ORIGINAL: fetzeriiif
Obviously you made a bad call. You should have looked for the deer. Hopefully you learned a lesson. You are right though, you shouldn't have posted it here. Too many of the people on this forum havea high and mighty attitude. They take every opportunity they have to let everyone know how ethical they are and how much of a better hunter than you they are. Get over yourselves. Mistakes happen to everyone. Hopefully this one doesn't happen to him again, but it happened. Should he give up hunting for a year, no way. Go out and try again, but make it count.
As for tagging the deer after it is rotten, I wouldn't expect you to do that. Earlier this year I shot a doe. I wasn't sure of my hit, so I let it sit over night. That is the supposed "ethical" thing to do. I found it the next mourning, but the coyotes had already shredded it. If you think I tagged it anyway, your nuts. If you can't use the deer anymore thenwhy tag it. If it makes you feel better about yourself, then you tag it.
I am glad that I don't hunt with most of you. You would take the fun out of hunting. There is a difference between having respect for your quary and just being a buch of anal retentive elitists.
I dont think the high and might attitude plays here and I don't think folks here are a bunch of anal retentive elitists. And yes, I feel most everyone here has respect for the quary. Most everyone, because I have my doubts whether to include this young hunter.
I made some harsh comments, so single me out and fire away.
I will defend my statements because I honestly feel this young hunter went beyond making a small, simple mistake - and - I still have the gut feeling he dosen't understand that andI based that on his comments.
You may say, learn from your mistake, and don't take what everyone here says to heart because they all have a high and mighty attitude.
That'san unfair statement to make.
I disagree, I say emphasize the severity of his actions or lack there of. Had this young hunter cheked to see if this deer was hit, he may have been able to put it down if it was still alive. Instead, he'll never know and a deer may have suffered an anagonizing death because he failed to simply check. We all say we owe it to the animal and this was a classic example of what not to do.
To me, that's not a simple mistake. It is breaking a cardinal rule. And becauseI was harsh in my comments, don't think for one second I have no respect for the animal I hunt and that I am not an ethical hunter.
I am sure you have respect and you are not unethical. Should I change my feelings toward you (that I don't even know) because we disagree on this subject?
I'll let you answer that question.