Hunting for meat vs trophy

[Jimmy]

Yeah it's illegal to leave the meat behind. It's either eaten or given to someone else to be eaten.

 

[Socalman]

The term "trophy hunting" is largely made up by people who don't hunt and have no knowledge of the habits of most hunters.

Animals with impressive head gear usually have more meat than smaller animals.

If you take a destination trip, it's probably not about acquiring meat because it's often very expensive. The "trophy" on the wall is a reminder of the entire experience.

Thinking of hunting in terms of "sport" is just acknowledging the reality of modern life. Very few people actually need the meat for sustenance. When I drive two hours each way to go duck hunting, it would definitely be cheaper to buy a steak at the grocery store. We do it because it is enjoyable. If I drive a couple hours and kill a cow elk, you could justify that... If you don't count how much I spent on gear for the endeavor.

I happily shoot does, cows, young bucks/bulls, but I certainly appreciate a big set of antlers. Most people I know have a similar outlook.

All in, it's a really complex relationship that's hard to explain to people who haven't immersed themselves in it.

No one cares more about wild animals than hunters. Given that some don't really care, but the majority do. Think about this, a hunter cares what the nesting conditions are in the prairie pothole region and what the winter snowpack is, we care about habitat loss and conservation, the management of invasive species, etcetera.

When is the last time you heard of a "humane society animal lover" giving any thought to winterkill in Wyoming? Or volunteering their time/donating to efforts that benefit wildlife?

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has preserved millions of acres for public access and millions more that is not accessible just for wildlife. An organization that is undoubtedly made up of and funded by hunters. Every one of those people dream of mature bull elk (i.e. big antlers) and they're all chipping in to make sure that elk (and all the other animals) have a place to keep being wild.


Assuming that the OP is from California... A state that banned hunting mountain lions because "trophy hunting" is now realizing that those same lions that are protected from hunting are killing too many of the desert bighorn sheep in the state. Food for thought...

yes indeed I’m new to hunting culture and am seeing new perspectives
Thanks for the response , very helpful

 

[Jon C]

Fried backstraps,venison heart sandwiches and venison potato sausage have all been on the menu this week. Have loved every meal. I don’t love deer burger unless bacon or pork shoulder is added. Probably because I love all the whole meat cuts so my grind suffers. I’ve had other peoples venison from basically inedible to fantastic. Really depends how you cook. But nothing wrong with donating to those less fortunate. But im sure at the least you could have it made into brats and summer sausage and love it. And backstraps are hard to believe you wouldn’t like if you like red meat. One of my favorites with them is leave whole,salt and pepper and bacon wrap and grill till they hit 125 temp.

 

[intunegp]

Indeed what I was referring to; sounds like it’s more infrequent than I had believed

Based on a quick Google/AI response, New York is the only state without SOME variation of wanton waste laws pertaining to big game hunting. In 49 states, if you are intentionally letting large portions of edible meat go to waste, you are in violation of laws and considered a poacher. Referring to poachers as trophy hunters just muddies the waters about what is legal, generally acceptable, frowned upon by the general public, etc.

 

[Jimmy]

I think man has always saved antlers due to their value in being turned into tools and stuff like that. You could argue that it is because of tradition for thousands of years that mankind has seen value and meaning in the antlers.

 

[AKsam]

To each their own, within the law. But, paying tens of thousands of dollars to go on an Alaskan moose drop hunt, taking a "trophy" bull, then "donating" all but the backstrap and loin and taking the headgear home to mount on your wall, that is trophy hunting. I'm not saying that is wrong. And I don't see why someone who trophy hunts would be ashamed to admit that's what they're doing.

 

[IronNoggin]

They say we go through fazes in our hunting time. Young
/new hunter, shoot anything and build confidence and fill tags.
Next we have been successful and want a bigger challenge, holding out for larger animals and comfortable eating tags sometimes. Then, we are old and have hopefully had a lot of fun and now want to enjoy the minutia of the hunt, maybe more than the killing.

I'd concur with that.

When I was young, I killed damn near anything that was legal.

Then progressed to becoming a hard core dedicated trophy hunter.
Managed to do rather well at that game.

Now I am more concerned with putting meat in the freezer.
But I always keep a tag in reserve simply so I can pass up opportunity after opportunity to drag the season out as long as possible.

Cheers