Is Counting Inches Killing Deer Hunting? Dec 17, 2018 by Brodie Swisher

[Steelhead]

Nope. People selling GPS coordinates and "hunt maps" is killing deer hunting...

 

[brnsvllyjohn]

I shoot a lot of small to medium bucks because I want the meat. I try to shoot a buck that is above average for the area I am hunting but when it comes right down to it I will take a fork. This year I shot the largest by weight deer I have ever taken in Ca. it was a 3x4 with nice heavy horns but I would have settled for something smaller if that is all I could find.
Most of my older hunting buddies no longer hunt because we didn't tend to kill real trophy quality deer. That apparently became real important to them. I will hunt as long as I can go. I enjoy hunting even if I come home empty but if a fork is what I shoot then so be it.

 

[SFC B]

The biggest part of this trend that bothers me ( and has taken away my ability to hunt back home in IN) is what seems to be the Church of the Big Whitetail with congregations all over the south. My specific experience is that folks from the Southeast and Texas are flooding into the Midwest in search of big deer and hemorrhaging money too lease up everything possible. The small farm I used to be able to hunt is now leased for $3k a year It is very widespread across northern Indiana and making it so that if your family doesn't own land you better either have plenty of $$ or be willing to go into a war zone on the small pieces of public land available. I know it sounds like belly aching but the old days of being able to hunt by trading labor on the farm for access are pretty much gone. Couple that with land prices above 10k an acre and a lot of folks are now SOL.

 

[ImBillT]

When you figure I’ve read that only about 1% of deer have the genetic potential to make the books, that of those deer many do not live in a habitat which will allow them to reach their potential, only a few will live long enough to reach their peak, and even many of those will be in their peak year during some sort of drought or other environmental stress, a record book deer is truly a 1/1000 proposition, if the odds are even that good. You have people waiting twenty years to hunt a state because they want to hunt the trophy unit, and when they get there and don’t get in the record books they say that the area has gone down hill, there are too many hunters, it was a drought year etc. I’ve never hunted Montana, but when a guy posts a picture of a 200” mule deer a relative shot and complains that Montana is too heavily hunted now and there aren’t many mule deer like that in the state anymore, you really have to wonder what TV and the internet have done to his perception. It’s highly unlikely that there were more than a handful of bucks like that taken in Montana in any given year even the year he shot it. We’re not all going to see a record book deer alive in the wild, let alone get a shot at one during the season with a tag in our pockets. Chasing the record books is fun, but it’s A OKAY to shoot a normal deer! And you should be happy about it!

 

[Mallardsx2]

Ultimately its your tag you bought so do as you wish as long as it is legal.

Personally, I have always liked hunting for mature bucks. Why would anyone shoot a 4-point? Their First deer? Wounded and came by? The only deer they saw that day? Well, I may never be able to answer that one.

The score doesn't really matter if the deer is a mature deer. 4+years old to me is mature in my eyes.

If you want to shoot little bucks for meat just shoot a doe. Plenty of doe tags out there.

just my opinion. Lots of people agree with me. Lots dont. Thats ok.

 

[OhHeyThereBen]

Counting inches is only a problem when you force your guidelines on other people. There's nothing wrong with wanting big bucks, but don't shame anyone else's deer.

 

[1_pointer]

The biggest part of this trend that bothers me ( and has taken away my ability to hunt back home in IN) is what seems to be the Church of the Big Whitetail with congregations all over the south. My specific experience is that folks from the Southeast and Texas are flooding into the Midwest in search of big deer and hemorrhaging money too lease up everything possible. The small farm I used to be able to hunt is now leased for $3k a year It is very widespread across northern Indiana and making it so that if your family doesn't own land you better either have plenty of $$ or be willing to go into a war zone on the small pieces of public land available. I know it sounds like belly aching but the old days of being able to hunt by trading labor on the farm for access are pretty much gone. Couple that with land prices above 10k an acre and a lot of folks are now SOL.

