Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

This buck was killed near Nascote, Il. I don' t personally know the killer as the picture was sent to me by a friend of his. I have colored out the face because I don' t feel his personal identity is important.

What I think is important here is the moral and ethical aspect of killing this deer and it appalls me. This buck' s lack of color would make him a very easy target in the dark colored foliage which normally provides deer with some cover & camoflage. Secondly albino deer are rare and for this reason alone I think they should not be killed. I' ve read articles where local hunters have known for years of the existance of an albino and it was just understood that no one would hunt it.

White Albino moose have been seen and photographed near where I moose hunt and no one would ever think about killing one. If someone did shoot one I' m sure the locals would have a lynching.

What is your opinion, agree or disagree? I am told this guy is going to have the buck fully mounted as a trophy - personally I' d be ashamed. What do you think, am I off base here?

To see a full sized clear photo go to www.whitedeer.funtigo.com

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with killing a white deer. If the deer is a true albino, then it is a " genetic deformity" and needs to be taken out of the herd. To me killing an albino or piebald would be just as excitiing as killing a B&C buck.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

ok im not sure if i would shoot this animal or not. but i would not cut down another hunter for doing so just give him a pat on the back and tell him congrats. we hunters must stick together:) just my 2 cents.......enjoy and be safe

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

Sorry,but I see nothing wrong with taking out an albino(where legal of course-and I don' t understand why some states protect these).They' re genetic defects and should be culled from the herd.Also,what differance would it have made if this deer was in snow country-it would' ve had the advantage and the grey-coated deer would' ve stood out.Personally,I' d be ecstatic to take a fine animal as this and won' t condemn another hunter for doing so.JMHO

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

Congrats to the hunter,spectacular trophy.I' d also have it mounted, the hunter took advantage of a " once in a lifetime" chance and made the best of it.
Why would you consider an albino as sacred? just a weakness in the gene pool as I see it.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

I think its against the law to kill an albino here in WA. But where it is legal I see no problem with it. Its still a deer. Why not make it illegal to kill anything above 190 B&C? They aren' t all that common either.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

There was an albino buck that got hit by a car up in Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago. Not far from my house.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

I dont see a problem with it either.. if they make it illegal then sure it would have a problem with it.. like someone said it is a genetic mishap

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

I' d shoot it ... and I would get a full body mount. :D

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

Goodguy,
Edited out, Flaming Any hunter who would harvest a whitetail that has a brown coat, should feel just fine about harvesting one with a white coat. If you are a hunter, why in the heck should the color of a deer' s coat influence your decision as to whether or not you should kill it? (Unless it is against the law in your state). Albino deer quite often have inferior genetics and as OldLineWalker said, they should be taken from the herd.
I have seen deer with coats that are darker than normal. Does that mean you shouldn' t kill THEM because THEY TOO are exceptional? I just don' t get your reasoning behind this edited post. A brown deer is a deer. A black deer is a deer. And a white deer is a deer. They' re all deer!
Gosh, get a grip![:@]

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

Yep, a rare deer isn' t necessarily a genetically healthy deer. Let' s manage deer responsibly for the good of the population.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

JimboHunter1

Well that' s my opinion and I' m sticking to it. I' m sure many other ethical hunters will feel the same. I wonder why some states make it illegal if there' s nothing wrong with hunting them. I guess you' d also kill the white moose that Spiegal posted the pics of. I think the concept of " fair chase" edited out-inticeing precludes taking a defenseless animal and one of the deer' s main defenses is the ability to blend in to the background. I would not kill or defend the hunter that would kill a buck locked into another, nor would I kill or defend the hunter that would kill a buck at night with a light, nor would I kill or defend the hunter that kills a penned animal, nor would I kill or defend the hunter that would kill a buck who was unfortunately robbed of one of his only two defenses - the other being his speed. What if for some reason the deer was robbed of its ability to run away, say like a cow, would you hunt it? I might think it is your post that is absurd. That doesn' t make me right or you wrong - it' s an opinion. I would not kill the white buck, I' ll leave that up to you. gg.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

the only decision i would need to make is how the heck i am going to convince my mother that i NEED a full body mount, and where the heck am i gonna put this thing???

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

Heck if I have a whitetail tag, buck or doe i' m going to shoot it wether it is albino or not. All it means to me is meat.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

I am sorry i just have to add my 2cents worth. I see nothing wrong with taking a white deer. You say it was not fair because the deer did not have the natural defense of blending into the background. Does that mean that you shouldn' t shoot a brown or black deer when there is snow on the ground? They would not be protected by blending into the background would they.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

There is absolutly nothing wrong at all with taking a deer no matter if it was white, pink, or purple. You' re out there hunting for the purpose of harvesting an animal. I don' t see what differance it' s color makes.

