You have killed your share of trophy deer but your son has yet to get a really big one. You both put in for a coveted/limited tag that the odds are 100-1 of getting drawn. You get drawn, but your son doesn't. You both go into the field together for the hunt, taking only 1 gun. You are 5 miles from the nearest road and haven't seen another hunter. At the moment of truth, when the big-un steps out, would you consider letting your son do the shooting?
This is a tough one and I have heard good arguments on both sides. Is this a selfless act/gift of a father to a son, or is it setting a bad example for him, teaching him bad ethics?
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Venor ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
txhunter58, good question! I can bet you will get answers on both sides of the fence.
I can`t decide myself. On one hand, it IS illegal. On the other hand, it IS your son.
Can your son grasp that this is the act of a loving father, and not a person who just breaks the law whenever he feels like it?
It is illegal! This is too tough, give me an easier question.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
You mentioned that the son has never taken a really big buck yet. Will this buck mean as much to him knowing it was not harvested under completely legal circumstances?
I don`t know if you are talking about you and your son, and I am not trying to talk you out of it. It would be a tough one!
The only reason that I might not let my son kill the deer would because of the message I would be conveying to him, that it is ok to break the law. Then on the other hand I would also be showing him that I'm willing to sacrifice something that is coveted by most hunters. It is definatly a tough call no doubt and it's hard to say what I'd do.
I'm leaning towards letting the boy shoot. I believe in the importance of law but I also believe in the "spirit of the law".
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Hunting the Piney Woods of Deep East Texas.
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Hunting the Piney Woods of Deep East Texas.
No......I would not on perpious brak laws infront of my doughter"i dont have a son yet" . i look at it like this i would not let her hunt deer with a 22rf if she could not shoot a cf. i would not let her hunt with a bow below leagle lbs or hunt with a bp rifle un leagle cal. so why would i let her shoot with out a tag? L. O. D. Charter member and L.O.S.
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I would not let my son take the shot.If this was a trophy buck you and your son would both be forced to lie every time the story of the hunt is told.He would never be able to enjoy taking credit for killing it.
By letting your son fire the gun, what would he gain?
He would not gain self-respect
He would not be keeping the "trophy" anyway
He would not gain respect for you
The only thing he would accomplish is the illegal killing of a fine animal.
That "trophy" would become a curse in that it would be mounted and displayed in a prominent location, and would constantly remind him that you and he are both unethical hunters.
~Happiness is flying brass! -Country Boy
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Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved package, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, yelling GERONIMO!!!!!
First off, I would not apply for the tag because I'd be in direct competion with my son, and in this case may have cost him the tag.
Second, I would either harvest the deer myself or let it walk, more likely the latter.
For me, it is a simple question, "What is the ethical thing to do?".
Good or proper " Ethics " is doing the correct, legal, moral or right thing whether someone is watching or not or believing you'd be exposed later.
I would never intentional teach my son by example, intent or known omission to do something illegal or immoral, except in defence of life or serious property loss. And in those exception, it would be by it's nature not unethical ( homicide in selfdefence).
Work hard and be true to yourself.
Edited by - logs on 10/21/2002 15:11:34
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Now you have to picture a combination of PeeWEE Herman and Wally Cox but with less muscle tone, trying to be intimidating None of this is funny! Message edited by Cougar Mag -- 1/7/2005 1:16:42 AM &gt;/b]
Yes, I would CONSIDER my son doing the shooting. What if the shoe was on the other foot? As a son, would you let your Dad take the shot? Would it make a difference?
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I've been in this situation, only in reverse. Several years ago my dad had an early muzzleloader tag that he hadn't filled by the last weekend of the season. I didn't get drawn that year, and he wasn't able to hunt the last two days so he offered it to me.
I took it and went out to my cousins farm, but I was so nervous that a game warden would catch me that after about an hour I packed up and left.
If I had stayed and shot a deer that day, especially a very nice deer, I would have spent the rest of my life lying about it. It just took a little while for my conscience to win out over my eagerness to hunt.
Mike
Gun control means putting the second bullet through the same hole as the first- Ted Nugent
NRA Member
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Ben Franklin
Situation Ethics
L. O. D. Charter member and L.O.S.
