+1

I seriously doubt there is one among us that would not be happy to put their tag on a trophy deer. That may not be your goal when you leave the truck....but if you are loading a big whitetail buck in the back of that truck for the ride home....it is probably going to take at least a few days to wipe the smile off your face.

For some of us though, the mature buck is the goal. Personally, I have zero desire to kill what I consider to be immature bucks...2-1/2 years old or less. In my youth, I didn't hesitate to shoot any deer that gave me an opportunity....but those day are long gone.

Unfortunately, those 2-1/2 year old deer are exactly what the state of Indiana manages for. People used to tell me: "If you don't like it, go hunt somewhere else." So I did. All those trips to Iowa, Illinois and Kansas just re-enforced what I already knew in regards to my home state.

It took a few years, but I finally figured out it didn't have to be that way. I could get close to same experience at home...but it would take alot of hard work and effort to get there...via private land management. Yes, that costs money...but so does traveling out of state to hunt.

This state is comprised of entirely too many deer hunters that are hung up on more "opportunity" and longer range weapons. For a guy like me, that is like being on a train going the wrong direction. The old saying goes..."If you can't beat em, join em." I say screw that. If you can't beat em...take matters into your own hands!

Some of you may not like the direction we're headed in Indiana...but make no mistake, if you fall into the "more opportunity/better weapon" crowd, you definitely had a hand in it.

I hunt mature bucks because of the challenge. I restrict myself to hunting these animals with bow and arrow to increase the challenge. I find the insinuations that fair chase trophy hunting is responsible for shooting pens to be ridiculous and extremely insulting. That's like saying the guys sleeping with beautiful women are responsible for other guys hiring prostitutes...because they can't get beautiful women on effort alone.