The T.V. shows had / have a lot to do with the big antler obsession. Nothing wrong with wanting to grow or take bigger-racked deer, but I agree with others on here that if big antlers are the only measure of success, then we're shooting thru keyholes. Much of the other reasons to enjoy hunting are lost. The joy & busting of each others' stones when hunting with buddies, time spent scouting, putting tree stands up, planting plots, timber work, planting fruit & nut trees - it's all geared toward getting a shot at deer. How much fun and enjoyment do we all get from the " non-trigger-pull " aspects?? Probably a lot. To say only a deer over X-inches is a trophy or worth shooting, seems to cheapen the whole hunt picture to me. I'm not poo - pooing someone who wants to hold out for 140" or better, but many areas of the country aren't going to produce bucks like that in any number. They're an oddity, not the norm.
Here in Pa., a 2.5 or 3.5 yr. old 8 pt. with a 12" inside spread is a shooter. For many, that would NOT be a trophy. But to many around the country, it would be. I think it depends on the locale you're hunting in and whether it can produce 140" deer or not, and the criteria each hunter sets in his / her own mind. I passed up a smallish 6 pt. this past fall, legal here, but I just felt better letting it walk. I'm no antler snob, just a game-time decision that felt right. As a contrast - my most memorable hunt was killing a half-rack in archery season back around 1982. I'd scouted the area, back-tracked the rub lines and scrapes to the bedding area, and set up on the first major scrape outside that bedding area. Just before shooting light was over, he appeared at that scrape and I watched him wet down over his tarsals and freshen the scrape before I arrowed him. The arrow cut the aorta from it's heart and he went down in 50 yds. My 3rd archery deer, but first by reading the signs, using the wind, and setting up accordingly. A half-rack. The 2 mile drag back to my vehicle in the October moonlight and growing frost made the whole episode a treasure to me. No big rack either.
I think each hunter has their own definition of a trophy. Hunting with buddies or your own kids / grandkids makes ANY hunt better in my book. Maybe it's inches, maybe it's certain circumstances, or it's the whole picture leading up to and concluding the hunt with a kill of whatever size. Each hunter, in his own circumstances, has his own guidelines. That's probably how it ought to be.
