Is your deer a trophy? It should be, regardless of size.

Trophy bucks: Different strokes for different folks

A trophy buck means different things to different people. It's like beauty: you may not know the true definition beauty is but you’ll certainly recognize it when 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 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 but hunting solely for a trophy.

I can shoot whatever buck I want, and occasionally I’ll take a good one but hunting should always mean something much more to a hunter than shooting a buck with huge head gear.

Taking does and fawns can help manage a deer herd

I'll shoot the occasional big buck but also shoot small bucks as well as does and fawns. There are some bucks that do not fit the criteria of what I want. An 8-point with a basket rack of scraggly antlers is a cull or management buck, and these deer should be removed from a local deer herd. It is a small buck that tells me that it is not, nor will probably t as defining the minimum of ever be, a trophy buck by anyone's standards. Let kids or any first-time hunters take these deer, and hold out for a big one.

So what defines trophy status? Whatever you or I think 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.

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

Setting goals is OK but for most people, 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.

Such people soon learn their hunt for bigger and supposedly better bucks will eventually end. It's hard to keep climbing that bigger and better ladder.

That ladder of success soon becomes impossible to reach

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

Start hunting the oldest doe on the property. She will run a bow hunter around in circles. Taking an old doe that knows she is being hunted is a challenge worth tackling.

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

Some sportsmen compare hunting to a game. This is not a game but it is 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.

Respect the game your hunt and kill and utilize it properly

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.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors