Mule Deer over Money

[Ralphie]

Makes perfect sense...



We'd rather eat game we kill than buy beef(except the occasional ribeye), regardless of the cost of either.

The reason it does make sense for shooting immature males or females of the other species is they aren’t struggling as a species.

 

[Garrett Soper]

Depends on the tag and what state and how many critters you’ve Killed.
I’ve hunted mule deer twice, Montana 2021 which was my first mule deer hunt at 28. Missed a 3 point and ate my tag. Didn’t want to kill a fork n horn knowing that deer numbers are low.
Hunted for the second time with a muzzleloader in my home state of Oregon killed a 4 year old fork n horn. Hunted hard for 6 days before I had an opportunity to kill a buck. Doing so with a smoke pole was awesome Up close and personal.
Elk I’m shooting first legal bull I see. I’ve killed 5 elk in 12 years of archery hunting. Some years I only got out 2-3 days due to work and family. With the limited time I have I don’t pass elk up. As I get more and more time I may become more selective but I doubt it. I like the meat.

 

[ReddingArcher]

For me it depends on the hunt. I’ve eaten more tags than I’ve filled on out of state hunts. I usually go into the hunt telling myself what kind of buck I’m willing to take and won’t shoot something just to shoot something. It just doesn’t mean much to me to shoot little deer anymore.

 

[CMF]

The reason it does make sense for shooting immature males or females of the other species is they aren’t struggling as a species.

Mule deer don't appear to struggle in the areas I've hunted them.

The state has objectives. The more people that pass on deer the more tags the state will issue to keep herds in objective.

 

[manitou1]

Mule deer don't appear to struggle in the areas I've hunted them.

The state has objectives. The more people that pass on deer the more tags the state will issue to keep herds in objective.

Mule deer are in decline nationwide.

 

[JackButler]

To each their own, no judgement. I’ve killed enough deer that a Muley that scores below 160 doesn’t interest me much. Yes this does mean I eat some tags lol.

 

[CNEdeer307]

I'll Happily eat a tag. If I don't love the critter I'm going to shoot I feel guilty taking it. the Mule deer numbers are in dramatic decline in our neck of the woods and out of frustration its becoming more an more common for hunters (resident and nonresident) to settle on immature deer to fill a tag. This only amplifies the issue. my rule of thumb while hunting out of state is to treat their game as if it was my own. if I wouldn't harvest it in my state, I won't in yours. that said, it seems the demographic of hunters that are harvesting smaller bucks and does out of frustration are pretty casual and have a pre determined idea of what a western hunt should be because they saw a Mule deer hunt on TV that takes place on a 15,000 acre private ranch and expect 150 inch bucks in every other draw. They don't seem to be the type of hunters who put their time in, and frequent forums like Rokslide...