DavidG the First bullet in a deer doesn't make it yours, if it is still moving through the woods and not down it can still be legally put down by another hunter. The law says the deer belongs to the person who inflicts the mortal wound which allows them to take possession. In this case, it was the 2nd hunter who did that. Now I have no problem with them working it out the way they did but the 2nd guy would have had every right to tag the deer and it wasn't his deer, as you said..