should i feel guilty

[davetucker]

my wife took her first deer yesterday it was a pretty big 3 point spike.he weighed 147 no heart or liver.looked pretty good and gonna taste really good.so my question is were i'm trying to get into the sport aspect of it (not just for food for the freezer) should i feel guilty about taken one that hasn't been able to mature.i really don't want to turn into a head hunter either.I was talking to a friend in pa the other day he said he nows of an incident were a supposably famed hunter gets his trophy keeps the head and throws away the meat cus it don't taste all that great cuz of the size.that to me is not right....

[Guest bowhunter56]

Hunting means different things to different people. I am 60, been hunting since i was 12, when i was 12, i wanted to get something, anything when i hunted, but as the years went by, and fast i might say, my attitude and outlook on hunting changed, as a hunter, if you spend alot of time in the woods, you see and experience many things, things that most won't ever see or experience unless they spend alot of time in the woods, hunting is not just the killing, but the preperation, planning, scouting, practice, success in a harvest is an added bonus. Only you will know if you feel guilty or not, and what you want to get out of hunting, i say, just enjoy the time you spend in the outdoors, it can be fun and rewarding, what you want is up to you..

[Guest goosebuster13]

u should definetly not feel guilty at all because its her first deer. some people arent fortunate enough to even see a deer hunting let alone one thats 15 inches wide. i hunt qdm at home and up north we do not do qdm becuz we just dont see enough deer let alone bucks to make it worth while. there have been harsh winters recently and the wolf population has increased dramatically up there. and if ur hunting an area where if u dont shoot it somebody else will, u might as well take that shot.

[LifeNRA]

Hunting means different things to different people. I am 60, been hunting since i was 12, when i was 12, i wanted to get something, anything when i hunted, but as the years went by, and fast i might say, my attitude and outlook on hunting changed, as a hunter, if you spend alot of time in the woods, you see and experience many things, things that most won't ever see or experience unless they spend alot of time in the woods, hunting is not just the killing, but the preperation, planning, scouting, practice, success in a harvest is an added bonus. Only you will know if you feel guilty or not, and what you want to get out of hunting, i say, just enjoy the time you spend in the outdoors, it can be fun and rewarding, what you want is up to you..

Exactly!!! Could not have said any better Andy!!! We all like the venison on the table! Yes, a large rack is nice, but you can't eat the antlers! Well, maybe if you cook them for a week! LOL! Seriously, the large rack is really cool, but I like the time outdoors! Especially with my father, I am so glad he got that Xbow last year, it gave us more time in the woods together doing what we love the most! Deer hunting!!!

[wtnhunt]

As others have said here it is about what you find in your own mind as success. Many can have successful hunts without killing an animal. If you are happy with the animal you have taken, that is all that matters.