Etiquette for claiming game?
 

We' ve all heard of or been involved in a situation where someone has " taken" someones elses animal. If you shoot it but it runs off two miles and someone else finishes it, is it still yours? So I was wondering what everyone practices in their neck of the woods?

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

The first person to shoot.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

If there is a bullet hole in the animals vitals then the animal belongs to the first one to fire the fatal shot. If some yack off shoots an animal in the leg or some other nonfatal shot then that guy that does not deserve the animal and it goes to the person that does end up firing the fatal shot.

Basically the first person to fire a fatal shot.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

AAAAHHHHEMM Excuse me Sir/Madam........................... would you kindly step away from my harvest.................... BEFORE I TEAR OFF YOU FREAKING HEAD AND P%#@ DOWN YOUR THROAT......
Just Kidding!
Seriously I don' t know what I' d do if someone were to try and claim MY animal
AL

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

I have had this happen to me a couple of times, once when i was a kid, shot a nice buck in the next, did not drop it, tracked it for a quarter of a mile and it ran into a drive hunt where they finished it off. i was outnumbered 15 to 1. happened again later in life, was hunting alone, wounded a deer, found it about 200 yards away and had three hunters (yea right) walk up to me and claim the deer. i have also finished off a few deer for others over the years and gave them to the person that first shot it. my feelings on this, even tho i was slightly pissed at the time, is it is only an animal, not worth getting shot over.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

I had a deer " taken" away from me when I was a kid (16) and will never forget it. Still to this day (20 years later) haven' t forgotten about this, he is a family friend (not to me anymore though). Me personally, I go by first blood. I' m not going to tag a deer/elk that someone else shot first. If I put it down for good and see that there is another hole there I would wait for the other hunter to show up. But if it were reversed and I put a bad shot on a deer/elk, I wouldn' t complain either if the person who put it down would tag it.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

Anyone who first fires a fatal shot AND follows the trail to the dead animal, regardless of whether or not someone else finishes it off, deserves the animal.

Anyone who doesn' t give the animal to the first person is a total jerk.

Legally, in most states it is the last person to shoot it that has legal ownership. That means if you knock a deer down, but it lifts its head, I can shoot it and legally claim it. Not right in my book

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

did i see the word JERK in your reply? you can' t be talking about fellow sportsmen. :D

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

In our party the guy that puts the first bullet in the deer gets the deer, no matter who finishes off, however we usually try to get the original shooter the opportunity first to finish off what he started. Many years ago when we were mule deer hunting in the flat lands of the south we spotted a large mulie buck with some does from the trail we were on, as 2 truck hit the binders 4 guys bailed out and began shooting at this buck. In the end the buck hand 4 holes in it, we had no way to tell who put it down or who' s deer it was. We decided that to flip a coin, stupid but it was the only way to solve the problem and it did. We have learned from that day to hunt on our own with ample range between others and if the chance arrives where more than one guy can shoot, the first guy to take aim gets to shoot at the deer...maybe not ideal but it saves us all the other hassle, b/c nobody wants to admit they missed;)!

Now if your talking a deer going to different parties, it gets much tougher then!!! I would just let the signs and situation dictate itself, I would hate to lose an animal to a j#rk but like Lee said " it ain' t worth being shot over" . If i had an animal come by that was wounded but not fatal, well I am sure I would put it down...just because I don' t like to see game suffer. If a guy showed up and claimed it, I would probably say your welcome and to get himself to the range:D. Hunting is my hobby, release and passion I would let some sob ruin it!!!

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

Since I hunt private or very remote land almost exclusively I have not not faced this problem.My own belief is that the first person to fire a fatal bullet into the animal deserves to keep it.I don' t buy the first blood idea as a flesh wound or other obviously non -fatal shot does not deserve the animal.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

My group " party hunts" legally, so who " gets it" doesnt really matter. We split all the meat. The only problem I could see with this situation is if there was a big rack. Then we' d probably flip a coin, or see who shoots better at the given range, you can always find a paper-plate!;)

The neighbours gut-shot a whitetail last year and it hopped the fence, it was finished off on our property. We have an agreement to allow each other to go after game on the others property. A member of my group put the killing shot into it,, but it was given to the neighbour. In my experience the gut shot ones taste a little funny! [:o]

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

Bullfeathers! " The first one to fire a fatal shot" ...........what a load of crap. About 20% of animals are shot fatally, but never recovered. If another feller drops a wounded animal, I say the first feller' s got no claim to the meat. Let ' im learn to use thet $1000 rifle an' scope combo, or load it with some proper ammo. Be innerestin' to see if the same fellers makin' all these bull crappy rules are the same ones toutin' weak, unner-sized bullets for big game. ' Course, they' ll say they never lose animals ' cause they " place their shots" . Yall got more rules an' sayins than any bunch of bullcrappers I' ve seed!