So I guess you are grouping all of us as unethical hunters? Ethics has nothing to do with taking an albino deer. It' s a deer and it walked to within shooting distance just like any other deer in the woods could have.

Fair chase defines the ethical hunting of free ranging wild animals not the color of its hair.

Maybe you haven' t been hunting very long, I don' t know, but deer have many more defences than color and speed. Such as hearing, sight, smell and their instincts.

If there were the predators around that used to be around before we (humans) took everything over that buck wouldn' t have made it past being a spike before it would have been killed and eaten. He' s lucky he made it to be as big as he was and obviously lived a healthy life.
Congratulations to the hunter that harvested this fine whitetail buck.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

ive heard the same thing about shooting an albino. whats the difference bettween an albino and a non-albino? NOTHING! id shoot it, then id get it mounted. i knew this guy that used to say to me every year, if you shoot an albino, dont bring it around here cus your not welcome anymore. my response was, " your an idiot!"

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

Where did you say those albino moose are hanging around?I' d like to take some pictures, ya, pictures,thats right:D

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

Hey whether the deer is white or brown its still a DEER, Its a personal thing to shoot or not to. ya maybe it has a genetic flaw, but dam, he looks very healthy from my screen!! When it comes to ' ETHICS' if your hunting in an area where there is an animal that nobody will shoot for what ever reason, then there' s your ethics dont shoot it. If that deer was lounging under my apple tree behind my house, you bet your rump hes gonna die,mount the head and put rest into freezer!!:D---AS you stated hunters need to stay together, true,BUT when there isnt that ' HUNTERS CODE OF ETHICS' its all personal choice!! ME BANG--
AS for Spiegal' s moose, nobody else has stated yes or no. Maybe its just me but there seems to be a big differance between that moose and that deer. I dont have a moose tag.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

why the heck not shoot it? if you don' t...............someone else is gonna!

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

One more vote against you. If that deer crossed in front of my stand, it would get dropped, that is if I could hold my gun steady enough. I' d have the worst case of buck fever. And if I did drop it, you could hear me in the next county. After 70 years, I have yet to see even a piebald, let alone a full albino. The stepson has one on his hunting land. (And has a video of it, an eight point.) It' s a chance like that that keeps me going.

Russ

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

If it' s legal I' d take it. ;)

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

i dont know too many people that wouldnt shoot it. i sure in heck would thats a trophy in my book,and probably many others too, a deers a deer like has already been stated. I dont get why anyone wouldnt shoot it, why not shoot it and charish it other than let it die of disease,another hunter, or a car, or a different predator and only have pictures?why not have it mounted for all to see?

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

Now is that bordering on racism or what? [>:] :D

Kindest Regards,

-Will in Maryland

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

Bigbulls (et al)

Obviously my values and the rest of your' s on this issue are a 180 degrees out of sync. As for your definition of " fair chase" , the key word there is " ethical" and if you think that' s ethical then so be it - it' s just not mine. You refer to the deer' s hearing, sight, etc, with all due respect these are senses which all animals have you and me included - they' re not really defences - there is a difference. As for how long I' ve been hunting - well my youngest son has been hunting for nearly 30 years so you see that makes me a pretty old hunter (like Russ otten up there, only with different values). I guess I can take some solice in the fact that at least some legislators agree with me by making it illegal in some states but I guess they' re probably non-hunters that don' t understand " fair chase" either - maybe like the idiot(s) eastwood there is talking about.

Anyways, thanks for all the responses, well at least for the objective and serious ones - flippint and insulting comments are not really necessary to make a point. It' s interesting that almost to a person y' all see this as a very cut & dried issue and that (so far) no one sees it the way I do. gg

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

I wouldnt shoot it if it was illegal for the state i am in. this is just one more reason that you NEED to know the laws of the state that you are hunting in.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

Hey, Goodguy,
You did ask if you were off base in your original post. So everyone told you that you were a little off base, and you became defensive. Everyone else is right when they say there' s nothing wrong with taking a white deer. It really is a genetic defect. Good ethics would actually say to shoot the deer and reduce those defects in the herd.

Think of this, too. That' s a big deer, and before too long his molars were going to start wearing thin, and he' d be unable to properly digest food, anyway, causing him to starve to death. What a waste! Might as well bag ' em.

So is it wrong to shoot a brown deer when there' s a blanket of snow on the ground? What about a duck out of the blue sky?

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

or yellow fish in a brown barrel??

