Hunting Ethics:Whose Deer?


Guest swampthing

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Guest swampthing

I read this story in a hunting magazine and thought that it was interesting.It is re-worded a little but it has happened.

O.K. here is the situation. You are taking your son deer hunting and he shoots his first deer.You follow the blood trail and can tell by the amount of blood that it was a kill shot.You see places wher the deer had fallen and bled.The next thing you here is a single shot and somone talking very loud.You find two hunters standing over the buck that your son just shot,tagging it.You speek up and tell them that the deer is your sons buck that he just shot.

An aswer comes back saying "It isn't now"."The law states that whoever kills the deer must tag it.""And I just killed the deer."One of the hunters say in a serious voice.You discuss with the hunters about who's deer it belongs to and you get a response back from them"You both better beat it.","It's my deer,leaglly tagged.","Don't you know there is a law against harasssing hunters?"

Would it have been legal for the hunters to have given your son the deer? No,but was it ethical hunting for what they did?

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Ethics?? What are those?

A friend of mine went through a somewhat similar situation. He shot a deer with his bow. The deer then went a very short distance on private land. The landowner refused to allow him to get his deer. The landowner then put his tag on it. I know the landowner has every right to refuse someone to enter his land, and I don't disagree with that one bit. But to take something that isn't yours, to me, that is stealing.

If someone made an obviously lethal shot and I finished it off, I would give the animal up. If it was a younger hunter, he could have shot it in the foot and I would give it to him.

Somehow we as a society forget the Golden Rule, to treat others as we would want to be treated.

And for some reason I see some hunters acting very selfish and childish in the woods.

I remember one opening day when I was walking in the dark down a trail to my spot when another hunter walked by me, almost jogging to pass me. Pathetic...

Years ago my uncle shot a nice buck. Tracked it quite a ways and found a couple hunters with his deer. They told him it was their deer, they shot it. My uncle gave it up and later thought how he never heard anyone else shoot!!

Fortunately though, I have experienced many more very nice, respectful hunters, than not. And I also have many, many more positive experiences in the woods, than negative.

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Someone posted the same story here a few years back, think it really happened to them.

Agree with the above about the golden rule, some people just don't get it though and probably really just don't care.

If faced with the situation and I was the one finishing off the deer, would be happy for the kid and would let him/her have the deer.

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I hate the sound of that. To be honest I would have given the deer to the boy and probaly helped him drag it out. I have done that before. The last thing he needs is a bad experience that would ruin a hunt like that. It seems the guy who took the deer just wanted it to say he filled his tag. That is the way I take it. Better luck in the future

get in the hunt

bruse

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We do lots of deer drives. Our rule is the person who shoots it first , it is their deer. A note on that is, we will look at the shots, if the first shot looks like it would have killed the deer , then the first person to shoot gets the deer. this happened with my son a few years ago. We had several deer running by, several bucks in the group. My son shot one of the bucks, it knocked him down but it got back up. Later on another guy shot a buck & dropped it. Well, we trailed the buck my boy shot & it ended up right at the one the other guy shot a few minutes later. There wasn't any problems or anything, he gladly told my boy it was his buck. My son was thrilled , at the time it was his first buck. I think this should be a golden rule everywhere. First shot that would be a killing shot should be the owner of the deer. I know that is not going to happen everywhere. A person that drops & kills a deer does have every right to tag it. As I said I think it should go to the first shot , as long as it is a good shot. This situation gets real hairy if there is a big buck involved. Big bucks have ruined some great friendships. I love deer hunting & love big bucks but in my opinion there is no deer worth ruining a lifelong friendship over.

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Tough situation. Happens all the time, especially in crowded states like Ohio. Yet another reason I hate gun season around here. Too many idiots place too much value on a stinking deer. Happened to me last year in fact. Guy shot a deer on my neighbor's property (pretty sure they didn't even have permission), shot the doe right in the butt. The deer limped over to my land, when it got up to run away, I got ahead of it and killed it. I went back to get my tractor to drag it out, by the time I got back, the dufus that shot it in the butt was poking around my property. He asked where the deer was, I said "right here, I killed it." After I let him stew on it a little, I offered to let him have it even though I'm the one who killed it. He made a call to a buddy then said "go ahead and take it."

The golden rule is a good one. Too bad we all can't live by it.

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The person who should get the deer is the person who makes the first lethal shot. Just this past year one of my cousins shot a real nice 11 point buck in the vitals on a deer drive, it ran over to my uncle and he shot it and it dropped. We quickly figured out that the first shot was lethal, made by my cousin, and that's who got the deer. No hard feelings from anyone!

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Give the kid his deer! Theoretically, the kid did kill the deer if it was a "lethal" hit, as mentioned. Besides what satisfaction can be gained by finishing off someone else's deer, then putting your tag on it? I view that as fulfilling as shooting a deer under a spotlight- no satisfaction or sportsmanship whatsoever!!!

Chris- Ohio is way too crowded because our tags are too cheap and easy to obtain. I think we should take the Iowa, Kansas, and Illinois approach- $400+ and a lottery for non-residents or at least a reciprocity deal with those such States!!

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Chris- Ohio is way too crowded because our tags are too cheap and easy to obtain. I think we should take the Iowa, Kansas, and Illinois approach- $400+ and a lottery for non-residents or at least a reciprocity deal with those such States!!