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

Beaver: Man you can be a grouch at times. Try to be nice. Its the least you could do for makeing us put up with your crappy ass spelling and unsubstanciated facts and figures.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

Unsubstansheeated? Thet' s what you call the las 40 odd years I spent traipsin' the hills for critters on nuthin' but jerky an' water? Totin' pink asses ' round with me the las' 15 or so, so they could reclaim their manhood an' unplug their concrete-laden brain pans? I will try to be nice, but it ain' t natural fer me, you gotta unnerstand. Hell, ifn you knowed my grandaddy, you' d not only think I was a generous, saintly man, but also a fine talker too!

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

beaverjack-You lived on water and jerky you say?So you are now using malnutrition as well as your ancestry as an excuse for you being a rude know it all S.O.B. that can' t spell.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

I teach Bowhunting Education and we tell everyone about the " Unwritten Law of The Bowhunter" . This goes as follows.........


" The first hunter to place their arrow in a vital area of an animal causing a sufficient trail to be followed, and thus having a good chance of bringing the animal to their possession (were it not for the presence of other hunters) may claim the animal as theirs. If the hunter feels that he would not have been able to find the animal due to the superficial nature of the wound, or other circumstances, he should relinquish his claim of the animal to the other hunter involved in making the true vital hit. "

Understand this is the " unwritten law" and some states (like here in IL) only honors the animal as whos tag is on it. So, you could walk out in the woods with just a tag and put it on a animal and this would be legally yours (as long as you can legally hunt there).

I know one thing. Any animal is not worth getting killed over. Every year i hear stories of people arguing, fighting, and getting guns pointed at them. Also I personally would not want a animal that someone else killed.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

What Bigbulls said........

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

BeaverJack; you box-a-rocks, whut kina critters u got out ger that u coud tote my pink ass afta?:D I' m serious. Do you guide for bowhunters? Or would I have to explain that we need to get a little closer than your used to? I think it be a hoot to share a campfire with your grumpy ass. Busy this fall? What you chasing? Email me some info. Draws? Over the counter? Elk? Deer? Just in Wy.? What you got? :D

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

In your scenario, I' m going to say the other hunter gets it. In Kansas, we' re taught to hunt by a code of " First blood and Mortal wound" . If you would have inflicted a mortal wound, but 200yrds later while it' s staggering, someone else shoots it, you get it, since you were the first blood. However, if you tag it in the arse, and it runs two miles bleeding heavily even, and someone esle drops it in its tracks, he gets it, because he inflicted the mortal wound.

Basically, if his shot drops them fast, and you' ve been tracking it, you have to check where the holes are, if both are in the vital area, then it' s yours, if one is in the vital area, it was likely his shot since the deer dropped right away for his, so he inflicted the mortal wound, so Kansas considers it that you never shot the deer, and he harvested it.

It' s pretty much a " who was the better shot" , and if you were both good shots, it' s a " who shot first" contest. Drop them where you hit them and you won' t have this problem though.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

Sorry nub,
I' m all booked up fer this fall. You gotta draw to chase elks in WY. Apps due in January fer non-residential types.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

If i make a fatal shot and the deer runs a little ways and some other guy shoots it i still think it should be mine. If i shoot a deer in the leg and it runs off and someone else makes the killing shot then its theres. i once read an article in NAHC about a guy going on his first elk hunt, alone, he shot a nice bull and whent to get something back at the truck, when he got back a group of hunters already had his elk quartered and claimed there friend shot it.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

First fatal shot...period.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

Ok, I can agree with that but just for the sake of arguement, what is a fatal shot? I mean I' ve seen animals hit in the lungs run a long, long way. I' ve also seen animals very poorly hit only go 500 yds or so, then go into shock from blood loss. Nature is cruel and even if you only cripple an animal isn' t it eventually fatal? I know I' m splitting hairs but I' m just curious. Cause part of my brain says regardless of where you hit the animal bar none, if hes able to run two canyons away then you didn' t realistically deal him a fatal blow, did you?

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

There is a sheep (feral) hunt on the Big Island that draws a bunch of hunters. Every year the guys at the check-in station hear these arguments. I gathered that the general rule is " whoever drops it, keeps it." I think it may not always be the best solution, but I didn' t make those rules. Personally, I' m not too keen on hunting in crowded areas, but I realize it' s often beyond anyone' s control.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

The answer is yes you did deal him a fatal blow. Your also right anything no matter how poor can result in death by way of a shoot. I think what your asking for is instant death, while some deer may fold up on impact others bolt and run a distance then keel over.
The only sure fire ways I know of are:
1) Take out the pins (a double shoulder will take out vitals as well as render the animal unable to move very far) Very quick death, minimal tracking, big target BUT meat loss is high.
2) Head shot (can' t run if the brain do say so) Instant death, no tracking BUT High percentage of miss
3) Neck Shot (can' t run) Death certain, no tracking BUT again High Percentage of a miss...causing the opposite result
4) Spine Shot (can' t run) Death is slow, no tracking BUT high percentage of a miss and loos of meat.

