I can see that a lot of hunters don't care about such things, but I'd fall into the category that does care about maturity in the animals I hunt. I hunted MT this past fall and probably glassed 3-400 mule deer bucks before finding a deer that was "mature" enough to interest me. I do a lot of brown bear hunting and have passed a lot of 9' class bears because they were immature bears. When I lived in the L48 killing a buck wasn't a challenge; killing a mature buck was another thing altogether. As for eating, aged venison is a different beast and mature deer can be very flavorful if cared for appropriately and hung in a meat locker, but I realize that most deer aren't aged properly so younger deer are no doubt much more tender to the average hunter.
I should add that hunting shows are slightly less interesting to me than watching Oprah reruns...
I'm sorry but I have a hard time believing you glassed 3-400 mule deer bucks in a single season, let alone had to pass that many before finding the one that was "mature enough". I do agree with you on the watching hunting shows. we don't watch TV at our house aside from movies I guess though either.
Around here we have a lot of nonresident hunters that come to hunt, and we have a lot of deer (mostly Whitetails). now I'm going to speak broadly here and you may be the exception and I realize that. I'm making the following statements off of what I have seen and conversations I've had with nonresident hunters. we have a lot of deer in that 2-3.5 year old range and at first glance they look good. now bring in the nonres hunters who bring their standards from where they are from with them. in MN or MI a 3.5 year old deer is a rare trophy (in many areas) and would probably score around 100"-120" give or take. a nice buck for sure, BUT around here deer like that are not uncommon. they aren't behind every tree, but it's no hard feat to see a couple a day. Most of the folks I know local are pretty selective on what they shoot. it doesn't have to be a monster, but we have a pool we can be selective with. our tags are valid for both does and bucks typically unless it is an antlerless only tag. usually if we don't find a buck we like, we'll shoot a doe or a spike buck for meat. nonresident hunters based on what I have seen and experienced will shoot the biggest deer they can find, sometimes on the last day so they go home with some antlers to make the trip worth it. I've heard the same hunters who as a group do this year after year, on the same ground, and then complain there aren't any "big" bucks around. I believe anyone can shoot what they want, although it is frustrating to see promising deer that I have passed on hoping they get bigger, only to have some out of stater come and pop it because that's big where they come from. I understand it, I grew up in MN where you were lucky to get a buck of any size, so a 3 year old buck was a real big deal back in the 80's and 90's. For all I know it still is, but I hear it's getting better. There are lots of factors to consider when it comes to picking what deer to shoot. I have no problem with the meat hunter, or the trophy hunter. I've been both at times and often will be both in a single season. yes I hunt for meat, but I also like to see if I can get a mature deer if possible. I respect peoples decisions and appreciate the same respect in return. For example: when a meat hunter sees two bucks side by side and one is a spike and the other is a basket rack, which one do you think gets shot first?
