Does Size Really Matter?

aroney@bowcast.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:00:00 +0100

Eastern Colorado Deer - MONSTERS!� Both Mule Deer and Whitetail with massive racks and swollen necks have been frequenting my dreams at night.� During the hours I am awake, I find myself visiting the Outdoor Expeditions website (which is the outfitter we will be hunting with - a.k.a. Atkinson Expeditions) and drooling over some of the other hunter success pictures for this year.

I was talking the other day with long time friend of BowCast - Maggie Armstrong from Elite Archery.� She was sharing an interesting story about her recent hunt in Kansas, and some very typical and often overlooked (or not talked about) �emotions when a tape measure gets put on a deer.� Maggie had a very interesting perspective when she related her own recent hunt, and the range of emotions she went through when the deer was actually scored.

Maggie's conversation with me stopped me in my tracks.� We say it all the time, "It's not how big the deer was, it's about spending time with friends in the outdoors.", or, "I don't measure success on the size of the rack."� But is this really true?� Maggie's conversation helped me sort it out in my head, and I now have a new and fresh perspective on my upcoming "trophy" hunt with my good friend Matt Hogue.� I asked if Maggie woudl be willing to put some of the story she shared with me into a guest blog entry on�BowCast, and she agreed.� So below is an interesting and well rounded persepective on the age old question - Does Size Really Matter?� Thank you Maggie!

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Does Size Really Matter?

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It's a question we hear all the time with several different meanings and might be a lame way to start my first blog entry, but hear me out;� "Does size really matter?"

I'm talking about buck antlers.

This past spring co-host of Gator Trax Outdoors, Dana Wall, called and invited me to hunt with her on their property in Kansas.� "Um...yeah!� I'd love to!"� I think were my exact words.� Up until that point I'd hunted, but not for a whitetail buck.� Sounds crazy because that's normally what people in my neck of the woods do, but as a new hunter, I really hadn't had my chance.� And now I'm going to hunt in Kansas, on TV with real, experienced live hunters who I kind of know, but don't really know.� Sure, no pressure!

I practiced all summer and had Garret, my husband and all around hunting coach, help me get ready.� He was coming to Kansas with me for moral support and because I am a total bull-in-a-china-shop in the woods by myself.� I'm working on that.� I was shooting well and my confidence was up when we boarded the plane in New York for the Midwest.�

As much as I tried to show my excitement over my nervousness, I was scared to death.� The "what if's" were racing through my brain and I could hardly sleep.�

Our first night hunting, we saw two does, but no bucks.� The next morning we saw plenty of deer - all does and one small buck that didn't present a shot.�

That afternoon, we set a ground blind in some cedars and brushed it in really well.� We found great deer sign in the area and frankly, if I shot a doe and not a buck, I was okay with it.� I just wanted to kill something!

As evening approached, the temperature continued to increase - it was in the 80's when Garret and I headed to the blind.� The sun wasn't in our favor and obviously the temps weren't either so we didn't expect to see much within the first hour or two.� The sun needed to set behind a row of cedars.� At five o'clock, the light was pouring into our blind making it hot and me very sleepy.� What happened next took all of about 10 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity yet a split second all in the same.� A nice 3-year-old appeared from the cedars and made its way into my shooting lane.� It presented a shot and I took it.� I'd shot my first buck.� After the moment passed, we started talking about the size of its rack.� From what I've watched on television and heard here in the office, that's normal.� That's how you determine if it's a good buck.� I mean, what else really matters?�

I must pause for a second to give you a little insight in my hunting experiences.� I'm completely spoiled and I'm okay with admitting that.� I started hunting four years ago when I met Garret.� He bought me a bow and within 9 months of my first turkey hunt, I was working in the industry.� I've had access to the best resources as well as the best equipment.� I'm invited to hunt some great properties with some really great people in the archery world.� But, while some might look at me and call foul, I don't know any other way.� I've never struggled to get on a good piece of property or had to save to buy a bow.� But my human emotions are just the same as yours and the amount of time and effort I have to put into practicing is just the same as yours.� My excellent equipment might help me, but it won't kill the animals for me; only I can do that.