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

swosumike
I wasn' t going to bother with another post on this thread but you make an interesting comment....and..... maybe the reason he got so old was because hunters prior to this fellow chose not to shoot:) gg.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

Albinos are nothing different from regular deer, its just a genetic mutation that causes a lack of pigment. I see nothing wrong with it. Besides, getting an albino deer mounted is a great way of preserving it:D

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

I wonder how many deer die each year because they can' t see as well as their peers? Or how many die because they are hearing deficient? Perhaps it should be our duty, as " ethical hunters" , to give vision and hearing screening tests to all deer before each and every hunting season. This will ensure that they are all created equally.
Oh and I don' t know about you, but if a brown deer and a white deer are standing together at 25 yards, as they could have been when this archer killed this deer, I would see each of them with the same clarity. The brown one would have no advantage over the white one.
Pass up the white deer for the sake of fair chase? Believe that killing an albino deer is unethical just because some politicians say so? Give me a break...

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

ok whats up with the " speed and blending in" ??? I highly think and IM sure many people will side with me on this is.. ears, nose, and eyes have got to be by far the defenses of the whitetail compared to its coat and speed...

IF NOT answer this: Why are we so worried about scent control when we hunt??

Why do we wear camoflauge??

Why do we try to be deathly quiet when hunting???

hell we' ve got to get close to the deer before we can see the " speed and blending in" !!!!

like everyone has already said.. a deer is a deer.. He sure didnt have any problems living as long as he did.. sounds like he did just fine and finally met his match...

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

I have a saying when it comes to free ranging game. If I don' t shoot it someone else will.

If this Albino was in my cross hairs I would shoot because If I didn' t someone else will. It' s a beutiful animal and will look just as good in my house as it would in wildlife.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

LIGHTEN UP!!! If it is legat to shoot the deer, then shoot it. Also, albino deer are a genecitcal screw up. They do need to be culled from the herd. This deer had NO disadvantage in nature. He has to be at least 4 years old by looking at his rack. Seems to me that he got around pretty good up until the last 20 or so seconds of his life! If you pesonally wouldn' t shoot an albino deer, then don' t do it! It' s bad enough that we have people outside the hunting world critisizing us for killing deer, we don' t need someone from INSIDE the hunting world critisizing us for killing a legal deer!!!

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

I agree with most on here. IF it were legal I would take an albino in a heartbeat. Unless they changed the law recently though it is ILLEGAL to shoot albinos in Illinois where this nice buck was supposedly taken. Surely they changed the law because surely no one would be stupid enough to allow pictures to be placed on the internet or take it to a taxidermist for mounting if it were illegal.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

brucelit
You' re right. I just checked the Illinois Natural Resources web site and the folowing is a cut & paste directly from the site:

White Deer Protected
It is unlawful to take any all-white white-tailed deer at any time

http://dnr.state.il.us/admin/systems...untingInfo.htm

I received this pic in an e-mail from a friend who received it from the shooter with info that it was taken near Nascote, Il. The original photo very clearly shows the hunters face. Is it possible he didn' t know the hunting regs prohibited him from taking a white deer in the area in which he was hunting or is he just stupid. I guess I will let my friend know of this so he can in turn tell the shooter it is an illegal kill.

Charlie brown
Is it Ok for a hunter to criticize another hunter for illegally killing a white deer even if they are a " genecitcal screw up" ? whatever that is? gg.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

Although he is a nice buck, regardless of albino or not....I doubt I would have taken the shot. Quite simply out of respect for the animal as he was already by nature easy pickings so to speak.....he did not make it to that size because he was stupid being an albino. I am one that would have allowed him to walk, and been in awe that he had made it that far in his lifetime, and felt privledged to be able to see him...period. I have personally only seen one true albino buck in my lifetime and he was a nice 8.....he walked. Nuff said from this lady.

:)

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

That " good of the herd" crap gets so old. It' s a deer, thats what you are there to hunt so shoot it. It' s just a deer. I would do the same as the shooter did.

RE: Hunter Kills White Albino Buck - pic
 

If being white is such a disadvantage how did he live long enough to get that big? I' d shoot him and be thankful for the opportunity.

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A few years ago, on a nearby military installation, EVERYONE was trying to take awell-known albino buck that rivalled the one in the picture. He eventually was taken about a year after his prime and everyone congratulated the lucky hunter. I saw the buck while hunting one time and repositioned my stand for the evening hunt. He didn' t show, but a big, normal colored doe and a small, piebald doe showed up together. I shot the big doe purely based on her size. I eventually got a nearly all-white piebald a few years later on a private piece of land where piebalds were virtually unheard of.

BTW--they don' t bring bad luck either--I went on to kill 3 deer in 3 days after getting him!:D