be proud. One of my most loved hunts was a doe I spotted and stalked with a homemade recurve late season on public land. You want a tough hunt get a 3 or 4 yr old doe off pine island late bow season! I have shot booners all the way down to yearlings and been proud with everyone. Don't buy into to the show and magazine bs hunt for your soul not for what someone else says a trophy is. If you want a bigger rack then wait for one, be happy with the chase no matter how it turns out. Your level of man hood or your skill as a hunter have nothing to do with how many gut piles or heads hang on your wall. Have fun enjoy the chase, live nature and make memories with loved ones those are the true trophies.

A lot of issues depend upon what I will or wont shoot on any given day. For example, I want to make sure I get one deer, minimum. That's usually with a bow. Our household of four loves our venny steaks, as well as the snack sticks, summer sausage, polish sausage, breakfast sausage....and on and on. Anything I take with a bow goes in my freezer...during gun season, we do much more hunting with family (10-14 people) and anything we take usually gets shared among all of us. During gun season, I may get anywhere from one to six one-gallon freezer bags full of "trim" depending upon the success of the group. First and foremost, in an ideal year, I will be able to fill an early tag with a doe, and as greedy as it sounds, hopefully on the public land I frequent instead of the private family land I also hunt. I have no problem taking a doe off our private land, but we have many younger hunters just getting started in the sport, so I figure any less deer I take there will be one more our youngsters may shoot, or at least see. Also, I will always shoot a mature doe over a 1.5 year old buck. Some may argue that philosophy as well, but to each their own. After the doe is in the freezer, I will go after a 2.5 year old or older buck. In our area public land, any 2.5 or older buck is considered nice, and a lot of the land neighbors on our family parcel will not pass on ANY antlered buck, so it's kind of the same on our private land as well. Last year I was able to get an early doe, and a nice 8 pointer during the rut, so the freezer was pretty full. This year, the few public land doe tags available were sold the first few hours, so I did not get one, and have no buck yet, but getting two deer last year, the pressure is off a bit. We'll see what happens during the gun season and see if I need to get out there with the bow again ate season to grab some more meat. Another factor is the weather. I wont shoot anything....unless it's going on my wall...on a warm September or October weekday night. Just don't have time to care for a deer (we butcher all our own ourselves)until the wee hours of the morning when I have to be up for work at 4:30 am. Weekends though, different story.

Manitoulin...do you ever contribute anything other than attempts at sarcasm or pot stirring?

I can't wait for the rut to start. I will hunt only a few times early if I have a picture of a big buck I'd like to get, otherwise I wait until Oct Oct 20 and hit it hard after that. I just love to see bucks chasing when its time. As far as size,an 8 point with a nice spread (15") is always a possibility but it depends on what I'm seeing and if I want to clean a deer that day. I have killed my biggest bucks when I am trying for any deer. I am just disappointed if I just try to get a big one. I haven't shot a doe in probably 6 years. But I hunt in Wyoming and usually get one there so I have meat in the freezer. If I already have one in the freezer, gun hunting is big boys only.