what would you have done
 

Last fall a real trophy whitetail came running by me in a plowed field. I was in Wisconsin and the field was empty except for a couple hunters in my party about 90 degrees from me at the edge of a clearing. I raised my .257 Roberts and shot at the deer running 90 degrees from me away from the other hunters and he tumbled. The deer got up and looked around and one of the other hunters put a .30-06 thru him and put him down. The other hunter immediately ran to the trophy deer and tagged it.

When I got there the deer was dead and the hunter was proud of his trophy. I said nothing,
The next day we were out hunting again and I had heard that when the other hunter skinned out the deer at home that night he found only one bullet hole in the deer.

What would you have done?

RE: what would you have done
 

Well it's kind of a moot point now but I would have asked him what the hell he was doing shooting at a deer that I had already shot. I would have also informed him that I was sorry that he wasted his tag on my deer and removed it.

The animal belongs to the forst person to shoot the animal. And a deer doesn't just decide to take a body roll with out being shot.

That would also be the last itme I hunted with him.

People like that really burn my butt. I have had to finish off an animal or two that another hunter had already shot and I wouldn't have dreamed of tagging it myself. Heck I even helped him drag it out to the truck.

RE: what would you have done
 

I had that same type of situation quite a few years ago except supposedly we had both shot at the same time. To settle the claim I looked for the exit hole because he was on one side and I was on the other side. The buck was approximatly 100 yards in front of us when we both shot. This was a real big buck chasing a doe and he didn’t care if we were there or not. The end result was that it looked like the bullet had come out on my side. I was very disappointed in the results but had to admit who shot the deer. Since that day, I always try and hunt in a secluded area with no other hunter.

RE: what would you have done
 

I'm with you on this bb

RE: what would you have done
 

I have had that happen before and to be honest after thinking about it , it wasn't worth making a big hassle . I just got to know anyone I hunted with better after that . In my case it was a uncle andI was just a kid . I hunted with my uncles after that but not that particular one .

RE: what would you have done
 

I would have called your local Conservation Officer and told him that someone stole your deer. Then he would have sorted it out.

RE: what would you have done
 

I had a similar situation in 2001. A 180 class whitetail was standing at the opposite edge of a field from me right at the last minute of legal hours. One of my companions was in a tree stand only 100 yards to the left of the buck. After looking him over forabout 30 secondsfrom a ranged 407 yards, I finally decided that my buddy either didn't see him or didn't have a shot. I fired, striking the deer in the chest as he faced me. The deer jumped about 8 feet in the air and put on a sprint out into the field. After about 70 yards, he slowed and stopped -at which timemy buddy shot him in the neck. Before I could walk even half way there, my buddy was down from the tree and standing over the buck. He indicated that he saw the deer at least 5 minutes earlier, but couldn't shoot due to branches in the way. We shared in the taxidermy bill and have the mount at our housesalternating years.

I did ask a game warder later about "what if" in the event that the other hunter was a stranger. He said, no question, the hunter who fired the killing shot and got to it first was in possession. Go figure . . . .

RE: what would you have done
 

Now the part I didn't tell you.....the hunter that tagged the deer.......he was 14.

RE: what would you have done
 

Good test. That could change the answer for some guys .

RE: what would you have done
 

I dont suppose that anyone here remembers the incident that occurred in wisconsin last year? Well, a dud was pissed that other folk were in his area or something. He opnened fire and killed like three dudes. LET THAT FRIGGIN DEER GO! This is a great sport, and bagging a good one is awesome! But life is too precious. If letting one go to a jerk means coming back next year, then so be it. Be safe, in control, and mindful. I wanna see everyone here continue to return to tell the stories! EJ

RE: what would you have done
 

I would have claimed what was mine. Evaluated the situation to see how the other hunters acted. And ifeverybody looked agreeable, I would have took home my deer. Bottom line. 1 year ago I would have claimed it regardless of how the other hunters acted and what errupted.

This year, if the boy acted crushed or the men got violent, I would try to just smile and walk away and figure the good Lord might bring me another deer.

