09 gov buck?????

[Romulus]

I think if people are looking for reasons to be negative they are always there. Governor type tags tend to bring out the most negativity for the obvious reasons. I don't know this guys story but whatever it is some will play armchair quarterback and say he should have done it this way or that way. If he has a posse of people out looking and kills a giant buck people will complain that its not really hunting etc to have so many guys looking and then you go kill a buck someone else found. If he chooses to hunt alone or with a friend and kills a buck he is happy with but wanted the experience of the tag and would rather find it himself than have someone else have some credit on his kill people will say he is stupid and did not utilize the tag. I think many have a different take on governor tag versus incentive or raffle because most could never afford governor tag. Bottom line the guy paid for the excitement of being in the field with a live tag for 3 months and if he had a great experience that cant be measured solely by the size of the trophy killed at the end of the hunt. These tags carry a tremendous amount of pressure. If you kill a great buck everyone says well you should have got a great buck you had the tag. If you kill anything less than a great buck everyone says how could you not kill a great buck with that tag. Most have no idea what true trophy hunting is like.

[MtnMuley]

Nice post Romulus.   There are also a lot good hunters in this state that have taken many tremendous animals that have no desire to post their pics and stories due to criticism and publicity.

[boneaddict]

Great post Romulus......
I'd like to add a "little" commentary.  There is a lot of talk of negativity and critisism, but sometimes I wonder if just plain discussion is being judged as that and that some of you might be blowing things out of proportion a bit.  As I post something, I envision 20 of us standing around the fire, kicking coals and tossin back one or two from dew to beer.  I don't imagine all 20 of us saying great buck and then thats the end of the conversation.  I imagine us sharing what we missed, what he scored, what we saw, what we dream about seeing, etc.  There is often going to be a difference in opinion, that doesn't mean it has to be construed as negative as long as its repectful.  Of course there will be 5,000 opinions on what is respectful.  I might even be the problem to some of this as I tend to call it as I see it, am often vocal and do have opinions.  I also like to "chew the fat."  There are some of us on here that have been around here longer so we have a better idea of what each other is thinking.  I can see how this can be interpreted by an outsider.  I have my own opinions on Govenor tags and incentive tags....some of it is positive and some of it negative.  I'd like to think of it as a learning curve though as I have changed my ground after talking to some of these guys involved, and as I sit back and try to see the big picture.  I think the point of this whole rant is that discussion, internet conversation, even respectfully expressing your opinion, should not always be considered ridicule, put down, negative critisim etc.  There is armcahir quarterbacking as that is what this is about sort of on here, but there is also sincerety.  For example, I could say I would pass on that deer and try for a bigger one, but that in NO MEANS would mean I would be critisising a man for shooting that animal.  I almost chose to shoot a two point last year with my Alta tag.  Some of you may have thought I was nuts.  I want a huge two point, and to stalk a true old buck with a longbow might have been challenging enough for me.  That would have been my decision.   Pats on the back are always welcome, but I think to some, so is discussion.  Scores will come up, opinions about scores will then come up, width, heigth, mass, etc.  That is part of it.  I know everyone of you has patted a guy on the back for taking an animal that you may not have shot, becasue it was a trophy to that individual.  Some have even flipped another friend, member, brother, a little kidding as well.  I still laugh at Longtats milk on the lips critters, and then he turns this year into a shooting clinic taxidermy frenzy.  I'd imagine if you can't handle it, you ought not to post it.  There, I ranted more than Stevo.

[M_ray]

Yeah, well I was serious about the photo. Maybe it's just me but I like to have something as a reference in the photo, a person, a tree, anything. In that photo there is nothing but sky. That's why I said it's hard to judge. You don't agree  Thought you were the photo connoisseur.

It's just you  if you need more reference than the head than I would concure with others that you need more practice judging before you start bidding on the Gov tag!!! And I for one have passed on big bucks in fact ask my partner I passed on a couple 170+ buck last year in hopes of bigger and went home with a smaller one so I can speak from experience on that. Having said that there is no way I would pass on this guy ... if he was standing on the north pole 5000 miles from the nearest tree I wouldn't need anything for reference!!! And Bobcat look under his chin and you'll see the guys hand holding the head up ... you may want to go get your prescription checked 

And BTW Miles your OK!!!  Did I just say that   

[Romulus]

I agree with you ! I tend to be a lot more critical if a guy throws out a score or if I am involved with the animal. Some of the posts such as "its a dink" can in no way be construed as anything but critical. I have my personal opinion of this buck and what I would hope to get if I had that tag but I know the hunting gods have a way of humbling you if you get to cocky. I did not necessarily think any of your own posts were to critical I just have the opinion that if the guy never threw out a score, never posted a picture and did not seem to be bragging I will just say good buck and leave it at that. If he had come on saying 32 inch wide 230 buck and it clearly was not the case then I am of the opinion of "putting him in his place". I think the animal should speak for itself. Not saying its right or wrong its just how I operate and based on reading your entire last post I would say you are similar. Everyones life and opportunities are different. Some of us live to hunt and others get limited opportunity. If it is a trophy to them but not to you it does not need to be said. This is not directed at you Bone but at some of the constantly critical posters. If you have to tell everyone that you are a great hunter and put other people down all the time it should tell you something. If you really are a great hunter others will speak for you.

