09/24/2025
Great post from our good friend Sam!
Our hunting culture really needs to change.
I remember those first few years that I hunted it didn't matter what anyone shot. Regardless of the size of the animal, we'd all sit around that tailgate and congratulate the hunter and excitedly hear about the hunt. That animal was a blessing and we treated it as such.
Times have sure changed. Now when someone shoots a buck you often hear someone say "he needed another year" or "why'd you shoot that" or "I woulda passed um", etc. etc. etc. As a means of getting ahead of that garbage, some folks will start out the conversation about their harvest by saying "well, he's not the biggest, but" trying to justify their kill to meet someone else's standards.
I'm here to say it does not matter one bit what other people think about the animal that you chose to legally and ethically harvest. Social media has created a platform where folks think they always "need" to share their opinion on other people's lives. Please, don't listen to the folks that like to sit on the sideline and spew their own nonsense in your direction. Set your hunting goals based on what your desires are, not someone else's.
I say all this as one who has been on the wrong side of the fence with this. There was a time where I'd get really worked up about what other people would shoot. But as you mature, you realize that 1) They're not YOUR deer and 2) It's not your place to put your standards on someone else. The only time I believe you have the right to set someone else's standards is if you're the landowner. In that circumstance you can absolutely set harvest goals for everyone hunting on your ground.
I absolutely love chasing mature bucks. My hunting goals ebb and flow each year, but I'm always trying to chase the biggest deer we have running on the family farm. But just because I have a goal for myself doesn't mean that I should have the right to apply that goal to anyone else. As Steve Bartylla has said "Godbless the meat hunters."
So, if you're standing over someone else's harvest this year (or you see a photo online) and that particular harvest isn't something you would have chosen to shoot, just keep that opinion to yourself. We owe it to these animals to enjoy them for the blessing that they are. There will be a point that we'll all have to hang up our weapons. Let's enjoy each harvest because we never know which one of these harvests may be our last.