I guess what I am saying, if your in an area or situation that may lead to this scenario you best put him down and not worry about the what if' s that may follow.

I realize that having a certain area to hunt all by yourself is not possible, so if i was in that type of situation I would aim for the PINS. Then I don' t have anything to worry about, b/c like you point out how do you determine who hit what and how fatal that shot may have been. With more than one bullet hole in animal it is really hear say with who hit what and where...no way to prove the truth. Or you could buy a pair of track shoes so you can run after your shot deer and get their first:D

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

Not true. I killed a mulie doe this past season and she had her rear leg shatterd to where it had grown back in a 3/4 circle. There was a huge knot where the bullet had struck and shatterd her leg. I even recoverd bullet fragments in her musscle around the wound. She was a perfectly healthy deer other than that and was walking just fine with no signs of a limp at all.

That' s why I said what I did about the yack off and the leg shot.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

I say bull feathers to that statment. I shot a 6x4 Bull in the chest, knocking out one lung, he traveled for a mile we tracked him and he crosse a road I heard another shot about the time I hit the road.Walked to the animal and while looking the guy in the face could put my finger in my bullet hole. Well they had 6 guys we only had 2, next time that dude will get a Ruger .44mag stuffed in his snout[:@][>:]


We need to get back to ethics of hunting, heck in this state idiots pull guns on people ovewr FISH[:@] What is this about? Go to Safeway' s if this is the way you think you can get your meat. I get up 3 hours before dawn, climb 2 miles up n the hill fatally wound North Americas toughest game animal and some Arsehole sittin in his truck gets the reward for my hard work. Bull[:@] Road hunting should be illegal. Sad thing is, is in this State the Game Warden told us that technically to Elk hunt all you need is: Tennis Shoes, Elk Tag, and a knife. That' s sad[:@]

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

On the other side of it, I agree with the severity of the" fatal shot" . I believe a lung shot justifies the right to claim. But what about a gut shot? Last year, unknowingly my scope broke on me, had a 4x3 mulie @ 75yds broadside, aimed at his frint shoulder and touched off 4 rounds before he flinched, he ran about 100 yds down to where my partner neck shot him dropping him instantly.

Knowing that I would not miss four times in a row on a close in shoulder shot of that distance, he searche and found I hit him in the left flank, pulling his intestines out the other side. I let him tag it because of where my shot hit.2 feet to the right and low? But if you know you hit the animal in a vital(heart lung brain neck) I believe it is your animal.

Neddless to say that Simmons scope found the garbage quick, never have another one of those if the were free

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

The law around here is it belongs to the first guy to get to it and put a tag on it.

My friends and I decide before hand in what order we will tag our animals and thats what order we take em, but usually we all shoot. Only exception is if only 1 person can see an animal from his particular vantage point then he gets the animal.

My personal feelings are this. I love hunting and everything I gotta do to get my bull or buck. I would never take an animal that someone else wounded unless I felt it was gonna go to waste. Hell if a big 6x6 bull came running by I would shoot it and start cleaning it but if it had holes in it already I' d give it to the guy who shot it first, even if it was a shot in the flank. Why? Because I didn' t " hunt" it. Now if the guy never came to claim it then I' d take it.

My last post was a little confusing when I read it again so let me elaborate. I got thinking about where the " line" is. Where should it lie as sportsman and I was wondering what everone else thought. The point I was trying to bring up was yes sometimes an animal lives through a bullet wound but most of the time they end up coyote food no matter where you shoot em. Nature is very hard on these animals and usually, not always, a handicap will weaken them enough that something will get em as a result of the wound. So I was just wondering what a fatal shot meant to everyone. Because you can put a decent hit on an animal but it can run a long ways sometimes. And to be honest if I took out the lungs but the animal ran a long distance, maybe a mile or so, and someone else finished it then I wouldn' t be convinced I put a fatal shot on it. At least not in terms we are talking here although he would' ve certainly died for the wound.

Bottom line for me is this. The first guy to put the first fatal shot on an animal deserves it. To me a fatal shot means to put an animal down in a reasonably short distance. However as a sportsman I would always give the first guy to shoot the benefit of the doubt in any uncertain situation.

RE: Etiquette for claiming game?
 

We cant do that here they dont allow Party Hunting. You shoot it you must tag it........

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.