I missed...or did I??
 

WEll i got up to go junior antlerless rifle. I got up and was walking up to my stand at the top of this field. As I walk up i hear snorts but i knew the deer hadn't of moved yet so i sat down and waited till light. AFter 25 minutes or so its pretty light out and i see two deer at the top of the hill. They were about 150 yards away so it was a pretty hard shot standing since i couldn't shoot laying because of high brush. So after a few moments I take the shot and the deer runs off and I hadn't thought I had so I didn't bother looking. Then this morning I figure what the heck so I went out and sure enough at the bottom of the hill at the creek the deer was laying dead. He was no good since she had been laying over night, and she was stiff as a board and bloated. So I guess that goes to show ya always check and see whether or not you hit it or not.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

If I read that right, you took a shot at a deer and never went to check to see if you hit it? In m y opinion you should not be hunting. Thats totally disgraceful.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

It's one of the tough lessons in hunting. But telling someone they should not be hunting is a bit ridiculous. Why not try and educate a junior hunter when he/she does wrong rather than just condemning them out of hand?
What was done was wrong. Other than the memory of that deer lying there dead and bloated, he learned a lesson, or should have.
Maybe next time he'll check the shot.
But then, since some of us are perfect...

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

The PA hunters diagest reads as follows:
[align=center]"It is unlawful for a hunter to refuse or neglect to make a reasonable effort to retrieve any killed or injured game or wildlife..."[/align][align=left][/align][align=left]Bottom line is you did not comply with this regulation, period. You need to take a good hard look at what you have don and realize you could have your license revoked for this infraction. I'm not going to call you a morron or aything like that just give you good, wholesome advice. [/align][align=left][/align][ol][*][align=left]Only take shots you are confident will humanley kill the game you are after.[/align][*][align=left]Follow up and search for any and all game, as the guideline demands[/align][*][align=left]Take this as good, sound verbal beating and learn from your mistakes.[/align][*][align=left]READ YOUR DIAGEST OF REGULATIONS!![/align][*][align=left]and please dont repeat this action[/align][/ol]

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

100% agreed, no excuses. I hope you cancelled your tag after finding your deer this am. Learning means accepting responsibility for your actions!!!

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

I'll be with Bionicrooster also. Even my first time out hunting by myself i shot at one and i knew i missed but i went and looked just incase. No matter if you know you missed or you hit it and never knew it i'd always go take a look.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

By his own words, the hunters said.."Then this morning I figure what the heck so I went out and sure enough at the bottom of the hill at the creek the deer was laying dead". ...Sounds like this hunterhad nothing better to do.....

I understand you're feelings but I have to agree with Bionicrooster 100%. That junior hunter should put his gun away 'til next year and maybe then he'll be mature enought to take the correct action after the shot.

This wasn't aminor oversight it was capital sin of hunting. If he was my kid he would spend a lot of time this deer season raking leaves' cause he sure as heck wouldn't have a gun in his hand.

If he was hunting from my camp, I would just tell him one thig:..."There's a front door and a back door...pick one"!

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

Agree with bionicrooster also.If you just want to shoot at something,go to a rifle range and shoot paper targets(and don't forget to take them down when you're done).

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

I am not saying what he did was right. but why don't we educate him instead of crucifying him. if we attack him now he will hate hunting and hunters forever, he might even become an anti. I think we can all agree he made a bad decision. but unless we can all agree we have never made bad decisions in the field, which we can't, then we need to correct him an hope he learns.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

If he waits 'til next year, he will have learned a vary valuable lesson. I would also be willing to bet, he won't do that again.Sure we all make mistakes, especially when deer hunting and we make correction accordingly. This was a serious mistake in judgement.

Sounds like you're more concerned in doing whatever it takes to keep him from hating hunters and hunting and maybe even becoming an anti.

If he's taught a big lesson in life and still decides to hunt than he will be a better hunter for it.If he decides to hate hunters and hunting forever, it's his call and deerhunting will be better off without him.

Just my two cents...

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

did you tag her Jake?

Bloody awful. Young man, junior hunter nothing! This guy is old enough to be hunting alone then he is old enough to be told he is a bloody idiot.

You are the reason many respectable hunters have an issue with the general public. Stick to motocross.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

Obviously choosing not to check for a hit was a bad choice.
I don't thinkanyone on this forum would dispute that.

It seems to me, that this hunter learned this lesson before anybody else opened their mouths about it.
From his own unedited opening post: How about giving this guy a bit of credit for having a big enough pair of balls to publically admit what happened because of a mistake he made?
It sounds to me as though he may have shared this experience here to help insure that other new hunters also see how important it is to thoroughly check for a hit and a bloodtrail.

