Sunday, August 16, 2020

Young Whitetail Bucks

 I have held the belief for many years that there is nothing wrong with taking a young buck, but there are those who would argue against the practice.  I was excited to see Brody Henderson publish an article on Meat Eater saying exactly what I've long believed.  

Brody discusses the more common arguments against shooting young bucks, such as herd management and ethics, but goes on to state that, "if regulations don’t include minimum point restrictions, then there is absolutely nothing unsporting or ethically wrong with shooting young bucks, no matter what any hunter tells another."  You can read the full article by clicking here

I particularly enjoyed his dismissal of the idea that passing up a legal buck somehow improves the health of the deer herd.  He points out that herd management has more to do with the buck to doe ratio, not the age class of the bucks.  

Steven Rinella is fond of saying that you should never pass up on opening day what you would be glad to have on the last day of the season.  I, for one, would rather have venison in the freezer than some sort of inflated sense of moral superiority. 

1 comment:

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.