Agreed. But with the herd ever increasing I think you'll see the status quo for quite sometime. Residents are out there because there's ample deer to shoot. Just my theory. Glad Rink turned me on to bowhunting and not gun hunting. :D

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Tough situation. Happens all the time, especially in crowded states like Ohio. Yet another reason I hate gun season around here. Too many idiots place too much value on a stinking deer....The golden rule is a good one. Too bad we all can't live by it.

Too true, I feel the same way here in wisconsin...the same thing happened to my cousin a few years ago on our property. He made a lethal shot on a deer that probably would have made boone and crockett. He, my dad and my grandpa tracked it and somehow that deer made it 2 miles in a big circle and right before it crossed back onto our land some yahoo shot it and dropped it. They were only 75 yards behind it but by the time they got up to it this guy already had it tagged so there was nothing they could do.

What I really find amazing is that what was once a great hobby for most people has turned into a event that places emphasis on shooting the biggest deer you can with the largest antlers even if it means screwing over your fellow hunters in the process. Really makes me sick:mad: and I actually look foreward to the end of the gun season rather than the start of it.:(

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I agree that the kid should have the deer, but here's a devils advocate situation that I wonder how everyone feels about.....

We all know or have had to deal with neighbors that we absolutely can't stand in the deer woods. Now same scenario except it's not a kid and it's a hunter you can't stand and HIS deer that he boiler-roomed runs over to you and you shoot it right before it dies then you find our your "enemy" shot it......Now I'm just curious how many people would give that deer back????

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Guest swampthing

It all depends on who's land he shot it on,and were it ended up when you shot it.

It also depends on if you can determine if his shot was a vital shot.

Although you are not the best of friends good hunting ethics is the only ethics. For myself good hunting ethics is what I practice and expect my family and friends to also practice.Also keep in mind if the law states whoever kills the deer, tags the deer.

Edited by swampthing
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I had a similiar thing happen to me bout 5 years ago. I shot a big doe as I was sitting on the ground near a field levee. The doe was shot through the lungs and ran down the levee. Little did I know that a 13 or 14 year old boy was sitting on the other side of the same levee. As the doe ran down the levee I heard another shot right on top of me. I walked down the levee and found the boy stand over the doe. Clearly there was a huge blood trail leading from where I was sitting but the kid was really excited so I just offered to help him field dress it. We got it gutted and I noticed that there was only one gunshot wound. About 15 minutes later the kids dad came over with there 4-wheeler and I helped him get his first deer loaded up...told his dad that his son put a real nice shot on that doe.

Also...In IL a private landowner is required to let you track a wounded deer that runs on his property. If they give you trouble just call the CO. We had a problem like this a few years back with a little old lady who thought they were her deer. CO explained to here that those deer belong to the citizens of IL...and she was letting my buddy retrieve his deer.

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Too many idiots place too much value on a stinking deer.

Agreed.

I'm sure people have been threatened or even shot over a deer in the past. My grandfather told me once that he shot a pheasant the same time as another hunter he didn't know(stocked area in IL.) My grandfather didn't even hear the other shot because they were at the same time so he went to pick up the bird. The other guy pointed his gun at my granfather and said leave it lay. My grandpa let it lay. Some people:rolleyes:

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I had a similiar thing happen to me bout 5 years ago. I shot a big doe as I was sitting on the ground near a field levee. The doe was shot through the lungs and ran down the levee. Little did I know that a 13 or 14 year old boy was sitting on the other side of the same levee. As the doe ran down the levee I heard another shot right on top of me. I walked down the levee and found the boy stand over the doe. Clearly there was a huge blood trail leading from where I was sitting but the kid was really excited so I just offered to help him field dress it. We got it gutted and I noticed that there was only one gunshot wound. About 15 minutes later the kids dad came over with there 4-wheeler and I helped him get his first deer loaded up...told his dad that his son put a real nice shot on that doe.

Also...In IL a private landowner is required to let you track a wounded deer that runs on his property. If they give you trouble just call the CO. We had a problem like this a few years back with a little old lady who thought they were her deer. CO explained to here that those deer belong to the citizens of IL...and she was letting my buddy retrieve his deer.

Very nice thing you did for that young hunter. How you acted there may have had a very serious impact on his future hunts. Good job.

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I had a similiar thing happen to me bout 5 years ago. I shot a big doe as I was sitting on the ground near a field levee. The doe was shot through the lungs and ran down the levee. Little did I know that a 13 or 14 year old boy was sitting on the other side of the same levee. As the doe ran down the levee I heard another shot right on top of me. I walked down the levee and found the boy stand over the doe. Clearly there was a huge blood trail leading from where I was sitting but the kid was really excited so I just offered to help him field dress it. We got it gutted and I noticed that there was only one gunshot wound. About 15 minutes later the kids dad came over with there 4-wheeler and I helped him get his first deer loaded up...told his dad that his son put a real nice shot on that doe.

Also...In IL a private landowner is required to let you track a wounded deer that runs on his property. If they give you trouble just call the CO. We had a problem like this a few years back with a little old lady who thought they were her deer. CO explained to here that those deer belong to the citizens of IL...and she was letting my buddy retrieve his deer.

You better check your facts. In Il. if a private land owner says you can not come on his land to retrieve your deer or any other game your hunt is over, you can not trespass on anothers land! And a CPO can not give you the permission to do so! And I seriously doubt that a CPO would tell a private land owner they had to let you retrieve that deer, they know better! You would know this if you read the hunting regulations booklet printed by the IDNR.

And I'm sure your beloved Obama would be on the side of that little old lady.

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