Exactly....meat hunters ain't stupid. Like bass anglers who keep their catch to eat but are still proud of a trophy fish and puts it on his wall. They don't seem to get dissed.

Trophy bass anglers don't put bass on the wall.

They release them and get replicas made

Keeping a trophy bass us frowned upon in most circles

The grocery store is closer and cheaper, and beef is generally better than deer <----------

Something dont sound right here....I dont know about this dude But i eat all my deer before i go buy beef.... and Deer Is yummmie

How much does it cost you to kill a deer? After licenses, lease fee's, fuel, feed,gas, etc.

We all hunt because it's fun. Unless you hunt on the land you live on or very close to it, it's not cheaper than buying beef.

And deer is ok, it doesn't taste better than beef.

If that were true we would farm deer and hunt cows

Would we need a HF if we hunted cows?

AFAIK that is exactly what is going on in Texas ....... deer farms and Watusi hunts.

For me, I get excited looking at my trail cam pics, watching little fawns,being with family and friends. Thats what deer camp is all about. I agree that there's no upside anymore to hunting for meat. Far cheaper to buy it at the store (and the stakes are better). But, I eat what I harvest and don't harvest more than what my family and friends can eat in a year.

When I was younger, growing up in Arkansas, we used to be able to hunt for meat. Remember skipping school a time or two and heading to the woods with friends. $5 in gas, bullet or two, and an ice chest. No corn, feeders, or cameras back then. Those days are long gone in Texas.

Horn restrictions too?

We are meat hunters. Yes, we can buy meat but it's just a heritage and tradition not to mention fun. And I honestly like deer/venison better than beef, lamb, or goat.

I'm with you Big Tony, horn hunters that pat themselves on the back because they say they are donating the meat to the needy are really doing nothing more that perpetuating the Welfare State. IMHO

Yep, those orphanages we donate too don't really need it

Instead of meat this year I'm gonna send them a letter telling them to get off their azz and get to work

Private donations didn't build a welfare state..Democrats do. We need more people donating and less government handouts.

I consider myself a meat hunter because I'm not just looking for wall hangers. I'm also a meat buyer (beef at the grocery) which has nothing to do with what type of hunter I am.

I wouldnt pass on a big buck but why hunt for horns they dont taste to good. I do have a friend that is on mld land and if the season is almost over sometimes they will take out a few to donate but thats about the only time I see it ok. I am 100% for donating it in that case but if I am hunting it I plan on eating it.

If your killing 4,5 or more deer a year, you cannot eat that many deer

What are you supposed to do with them?

I eat all of my deer meat too. I like it and have figured out many, many recipes to prepare it in many different ways. I love deer meat. BUT when I want a T-bone or a Prime Rib, deer steaks aren't gonna cut it.

Some of you guys have never hunted a lease that had high doe quotas...I'm talking 8, 10, 12 per hunter and then bucks on top of that. The does have to be killed. I keep a bunch but some end up donated to Hunter's for the Hungry, friends, relatives, etc. None of it goes to waste.

None of us are hunting because we have to. We hunt because we love the sport AND we enjoy the fruits of our labors. It's no different than the deep sea fishing I do. I love catching snapper, mahi, grouper, etc. But the truth of the matter is, I can buy a lot more of it far cheaper than it costs me to go catch it. But buying at the grocery store just isn't as much fun as running out 50 miles offshore to catch it.

Very few hunters can harvest deer cheaper than buying beef and that's the cold, hard fact of the matter.

^^^

Those aren't trophy size bass

Go post that in the Bass Fishing section over at the TFF and see what kind of hate and discontent you can stir up. I'm betting they'll have a coniption fit.

Kinda like on here when someone posts a picture of a deer that is less than 140 inches.

If you are killing 5 or more deer a year you are just killing for killing's sake, don't try to make it out to be some great humanitarian act.
And to the notion that all donated meat goes only to poor starving orphans I say

True that

You need to get out more and get educated.

Lots of guys shoot more than 5 deer in a year.

It's not atypical.

If you hunt mld property you are REQUIRED to fill the tags issues

And as long as the meat is not wasted, who cares where it goes? I give a lot to family and friends each year

I like how folks slam self proclaimed "meat hunters" for shooting a trophy buck if they get lucky enough to have one walk out on them. No matter how many times we say it's just icing on the cake. That's just hatin in my opinion. There's a difference between someone who has his sights set on only taking a trophy and those who are hunting for any legal deer for meat and being lucky enough to get to take a trophy. I think shooting a big buck only to give the meat away and keeping the head bones to mount is BS. Give it all away to a good cause then. I'm sure there's money to be made on antlers that could help out someone in need. That's where the direction of deer hunting seems to be headed anyway, money for antlers.

Bass is delicious btw.

I love those falcon trips where we load up the coolers.

Managing a lake is like managing a ranch. You need to harvest a certain % per year

Them old nasty rutted up bucks are just nasty tasting.