I think that hanging his thingy out there for everybody to bite at was a gutsy thing to do just to help benefit somebody else or admit he learned it the hard way.

Where would you have him go to share his experiences and lessons learned if not a forum like this? How many new hunters may avoid that same mistake because they read this? How many of those same new hunters may not ever post here when they need help or advice because they fear ridicule?

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

wow i wish i never posted this

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

See guys?


Bigdeernofear, not everybody can do everything right on every deer. There are plenty of things that can go wrong even if you have lots of experience and ideal conditions.

Don't even think of quitting hunting, or posting here. If it's something you like to do, and you disire to do it well and ethically, then just chalk this up as something you would do differently in the future, and pass along your knowledge to someone else when you have the opportunity. Everybody has to learn some things the hard way. It's never fun, and there will always be thosewho don't remember what it was like when they messed up.

Iget the feelingyou care about making a good shot and doing all you can to recover the animal (including seeing if you hit it each time you take a shot), andthat tells me that you just learned a hard lesson. I don't think you saw anything in the deer's reaction to make you think you hit it, and that was the reason you didn't follow up. Now you know how misleading deer can be, and you'll be a better hunter for it.

The guys that are writing nasty stuff probably believe that you don't care at all, or theyare afraid of anti-hunting publicity, or they just enjoy jumping on the ethical bandwagon whenever itpasses by. If you are not the kind of guy they took you for, then you can't take what they wrote to heart, as it was meant for someone else.

I'm also going to take this opportunity to recommend the book Finding WoundedDeer by John Trout. It is a great resource for all deer hunters and will aid inusing field evidenceto determine what type of wound a deer has, how to follow up, and how long to wait before doing so. I feel that all those wanting to have the best chance to recover every deer they hit should hear what this experienced deer hunter has to say.

-Bulz

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

I knew when I read the post it wasn't going to be your day......

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

the guys on here dont mean to make you feel like crap ( i hope they dont), they just want you to learn from their mistakes (i hope they do). Some timesthey come across harsh, but they are all great guys. they jsut all want to try and help you out....dont let this one thing bring you down. Learn from your mistakes and move on. Next time you will know what to do.

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see what? I see that he chose to focus on the bashing rather than all the "learning" you say he received.

He portayed a very laisez faire attitude about the whole thing. I don't think it was big pair of balls but rather the fact he didn't think it was a big deal. If my kids do a stupid thing they might very well get a serious verbal thrashing. I also expect them to LEARN something when they are getting the gears put to them. I don't expect them to like it just like I didn't expect Jake to like what he read.

Good on ya for wanting to look for the positve attributes in people. Very comendable Bulzeye. Honestly. You're last post was much better than your first one . In looking for the good you just can't create it however.

heneeded to have a good lashing thrown at him. I noted as well he didn't answer my question. Did he tag her? Did he understand his hunting was done or is he planning to gear up again?

They're going to think twice based on the harsh, honest answers. If Everyone was all warm and fuzzy about such a blatantly irresponsible thing the message might not hit home.

Come on. Honestly. Don't you think the lesson should have been learned before he walked into the bush with a loaded rifle in his hand? The deer deserve better than to be used as learning tools this way.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

Even if that were true, my point is someone who doesn't already know to look to see if you hit a deer after shooting at it shouldn't be hunting. Maybe one day, but not now.

Bbear, say what you will, the people on here who have seen me post know I am not a basher and never claimed to be perfect, but if you want to take shots at me for respecting wildlife, go ahead...

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

Man, in my opinion, he still doesn't get it.

He posted "wow i wish i never posted this"

Nowhere does it say anything about owning up to his mistake and how sorry he was for his mistake. He is more concerned about what was said than what he did.

I deal with young people and having to establish discipline all the time. Person says, I messed up, I apologize and this is how I will fix it so it never happens again and I am ready to accept responsibility....... I am all the way in their corner and willing to work with them.

When they try to decieve, dodge responsibility or react with the whole "sorry I got caught" act.... I have no sympathy. They need to get the message.

I don't know this person, and it really isn't totally fair to judge him by what little we have, but he brought it into this court and I think almost everyone agrees. He needs some guidance and work.
Hank

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

I could be wrong about this young hunter, but I hope not.

On the other hand, I'd hate to see him give it up if his heart really was in the right place. It's not always easy to tell from a typed post, so I try to give the benefit of the doubt, especially when the poster appears to be a beginner.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

no comment

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

In my earlier post, I did not intend to ridicule but simply educate this young hunter. Please BigDeerNoFear, take the advice and learn from this situatuation. And please tell me you properly tag this deer, or atleast surrendered you antlerless deer tag. I hope you realize what you have done and learn from it.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

Obviously you made a bad call. You should have looked for the deer. Hopefully you learned a lesson. You are right though, you shouldn't have posted it here. Too many of the people on this forum havea high and mighty attitude. They take every opportunity they have to let everyone know how ethical they are and how much of a better hunter than you they are. Get over yourselves. Mistakes happen to everyone. Hopefully this one doesn't happen to him again, but it happened. Should he give up hunting for a year, no way. Go out and try again, but make it count.

