Ethics
11-18-2003, 08:08 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wilmington Delaware USA
Posts: 699
Ethics
Posted this in the NE Forum and wanted to expand the audience. Thanks!
For those of you who haven’t read the DE Shotgun or DE Archery (NOV) thread, I’ll let you know that from 11/10 to 11/17 I hunted 5 days, dawn til dusk. I wasn’t fortunate enough to harvest a deer or even see that much. But, I did see and hear a lot of other things that disturb me. I’ll have to tell a couple short stories to make my point. Please bear with me.
On Saturday 11/15 I witnessed someone fire 8, yes 8 slug rounds at a doe that couldn’t have weighed 45 lbs. and had to be at least 130yds from the hunter. Upon walking up to this hunter and checking out the deer, I saw that it was shot in the ass, hindquarter, and gut shot. I think it finally died of a heart attack. The hunter was HAPPY with this kill! I was sickened. For reasons I can’t say I was not in the position to tell this person what I truly thought of this act. All I could do was shake my head and walk away.
On Monday 11/17, my father pulled a Refuge Stand at Woodland Beach. These stands aren’t hunted often during the year and present a good opportunity for a Deer. Well, at 1:30pm he sees the guy in the stand across from him stand up and take aim. After 3 shots, the guy gets down from his stand, looks around, and heads to the meadow. After a few mins, 4 more shots, machine gun style (Where’s the plug?). By 2:45pm, the guy sits back in his stand. I don’t know about you all, but if I lost a deer and blasted away 7 slugs into the meadow, I’d call it a day. But no, this guy decides he’ll hang out and try to cripple another one. Uggh.
In the parking lot at the stands, I’m waiting for my father to come back from his stand and some other hunters are in the parking lot Bull Sh@ting. An older fellow is telling the story of how he broke a Doe’s leg and it got away. It wasn’t what he was saying but how he said it. Kinda bragging and shrugging his shoulders like ‘oh well’. He comes over to me and asks if I had any luck. I said ‘no’ and asked him about his day. Tells me the broken leg story. I asked him how long he trailed it. Said he didn’t! It was getting late and didn’t want to be wandering the meadow. I asked if he planned to go back and he said ‘no’. He shrugged he shoulders and said ‘what can you do?’ I wouldn’t look at him after that. This was an older guy too. Like early 60’s. I was dumbfounded.
I heard a lot of machine gunning (three real quick shots) from the public grounds. These people can’t possibly be aiming at anything! Just firing at running deer hoping for the best.
What the heck is wrong with these people? I just can’t understand it. Is there no ethics or respect for the animal? I try and tell myself that these stories are the minority, but I see more and more every year. These hunters aren’t breaking laws, but they’re making all hunters look bad and disrespecting the Deer as well as themselves. My wife freaked when I told her the 8-slug deer story. I guess I shouldn’t have told her, but I’m not gonna lie when she asks me what I saw.
I guess all I can do is continue to do what I think is right and try not to judge others. The people in the stories above felt like what they did was just fine. Who am I tell them they are wrong? Who died and made me the ethics god right?
Anyone else have any opinions on this issue or seen anything similar occurring? Maybe I was just in the wrong places at the wrong times?
For those of you who haven’t read the DE Shotgun or DE Archery (NOV) thread, I’ll let you know that from 11/10 to 11/17 I hunted 5 days, dawn til dusk. I wasn’t fortunate enough to harvest a deer or even see that much. But, I did see and hear a lot of other things that disturb me. I’ll have to tell a couple short stories to make my point. Please bear with me.
On Saturday 11/15 I witnessed someone fire 8, yes 8 slug rounds at a doe that couldn’t have weighed 45 lbs. and had to be at least 130yds from the hunter. Upon walking up to this hunter and checking out the deer, I saw that it was shot in the ass, hindquarter, and gut shot. I think it finally died of a heart attack. The hunter was HAPPY with this kill! I was sickened. For reasons I can’t say I was not in the position to tell this person what I truly thought of this act. All I could do was shake my head and walk away.
On Monday 11/17, my father pulled a Refuge Stand at Woodland Beach. These stands aren’t hunted often during the year and present a good opportunity for a Deer. Well, at 1:30pm he sees the guy in the stand across from him stand up and take aim. After 3 shots, the guy gets down from his stand, looks around, and heads to the meadow. After a few mins, 4 more shots, machine gun style (Where’s the plug?). By 2:45pm, the guy sits back in his stand. I don’t know about you all, but if I lost a deer and blasted away 7 slugs into the meadow, I’d call it a day. But no, this guy decides he’ll hang out and try to cripple another one. Uggh.
In the parking lot at the stands, I’m waiting for my father to come back from his stand and some other hunters are in the parking lot Bull Sh@ting. An older fellow is telling the story of how he broke a Doe’s leg and it got away. It wasn’t what he was saying but how he said it. Kinda bragging and shrugging his shoulders like ‘oh well’. He comes over to me and asks if I had any luck. I said ‘no’ and asked him about his day. Tells me the broken leg story. I asked him how long he trailed it. Said he didn’t! It was getting late and didn’t want to be wandering the meadow. I asked if he planned to go back and he said ‘no’. He shrugged he shoulders and said ‘what can you do?’ I wouldn’t look at him after that. This was an older guy too. Like early 60’s. I was dumbfounded.
I heard a lot of machine gunning (three real quick shots) from the public grounds. These people can’t possibly be aiming at anything! Just firing at running deer hoping for the best.
What the heck is wrong with these people? I just can’t understand it. Is there no ethics or respect for the animal? I try and tell myself that these stories are the minority, but I see more and more every year. These hunters aren’t breaking laws, but they’re making all hunters look bad and disrespecting the Deer as well as themselves. My wife freaked when I told her the 8-slug deer story. I guess I shouldn’t have told her, but I’m not gonna lie when she asks me what I saw.
