This!! An that means we need to shoot WAY than 5 deer per year! And as far as those bass go you should see how many we feed the yotes and buzzards. We donate deer to hunters for the hungry and I don't feel bad about it a bit.

My grandpa lives on the devils river near del rio. The nearest store is 2 hrs from his house. He kills does and other game all the time for meat.

And "meat hunters" claiming that they're some how morally superior to "trophy hunters" is BS.

I enjoy hunting. I enjoy deer meat. Love bacon-deer burger, pan sausage, jalapeno/cheese smoked sausage, chicken fried deer steaks, carne guisada, and a bunch of other venison recipes. I eat the heck out of it and love it. It's a side benefit to my horn hunting. No different than a good set of horns is a side benefit to your meat hunting.

But I'm not kidding myself or anyone else. Nor am I trying to justify my past-time as something it's not. I want to shoot big bucks and make no apologies for it. I may go several years between bucks waiting for "the one". Beef, pork and chicken is way less expensive than hunting deer.

Hunting MLD ranches means that you have a quota of does that must be taken. My last lease required approximately 50 does. The ranch required that they be shot by Dec.1 each year. There were only 6 of us hunting and some of those guys only came a couple times from out of state. That means that 4 of us were doing the majority of the doe harvest.

Since the lease was so far away that usually meant that we only got in two weekends for filling doe tags before the deadline. You ever try to harvest 10 does and process them by yourself? 300 miles from home and in 90 degree temps to boot?

That's why, as a MLD hunter, you take a few does for yourself and donate the rest. We're not talking about taking one or two does a year. And we haven't even started on the cull bucks or management bucks yet. Yeah, that quota was generally another 4 or 5 bucks each. And again, only 4 of us were shooting the culls/management bucks.

I don't know about you but I can really only eat about 4 deer a year. The rest have to go somewhere.

We ate 7 axis and 2 WT last year. Just me and my daughter. Gave a little bit away, just 2 bags of sausage and 4 logs of ground. The rest we consumed, eating meat dishes 5 days a week (plus 1 night of chicken and 1 of fish/seafood). And my cholesterol dropped 30% since we started this.

I have not met anyone I've served axis to that didn't prefer it to beef.

where does he live at?

that is some lonely, lonely country

I will never think "trophy hunting" is as moral as hunting for meat. Sorry....guess my dad kinda raised me to think like that. Besides it's only an opinion won't change how anyone hunts, so no real harm done.

Curly,
My point is, with the cost of hunting, how can anyone truly call themselves a "meat hunter". That suggests that you hunt to survive. I'm calling BS on that. The math doesn't add up.

$1500/year for an inexpensive lease. plus license, fuel, weapon of choice, clothing, processing fees, RV or hotel expenses, ATV/UTV/Ranch truck, blinds, feeders, corn, protein, etc. For what we spend on hunting we could buy one heck of a lot of beef.

The truth of the matter is, we hunt because we enjoy the activity. That's it, nothing more. You say that it's not important to take a big buck and that you're content to take does or whatever is legal. I'm saying that for me it's important to take big bucks. But it's really about the activity of hunting that pulls us in.

I don't know what you pay to hunt, but if I offered you a spot on a trophy south Texas lease for the same money, and you could shoot whatever buck your heart desires, you'd become a horn hunter in about 2 seconds. Oh sure, you'd shoot your does to fill the freezer, but you'd be holding out for horns just like I do.

My point is, we aren't that different.

I will be glad to take a doe, spike or a buck that just meets the 13" antler spread requirement to put meat in my freezer. I love the experience of the hunt and the fullfilment of providing venison for my family. So the expense I pay out each year is for that reason. To me, that isn't trophy hunting and it isn't BS. Is your South Texas hunt for the same East Texas price an offer? Haha. It's easy to hold out for big bucks if you see a lot of bucks as opposed to if you don't, isn't it? Have you ever hunted East Texas? And if so, would you be the same type of hunter as you are hunting in South Texas? I don't understand why some trophy hunters won't accept the fact that there are those that truly hunt for the meat, are content if they shoot something that isn't a trophy but do consider a big set of antelers merely a bonus? They want to label all deer hunters as bottom line trophy hunters. The word hunt means to pursue and we don't all go out just to pursue a big set of antlers. But whatever the reason you claim to hunt, be it meat, wall decoration, management or all of the above, as long as we can keep it legal, and can keep doing it and keep being happy doing it, that is all that matters.

Trophy hunting is about the challenge. Anyone can just go out and shoot a deer whenever and wherever here in TX. What's wrong will allowing deer to reach maturity? To each his own. Hunt for meat, Hunt for Trophies. The whole point is to enjoy and respect nature. I don't think the good lord intended for there to me farms of genetic freak chickens and cows living on mountains of their own poop. Do what YOU want. I don't like it when someone believes they are above others morally or whatever.

I have been ridiculed for posting a pic of a doe on here because she was hanging from a skinning tree and have seen times where folks who posted a smaller buck they shot get ridiculed for not letting that buck walk a few more years. Talk about folks being above others.

I hunt because I like being outdoors, love the sport and love the chance at a big buck. However I smoke a lot of does for the meat. Just don't see much reason to kill a dink buck in our area for the meat when the does are everywhere. Plus the ins and outs of growing and managing the deer you have to grow better deer is kind of a good hobby.

Trophy hunters like to hunt for the challenge of taking a trophy buck and the mount.

