I have a relative who lives not too far from NYC where whitetail are abundant. His house abutted a wooded area and he would go back there and shoot two or three deer every fall, for the meat. Common practice in that area.
He’s buy a tag every year but just not attach it until the last deer. Thought of himself as an ethical hunter, didn’t shoot out of season, didn’t waste meat. No noticeable affect on deer numbers either.
I gotta admire the bush skills and initiative of this prince guy, but sounds like he left a lot of meat to rot, just shooting for horns.