I guess all I can do is continue to do what I think is right and try not to judge others. The people in the stories above felt like what they did was just fine. Who am I tell them they are wrong? Who died and made me the ethics god right?
Anyone else have any opinions on this issue or seen anything similar occurring? Maybe I was just in the wrong places at the wrong times?
11-18-2003, 08:48 PM
#2
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Southeast Alabama
Posts: 191
RE: Ethics
well duckmastor I agree with everything that you have said... but when you post this and I know you dont care and neither do I..that some of those hunters read these posts.. and I HOPE that maybe one day some of them will get a clue.... because it does give us a bad name and that sure as heck is the most human and quickest kill in the book.. its hard to imagine but one placed shot in the boiler room will do a LOT more than 8 shots in the legs, hinds, or around the deer!!!
11-18-2003, 09:11 PM
#3
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Marysville IN USA
Posts: 275
RE: Ethics
Man, you are describing my area to a T. Seems like every shot I hear is
3, 4, or 5 shots, one right after the other. This drives me freakin NUTS!!!!!
When I squeeze the trigger, the LAST thing in my mind is a second shot.
If my first shot wasnt good enough then my second sure as heck wont
be any better.
I will just never understand it.
I could go on and on, but then this thread would just get whacked.[:' (]
3, 4, or 5 shots, one right after the other. This drives me freakin NUTS!!!!!
When I squeeze the trigger, the LAST thing in my mind is a second shot.
If my first shot wasnt good enough then my second sure as heck wont
be any better.
I will just never understand it.
I could go on and on, but then this thread would just get whacked.[:' (]
11-19-2003, 05:42 AM
#4
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Mineral, VA
Posts: 63
RE: Ethics
Not all of what you describe is legal, at least not in Virginia. The VDGIF regulations say that this is one unlawful method: " Kill or cripple and knowingly allow any non-migratory game bird or game animal to be wasted without making a reasonable effort to retrieve the animal and retain it in possession."
So the " hunter" who was so proud of his wonderfully accurate shot that broke the doe' s leg should have been reported. In Virginia, there' s a confidential way to report someone who breaks game laws. Hopefully something similar exists in Delaware. If we don' t do everything we can to report these criminals, they will continue to do what they' ve always done - and eventually ruin it for all of us.
So the " hunter" who was so proud of his wonderfully accurate shot that broke the doe' s leg should have been reported. In Virginia, there' s a confidential way to report someone who breaks game laws. Hopefully something similar exists in Delaware. If we don' t do everything we can to report these criminals, they will continue to do what they' ve always done - and eventually ruin it for all of us.
11-19-2003, 06:09 AM
#5
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 368
RE: Ethics
I agree with what you say but you make a lot of assumptions. If we can' t shoot three times, why load three shells? Also, maybe the guy who shot in the meadow missed cleanly. I would have gone back to my stand and beat myself with a stick but I would not have gone home.
That said, you are right. Nobody has any respect for any of the animals they shoot or shoot at anymore. When someone brags about wounding a deer, I let them know that I don' t like it. If they don' t follow up a shot, I let them have it even more. These people are slobs not hunters. Even if I' m 100%positive I missed, I check it out for blood hair for a while anyway. These are the ethics that we need to survive. These slobs are worse than the anti' s. They are the ones that every nonhunter talks about as being representative of all of us. Don' t you wish they would find some other activity to destroy?
Greg
Greg
That said, you are right. Nobody has any respect for any of the animals they shoot or shoot at anymore. When someone brags about wounding a deer, I let them know that I don' t like it. If they don' t follow up a shot, I let them have it even more. These people are slobs not hunters. Even if I' m 100%positive I missed, I check it out for blood hair for a while anyway. These are the ethics that we need to survive. These slobs are worse than the anti' s. They are the ones that every nonhunter talks about as being representative of all of us. Don' t you wish they would find some other activity to destroy?
Greg
Greg
11-19-2003, 07:20 AM
#6
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Gouldsboro, PA
Posts: 548
RE: Ethics
I went hunting once with a friend and his brother from NJ in PA. We were on my friends property and there were four of us in an L shape pattern, with me in the back. I was on the ground as well as the guy in front of me. I get a buck and he gets a doe.
My friends brother shot 5 times, shooting slugs from a shotgun. So when I saw him later after we were done, I asked him where are the 5 deer. He missed all 5, but may have wounded one. He never went after the one he wounded since he was in a tree stand and didn' t want to go down. I aso asked him how many times he shot the gun and he said over a year ago.
That is why you need to go to the range and practice.
Regards,
Tom
My friends brother shot 5 times, shooting slugs from a shotgun. So when I saw him later after we were done, I asked him where are the 5 deer. He missed all 5, but may have wounded one. He never went after the one he wounded since he was in a tree stand and didn' t want to go down. I aso asked him how many times he shot the gun and he said over a year ago.
That is why you need to go to the range and practice.
Regards,
Tom
11-19-2003, 07:25 AM
#7
Dominant Buck
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Ramsey , Indiana
Posts: 22,545
RE: Ethics
My Grandpappy said it best , " If you think that you need more than one shot , what you really need is more target practice" . I' d add a jimmy kick if someone told me that they wounded one and made no effort to find it . This would be immediately followed by a call to the local CO with the jerk' s license number ! [:@]
11-19-2003, 08:45 AM
#9
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 13,220
RE: Ethics
As someone who is new to hunting, and looking forward to the many experiences to come, I find this behavior sickening. I say report whatever violations you can, and try to lead by example. We can' t reach every hunters lacking responsibility, but we can try. If not for them, then for the sport.