Alsatian

I have a theoretical question to ask. I really don't think there is a right answer -- I'm more interested in hearing peoples's thoughts than their conclusions.

A buck, a big buck with a big rack, is shot but not mortally wounded on a piece of hunting ground by a first hunter. This first hunter commonly shoots, wounds, and fails to recover at least one deer a season. The first hunter tracks the buck about 1.5 miles following a spotty blood trail. The hunter spooks thebuck out of its bed once, and the buck is able to run up hill fairly quickly. The blood trail follows a path indicating the buck is checking its scrapes for does -- the buck is continuing to pursue mating opportunities. A secondhunter sees the buck the next day (24 hours after the first hunter wounded the buck), the buck is alert and moving ablely. The second hunter shoots and kills the buck. Whose buck is it?

Further information. The first hunter is the son of the man who leases the hunting ground for raising cattle. The second hunter was invited to hunt the hunting ground by the first hunter four years before, but now the second hunter has permission to hunt directly from the father of the first hunter -- the man who leases the hunting ground for raising cattle.

This is a little more than a theoretical question. It happened where I hunt deer this year. I had filled my two tags, but my son was still hunting and wanted to know if he shot that buck would it be his or not. He never saw the buck, so the question is moot, but a darn interesting question. It irritates me that this first hunter blasts away and wounds animals about every year that are not recovered. He never cleans his rifle (could cause inaccuracy). He rarely practices at the range before hunting (this year he shot 6 rounds to sight in and to practice) and there is no telling where his gun shoots. He most often shoots offhand, without using a rest of any kind.