Define A Trophy Buck

Two examples of a trophy buck: A dandy 8-pointer and a small spikehorn.

A trophy buck means different things to different people. It's like beauty: you may not know what it is but will recognize the beauty once you see it.

Every outdoor magazine worthy of the name will run cover photos of some truly huge bucks. Most of the television bucks seen would be considered a trophy buck to all but the record-book hunters.

Big-buck photos or videos sell television shows. Sadly, for them, the average 8-point is not considered a trophy buck. They don’t know what they are missing when hunting solely for a trophy.

Defining a trophy animal means different things to different hunters.

I shoot whatever buck I decide to, but hunting always should mean something more to a sportsman than shooting a buck with huge head gear.

If someone wants a big buck, and is willing to pay the freight, many game farms will let them shoot one. It takes a tremendous amount of money to run an operation like game farms because big bucks bring in big dollars.

I'll shoot an occasional big buck but I also shoot does as well to do my part to keep our deer herd well-balanced, which it is not. I do hunt private land as well as public, and dropping a big buck doesn’t happen every year for me. There can be years between big animals.

There are some bucks that do not fit the criteria of what  I want my big buck to be. An 8-point with a basket rack of scraggly antlers is a cull or management buck on a game farm but it would be a big buck for many hunters. So what defines trophy status? Whatever you or I think may meet that criteria may be far from what others consider a trophy buck.

A youngster on his or her first hunt  may consider a doe or fawn a trophy, and wisely so. For most hunters who can count on one hand the number of deer they have shot and have fingers left over, may consider a fork-horn with a six-inch spread to be a trophy. Perhaps it might even be a buck with long spikes.

Any buck has the capabilities of being a trophy, depending on the hunter.

On the other hand, many hunters seem to set a basic standard of 8 points. Whether it has heavy mass or is a 1 1/2-year-old with a tiny basket rack makes it a trophy buck to some. Frankly, I believe any buck should be considered a trophy.

Setting goals is OK but for most people, but once that goal is met, they ratchet their standards up another notch. Say they want an 18-inch 8-point with heavy tines, and get it, then they will probably want a 10-point with a  20-inch spread.

If they score on such an animal, where do they go next? Many then lust for a 200-point buck. If they don't get it, they are disappointed and upset, and therefore have lost track of what deer hunting is all about. The hunt is, and always should be, something more than a dead deer and a mass of antler bone.

I once knew a guy that killed a 600+-pound black bear in the Upper Peninsula. He then contacted me for advice on where he could go to shoot a bigger bruin. I couldn’t help him. If I knew, I may have been hunting it myself

Such people soon learn their hunt for bigger and supposedly better animals will eventually end. It's hard to keep climbing that bigger and better ladder to meet an ever-larger possible dream.

The challenge of the hunt is far more important than the size of the animal taken. Want a really tough hunting challenge?

Look for the oldest doe in the area and start hunting just her. She will run a bow hunter around in circles. Taking an old doe that knows she is being hunted is a challenge worth tackling. In many cases, taking an old doe is more difficult that taking a large buck.

Hunting is not about winning or losing but it is about how the hunt plays out. It's not about winners and losers. Hunting is so much more than just dead meat and big antlers.

It’s impossible to keep climbing the “bigger is better” ladder.

Some sportsmen compare hunting to a game. This is not a game but a matter of life and death for the animal. How we look at hunting is a very important part of the overall experience.

If we are to kill an animal, we must show it all due respect and utilize that meat to nourish our bodies. We must hunt with a passion; respect that which we hunt and kill; and make any deer we kill a trophy, regardless of its size, antler spread or the number of points.

We are hunters, and to us, a trophy doesn't have to be a huge buck or a buck at all, but it must represent a personal challenge. We must be ever mindful of exactly what that animal is and what it truly means to us.

It is, and must always be, something more than antlers and meat. It must be a deep emotional moment for us, and when we learn to accept that fact, any deer taken becomes a trophy animal.

TITLE: Define a trophy buck.

TAGS: ((Dave, Richey, Michigan, outdoors, trophy, buck, massive, antlers, small, rack, personal, decision, big, small))

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors