RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

See that' s where my thoughts differ too, I believe a lung shot is fatal, of the type that he may run aways, for one an Elk is a very stubborn kill @ times and two adrenaline can do some weird things to animals. Did you read the post from Tim Buma? Where his buddy shot an Elk in the eye, blew the back of it' s head off and he had to put 2 more rounds in it to knock it down. Yes some shots are over time fatal but a vital organ hit is some what immediately fatal, lung shot or heart shot or even in Buma' s case a brain shot is a dead animal that don' t know it yet. I once took both lungs out on a spike Olympic Elk, he went 300+ yards and I still had to put one behind his ear. But the first shot would eventually kill him, I think we as rifle hunters tend to want immediate results. How many Bowhunters would argue over whose lung shot was " fatal" ? They 99% of the time have to wait til the animals goes to sleep, don' t tell me that every bullet put through an animal will always destroy completely what ever it hits

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

I took some feller out last year, an' the year afor, who never hits where he says he aimed. Hit a bull in the hind quarter two years ago, then shot him agin high on the back. Both were fatal wounds, but neither would have put the elk down alone. Had it not been in the open, who knows? Las' year he hit a bull in the forehead, running a channel through the skull an' blowin' a piece of the back of the skull out the back. The bull fell down dazed as can be. We slowly approached, and saw that he was breathin' like he was jus' takin' a nap. The bull was coming to as we got up on him, and I have no doubt that he would have been long gone in a few seconds. The bottom line is, everybody thinks they shoot better unner field conditions than they really do. I got no patience for thet. The shot thet anchors the critter is the one thet gits the carcus. Seen to many shot an' lost critters in the hills to treat hunters like babies.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

Thats hardly party hunting. Party hunting is if I shoot 3 animals knowing there are 2 guys back at camp with tags. 2 or 3 guys shooting at one animal is not illegal around here and NOT considered party hunting.

We just say " Bob" gets the first deer. When we see the first deer " Bob" shoots the deer and 90% of the time thats the end or it. If he misses or gets a bad shot on the animal then I might take a shot to finish it. But to elimate disputes among friends its still " Bob' s" deer.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

I' m pretty sure the law sees party hunting is tagging a deer that you didn' t shoot.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

I read the post from Tim Buma however I don' t think that elk would have ran a mile with the injuries he had. That guy had to keep shooting cause that elk was coming at him and only 40yds off. You can' t compare bowhunting to rifle hunting in this case. Why?

1. There are a lot fewer bowhunters meaning this situation is a lot more rare in the woods.

2. To get a good shot an animal with a bow it needs to be at a close range and not moving much at all. A wounded animal is either moving or hiding in deep brush and will spook easily not allowing a bowhunter much suucess in stalking and taking it.

3. The biggest reason is simply a rifle hunter can see and take an animal a long ways off which increases many times the possibility of disputes.

Sure you can' t always expect immediate results, but I do think if you put a good shot on an animal with a rifle it isn' t going to go real far. Elk are stubborn and very often don' t drop in their tracks, thats how I know some people on this board are full of it. Or at least guilty of exageration. But usually they don' t go much more than 50 to a couple hundred yds if you put a good hit on em. I agree with old BeaverJack that the guy who anchors in a reasonable distance it is the guy that should get it. But like I said if I shot a wounded amimal I would always give the benefit of the doubt the first guy who shot it and I would give it up. I' m just discussing this for the sake of discussion.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

Yes that is party hunting but if you would' ve ready my post close enough nobody tags an animal they didn' t shoot. Sometimes we help " Bob" take his animal but rest assured " Bob" shot it.

Now if one guy can' t see a deer and I shoot it for him, thats party hunting and not what we practice. The guy that tags it always participates in taking it.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

I tned to agree with most of what your saying, and I believe this " fatal shot" talk can be a gray area. As far as your ethics on who shot what I have to commend you because in this day and age there isn' t a lot of that left. Like I said in previoud post around here they pull guns on poeple over fish? I just don' t get that part? I am the same way, if I down an animal that has a shot in it and someone comes after it not too long after I would give it to him, he** probably even help him pack it out.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

I lost one elk in my life. Good shot on a cow and she kept the arrow in for a while so I lost the trail after about a hundred yards. Marked the spot and went for my buddies. Got back to find two guys cutting her up closeby. I told them that I had shot a elk a few hundred yards away but to have at it. They claimed they shot her but the hole was right where my arrow hit. I was OK with it as I hate losing an animal and I filled the tag two days later so the karma was good. Often wonder how they felt knowing they clipped my kill but some people just don' t care.