APR, QDM, Trophy Hunters, etc....

[muskiemanAD]

I hunt pheasant, grouse and waterfowl. I do it because I love being outside and the thrill of the hunt!

[96trigger]

[96trigger]

What would I classify myself if I shoot does for the freezer but really like chasing mature whitetail bucks? Am I a trophy meat hunter?

[Big Dave2]

Just because one wants to shoot a buck with a bit larger rack does not mean by any means that he should be labeled a trophy hunter.

What would YOU label him as then? If it is not for the trophy then why do you care about the size of the rack?

[certified jumbo]

I am so sick of people comparing Iowa to Minnesota. The only part of Minnesota that compares anything remotely to Iowa is SE Minnesota. As many have stated there are so many differences between the two states its unbelievable(predators like bear and timbers, endless forests, shorter growing seasons, harder winters, and i could go on and on.)

I love hunting Minnesota and am very thankful for what I have and we have as a state. I hunt in NE Minnesota where hunting can be very difficult at times. We hunt hard and have been rewarded with pope and young bucks every year.

5 years ago I was on the QDM bandwagon. But now I'm not. I don't want our state to turn into the next Iowa, its bad for our sport(high lease prices, large tracts of private land, TV shows like Lee and Tiffany, etc.)

I also love party hunting and i hope we don't lose it. I shot my deer in september and have enjoyed trying to shoot another one. Still have a month to do it.

Dave T. Next time you try to pursuade you opinion on people, don't come off so brash. Take a more tactful approach, it may work better.

I don't think Minnesota deer hunting sucks.

[james_walleye]

What would I classify myself if I shoot does for the freezer but really like chasing mature whitetail bucks? Am I a trophy meat hunter?

Funny I was just going to post the same thing! I have a couple deer on the wall but my most memorable hunt was 2 years ago when my then 5 year old son was with me when I shot a doe with my bow. That expierience has hooked him already! I've gone many seasons with not taking a buck, but those seasons were anything but bad. And unlike many people would like to believe , it didn't ruin my season.

[96trigger]

Quote:

What would YOU label him as then? If it is not for the trophy then why do you care about the size of the rack?

Determined, persistent, motivated, and disciplined for a start.

[muskiemanAD]

What would YOU label him as then? If it is not for the trophy then why do you care about the size of the rack?

I would label him a deer hunter that enjoys the challenge of taking a mature animal....

[96trigger]

Quote:

Funny I was just going to post the same thing! I have a couple deer on the wall but my most memorable hunt was 2 years ago when my then 5 year old son was with me when I shot a doe with my bow. That expierience has hooked him already! I've gone many seasons with not taking a buck, but those seasons were anything but bad. And unlike many people would like to believe , it didn't ruin my season.

Took my 4 year old out this year for the first time. Had a 6 pointer come by our blind and graze for 15-20 minutes. He thought it was the coolest thing in the world, and I didn't even have to shoot it. Who would have thought. I was even able to explain to a 4 year old why I couldn't shoot it, and even if I could have, why I wouldn't. That those small bucks become next years big bucks, and maybe some day, when he is older and can hunt, that deer might still be around for him to shoot, and then, he will be a dandy. I guess I am a horrible parent for using that as a teaching moment for my son.

[DaveT]

Plus one, Trigger.

I'll simplify it and call it ethics. Instill a love and respect for the resource in a young mind that can actually absorb it, and the rest will take care of itself.

Big Dave

I wouldn't allow my kids to shoot 4 bucks in one state in one season no matter what the law was. I will tag a buck for them if it's bigger than any they've shot previously. They have no restrictions on their first deer of the year, after that, they understand if they shoot a second buck it will be bigger than what they've previously killed. After the second one, they're done shooting bucks. It's not fair to the rest of the hunters in the group or the immediate area. It's a limited resource, and my kids understand if you kill all the bucks this year there won't be many to kill next year.

[Surface Tension]

Dave I'm not excited.

Mother Nature has a lot to do with the size herd and age of bucks up here.

Never in my wildest dream would I have thought we'd be able to shoot 5 does.

[96trigger]

Thanks DaveT, I thought about ethical, but you know, there are lots of people that don't care about the size of a deer that are still very ethical, so I left it off intentionally. If its legal to shoot small bucks in your area, then its not unethical for those to do so.

In general, any hunter can have the qualites I mentioned and most probably exhibit them, but it seems like people that like to hunt mature bucks exhibit those qualities more frequently.

[eyedawg]

Someone who would like to shoot a MATURE deer whether it be a buck or doe. If your simply after meat shoot a doe,I know u can't eat horns but when you do shoot a nice mature buck with average to above average horns the memory and story sticks with me for a lot longer than if I was to shoot a doe . I agree with others about wishing for more quality deer. Maybe the dnr could make up a system similar to nd and I'm sure other states for drawing a buck tag,but still allow for one or more doe tags. Also don't let the out of state people get a buck tag for firearm season.

[DaveT]

[quote

Dave T. Next time you try to pursuade you opinion on people, don't come off so brash. Take a more tactful approach, it may work better.

I don't think Minnesota deer hunting sucks.

[Big Dave2]

Big Dave

I wouldn't allow my kids to shoot 4 bucks in one state in one season no matter what the law was. I will tag a buck for them if it's bigger than any they've shot previously. They have no restrictions on their first deer of the year, after that, they understand if they shoot a second buck it will be bigger than what they've previously killed. After the second one, they're done shooting bucks. It's not fair to the rest of the hunters in the group or the immediate area. It's a limited resource, and my kids understand if you kill all the bucks this year there won't be many to kill next year.