So there I was, walking up on my first buck lying in the middle of a field in Kansas with the camera rolling.� I was really excited to finally put my hands on this deer - its my first buck, remember - I walked around to the back of the deer and picked up its rack to show the camera.� Immediately, I'm thinking - wait...wasn't this deer bigger?� Alive, this buck was easily 130" - but on the ground...not so much. ��After the camera stopped rolling, I took a look from the front and realize that it's a great deer - its nearly perfectly symmetrical, but...not as big as I thought...

No worries - it will score at least 125" and I'll have my first Pope & Young buck.�

Fast forward a week and we are back in the office.� Garret sent out an email to his friends and co-workers about my buck and the pictures are fantastic!� Emails are coming back in telling me congratulations and that this is a great deer for my first buck.�

Garret decided it was time to score my deer.� I really had mixed feelings.� I mean, what if my buck didn't really make Pope & Young.� Should I have waited for a bigger deer?� What if people were just being nice and that everyone thinks I should have killed a bigger deer.� I mean, it was Kansas, right - the Midwest.� I hear stories and see emails that come through all the time about the giants in the Midwest.�

120" and some change, gross.

It didn't even make Pope & Young. Deflated, embarrassed, maybe even devastated...these are the emotions that I felt.� But why?

I struggled with this through the rest of the evening and into the morning.� I even picked a fight with Garret because he was the one who wanted to score my buck in the first place.� If size doesn't matter, then why did we even score the darn thing?

I have a very interesting perspective on this whole, "does size matter" issue.� From my chair, I am bombarded with emails and phone calls and video and stories of hunters who shoot "the big one" - but I don't see the 120" deer, ever.� In fact, I really thought that a 120" deer was MUCH smaller than mine.� It's the label that got me.�

My 120" buck was a great first buck, second buck or 10th buck depending on what my goals are.�

I like that people shoot big deer because it's a measurement of accomplishment for the seasoned and the disciplined.� But until today, I didn't see it that way.� I thought because I have accesses to all of these great resources and equipment, that I wasn't good enough unless I shot a deer that had a big number.�

It's my own fault for putting these false expectations on myself, but I have a challenge for each of you.� You probably have a son or daughter or a wife or girlfriend who might be interested in bowhunting.� They probably hear you talking with friends about the "big deer" - the "shooters" the "140" + deer."� You have to realize that even though we as novice hunters probably know better, it is imperative you talk about what determines a shooter buck in our eyes, not everyone else's eyes.� And this conversation shouldn't happen while on the way to the stand.� It should happen from day one.�

We don't watch TV shows or read magazine articles about 120" deer, so you have to be the one to tell us its okay.� While it might be obvious to you that we should know, the conversations have to happen because we don't know.� If all we hear is that you and your buddies are shooting big deer without us really knowing what it takes to achieve this or more importantly, that most never will, how would we know?�

I'm a bit upset that I spent nearly a week pining over a score on a piece of paper.� I should have known better, but no matter what we should have known; we are all subject to our environments.� With the number of archery hunters dwindling, every effort should be focused on the experience and what it means to have the privilege to participate in the world's oldest sport.�

So, does size matter?� Yeah, it does - but not to me, at least not right now.� When I've put a little more time in and understand what it takes to really shoot a big deer, that's when size will matter to me.

By the way - Garret wanted to score my deer so I would have visual references as to what a good buck (meaning mine) looks like.

Go on, have that conversation with your wife, girlfriend, son or daughter and good luck in your efforts to shoot "the big one."

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About Maggie

Maggie has been involed with hunting and the Archery Industry for the past 4 years.� She works as the Director of Communications at Rochester, NY based Elite Archery.� Maggie is married to her husband Garret, and they currently reside in Avon, NY.

Maggie's Setup

Bow: Elite GT500 40lbs, 26"

Cobra Single Pin Sight

Carter Release

Easton Lightspeed Arrows

100 Grain G5 Strikers

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Does Size Really Matter?