RE: what would you have done
 

I am not criticizing at all. You did the right thing. I am going elk hunting with a pal this sat ( I am just helping call) and we will undoubetedly be ready for this scenario. There is no elk worth it. EJ

RE: what would you have done
 

Never been in that situation so it's hard to say for sure. It is easy to guess at what you would, but it actually happens things usually turn out different. I don't know, if it a camp type thing maybe talk to the kids dad and the others in camp to get thier opinion and maybe sit down and educate him. Not berate him, just let him know how you guys think those situaitions should be handled.

If he was cockey about it I probably would have been a little ticked and there would have been a situation later for sure. There is no reason for a 14 year old to get lippy with an adult in my opinion. If I liked the kid though I might have played it off like he killed it and let him have the moment, especially if it was his first deer.

At this point you probably just let it go though. (did I really just give that advice?);).

I hope everything works out for you in the future.

Paul

RE: what would you have done
 

As it happened, I have a nice eight point and a really nice 10 point whitetail on the wall as well as a 5X5 mulie and didn't really want another $350 taxidermy bill. That particular deer however was far better than the ones I had on the wall but the opportunity for the youngster to come foreward and tell all that he missed it was his decision. He chose not to say anything and can live with the result forever.

I had nothing to gain...confronting a 14 year old just wasn't in the cards. There was to be no winner and the looser was to be me no matter what.....

Maybe next year!!!

RE: what would you have done
 

Vapo....that is an awesome test....when you threw the 14 year old part in there you really caught me off guard. Since I'm only 16 I prolly would have been anal, analyzed the shot and determind whos deer it was....gotta teach them the right way early.

RE: what would you have done
 

Well at 14 the young man should have known better than to shoot at a deer that had already been shot. If they were visible to you then they certainly knew that someone had already shot that deer.

I probably would have let him have the deer also but he would leave there knowing that what he did was not the smartest or most sportsman like thing to do. His father, or who ever was the responsible person, would have left there knowing also that teaching this young man to act like he did was certainly not in the best intrest of hunters and the hunting community.

Nip it in the bud. If it isn't corrected early on then he may just continue acting like this and one day it could turn ugly. We have all heard the stories of this very thing turning violent and even deadly.

Do you let your dog or someone elses dog piss on your floor and not correct it? Let it piss once and it will continue pissing on your floor cause it thinks it is ok to do so. But if you correct it from the start it will figure out that it ins't in his best intrest to piss on your floor and perhaps he should quit doing it.

RE: what would you have done
 

Similar encounter happened to a guy in our camp a few years back. He shot a small buck and seconds later another shot rang out. The deer was already mortally wounded and another hunter ran up to the deer and said it was his !%@?^ deer. Before my buddy could get a word in edgewise he was showered with curses and threats. My buddy just said "take it easy I just like to hunt them, now you can do all the work". That being said it is much easier to to do that with a 5 point than a trophy. I feel that way it is like getting a free tag and I am not starving so no big one.

RE: what would you have done
 

You did good IMO. This happened once to me and it was settled by a little green tip off the bullet found while field dressing the deer. Two of us shot at the deer but I was the only one using the New at that time Ballistic tip 30-06 bullet. The other guy said "well I quess we know who killed this one" He was dissapointed because it was his last day to hunt. I told him to take it home since we had both shot at it and I had a week yet to hunt. That paid off as the guy sent me a new Buck folding Knife for Xmas.:D

RE: what would you have done
 

On the one hand it may seem like the noble thing to do by letting him have the deer, but then there is the law of unforseen consequences. What did he really learn from this? Will he hesitate to do this again in the future and does he understand that he should not shoot at game that was alreadywounded by another hunter? Does he understand that just because he fired the last bullet doesn't mean that he has claim to the kill, miss or not? Did he really become a better hunter/person by being allowed to claim a deer that was not his? I think that this was a squandered opportunity for a lesson in integrity and character, and the lesson he learned through your generosity might have been the wrong one.

Mike

RE: what would you have done
 

age has nothign to do with it you knew he didn';t hit the deer and for him even shooting after you shot and he rolled he should never of done it and iwould of defintely called him on it. age is not the deal here it is huntign ettiquite and he did it wrong and needed to be taught
rob k

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