DD, I love this post more than sitting on the porch eating ice cream and watching the kids cry!!

Awwwwwwww Reb I guess Im just an old trouble maker ...damned if I do and damned if I don't ...can't please all the people all the time ...I sure hope I can sleep tonight worring about what some of these guys have said about me ... some guys just can't handle the truth ...if I had any feelings they might have hurt one

dd

My take on this is that it is an unfortunate situation, but what he did was legal and he should not be punished for it. You might not be happy with it, but you put him there knowing that he was inexperienced. I am one of those hunters that hunted for many years (until I was 38 years old) before I shot my first deer. You guessed it, it was a button buck. I felt horrible but my buddy (who would rather cut off his arm than shoot a button buck) reassured me that it is an easy mistake to make, and congratulated me on my first deer. He thenGENTLY took the time to show me what to look for when looking at a deer to help me learn for the next time out.Just because this guy hashunted a lot doesn't mean that he has much experience looking at deer and deciding if it is a fawn, button, or doe. I all the years (15 of them) I hunted with no success, I probably looked at no more than a dozen deer.There were several years that I didn't see any deer at all. He may have had a similar huntingexperience asme. Until he has a lot of time looking at deer, the differences are very subtle and hard to see. Heck, I have shot a lot of deer since my first, have let a ton of them walk and I still sometimeshave a difficult time deciding if a deer is a button buck or small doe if it is by itself.One of the hardest things to learn is when to just let them walk because of not being completely confident on what is standing there. I am very thankful that my hunting buddy took the time to teach me instead of getting angry with me. I hunt every year, several times a season on his property with him and I am very greatful that he had some patience with me. If he hadn't, I probably would not be a hunter today.

I personally would shoot the deer after dark to put it out of its misery. Yes, that would be illegal, but it would also be ethical and I am willing to take the consequences if necessary. I do however find it ironic that the powers that be find it dangerous to kill a wounded deer after dark using a shotgun (here in NY) which is basically impotent after 200 yards, yet we can go out all hours of the night and shoot high powered rifles at coyotes. Seems pretty dumb if you ask me.

I sure hope those nightcrawler hunters are wearing their orangeglow-in-the-dark vests and hats during preditor hunting season!

DD, I hope you didn't take my post as an insult or anything, I was just saying if he was inexperienced and got too excited and shot the deer(legally) then I think the best thing to do would have been to congradulate him, then explain to him how to better identify young deer / button bucks and why you try not to shoot those deer. I think sometimes we all need to remember how excited we were on our first or second deer. Case in point, I had one in the scope today at 25 yards and I thought it was a nice doe, was 3 seconds from drooping the hammer when it looked at me, and I saw it had 2 inch spikes, so I let it walk. A few years ago and seeing it had horns and I would have shot and been thrilled with a spike!

hey DD, don't beat yourself up too bad over it, i have found that a lot of young and new to hunting people have problems judgeingdeer, especially a single deer, plus i know it is hard to understand, but some grown men have no idea of what to do in the woods, they didn't have dads or uncles or grandfathers that hunted, somebody has got to show them the ropes, BTW don't forget to show him the rope you'll hang him with if he dose it again[:-](not kiddin)

DD, the only question you have to answer is how much you may need to like the guy in the future. If he is a guy that you don't have tosee in the future and you really think he is to dumb to teach then let him go and learn from it. But if you will have to run into him in the future through your son than maybee it would be best to talk to him. We dont know the guy like you do but just use your judgement. I too would shoot a deer after hours if it was first shot before dark to put it out of its suffering. The only thing that makes me worry about the guy is that he wanted to give up on the blood trail. And also DD i'm a newbe here so I try not to say what I think to much but I like seeing guys speak their mind. I think people are just tired of your super sucess so they have to attack you so you dont look so good. If you hadn't previously posted all those success post you probally wouldn't get the crap that you do, just jealous people. I always like it when you see people preach stuff so hard only to find out in the future they been doing worse then what they preached. also keep up the cool/funny signature pics, you been slackin latley.

DD, try not to worry about it to much i pass on a fork horn this year and told my buddy about it and i told him i let him go to grow alittle and he seen it during shotgun and took him out but that was his first buck and hes going to get it mounted , but know he looks at it like a learning expereance and puttind his standerts higher at passing on somthing like that in the future

OK...


It isn't?????? Hunter in the woods at night breaking the law killing a deer with a spot light??? The law would have their way with you!


You my friend have alot of faith in the internet.


I agree!

One better, where would this thread be going if the Game Warden busted them BOTH for killing a deer at night??

Its also the hunter responsibility to follow the law. Right?

In my book a poorly shot deer is shooting it at night, hence breaking the law=poaching. If one is such a hunter end its suffering legally or accept the fact!

If you read DD post he shot at "eyes looking back at his light" now thats responsible?? Give me a break!



Like I said I hate to see ANY animal suffer. Where I come from, where I hunt and how my Father taught me thats called poaching..You can call it what you want to ease your own mind, just so you can sleep at night! Thats the truth, poaching is poaching no matter how you word it! JMO

[quote]ORIGINAL: BowHuntingFool

I bet you would try and argue with a Stop sign ! ...and your screen name sure discribes what your post makes you look like on here ..a "fool" ..

dd