As for tagging the deer after it is rotten, I wouldn't expect you to do that. Earlier this year I shot a doe. I wasn't sure of my hit, so I let it sit over night. That is the supposed "ethical" thing to do. I found it the next mourning, but the coyotes had already shredded it. If you think I tagged it anyway, your nuts. If you can't use the deer anymore thenwhy tag it. If it makes you feel better about yourself, then you tag it.

I am glad that I don't hunt with most of you. You would take the fun out of hunting. There is a difference between having respect for your quary and just being a buch of anal retentive elitists.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

Sorry, but that's wrong. You shoot a deer, you tag it, plain and simple. That's not being anal retentive. That's doing what's legal and moral and ethical. If you shoot a deer and don't tag it, and then go shoot another deer with that tag, you're a poacher.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

Poacher or not, I'm not ending my season on a shredded up carcass that I can't use, let alone don't want to touch. How many of you guy's are actually practicing what you preach? Let the BS roll....

By the way, I asked a Wisconsin DNR warden and he said that he would not ticket someone for not tagging a rotten or eaten carcass. In all fairness though, he was talking about one that had been properly looked for. Even if I could get a ticket, I still wouldn't tag it.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

The deer should still be tagged and added to your season total, but I can also see where you are coming from. I have little tolerance for idiots in the field. Any moron knows to at least give some effort to see if there was a hit. I took a so called friend hunting with me a few times. I told him not to shoot a young buck. He shot a young spike thinking it was a doe. I forgave him for that. He did it again a week later saying he thought it was once again a doe. He was 50 yards from the spike, which had 8 inch spikes. Anyone could tell a spike like this from a doe at 50 yards with a high powered scope. The red flag went up this time. A week later he shot at what he said was a nice buck. He said he had missed. I asked did you look for blood. He said no. I made him look for any signs of a hit. I found the blood trail and made him follow it. It lead to you guessed it, another spike. I told him at that spot I hope you enjoyed hunting my land with me, because you will never step foot on it again. If I hadn't had been there he would have not even looked for the deer and it would have been wasted. I was too patient with him because he was a friend. I still occasionally speak with him but he will never hunt on my property again. Always look for signs of a hit. There is no excuse not to. Being a total dumbass is not an excuse. I don't think he should give up hunting, but I sure hope he learned a lesson from this. Don't let it happen again.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

I dont think the high and might attitude plays here and I don't think folks here are a bunch of anal retentive elitists. And yes, I feel most everyone here has respect for the quary. Most everyone, because I have my doubts whether to include this young hunter.

I made some harsh comments, so single me out and fire away.

I will defend my statements because I honestly feel this young hunter went beyond making a small, simple mistake - and - I still have the gut feeling he dosen't understand that andI based that on his comments.

You may say, learn from your mistake, and don't take what everyone here says to heart because they all have a high and mighty attitude.

That'san unfair statement to make.

I disagree, I say emphasize the severity of his actions or lack there of. Had this young hunter cheked to see if this deer was hit, he may have been able to put it down if it was still alive. Instead, he'll never know and a deer may have suffered an anagonizing death because he failed to simply check. We all say we owe it to the animal and this was a classic example of what not to do.

To me, that's not a simple mistake. It is breaking a cardinal rule. And becauseI was harsh in my comments, don't think for one second I have no respect for the animal I hunt and that I am not an ethical hunter.

I am sure you have respect and you are not unethical. Should I change my feelings toward you (that I don't even know) because we disagree on this subject?

I'll let you answer that question.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

I may be wrong but you sound a little relaxed about the whole thing. Also depending on where you are in the country i have shot deer and waited until the next day to recover. I am howevr from Wi so the temps help out a lot. You just don't seem to be afected by you discision. You have a "oh well" attitude. I gotta to tell you that if in fact that is your mind set it really pisses me off. I can not believe you wouldn't go look. The other thing that bothers me about your story is that you say the deer was on top of a hill. I know I wouldn't take a shot with a gun if all I could see was sky behind the deer. Being responsible for your shot is a must. Hopefully that wasn't the case.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

yup he is if that's what happens, and I guess you're right fetzer. When comparing to a poacher most of the good hunters on here are high and mighty.

