Could've arrowed him but.....
 

....it just wouldn't be cool. Reeked of not fair.

A buddy called me to say there was a real nice deer on a small piece of property he was working at. Said it was pestering some does and hanging around. Bedding down & up, down & up.

So I headed over there. What I found was a nice buck ending himself a doe. He was bedded right outside the back door and the object of his obsession was bedded right along the house.

I couldn't shoot him. It wasn't right.

So you didnt shoot it because its "girlfriend" was there!!??
I would have arrowed that thing soooo fast. Im no pro at scoring but that looks like a 160 class + deer

But to each is there own I guess

It is called sportsmanship and some have it and some don't. Super picture.

I believe you. There are times when a person has to make a decision based on their own ethics and no one is around to judge otherwise.

It's amazing how many deer(one a trophy) I see "AFTER" legal shooting light and could shoot them. I tell myself the same thing "I couldn't shoot him. It wasn't right."

I'm proud of you uncle matt for making a commendable decision.

iSnipe

i wouldnt have shot it either. i dont care how big it was. its not hunting.

I'm not sure I understand exactly what you mean? Picking a vehicle struck deer up off the road isn't hunting, but many do it. Just because it's behind a house and following a doe isn't fair game? In that case, I may as well not go into the woods because they are all over the place behind me and bedding down across the street. You'd have to cover yourself in camo and be another 20ft in the woods before you'd shoot it? And then, you'd stalk up onto it, hiding behind trees, and shoot it just like it's sitting now?

Hate it, I'm in it to eat. If that deer didn't have antlers on it's head, it'd sure enough be in someone's freezer right now. Why does the size of the antlers make such a difference when it's all about the meat? And no I don't hunt "brown it's down," like I said I hunt to eat. Until the freezer is full as long as it's legal it's fair game, regardless of antlers or not. You can't eat doe tags or antlers, period.

It wouldn't work if i was in that stand,i would have killed his @$$!!!!!!!!

Im the,''If its brown its down''hunter,cause i hardly see a deer!!!!!!!!!

I agree with you. Many people are forced to hunt "Urban" areas because they have no other land or oppurtunitys to hunt land way out in the woods. In my eyes, a deer in an urban area is the same thing as a deer in the deep woods. Just my honest opinion. Yes if I was an urban hunter, I would rather be in the deep woods rather then hunting an urban area, but some dont have those chances.

I'm in the same boat as you. I've seen three does and I've killed three does. But I wouldn't take it because of lack of seeing deer, I would because pictures don't fill the freezer. On a side note, I'd shoot the doe if I had a tag or it was a doe day. Can't beat two for one.

Champlain Islander,

You are absolutely right...

"...some have it and some don't."

That's evident.

iSnipe

opening up the back door and shooting a deer to me isnt hunting. i want to be in the woods and in my stand when i shoot a deer. an easy kill is not the experience that im looking for. Ive seen plenty of deer while looking out of the window of my house and could have easily taken one. but i didnt cause that aint no fun.

What's "sportmanship" have to do with meat?

That deer can run just as easily where it is now as it can in the woods. Are you to tell me that you NEVER HAVE and NEVER WOULD shoot a buck tending a doe? If were chasing a doe past your stand you wouldn't shoot him? Why is where he's sitting now different than if he were two miles into the woods sitting just the same tending a doe?

By the way, shooting after hours is a legal issue not an ethical one. There's a complete difference between the two.

From reading the first post, I think the idea is that this deer lacked any element of "the chase" or "the hunt." In other words, it was killing a deer rather than getting the experience of hunting.

I can relate. I've passed on a deer that would have been legal to shoot in circumstances like this. Going out in the muzzleloader season, there was a doe I could have easily taken standing just outside the city limits on our own land. I just kept driving because it just had no feel of hunting.

If you're in it for fun, carry a camera instead of a weapon.

It's always amazing to me when people get "ethical" on a message board. Take ten people who say they wouldn't take a shot at that deer and you can bet there are one or two who would...they're just afraid to say so because they fear what others will say.

its illegal because its unethical.

Dude that's a freaking nice buck!!!! Too bad you didn't shoot it. But it just wouldn't have been as cool if you had.......

Once again, the "chase" and the "hunt" don't put food on the table. There are people here who may only have one or two shots a year at a deer, any deer. Why should they pass on an opportunity to harvest a deer legally simply because someone else thinks it "isn't right"?

And I stand by what I said....if that deer didn't have antlers on it's head it wouldn't be an issue.

hell yeah im in it for the fun. whats wrong with that?

How so? What's unethical about shooting a deer at night? It's illegal because it's dangerous. Just as shooting from a vehicle is illegal because it's dangerous. You have no idea what's behind your target and can't see it.

its not about being "right" or "ethical". you are missing the point. it just wouldnt be fun. in my opinion, you would be killing it for the sake of killing it. its not the hunting experience that you think of in your head every night before the next mornings hunt.

There's nothing wrong with hunting for fun. But if you're hunting for fun, then why do you need a weapon? Do you like the thrill of kill? Is that what you mean?

Talk to the hand.

iSnipe

No, I kill for the sake of eating it. The hunting experience I think of brings home meat for the freezer.