"meat hunters" ( which is really a misnomer) just like to hunt and are content with shooting any deer. Nothing wrong with that.

But to dress it up like the deer you just killed is the only means of feeding your family for the winter doesn't fly

I've hunted east Texas. Several seasons I didn't take a deer period. I can appreciate what curly is saying.

If I get an itch to pull the trigger, I can go and shoot a cull with relative ease, some people that hunt in low density areas don't have that opportunity, so I can see where taking any buck is appealing.

95% of deer hunters are just that....deer hunters. A meat hunter is a sustenance hunter doing it strictly for food. Doubt anyone here does that.


I love to shoot doves. Love to eat them. But I do it because I like to wing shoot. The fact that I bring home 15 birds doesn't equal in dollars the $20 in gas plus the $15 in shells I probably shot that day.

Let's call a spade a spade here guys.

X2

Just because those are your expenses, does not mean that is everones expenses. In 2008, I lost my job and went 6 mos unemployed. I hunted my Bro in laws land, used a rifle I already owned, slept in a tent, did not use an atv (still dont), feeder, or corn. Hunted from the ground,no stand, wearing a brown carhart jacket that I already had, and processed my own. My total cash that year was less than 300 bucks, and I shot 3 deer. Pretty decent bargain for meat.

You have to throw the expense of the rifle in if you're trying to hunt. Remember, you could of spent the $500+ your rifle cost to buy beef instead.

Yes, but you don't buy a rifle and use it for one year, then throw it away. The useful life of a well cared for rifle can be a lifetime. So take that $500, and divide it out over 50 + years.

But as hunters, we like to have things that go bang. So in theory, if a person is solely a meat hunter, shouldn't they only have one gun?

Yes, if a person is "solely a meat hunter", pick one gun that works and go hunting. I consider myself a meat hunter, but not "solely a meat hunter". Nor do I have issue with someone who considers themselves a trophy hunter. I was just pointing out that it is possible to be "solely a meat hunter" in Texas and it still make financial sense. Things have bounced back for me financially, and other than that one year, I do not look at hunting as a financially cheap way to get meat. I enjoy hunting for the hunt. I usually kill the first good sized doe I see to make sure I have meat. The reason I consider myself a meat hunter is that I love the taste of Deer meat, and the thought of going a whole year without it twists my stomach in knots.

Landpirate when u tell me where i can buy venison i will stop being a meat hunter and start being a trophy hunter. I like venison over beef any day of the week and i make enough money that i could buy beef if i wanted it. Dont mind anybody being a trophy hunter but the venison is first and the fun is second and the horns are last. Not saying i wont shoot a big buck but just as happy shooting a spike and a doe and the meat is more tender.

I keep seeing these post where people say walmart beef is cheaper and all that but what about the health side of eating a wild animal I would rather spend the extra money to know that me and my family are GMO free then eat all the garbage they put in your food. I have never kill a buck but i have filled my tags hunting wma for 48$ is by far cheaper than a lease and i have much more land to hunt very rarely see other hunter during the week mostly weekend guys. put some time in and scout just like you would if you were on a lease. or get a climbing tree stand get on a game trail find a good crossing section and set up. LBJ is good for seeing a lot of deer.

I just kinda wanted to know why yall would rather eat nasty meet from the store than a deer or mule deer?

All of this arguing over the money invested and sport hunting vs. non sport hunting doesn’t wash. Everyone here should know 99.9% of the time hunting is not a cost effective way to put meat on the table.
I don’t hunt for cheap meat, I hunt because I love the hunting experience and I happen to love deer meat. I know going in I could save money by going to the grocery store, but then I don’t get to enjoy the hunting part of the equation. I decided a long time ago that is an acceptable trade-off, as I’m sure most everyone here did.
The bulk of my hunting these days is helping a friend with an MLD place cull does, and I’m perfectly content doing that. However, when you factor in gas, equipment, processing fees, etc., it’s still more expensive than going to the grocery store. That, IMO, makes me a sport hunter even when I’m just killing does for the freezer and I have no problem with that.
The bottom line is this: If you hunt wild animals you are a sport hunter on some level. The sooner that fact can be accepted the sooner some of the BS arguing between hunters can end.

I would just like to say that i never intended for this to be a debate on the taking of deer i used the title to let people know i am not in hunting for the big trophy but main for the meat. Of course i would love to get a nice huge buck who wouldn't. But my first priority is getting meat.

There are always pros and cons on how to harvest a deal and i respect everyone opinions. thanks for all the great feed back as well i learn alot on here.

Thanks for all of you intellegent hunters for clarifying why I hunt. I own 2 hunting rifles....a Winchester 30/30 that was given to me years ago as a Christmas gift. It was my first deer hunting rifle. I have since bought a .270 bolt action with a scope (good thing I did thanks to ARs). Guess that means I'm breaking the meat hunter rule. OOOOPS.

Whew!

Glad we got that cleared up.

I have no issues with someone that's content to "meat hunt". I'm trying to show that the majority of us "trophy hunters" also hunt for meat. But the real reason we all hunt is for the experience.

Yes, I've hunted East Texas...one season. Didn't see a danged deer. Swore I'd never waste my time like that again, and I haven't.

Not all of us "trophy hunters" are out for the horns and only the horns. Some negative comments were made that "trophy hunters" only want the horns and throw the rest of the deer out. This simply isn't true. Unfortunately there are those hunters that do that, but I don't like that either. Many of us "trophy hunters" want big horns but we like the meat too, just like the "meat hunters".