Besides fetzer you're talking about a different thing. If this guy showed a little different attitude and tried for recovery and still ended up with spoiled meat it's a different story.

As far as tagging it. You do what you will. If the deer carcass is found where I am from, and it was shot, there would be an investigation. If it leads back to me and my answer was "Ahh sorry officer. I really really tried super duper hard to find it but when I did the yotes had alrerady got to her so I left it there...."

Well somehow I think my hunting licence would be in jeapordy. That ain't being high and mighty and all ethical. That's just plain avoiding getting fined, licence supsended etc. etc.

I guess ifin Wisconson they have a different attitude on finding dead, shot deer in the bush then fine. Somehow I think the other Wisconson hunters on here will say that's not so at all.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

The problem with not using the tags when you kill a deer is the ptential for abuse. There may be people out there who will shoot a deer and then not tag it in order to be able to go out and shoot deer. i.e. "Darn ground shrinkage. I'm going to leave it here, and say I looked for it but couldn't find it. That way I can keep hunting for a bigger one."

Licenses and limits are a statewide management tool. What happens if a lot of people decide to start leaving their deer behind so they can shoot more?

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

There are many hunters who won't use tags so they cankill more deer. In Louisiana there is no tagging system. Next year will be the first. Turkey tagging will follow in 2008. There are hunters killing 10, 15, or 20 deer a year in La. because there is no tagging. The big problem in enforcing limits is the limited number of game wardens. Regardless of the circumstances, you kill a deer you should count it towards your season limit. There is no telling how many deer are actually killed each year. Probably twice as muchaswhat they say at the end of a season.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

I have been following this debate about this guy. I did a search on his old post and this is a 15 year old whom has only been hunting for 3 years. In one of his post he commented on killing 11 deer since he started hunting. I quote "4 bucks, 7 does".

I don't agree with the way he handled the situation, but it seems to me this kid has let the fact that deer are plentiful where he is hunting affect his hunting ethics. This young man does not know what it is like to hunt for 15 years with only 3 deer under his belt. And yes I am a little jeolous of his success and he doesn't even appreciate what he has.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

I will agree that leaving a perfectly fine deer because you want to shoot more or bigger deer is definately wrong and is a terrible waste. I know that it does happen, especially durring antlerless hunts when bucks are shot. Despite that fact, I still am not going to put my tag on or end my season for a rotten or chewed up deer. I would proudly, however,tag and end my season on a buck that looked bigger from the stand. I also understand that deer tagging is a management tool. On the other hand, I don't believe that any state is even anywhere in the ballpark as to the number of deer that are killed. They don't take into acount deer that are wounded in archery season and never found nor the many running deer wounded in deer drives durring the gun season. So if my coyote eaten deer does not make it into their statistics, I can live with it. As for whether or not the rest of the state has the same oppinions as me, I can honestly say that the majority of the average hunting public do. They may not be on this forum saying it, because they don't want to seem like a "bad guy" or get chewedout by everyone else on the site.Not to mention most of the average hunting joe aren't on this site.

With all that said,I still get a sick feeling that lasts for a long time when Ior anyone I hunt with shoots a deer that is not recovered and utilized.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

ok ontelk so i did make a mistake and i did tag it

u better be a fine and dandy hunter to be talking to me like that u

"bloody" *******. man your pretty full of yourself to be saying that ****

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

wow i remember shooten at a doe one time with my bow and complety missed her but because of the morals and ethics my father and uncle taught me i still got out of my stand and checked the situation out. If he has been hunting for 3 years he should know what to do after a shot by now. A new hunter should know how to handle the after shot process before his first year.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

I would never criticize someone that lost a animal if he made a real effort to recover it.However in this case,he couldn't even be bothered to walk over and see if he hit the deer.That is irresponsible and against the regulations.If I had done that at his age,my father would have locked up my gunfor the rest ofthe season.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

ok well i know its a little late to say this now but i did go to see if there was any blood or heair but i didn't see any so i just thought i clearly missed, plus he ran of fine

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

Well as far as an egregiousact like you posted, when it comes to hunting, I have a hard time biting my tongue (and my hunting skills are irrelevant in this regard. This was about your hunting skills my friend).

As far the insults go I can understand you're a young guy feeling threatened and berrated. So I can take that just fine young man ;)

Your last post made me chuckle as well :D;)

All the best Jake.

RE: I missed...or did I??
 

If your big enough to bust a cap...you damn well better be big enough to check it out. i shot a doe in the ham last year with my bow ( i dont know how in the hell that happened) but i spent the next day looking for her and (thank god) i found her standing by the edge of a creek and made an exellent shot on her.... i felt gulty about not making a clean shot the first timeand it enters my mind every time i go to shoot at one..

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