What is the true value of a deer

[tpr1921]

What is the true value/importance of a deer?

 

Value defined: The worth, importance, or usefulness of something to somebody.

In general the more we value something the greater our incentive is to appreciate or obtain it.

When specific wildlife, that being a “Trophy Buck,” has a perceived or real elevated value by the hunting community then hunter dollars willingly go toward establishing the protection of the animal through instituting hunting regulations, enhancing the habitat, and promoting the overall well-being of that animal. Without this observed value - an animal deemed to be of low worth by the hunting community receives very little if any help in promoting its existance. As such, the value of a large Trophy Buck is usually seen by many hunters as having a higher value/importance than that of a Small Buck and or Doe.   

Just my 2 cents.

[vdep217]

The reason we are losing numbers of hunters is in my opinion because of what it has become..  the value of any animal in my eyes is the time spent in the out doors sharing memories with friends and family a harvest and antlers are a bonus

[Merkel]

Value the experience not the trophy

[Tuck]

I love just being in the woods.  The deer, if I am lucky enough, feed my family and I have never eaten an antler!!!  I can't wait to just sit in the tree and wait.  That is worth more than anything and a better prescription for my mental and physical health than any Dr could write.  Good luck to all.

[stratocaster]

2 hours ago, vdep217 said:

The reason we are losing numbers of hunters is in my opinion because of what it has become..  the value of any animal in my eyes is the time spent in the out doors sharing memories with friends and family a harvest and antlers are a bonus

I think you are partially correct.  Another main reason of the loss of hunters is that hunting has become frowned upon, especially in the schools and that is where kids develop passions/pursuits.  Kids can't even admit they go hunting without enduring some vegan nut job attacking them.   Just for proof look at the protests that start when a town wants to implement a hunt to control deer numbers, the anti's come out in force and overwhelm weak politicians.

 Since hunting involves firearms, it becomes even more problematic for a kid to say their parent takes them hunting with firearms and they don't want to admit to doing something that other kids parents look down upon.   Add in the loss of hunting land to large clubs and the high expense and the loss of land altogether, it's a recipe for shrinking numbers.  At least the south and midwest and some northern states still have good numbers but the coasts have shrinking numbers. 

[Bearhunter]

5 hours ago, stratocaster said:

I think you are partially correct.  Another main reason of the loss of hunters is that hunting has become frowned upon, especially in the schools and that is where kids develop passions/pursuits.  Kids can't even admit they go hunting without enduring some vegan nut job attacking them.   Just for proof look at the protests that start when a town wants to implement a hunt to control deer numbers, the anti's come out in force and overwhelm weak politicians.

 Since hunting involves firearms, it becomes even more problematic for a kid to say their parent takes them hunting with firearms and they don't want to admit to doing something that other kids parents look down upon.   Add in the loss of hunting land to large clubs and the high expense and the loss of land altogether, it's a recipe for shrinking numbers.  At least the south and midwest and some northern states still have good numbers but the coasts have shrinking numbers. 

I believe you a correct. My Daughter started hunting with me when she was 10 and as soon as her peers at school found out that she hunted, she suffered a lot of ridicule and teasing from them. I am thankful that she still hunted and didn't give it up. We had a lot of great times in the woods hunting deer, bear, pheasant, and turkey.

[Stan Putz]

Figure in the cost of tags, gear, gas & vehicles to get you there, leases or guide fees if you go that route, taxidermist bill, butcher bill....and it's pretty expensive, it is costing you money more than having value. Yes, you get about 30# of meat from a doe & 50# from a bigger buck, but it's not all that great eating.

You have to love the sport, plain & simple.

[Greybeard]

6 minutes ago, Stan Putz said:

Figure in the cost of tags, gear, gas & vehicles to get you there, leases or guide fees if you go that route, taxidermist bill, butcher bill....and it's pretty expensive, it is costing you money more than having value. Yes, you get about 30# of meat from a doe & 50# from a bigger buck, but it's not all that great eating.

You have to love the sport, plain & simple.

Agree, the expense to hunt outweighs the value of the meat for most, but it is great eating .  Can't put a value on the memories and time spent in the woods, priceless.

[JHbowhunter]

The value of a deer is not the same from hunter to hunter to poacher to poacher. 

There are extremes and I will put poachers on both ends of the extreme spectrum:

1) Poach for the meat - will shoot any deer, all year 'round, no use for seasons, antlers, regulations, laws, etc. .22 with silencer might be weapon of choice.  It's simply to survive and eat. Gets no real thrill out of "hunting" other than a means of sustinance. 

2) Poach for the antlers - well I think we have recently seen prime example of this.   Their only thrill is to touch the bone, and know that it is theirs and nobody else's.  They may try to pass it off as legit for bragging rights or they may not even care about that.

Then there are varying degrees of law-abiding hunters in between those ends of the spectrum.   I would like to consider myself right smack in the middle of that spectrum.   I do trophy hunt, but I also place equal value on the meat and do enjoy it immensely. I respect the resource greatly. I try my best to place equal value on all deer regardless of gender or size of antlers.   I do enjoy the early season EAB doe challenge, and I also enjoy a late season frigid weather snow on ground doe challenge.  I generally wont' shoot a buck unless I am going to mount it, but may have to change that at some point.  I find myself more concerned about the age of a buck than I do the size of the headgear, which usually means I need to have some pre-scouting and familiarity with an animal.   However - the biggest thrill has to be getting totally surprised by a big old buck with no prior history. 

[Livesintrees]

I’ve taken more deer in 25 years then I can remember. Now it’s about improving the quality of the herd in general and protecting young bucks. Sitting out there with nothing to do except sit and think is worth it on its own. 

[Lunatic]

Trophy buck is worth millions. Just look at the money spent by so many to chase it. I am not even talking about us in our own state. I am talking about people booking trips or DYS hunts out of state. Almost zero of the huge amount is spent to chase small bucks or does. This is an enormous industry so the trophy buck is worth more than most can imagine.

[bucky]

In NJ deer lost their value the day they legalized full blown baiting, treating them no different than a rat except it's legal to poison their bait. In reality deer have become vermin in our state because their numbers are difficult to keep under control and that is why baiting became legal as a management tool but now all to often its used to pick and choose what deer someone wants to kill . Not to mention the amount of animosity baiting has created among our ranks with stolen cameras, sd cards, feeders, guys hunting to close to someones bait pile, target bucks, you killed my buck,etc... Until this changes deer will have zero value. That's just my 2 cents

Edited September 14, 2019 by bucky

[Guest]

camaraderie and food

[Guest]

But every year and the older I get it becomes less about the deer and more about the experience, I'll take 8 hours in the quiet woods over work, screaming kids, social media bickering,etc every single time👍