Most of the leases on the SW portion of the state that I know of are leased by locals, FWIW...

 

[CampRipleyLF]

I am an Official Measurer for B&C and P&Y and see the value in inches as data points for measuring herd health.

However, I see the use of the score to build an ego or determine one's prowess as a hunter as antithetical to the mission and values of the organization originating scores. Shane Mahoney has said much on how media use in hunting has not helped out our cause or furthered our tradition. I think antler scores have been seen in that same light for the reasons I stated. I would like to see people return to the idea of a doe as a trophy in its own right without discounting a 180" mule deer as a trophy as well. Hunting just for the inches will ultimately see the hunter left unsatisfied; yet demonizing the score altogether is shortsighted.

100% Its not scoring that is killing hunting nor people who hold out for a higher age class of deer (aka "trophy hunters"). It's those hunters who choose to shame each other on their harvest or choices. This includes people from both the "its brown, its down" and "trophy hunters" crowds. We need to come together as one group to promote hunting because we are literally a dying breed.

 

[noharleyyet]

A certain locked thread 8 days ago offers an attitude barometer on “inches”....

 

[JTHOMP]

The biggest part of this trend that bothers me ( and has taken away my ability to hunt back home in IN) is what seems to be the Church of the Big Whitetail with congregations all over the south. My specific experience is that folks from the Southeast and Texas are flooding into the Midwest in search of big deer and hemorrhaging money too lease up everything possible. The small farm I used to be able to hunt is now leased for $3k a year It is very widespread across northern Indiana and making it so that if your family doesn't own land you better either have plenty of $$ or be willing to go into a war zone on the small pieces of public land available. I know it sounds like belly aching but the old days of being able to hunt by trading labor on the farm for access are pretty much gone. Couple that with land prices above 10k an acre and a lot of folks are now SOL.

This is a problem stemming from a much greater problem across the board. Not denying that people from the SE lease lands in the mid west. Many do so for not only inches, but also the hunting experience of hunting open woods that have high deer densities, good buck to doe ratios, and a pattern able rut. Many locals have lost their place to hunt or have to pay more because of it. But the same thing happens everywhere.

People from north Louisiana complain about people from south Louisiana coming up and leasing all the land and/or killing all the deer. The people from south Louisiana can't afford the leases because it's so competitive it drives up the prices even for areas that suck for deer hunting. Add duck hunting opportunity and throw in another $1,000. Hunting in delta areas of along the Mississippi river in Louisiana and Mississippi generally produce the most big bucks, but most people don't want to spend the money it takes to hunt there and the public lands in the area are highly pressured even during bow season.
And don't even think of hunting inside the levee unless you're a celebrity, politician, doctor, old money, or have been highly successful in business. A friend has managed to hold on to a small tract inside the levee only paying a few thousand a year (stupid cheap for the area) and the stories, pictures, and kills are incredible. But it's nerve racking knowing the neighboring lease are millionaires that want your lease as well.

That's only the situation I'm very familiar with but would bet it's the same story everywhere. Unfortunately you got to pay to play. People want quality deer hunting and will pay quality money for it. Meanwhile everyone else is counting inches trying to keep up with the Jones.

 

[The Hedgehog]

A fact about "Inches" is that they can be used as an indicator of health and quality.

Also, they can often result in tears, envy, humor, ridicule, and countless thought provoking threads on hunttalk and similar forums.

 

[Hobbs]

I score every animal that I shoot, no matter the size. I don't have a score that I am chasing but I would prefer to shoot larger animals as most likely they will be more mature. I personally use the score as a way to explain the size of my animals, not as a bragging point but as a point of reference. No different than when I catch fish, you have someone ask "how big was that fish" and you are left with either holding you hands apart or you give them a solid number in either inches or lbs. People have been doing this with fishing for years an no one finds it a problem, measuring something is only a problem if you use that measurement to try and show how much better you are, or if you get jealous of the measurement of others.

