Entering your trophys in pope and Young or other record keeping programs

[Biggie Hoffman]

Nope...no interest.

[onewhohasfun]

I was lucky enough to shoot a big whitetail in OH several yrs. ago. Never thought about entering him until I saw the certifacate that you get from P&Y. Thought it would be nice to display next to the mount. I'm sure I still have it,........ somewhere?

[FerretWYO]

Originally posted by Whip:
I've been blessed to share camps with some really outstanding hunters and special people.  I have no idea whether many of them have ever taken an animal large enough to qualify and if they did whether or not it is in a book.  And you know what?  It doesn't matter to me in the least either way.  I will think of them the same regardless.

Enter if you want.  Don't if you don't.  But to judge a person and question their ethics and motivations based on whether they do or not doesn't seem to be very reasonable.

Whip you hit the nail on the head.

[tradtusker]

Originally posted by Whip:


Enter if you want.  Don't if you don't.  But to judge a person and question their ethics and motivations based on whether they do or not doesn't seem to be very reasonable.

very true Joe

[TxAg]

I haven't, but I'd consider it for $1,000,000. That'd buy a lot of arrows.

[Brian Krebs]

There is this huge factor that the Pope and Young club is way more than just a record recording entity.

 They made a separate entry for animals taken with a traditional bow if I have that right; and they do not allow animals taken with a bow under certain conditions and with certain equipment.

 And there is way more to them than those things.

 So - lets not throw out the tremendous good for the little: that we do not see as a positive.

 Nobody is forced to enter an animal in the book.

When I look at Gene and Barry I don't think of 'trophy hunters' out to claim fame. I see two great representatives of traditional bowhunting.

 Maybe someday it will be the 'Gene and Barry Club'  and the big award will not be the 'Ishi' award; but a big bronze statue of Biggie: dragging a deer in his underwear.

 Till then; I am happy with P&Y.

[ChuckC]

Oh I think that there are well more than just one or two of us who would not even enter the world record into the books, money or not.

It just isn't my thing.  Nope
I would certainly mount it, although I would probably have to do it myself.  Soon as any taxidermist gets it it will be all over the world.

Now. . .  if the animal's score goes in and my name does not, I might change my mind.
ChuckC

[John3]

The Compton book without any doubt. I do have an animal in the Compton book.  I liked the whole concept...

I had never considered putting any in P&Y.

[woodchucker]

I really have no use for record books,I don't even get my deer heads mounted anymore. (I have 1 mounted,and my father also has 1 mounted) I just cut the horns off and hang them on the wall. I couldn't tell you a 150" buck from a 50" but I have constantly heard guys talking about how many "inches" this our that buck was. I honestly haven't any idea how big a 150" buck's horns really are.

I did have a Buck registered in the "Biggest Bucks of Maine" book. I shot a Buck over 200# and the state automaticly entered my name and sent me a patch for my hunting coat.

[FrozenFew]

Well woodchucker if you like big horned deer and your buddy invites you to come hunt his spot and he's been seeing a 150" deer, you best go along  

I don't agree wth alot of the rules of scoring with P&Y but I do think it kinda neat that the animal you enter has to be the first deer you shoot that season. I like to look at the pictures of the big ones though.

[swampbuck]

I'd like to shoot one big enuff but I don't see myself entering one afterall my buds would already know.If perhaps I outscored the "Lucky" buck LOL I'd consider it but for the most part I only use scores as a way of telling size for comparison

[swampbuck]

Chucker a 150"er will give ya goose bumps for yrs to come thats a big one here not a monster(unless only 8pts) but a really big one

[woodchucker]

Thanks Tom!!!!! I have seen "up close and personal" the Buck that Kenny(adkmountainken)shot and it was a N.Y. State record for quite a few years!!!!! I honestly haven't a clue how many "inches" it was though.

One of the problems with "record book" bucks is the money that these racks bring from "collectors"..... Kenny was offered THOUSANDS of dollars for his deer head!!!!! It bothered him so much,that he was going to give it to a blacksmith friend of his to cut up for knifehandles.

[George D. Stout]

How many of you...honestly...would enter your deer in a book if you weren't recognized as the one who harvested that deer?  If it's all about honoring the deer, well then why not?

[Steve H.]

It's NOT all about honoring an animal.  There are TWO necessary components and only when those two come TOGETHER....those are 1). a big animal AND 2). an archery hunt.

