Is There a Line?

[JFK]

I mostly just shoot what my immediate family can eat. Might give a little away to friends or coworkers if I know that they know how to cook it and it will be appreciated.

One thing I’ve thought about often is how so many guys will heavily lean on the “if it’s legal it ok” argument in one breath, then tell you how mis-managed the game is in their respective state. It’s kind of selective reasoning based on what suits a guy in the moment. That said, I’d never fault a guy who was within the law....don’t know his story or what his situation is. All I’m saying is that I don’t believe that limits set by game agencies are the end all, be all. Some common sense and self restraint are never a bad thing.

 

[Sadler]

My two cents on this is if you have the tags, hunt. Don’t let a full freezer prevent you from hunting. If need be, buy another freezer.

A prime example as to why you should try to kill multiple deer and elk in a season is because you may not kill anything the following year. I am dealing with that this year. I hunted four states last year, killed three elk and two deer. This year I was only able to hunt for three days and I ate all my tags. I’m really happy that I have leftovers from last year and didn’t stop punching tags once I filled my first tag in September.

 

[300wmxcr2]

Yes there is a line but it is different for each person. For myself I have passed on many deer and a few ok bucks and did not shoot a deer at all this year. That being said when I was young I almost always took the first deer that walked out. I just chose not to now, I think young/new hunters should do the same. Hunting for years and not being successful is what stops a lot of new hunters from continuing on with the sport.

I did do a fly in moose hunt where we had 3 bull tags, shot 1 bull myself and one other guy shot a huge bull. We stopped really trying after the 2nd moose and came home with 1 unfilled tag.
We had 1800 pounds of moose and did need any more. We could have shot a third but that would be 3 bulls out of an area we plan on going back to again next year, just didn't make sense.

The meat will be shared around with a couple of friends and will all be eaten and enjoyed. If we all shoot everything we are legally able to it wont take very long until we don't see them at all.

It a personal choice, everybody needs to make good ones. And that's my 2 cents!

 

[Hamp1127]

...between being a good hunter, and an excessive killer? I love hunting, and I always want to fill the freezer, and then a second one if possible. But some guys are successful in 3-4 states, for multiple species. One of my buddies averages 8-10 deer a year with his recurve. I wouldn't say that's too much given the size of whitetails, but is there a point where you stop being a good hunter, and by your very success cross some ethical/moral line? To that end, what is the purpose in killing animals? Clean wild meat is a huge one for me. Heritage, tradition, family time, innate urges, all are reasons I'd offer. But two elk will fill a very large freezer. I dunno... I love the idea of shooting multiple elk, a couple deer, 15-20 geese, some ducks, etc in a season. But it feels like there must be a line somewhere. I just don't know what it is, or what would govern it.

I'm torn on this, and not trying to start a war here, just looking for different perspectives.

The short and simple answer is that if you're feeding your family and friends there isn't a line.