I don't because good debates without all the name calling allow most of us to give our opinions and possibly to learn from others that take a different view. The sharing of ideas is what this site is all about. People from different geographic areas might see things in a different light. We can all learn from one another. Plus some of the debates are kind of fun. If everyone saw things the same it would be a boring world. I didn’t agree in total with DD but can respect and understand his feelings….CI

I agree with you fully, doc. I would shoot it too.

If I saw a deer like that out in the woods I would take a picture of it because you don't see em like that in the South.

PocoI for one was not offened by that reply because I think you were honest and sincere even though I do notnecessarily agree with you. We can all disagree agreeably ..and I want to make this clear ..I am not saying it was the right thing to do ..I am not condoning breaking the law ...I am just stating my honestopinion as to what I think most would do if put in that same situation. I have also give thought to what CI said about always having that guilt feeling about illeaglly shooting a buck ..and in all honesty I think he is right ..however my point is if in the heat of the moment a MONSTER buck like that comes out of nowhere that most of us would not have the clearity of thought at that particular time ..or at least I doubt I would ...I do think that afterwords I might have second thoughts and if this man DID shoot this buck illeaglly then I am sure he is having second thoughts also.

dd

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Taking an animal like this legally would be a feather in the hat of any hunter. Taking it illegally would just be paoching. Saddly many are taken that way but would never be taken by me. If just killing something is the name of the game then its not a game I want to play. I guess its a difference between hunting and just killing. Its beyond me how anyone could consider it any kind of sport to take an animal like this illegally.

This will be my last post on this matter as it seems to be getting a little out of hand and its obvious some do not see my point .. but James what difference does it make if its "animal like this" or ANY deer ... if it is because he is a monster then that valadates my point in that his size might motivate some to shoot and have second thoughts later where as had it been a little 6 point most would let it walk under the same conditions.

dd

i bet anything that quite a few of the biggest bucks ever shot have been poached. Either nighttime shooting or after/before hours, or party hunting. Im talking about the popular deer that are in the P&Y and B&C trophy books.

Nimrod was not wicked in his youth. On the contrary, when a young man he used to sacrifice to Yhwh the animals which he caught while hunting ("Sefer ha-Yashar," section "Noaḥ," pp. 9a et seq., Leghorn, 1870). His great success in hunting (comp. Gen. x. 9) was due to the fact that he wore the coats of skin which God made for Adam and Eve (Gen. iii. 21). These coats were handed down from father to son, and thus came into the possession of Noah, who took them with him into the ark, whence they were stolen by Ham. The latter gave them to his son Cush, who in turn gave them to Nimrod, and when the animals saw the latter clad in them, they crouched before him so that he had no difficulty in catching them. The people, however, thought that these feats were due to his extraordinary strength, so that they made him their king.

I would agree with that. How many big bucks are killed and then tagged with someone elses tag? You cant really tell, as long as common sense is used it can be very simple to get away with. It's easy to sit at your computer and say you would never shoot that deer, another thing to have it actually walk under you during legal hunting hours and with a legal weapon. Wether or not some will ever admit to doing it would be another issue.

Be careful with saying party hunting is poaching! Wi Reg states you can party hunt. As long as your in yelling distance or visual eye contact. As long as you bought a deer licesne and used it on a buck. You can still hunt and shoot somebody elses buck for them. The catch is hey have to be out in the woods with you.

DD. Good point and you are right. It makes no difference that this deer was a true trophy or a small doe. Either way takinmg it illegally is wrong. I can't believe that on a site of sportsman that there would be anything to debate when it comes to this point. Sure it would be tempting to whack a deer like that even if your tags were already used up. I am sure most of us who have hunted a lot have faced this situation more than once. Last year on my own land while hunting alone, I saw the biggest Mule deer buck that I have seen in my life. He was 100 yards away standing broadside. Yes I watched him through my scope for several minutes. I just had doe tags. I could have poped him and had him hung in my barn with no problems at all. EXCEPT that it would have been illegal and how could a real hunter TAINT a trophy in this matter and still look honest hunters in the eye. Where is the honor in stealing a prize? As far as I know, the big one I saw last year is still walking the river Breaks in Western SD. Right or wrong I am proud to have let him walk. In the game of hunting, this time he won.