To hunt, by definition is searching for prey to kill or capture. Hunting IS killing, plain and simple.

the thrill of the hunt is what im looking for. not just the kill.

LOL, we both know the answers to those questions.

If I only hunted just to get some meat, I would seriously have to dead broke and be living off the land to survive. I love the excitement of hunting. Its not a necessity in my life. Its a leisure activity that I was raised to enjoy. I buy into the calls and attractants and gear and all the crap that goes with it because I enjoy hunting. To me its a sport and shooting a damn deer right out my back door aint sporting.

But not everyone is like that. Some of us fill the freezer so we don't have to buy beef and can use that money for other things we enjoy. It's also healthier and more beneficial without all the crap they use to make cows bigger to slaughter and sell faster.

I'm with you on the "buying in" to everything. I can't pass one up because it may be the "one" that brings the deer in. Can't argue with you there.

To you it isn't. But, not everyone feels the same way about the hunt. Honestly, I climb a tree in my climber sometimes and sleep more than I'm awake. I may miss some deer, I may not. But, when opportunity knocks I'm nocking an arrow or pulling a trigger. Not everyone "hunts" the same. To me, doghunting isn't sporting or ethical...and you can't convince me that all the adrenaline does venison any good. Even so, I'm not going to beat down those who doghunt the right way because that's their choice. Passing judgement on the legal choices of others isn't right and shouldn't be done. You "hunt" your way for your reasons, just as others do. That doesn't make their way wrong or right, just a different way.

Nice Deer UM, I can see your point. Id be in the same boat. Maybe if I was set up in a tree a few days later in that general area and he came in, then he might not be so lucky! :)

I know how it feels though. I posted this a few days ago on someones post. Saturday afternoon and this one comes rolling through the backyard. It just not fair!!!

Nice pic and buck fastetti.

No need to play it off anymore though, as he's probably in your taxidermist's freezer waiting to be mounted.

LOL!

iSnipe

Beats me. I can only tell you why I didn't shoot--lack of fun. The one ethical point that does come up the most here is whether it's fair to the deer to shoot in such a situtation--in other words, if the deer had a chance to employ its defenses to get out of danger and was beaten at it by the hunter through his hunting skills.

There are situations where that isn't the case and its not right to shoot if we're going to be considered sportsmen. A game animal is entitled to use its natural defenses or we're abusing the gift that they are.

Hunting is fair chase. Anything else is just killing.

Good job Matt, way to stick with your ethics in the face of temptation.

beezer buddy....you are definitely missing the big picture....it's about the hunt. NOT the meat.....in this case. the guy didnt want to open his back door and shoot it. bottom line. he is in it 4 the hunt...the chase....the game....the challenge! if your really that poor and need the meat so bad start out by cuttin your internet service out!!!
thanks bud...if that doesnt help at all ill supply you with a deer!

I agree, if it was all about the meat, than that doe in front of him would be the deer for you. A shorter shot. I think that when you look at a deer you have shot you want to have a great story to go with it like "I had been in my stand 8 hours in the snow" or "I was at Hunting camp with all my hunting buddies and almost didn't go out" not "My friend called me and I walked up to his back door and shot a monster." Ive seen Uncle Matts post here and on other forums and he seems like a skilled and Ethical hunter. Again, Good choice Matt.

iSnipe, believe me, It hurt me not to grab my bow! Biggest deer ive seen in a long time. The worst part was around when this picture was taken. I was shooting my bow the day before and left my back up plywood out. Where that plywood is at in this picture is where my foam target goes. I know every yard to that target and he stood right there! 27 yards broadside....It just isn't fair!! LOL!

Just funnin' with yah fastetti! I know what you mean.

=================================

As to having to describe or explain to someone about why this hunter passed up an opportunity like this seems.... hmm?... Well, if that has to be explained, then it's most likely something that will never be understood regardless of the ethics or merits of the deed or lack thereof, ie, passing it up. Hunters at heart know what I mean without explanation.

iSnipe

Just say you "passed him" he's not big enough yet...

That was my way of "shooting" him. :wink:

I'll address a couple things.

First the meat issue and filling the freezer. It is very important to me to fill the freezer. Very important. But I will have ample opportunities with firearm season coming up and me and my boys having plenty of tags. Plus I have permission for a nice little piece of property right near me to archery hunt all season. The freezer won't be hurting and we are actually planning on more venison than ever and much more sausage production.

It would have been totally legal to arrow him. Whether from the back door or around the corner of the building. The house is not occupied and there are no houses within 100 yards so archery harvest is OK by IL law.

The thing that bothered me was that the deer there are obviously used to people being around. Maybe the people who used to live there fed them or something. It just doesn't work for me shooting a deer that is just going to lay there and look at me.

I am a huge believer in karma. I have had many instances in my life where I feel karma was the reason things happened. So I'm not sweating it. It will all happen the way someone has planned for me.

i think it all depends on your standards and what your looking to do,i would have shot the buck,he would have been a nice mount and tasty at that,also its sick when say you let the buck go and he gets hit by a car or something like that you just never know,you should always take advantage of your oppourtunities