You are just going to have to grin and bare it!! Everyone makes mistakes, and the best thing to teach your son is, if you make one, you need to stand up to the punishment no matter what the cost or penalty. This will teach more about ethics than any other thing you could do. If you were to just keep quiet about it, and cut the deer up for the freezer, what does this show him? What it does, is lessen the degree of penalty, and you don't want him ending up going thru life not knowing that he has his own responsibilities to live up too. I am sure that he wouldn't, but you never know, so don't take that chance. I don't like anyone to get into trouble over a mistake, we have all made them, but, show him that even though it was an honest mistake, you still have to be responsible for your actions.