Whitetail Deer Hunting

Remember when you first started deer hunting, not just the first time but when you began leaving the ole man behind and heading out on your own? Friends and family were just as excited as you were.

Back in those days for me, it was all about getting your deer. I would spend the day out hunting and arrive back at the house to be swarmed by family members, all asking the same question, "Did you get your deer"?  I guess those were the days I remember, just worrying if you got your deer, not wether you would need an Antler Mounting Kit by the end of the day. Don't get me wrong, just like all hunters, I was losing sleep the night before dreaming of a heavy headed monster like the one pictured here. However, hunting public land and carrying very little knowledge with me at the time, reality was all I had and that was enough.

Today I look back and ask myself, "when did it all change"? Get back from a hunting trip today and everyone wants to know if you seen a deer like the ones on Realtree Monster Bucks XV DVD - Volume 1. Yes, still today I lose sleep before every hunting trip with dreams of large racked bucks but is that all hunting has become, success measured by inches of rack? What troubles me the most, now I have kids that are hunting. They watch the TV shows and expect to go get a trophy deer each time out. When did hunting become so commercial and where does it stop?