I’ve killed many, many deer in my lifetime. When I first started hunting, just seeing a deer...any deer was a thrill. After a certain point, the thrill starts to fade. To get it back, I upped my standards. I let the smaller bucks walk and targeted bigger deer. Sometimes I ate tag soup but even just watching a six point or a basket eight browse along would do it for me. Knowing I could have killed but chose not to had put the thrill back in it. Harvesting a buck that you had given a pass to the year before is a great feeling. Also, by watching the smaller bucks, you learn a lot. Something that you can’t learn from a book. To me personally, it is about the antlers to a point, also a mature old buck that has survived many seasons but doesn’t have a big rack is a trophy. I’ve evolved from a kid that HAD to kill every season to someone who can have a successful season without a kill. Now when I retire and have the time to hone my skill with a recurve, I will be excited to shoot ANY deer and harvest it cleanly...be it a spike or a doe, I won’t care. But the recurve aside, the antler restrictions I follow are self imposed. Who am I to judge what is a trophy in the eyes of another hunter? 35-40 years ago a spike was a trophy to me. It’s all about spending time outdoors and enjoying yourself...and maybe get some great tasting meat.