 

[SaskHunter]

Ultimately its your tag you bought so do as you wish as long as it is legal.

If you want to shoot little bucks for meat just shoot a doe. Plenty of doe tags out there.

I don't want to start an argument but I think your comment is the root of the problem. You start by saying "your tag your decision" but then move on to tell people that they should shoot does instead of bucks... So which is it? "My tag, my decision", or "my tag, your decision?".

Some people are content with shooting smaller bucks for several reasons, they get the meat, they get time in the bush and they still get to enjoy the rack, no matter how big, and display it in their house.

I live and hunt in Saskatchewan where this pissing match is a pretty big problem, guys simply need to shut up, keep their comments to themselves and at least pretend to be happy for that guy who is excited about having shot a spiker. It was HIS hunt, not yours, and he was happy with it. To that person, that small deer is HIS trophy, not yours.

Honestly, why care about which deer was shot? No one owns the game, especially not the guys who shame other hunters. Between bad winters, food sources, sickness, predators, etc, who's to say that small deer would've survived anyways? I hate how people assume that that same small deer would've been there again in two seasons, ready to be shot with his then massive rack (that's if it had the potential in the first place)...

If people would just mind their own business and be "happy" for fellow successful hunters, the sport would be better off. One last thing, ever noticed on those vintage deer hunting pictures that display many deer, from fawn to monster, that ALL the hunters look happy?

 

[The Hedgehog]

For those who obviously didn't read either link, here are the cliff notes:
Link 1: Woman has son's giant deer measured. Narrowly misses record book, so she throws a fit with the measurer and pouts. - this is the "inches" article.
Link 2: If you (repeat YOU), shoot a dink, don't YOU be offering up excuses or hang your head. Either don't shoot it or BE HAPPY WITH IT.

Ridiculing the Angels of Death in dinkocalypse might be better suited for a another destined to be locked thread.

 

[Hem]

Inches? I hunted a Montana antelope on block management for two years before I caught up with him. Missed all time B and C by an eigth.i double checked with Fred to make sure he wasn't having an off day
Will never top that buck.one of my favs.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

I think the issue we are dealing with is Social Media; which drives a lot of our society to only value things that others value.

When applied to deer hunting, everyone want to post a pic of their deer on FB or IG and then when someone tells them it is small, they feel like chit, because they care way to much about what a bunch or "friends" or "followers" think. Plus their deer is now out there next to a bunch of farm raised monsters, and the biggest deer killed every year without any context. When you inventory your self worth based on the "likes" you get, you are pretty much guaranteed to be miserable.

 

[TimeOnTarget]

I say to each their own. I try and harvest mature animals be it a doe or buck. I base that off the animals body, not antlers. but the 2 usually correlate. My favorite line is "not the biggest antlers, but it sure had a big body" No it's got a body just like every other 2 year old. We took 4 mature does this year, filled 2 any deer tags with doe. Simply because there was not a mature(5+ yrs for me) on the property, nor had my trail cams saw any through out the summer.

I see a lot of people on social media, posting pictures of their kills with trad gear, pics of a big backstrap as they quarter their animal, the meals they've cooked from their kills etc etc. It really makes me wonder if these people really appreciate the hunt, and the harvest as much as the social media posts make it out to be. Cause to me they're a hell of a lot more worried about the likes they can get on social media than the actual animal and experiences along the way.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

When you inventory your self worth based on the "likes" you get, you are pretty much guaranteed to be miserable.

Exactly.

 

[mtmuley]

A fact about "Inches" is that they can be used as an indicator of health and quality.

Also, they can often result in tears, envy, humor, ridicule, and countless thought provoking threads on hunttalk and similar forums.

Truth. mtmuley

 

[ClearCreek]

Real simple solution - Don't post the photo on social media.

Oh, I forgot, you have to do that to maintain your nut sack!


ClearCreek