General

Size Matters

Brayden Mennett’s first archery kill 2013

Recently, I was talking with an acquaintance who I know is fairly new to bow hunting.  When I asked how his season went, he answered that he “only killed a small fork-horn”.  He seemed embarrassed and apologetic for doing so. I was quick to point out to him that ANY deer ethically taken with archery gear is a trophy in my book.  He simply shrugged off my comment.  I couldn’t believe it!

It is unfortunate, but this is not the only conversation of this type that I’ve had.  I say unfortunate because it appears to be happening more and more; especially among bow hunters.  Hunters are focusing on the size of the animals and, like my acquaintance, seem disappointed and feel they have to apologize for taking an animal that fails to make it into some record book.
Please don’t get me wrong, I’m just like everyone else, I dream of monster bucks too.  I pass up a handful (a small handful) of deer each season.  Not because I consider myself a trophy hunter or something special.  It’s simply because I am fortunate to have access to property that has an ample amount of deer and because I enjoy spending time on stand.  I never want my season to come to an end. Filling memories is more important to me than filling tags.

So, does size matter, you bet it does!  The SIZE of your memories matter!