SpyroAndes

You take someone big game hunting with you that has zero hunting experience.

Both of you have tags and licenses. Yall are completely legal.

So you go on the hunt and, on the first day of the hunt, you fill your tag. You punch your tag and attach it to the game animal. You take it back to camp and process the animal.

The next day, you and the rookie go out and locate a real nice animal in a perfect position for a stalk.

Since you have a rookie, you 'hold their hand" on the stalk and get them to within 70 yards.

When the moment of truth comes for the rookie to squeeze the trigger... they can't do it... they ask YOU, who has already filled his tag, to shoot the animal to fill their tag.

Do you kill the animal and fill the rookie's tag?

SA

PS. I have had this very scenario happy to me. I shot a buck that I had scouted for quite awhile that grossed mid-190s. The rook was my girlfriend at the time and the animal was a bedded mule deer in the 180"-185" range @ under 70 yards. I won't say what I did but I could make a very good case for either position.

Hikchick

It's illegal. Tags are not transferrable. My answer is no, I would not shoot. If they can't do it, let the animal live and walk away knowing you made an ethical decision.

rather_be_huntin

I'll be honest. It would be very tempting and I could see how someone could easily rationalize shooting the animal for the rookie. In the end though I would probably tell the other person that they'd have to shoot it. Every one's got to learn some how and if in the end they really don't want to shoot the animal then it's probably best just to pack up and go home.

James B

Hikchick is absolutely correct there are no two ways about it. Doing things right is part of taking an animal and that goes double for a trophy animal. IMO!

SpyroAndes

Wow, I guess that neither of yall has ever been the recipient of a moving violation...

Or maybe you have sped before... maybe because you were running late?

I assume that whenever either of you has filled a limit of quail/dove/pheasant/ducks/geese or etc... that you immeadiately unload your firearms and, called it a day, just watched the rest of the group.

Or that neither of you has allowed anybody to claim one of your birld, despite KNOWING that you killed it because you figured what the heck... I want to keep hunting anyway.

The subject is gray...

SA

stubblejumper

As I was growing up it was common practise for many people to fill other peoples tags while party hunting although it was never legal in my area.Over the years however this has gotten to be a very controversial topic and it occurs much less frequently than it used to.From an entirely legal standpoint,it would be wrong for you to shoot the deer.Looking at things another way,both of you purchased licenses and tags;both of you stalked the animal and it makes no real difference who killed the deer.Then add in the fact that in my area we have a problem with natives and metis slaughtering game on any land to which they can gain access to legally or otherwise.All that I can say is that I am glad that I was not in your situation and didn't have to make the decision.I can say one thing for sure though,that being that if the person with the tag refused to pull the trigger,I would have another hunting partner or be hunting by myself in the future.I would not allow the same person to put me in that situation again.

justhuntitall

I think that I would try to talk my partner into taking the shot . When I hunt with some thats new to hunting its kind of like reliving my first time.

RandyA

Spyro, You like to stir $hit don't ya'all??

I have been in the same situation, I would not and did not take the shot. And I never will. The kill isn't that important, I don't need to prove my man hood by killing or killing the biggest and the most, it isn't a basketball game, it is hunting, a privelege granted by the state!

RandyA

To compare a $45 speeding ticket to poaching a trophy animal isn't quite apples to apples.

And by the way, in 45 years I have never had a violation related to a vehicle.

Hikchick

Spyro,
Some of us are more ethical and moral than others. If I offend you by being one of those people, well then....... stuff it. And as for your quote above, no I haven't done either one of those things. For one, I don't like to eat game birds, so I don't hunt them. But for you to call me a liar when I answer honestly is uncalled for. You are both ignorant and stupid if you can't accept that I have ethics and abide by them. I have too much to lose by making a stupid decision like that. A wise man once said, "A wise man learns from his mistakes, but a wiser man learns from others mistakes." Why should I break the law and take a chance of paying huge fines and losing my license? Just so someone could fill their tag? It's not worth it. If you are someone who does those things, well then, I never want you or anyone like you for a hunting partner. If I can't trust those that I hunt with to be ethical or moral then I won't hunt with them. Just because you would doesn't mean everyone should or will. All you just did was make yourself look like a complete idiot. Besides, why not wait for a year, get another tag and go after it yourself legally? It would give me more pride to do that than to take it illegally.

No, the subject isn't gray. It's black and white, just as it is written in the game laws. It's illegal. Period. For you to say that shows how slimy your ethics and morals are. For some reason, it doesn't surprise me.