[bobcat]

Good post by Boneaddict. My thoughts exactly. Seems some are taking my posts as being negative. They're not meant that way. To me it's pointless to say "great buck" as many have already said that and I don't see a need to state the obvious. I just commented on the picture itself. Being the great buck that it is, I would like to see more pictures. If the hunter doesn't post any, fine. That was just my thought at the time. Who here would not like to see more pictures, showing the deer from different angles and maybe more than just the head? And like Boneaddict, I just don't see much criticism or negativity in this entire thread. I'm totally confused at the posts that say people have been "putting down" a buck that somebody has taken. It's just a discussion, nothing more. Sorry if you all take my posts as being negative. In this state, to me any 4 point muley that would score around 150 or better is a trophy. I would never consider passing up a buck like the one posted in this thread.

[WildfireArcher]

awesome buck. Heavy antlered for sure! gonna look great on the wall. Congrats to the hunter for taking this animal. Trophy in my book hands down

-Wildfire

[JACKALL]

congrats to the hunter on a great buck!

[MtnMuley]

2 more great posts by bone and romulus.  IMO, you couldn't have said it better.

[huntnphool]

Spot on Rom.

[Pathfinder101]

Just to add one more thought; I notice that anytime the hunter "takes us along for the hunt", the feedback is overwhelmingly positive from this site. 
I notice Gov's tag hunters being criticized in more places than this site, both generally and individually, but I would venture a guess that if one of the regular members here bid on the auction tag and got it, then posted a thread walking us through the whole process, from winning the tag, to the prep work, scouting, the hunt, the ups, the downs and finally taking an animal, I'll bet that thread would be 50 pages of us cheering the guy on.
I know there are a few guys on this site that won't post outstanding trophys because of criticism, but I would encourage them to do so, and take us along for the hunt when they do it.  The more you tell us what happened and what you were thinking when it happened, and the more pics you post, the more it is appreciated. 
Like Bone said; we are all hunters here, sitting around a virtual campfire, telling hunting stories.  When was the last time you looked back at a guy across the fire and told him to shut up?

[WDFW-SUX]

Just to add one more thought; I notice that anytime the hunter "takes us along for the hunt", the feedback is overwhelmingly positive from this site.  
I notice Gov's tag hunters being criticized in more places than this site, both generally and individually, but I would venture a guess that if one of the regular members here bid on the auction tag and got it, then posted a thread walking us through the whole process, from winning the tag, to the prep work, scouting, the hunt, the ups, the downs and finally taking an animal, I'll bet that thread would be 50 pages of us cheering the guy on.
I know there are a few guys on this site that won't post outstanding trophys because of criticism, but I would encourage them to do so, and take us along for the hunt when they do it.  The more you tell us what happened and what you were thinking when it happened, and the more pics you post, the more it is appreciated.  
Like Bone said; we are all hunters here, sitting around a virtual campfire, telling hunting stories.  When was the last time you looked back at a guy across the fire and told him to shut up?

That is a very good post.

I think the other thing that goes into some of "the criticism"  is that there are always stories that come out about posse hunting, shooting the wrong animal, trespassing, or massive ethical failings on these hunts. Hell even the game dept complains about some of the stuff that goes down.....

[huntnphool]

Just like the elk fiasco in 4941, the whole group suffers because of the actions of a few.

[WDFW-SUX]

Look im the biggest cheerleader for hunting around here but when we get one story on the forums and another in emails from people who know what really went down and when they dont match up it makes it hard to get all rah rah about this stuff.


I support gov tags 1000% and hope I can buy one someday

[GUscottie]

Just to add one more thought; I notice that anytime the hunter "takes us along for the hunt", the feedback is overwhelmingly positive from this site. 
I notice Gov's tag hunters being criticized in more places than this site, both generally and individually, but I would venture a guess that if one of the regular members here bid on the auction tag and got it, then posted a thread walking us through the whole process, from winning the tag, to the prep work, scouting, the hunt, the ups, the downs and finally taking an animal, I'll bet that thread would be 50 pages of us cheering the guy on.
I know there are a few guys on this site that won't post outstanding trophys because of criticism, but I would encourage them to do so, and take us along for the hunt when they do it.  The more you tell us what happened and what you were thinking when it happened, and the more pics you post, the more it is appreciated. 
Like Bone said; we are all hunters here, sitting around a virtual campfire, telling hunting stories.  When was the last time you looked back at a guy across the fire and told him to shut up?

I cannot agree more with what you and Bone have said in regards to this. Its all about the stories, the good, the bad and the indifferent. I love hearing about the whole process from start to finish, and I love to hear from the hunter and the people that have helped the hunter. Makes me appreciate this sport I take part in and the people I can share it with.