I never said anything about a kid shooting bucks, you said that all on your own. To me a deer is a deer unless legally I can only shoot one or the other.

You also realize that if you shoot all the does, you won't have ANY deer to kill next year, right?

[BRULEDRIFTER]

- I am so sick of people comparing Iowa to Minnesota. The only part of Minnesota that compares anything remotely to Iowa is SE Minnesota. As many have stated there are so many differences between the two states its unbelievable(predators like bear and timbers, endless forests, shorter growing seasons, harder winters, and i could go on and on.)

-I love hunting Minnesota and am very thankful for what I have and we have as a state. I hunt in NE Minnesota where hunting can be very difficult at times.

-I don't want our state to turn into the next Iowa, its bad for our sport(high lease prices, large tracts of private land, TV shows like Lee and Tiffany, etc.)

-Dave T. Next time you try to pursuade you opinion on people, don't come off so brash. Take a more tactful approach, it may work better.

Well put!

[hockeybc69]

I do agree with some of Daves points. The delivery was a bit strong.

Overall, I think it was a bit over the top. We struggle with some of the points he makes, but I sure wont say deer hunting just absolutely sucks in MN.

Its frustrating depending where you are at... I will give him that...

[BRULEDRIFTER]

-I don't want our state to turn into the next Iowa, its bad for our sport(high lease prices, large tracts of private land, TV shows like Lee and Tiffany, etc.)

This is the biggest reason I will never support Antler Size Management (AKA QDM, APR, late seasons, buck lottery, food plots). (and the ammo it gives the anti's to continue their pursuit to end our traditions).

I grew up hunting public lands and cannot afford to pay some landowner the prices that will follow when lands get scooped up like in all the other "trophy" states. And yes, I know not all our public lands will be scooped up, however, a lot will and that will push more and more folks onto what public lands there are left creating even more crowded lands than we already have.

Sad times ahead for the future of deer hunting with this obsession over scoring the bones growing off the heads of deer.

[DaveT]

Let me apologize for my delivery then. Truthfully, I'm just having fun and seeing if I can change a mind or two in the process. We all love deer hunting and that's a good thing.

I love it when Big Dave joins these discussions because we are on complete opposite ends of this discussion. What fun would it be if everyone agreed with me?

Trust me though, if you go hunt in any of the states we've been talking about, you will come back home to MN and say "deer hunting sucks here".

Also, I was in Iowa 2 years ago and got permission to hunt on 4 different parcels of private land for free. The leases and outfitters exist but not nearly in the numbers you think.

[hockeybc69]

I have deer hunted out of state.

Its not apples to apples in any way.

Montana you are talking guys that own several thousands of acres each and much more.

On that land is oodles of cover, food, terrain change, etc.

We hunt Ottertail County, and good luck finding many properties that even approach a square mile(640 acres).

We have 120 acres, and in the area we are in, thats pretty average.

The simple problem(if you can call it that) is that properties are so fragmented.

If we had 5000 acres of land in Ottertail county locked up, I can assure you the hunting would be nothing short of Montana incredible.

So I wont say it sucks here. Because comparing MN to other states is a bunch of [PoorWordUsage].

Could things be better in MN? I think a lot of people would have something they would like done differently.

[PurpleFloyd]

I have deer hunted out of state.

Its not apples to apples in any way.

Montana you are talking guys that own several thousands of acres each and much more.

On that land is oodles of cover, food, terrain change, etc.

We hunt Ottertail County, and good luck finding many properties that even approach a square mile(640 acres).

We have 120 acres, and in the area we are in, thats pretty average.

The simple problem(if you can call it that) is that properties are so fragmented.

If we had 5000 acres of land in Ottertail county locked up, I can assure you the hunting would be nothing short of Montana incredible.

So I wont say it sucks here. Because comparing MN to other states is a bunch of [PoorWordUsage].

Could things be better in MN? I think a lot of people would have something they would like done differently.

Well said.

[PurpleFloyd]

I was just thinking if we just hi- fenced all of the land like they do in some places then we could keep all of our deer in our 40 and we wouldn't have to worry about what the neighbor in the 40 next to us does. We would just have to keep a good food plot going and we could just sit and wait for the right one to walk by and then take it.

[ANYFISH2]

Good point hockey.

I'm always on the fence with these ideas. I would like to see and shoot more large antlered deer, anyone would. These changes might make me, make differant choices some seasons. Although, I think these regs are for all intents and purposes, a short cut to the Prize. A shortcut that WILL make a otherwise good person into a criminal/poacher. For what, Antlers? Silly isn't?

Now, I think education of the benifits of passing young deer, shooting appropriate numbers of does, and overall respect for the resource is what will make the biggest difference. It just takes longer than alot of us want. Attitudes have changed a ton since I started hunting in 1991, they will continue to change going forward. Patience is a virtue, It will get better without making new laws/regs.

Thanks for the read guys!

[kern]

I have a couple of questions for DaveT. What type of deer hunting do you do(archery, gun, and/or muzzy)? Do you hunt with a group and if you shoot a "trophy" the first day of archery would you step out of the woods without any regrets of not being able to step foot back in the woods the rest of the season?

[bottom-bouncer]

I have a couple of questions for DaveT. What type of deer hunting do you do(archery, gun, and/or muzzy)? Do you hunt with a group and if you shoot a "trophy" the first day of archery would you step out of the woods without any regrets of not being able to step foot back in the woods the rest of the season?

Yes I could walk out of the woods for the rest of the season with out a problem.