I' d offfer to drag it out for him. That' s better than him killin it and not getting it out, and better than driving a wedge in the family.

Just my thoughts.

David

I am a Grandpa myself. There is no way in hell I would leave a deer lay. My wife goes hunting with me and always has. I have about 900-1000 feet of 1/2 inch nylon rope for that very purpose. I will get a younger guy to go hunting with me if I ever get to the point that I can' t handle it myself. I have helped out the younger folks in our family a lot and won' t be ashamed to ask them to return the favor. I hope to hunt until I die. But when its time to ask for help I will ask. If I can' t get help then I will quit. I was just brought up to believe that you don' t waste what you kill.

Gah, 1000ft of rope?! Do you tie one end of the rope to your truck and walk the other end down to your deer stand, and when you get a deer just drag it out of the woods with the truck?

Just kidding, just seems like an awful lot of rope to take out.

I have a 100ft coil of 1 inch thick rope in the truck and it' s a mess to handle.

Thunder

maybe the old fella really didn' t shoot a deer. he might not have even left the vehicle. maybe he just doesn' t want to admit that he just can' t get around like he used to and doesn' t want anybody to know it. but if he did shoot that deer and leave it there, he is wrong!! it doesn' t matter the age, you always retrieve your kill..... next time just tell him to quarter it and make a couple of trips back to the kill zone.

Sounds to me like you' re over-reacting a bit. No offense intended, but it is his choice to employ the hunting ethics he sees fit. If he chooses to not drag out a deer, than it is his choice to make and he must live with the concequences.

You do not have to agree with him, but you should also not let it effect the way you treat him. It falls into the same category as religion and politics!

Extend your hand and move on, while you still have time.

JMO.

I don' t know where you hunt, but up here in Wisconsin there are some ravines that are so steep and thick with brush that I wouldn' t be able to drag out a carcass(and I' m 18) He should carry a cell phone so he can call someone if he needs help. carrying a cell phone is a good idea anyway

tell him to carry a knife with him next time and atleast take the meat back!!!

I don' t think we know the whole story here. So trying to give advise is going to be suspect at best, However these facts remain.

1. Respect is earned not given just because of age.
2. No deer should be left to rot, no matter the reason.

Thunderdogg. There are some awful deep canyons where I hunt. Many of them are to steep to even wak on if it is slippery. I have my rope on one of those reels made for garden hoses. It will hold a heck of a bunch of rope. I bolted the reel onto a piece of plywood about two by three ft. I just set the spool on the hood and take off with the end of the rope. One of us goes down to tie on the rope then we can hang on to it as well and get a helping hand up the slope. I have my rope cut into 100 ft pieces so I need not use to much more at once than I neep. It works great and never a tangled rope. Old guys know many tricks. It is a better trick though if you can wait until they come up on top to feed.

I would really work on trying to get to hunt with him and his partner, my dad is 70 and still comes up to hunt every year with me and 2 of my 3 kids, one of my daughters tried it and didn' t like the waiting part.
Yes I do all the work,scouting, setting up stands,dragging,skinning etc... But to have three generations hunting together and telling stories and talking family history for one week a year is definatly worth the work!
Try to sell them on the tradition of the hunt as well as having young legs around to do the tough stuff.
It is sad to think that he left one to rot, but get over that one and try to help them out next year!