You can't have a "P&Y" without BOTH components!

Without a hunter (BOWhunter) then it would just be a random big animal listed so listing just an animal makes no intelligent sense.

[George D. Stout]

Well Thanks Steve, at least you answered the question 8^).  Our opinions differ, of course, but that's pretty natural.  You see, it would make plenty of sense to me to delete the human, who only contributed by killing the animal.

I've seen too many high-profile "hunters(?)" who later were found to be skanky, dishonest, poachers who rode the antler game to elevate themselves to the masses of hero worshipers waiting to hear their stories.  It's still happening quite regularly as recently discussed on another forum.

The Pope and Young Club is a good one and does a lot of good through education, etc.  The book itself has become a format for egos who sit three feet behind the deer and push the antlers closer to the camera to make them look even bigger. It's a step to become famous in someones mind, whether or not it's deserved.  And, the book itself, has outlived it's intended purpose: to show bowhunting as a viable sport that is both effective and appropriate in the hunting genre.

If anyone decries the books purpose, the supporters will quickly jump on them as "envious" or "jealous", or some other sort of poo-poo'er who is probably just an incompetent hunter who can't kill nice bucks.  Schoolyard, bullying tactics used when one can't come up with an "intelligent" argument.

But your answer was what I was expecting.  The hunt for big antlers is led by egos, and it will continue to bring about the incessent search for the biggest rack at whatever cost, and it's not to honor a species that has long since been ostensibly honored into oblivion.

[woodchucker]

Kudos George!!!!!!!!!!  

I TOTALY agree with you that the book has long out lived it's purpose.....

Years ago,and MANY decades before "Quality Deer Management" Record Book Bucks were very few and far between..... You REALLY had to be LUCKY to actually harvest a record book animal. They were,for all intents and purpose basicly "Freaks of Nature"!!! They were the big smart old animals who had managed to find the best food,and the most out of the way or over looked cover to call thier home,managing to essentaily live thier entire lives "under the radar" only to have someone just LUCKY enough to be in "just the right place,at just the right time"!!!!! Today,anyone with enough money can travel to a ranch where record class trophy bucks are the norm,rather than the exception. I'm not talking "canned hunts" either,I'm talking many thousand acre,million dollar game farms where the herd is geneticaly controled to develope record class animals. Many times by releasing pen raised trophy class animals into the herd to breed during the rut. Why do you not see any of the big name celebrities hunting public land??? They are always on "this" ranch or "that" ranch..... I would take ANY one of them,and put them up in my home for the entire season,and I would be suprized if they could bag even a "good" buck,let alone a record,hunting where I do. Have you ever seen them hunt NY's Adirondack Mtns. or the "Big Woods" of Northern Maine??? You probly never will either!!!!! It just takes to much LUCK to find a record class Whitetail,let alone bag one.

Sadly,more and more, MONEY and EGO dominate the record books!!!!! Not Hard Hunting LUCKY Hunters.....  :(  

I'll get off my soapbox now.....

[BradLantz]

the P&Y club is anti-crossbow and since the radical advances in compound technology in recent years and my personal belief that there aint much difference now ...... and P&Y bending on the 65% rule etc ....... I'll never enter an animal in the "book" unless its world class or something and is advantageous for me to do so

I wish the P&Y club had stayed "bowhunting"

[reddogge]

It may not even be ego.  Men seem to be drawn to large antlers just as women seem to be drawn to chocolate and diamonds.  If there were no book men would still try to shoot the deer with the biggest rack or catch the biggest bass.  It's just our nature.

[woodchucker]

Yes reddogge, This is VERY true.....

Years ago,there was always the guy in camp or town who shot the biggest bucks year after year..... (seldom were any of them "records" though) Many times rumors would fly about poaching etc. However,the folks that knew him would always admit,that he just hunted the hardest,and he was LUCKY!!! If you put the time and effort in,you can consistantly kill big bucks. However,most(if any)will not be "record" class because record class bucks are few and far between. Years ago,bagging a record class buck was a "fluke". Some big old buck remained well hidden for years untill someone kicked him out of his bedroom,and the chase was on!!! The "lucky" hunter who tagged him was an instant local celebrity. Now days money can take you anywhere that "record" class bucks abound. Just looking through the record books see how few bucks where entered during the 50's 60's and 70's as appossed to the 90's and 2000's.

Sadly MONEY and RECORD just seem to go hand and hand now days.....  :(