As far as the "snob" fly fisherman, IMHO, there is that element in every outdoor sport. My family loves to eat venison and I'm proud to say I shot 2 does last year off my food plots with my bow. Not for management purposes but for the thrill of harvesting with a bow and the table fare. With todays obsession in antler size, I am not even considered a "serious" bow hunter. Oh Well!
Uffda. Maybe it is a Minnesota/Garrison Keillor thing (I'm originally from "upnort" on the beautiful white shores -- winter and summer, of Lake Superior).
Where we live now, we have a serious over-abundance of deer. We have Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)in our county, and lots of special hunting days to take antlerless deer. I helped process 14 deer last season. Eleven were does. I got a "one-pointer" that I thought was a doe. The two bucks were hit by cars and stumbled into the yard of a friend who lives on a busy highway (we lost one front shoulder on each). We have a great group of friends who completely de-bone, remove fat and sinew, cut, grind, and vacuum pack the meat for the local elderly.
I figure that my friends and I are the ones who make "big antlers" available for the trophy hunters. By doing so, we feed a lot of people and keep the herds healthy. It is not unusual to see herds of 25, or more, in my fields and neighboring fields.
My wife works for two good people. They are very successful businessmen with lots of money. They hunt on a game farm very near our farm, in really nice cabins, along with their teenage kids. They shoot trophy deer. That is it. The game farm owner guts the deer and delivers it to a processor. The next time they see the deer, the processor has made it into snacks, sausage, and cuts of meat wrapped in white freezer paper. Each deer costs them at least $2000 - $3000. They give almost all of it away because they don't each much venison. Yet, I feel it is actually good for the local economy, and I get some pretty good snacks and roasts.
Just like fish, or vegetables in the garden, I feel the deer need to be harvested to keep them growing and healthy. I'm glad we have so many seasons from late September into January, where I live. Few take advantage of the archery season, but the black powder season is gaining popularity.
Ken
