Imagine the surge in hunting and hunters if Virginia told hunters there were too many 140-class antlered deer running around our suburbs and that they needed us to hunt them early and often.
Virginia's population would double overnight, and we'd see tree stands hanging from light poles on I95. I kid, slightly.
Guess what? It's true. Well, sort of. Virginia has too many deer, and we need hunters to kill them early and often. There's just one catch—you have to shoot the ones without antlers.
In some parts of Virginia, there's a rifle antlerless deer season before bow season begins. Why? Because hunters in some parts of Virginia aren't killing enough antlerless deer. Yes. There are too many antlerless deer in many parts of northern Virginia. Likely, there won't be enough antlerless deer killed, even with early rifle season.
But I assure you there won't be a mass pilgrimage to Virginia for antlerless deer. Even if you factor in the fact that identifying, hunting, and killing a mature lead doe is every bit the trophy a wall-hanging buck is. In fact, when you gauge your trophy by its conservation score instead of its rack size, it might be fair to say that a mature doe is the better trophy for a hunter.
But it won't matter. Some of today's hunters have an antler-ego problem. Meaning, if it ain't got a big enough rack to enlarge your ego when you shoot it, you won't, conservative be damned.
I hear it now: "But a massive buck is the ultimate trophy. Taking the massive buck proves I'm the best and most skilled hunter in the woods."
Fair enough. There's room for every legal method of hunting in our community. And the truth is taking the oldest, most mature, and most cunning buck in the woods is a noble challenge. Few accomplish it.
Still - to the educated hunter and to the educated conservation-minded hunter, hunting for a trophy doe isn't settling in the woods. Some may see it as graduating. In fact,
here's a terrific story from the National Deer Association's Chief Communications Officer, Thomas Lindsay Jr., honoring a magnificent antlerless kill.
I'm not saying the 140-class buck you finally got on camera this season isn't the trophy of a lifetime. I'm telling you, it isn't the only trophy deer running around in your woods.
Be different.
Anyone can see the allure and value of a huge rack on a deer. The question you need to ask yourself is, can you identify and judge a trophy deer without one? If you can, Virginia's a hidden trophy hunter's paradise. All you gotta do is leave the antler ego at home.
