Brian from Iowa asked me a question in the "Ask Winke" section that was too intriguing to leave buried in the Q & A so I decided to answer it here.

Question:

I know a guy where I'm from, and I myself am an avid hunter, but this guy has got to be one of the most accomplished whitetail hunters in the Midwest, his house is a shrine of whitetails, and every one of them is from in-state, along with the biggest collection of sheds I've ever seen.  However, he doesnt show it off much and doesn't want any publicity from it because of the simple fact that he doesn't want his house broken into because of the craze for antlers these days, my question is: Do you like how popular this sport has become as opposed to 10 or 15 years ago?  Do you think it is popular now more than ever because people actually love the sport for what it should be or because of the value of antlers and a chance for bragging rights and a trophy on the wall?

Answer:

I tend to be nostalgic anyway, so of course I like where we have been at least as much as where we are, but I think I am enjoying my deer hunting more now than I did then.  I think when I was younger I was more caught up in the competition - to shoot something big enough to impress people.  As I've gotten older that has gone away, so from my own standpoint, I think it is better now.  I am sure it is an individual thing as motives and rewards are also individual.

However, I think people need to be careful about their expectations.  I answered a question yesterday in the Ask Winke from a guy wondering if it is unrealistic for him to be shooting 200 inch deer more often.  I answered it in the "Most Recent" section.  I think the increase in deer management has given people false expectations.  If they aren't shooting giant bucks like the ones they see in the magazines or that the guy down the road shot, they are somehow disappointed.  Well, you have to shoot what's there.  If you have mature deer but they aren't giants, who cares.  They are still mature deer and they are still a great challenge to hunt.  That is the way you need to look at this stuff or the increasing size of top-end antlers is going to cause you to feel like you are being left out. 

The biggest negative about today's situation is that it has become exclusive.  When I was younger, no one really cared about deer and you could hunt anywhere.  That started changing in the early 90s and I could see the writing on the wall.  I started looking for some way to own land because I could foresee a day when we weren't going to be able to knock on doors to get hunting rights.  I didn't want to be on the outside looking in.  It didn't come as fast as I thought it would, thankfully, but things have really changed. 

Farm kids are still finding places to hunt, but it is hard for a kid (or an adult) from the city to find a good place to hunt.  I don't see it getting worse quickly because the interest in hunting land is dropping.  The overall excitement level of deer hunting has leveled off.  People still do it, and enjoy it, but they have shot a few good deer and are not as crazed as they were.  This economic slowdown has been a reality check for recreational land investors, as well.

For the most part, popularity follows opportunity and as long as there are good deer numbers, and some big ones, it will stay relatively popular.  I don't think we have the craze that we had five years ago though.  I don't really get the impression that people are in this for the value of the antlers.  You would figure out pretty fast that that 150 class buck it took you two years to kill is basically worthless.  Poaching is a different matter, but I don't see legal hunters as looking to get rich on antlers. 

However, I'm sure that some people are like I was in my 20s, gung-ho to shoot a monster in part so I could win favor, and in part because I just wanted it on my wall.  But that passes too, most of us go through a phase like that.  I don't even get them mounted any more.   I just do European mounts.  That is no disrespect for the animal.  I still display them for my memories, but I am more about the hunt than the trophy these days.  I think deer hunters in general are moving in that direction.

There have been a few high profile antler thefts, most noteably the 252+ inch Brian Andrews buck, but antler theft is very rare.  Antlers are so unique that it would be hard to resell a big set without causing suspicion.  I am guessing that the Andrews buck theft had different motivation other than money because those antlers (very distinct antlers) never showed up.  My guess is that the antlers were destroyed by someone who was jealous over the fact that Brian shot the deer.  But that is only speculation.

To wrap this up, I think that deer hunting is no better or worse than it was 15 years ago, just different.  I think most people are in it for the right reasons, they love hunting deer.