ethics question: taking someone else's spooked animal

[Whiterabbit]

Here's one for you. You are sitting quietly in the woods, listening to someone 200-300 yards away making a racket (absolute racket) with a game call. 10 minutes later, the game you are hunting comes tearing through the woods and runs right past you, away from the sound of the racket.

Do you believe it's ethical to shoot it on its way by?

Would it make a difference who was doing the calling? Would you feel bad if it were some guy? what about a young new hunter? What if it were a father-son team? And there you are off killing the game they were (poorly) trying to pursue....

What do you say? fair game, or let him run away and let the other hunters chase him off even farther away?

Technically, this is a hypothetical question. Technically. Hypothetically, I technically did not shoot. Now I am questioning if I missed out on meat in the freezer.

[dk17hmr]

Public lands public animals.

Even if I was on someone's land I really wouldn't even worry about it....if it is a good safe shot at a legal animal I wanted I would shoot.

[Lonegun1894]

I agree completely with DK. They obviously blew it, regardless of who it was, so no reason for you to miss out. I mean, it sounds like if anything, they were going to scare away anything in hearing range, so that means they were going to ruin your hunting too.

[35 shooter]

If it was running away from the sound and came by you, i'd say you missed your chance. I might even offer the noise makers part of the meat for unknowingly helping me out.

On more than a few occasions i've taken deer pushed by me by bird hunters or even rabbit hunters with dogs that i might otherwise not have gotten a shot at that day.

Lol i do a lot of hit and run deer hunting with grunt calls and rattling horns during the long seasons here in the south.
I've had deer come right to me and other times come in and "hang up" at a distance, then turn and ease away.
I've also had someone else kill the buck or doe that was coming to the rattling horns before it got to me....lol i didn't get too upset as they were just in the right place at the right time and it was public land.

On the other hand(and this is just me) i would not shoot a deer that was obviously heading toward someone rattling if i felt they had good odds of seeing the deer they were calling.
In that case, i'd rather sit back and watch the show unfold!!

Deer moving away from other hunters....whole nuther ball game!

[Beaver Scout]

I'd be more scared knowing I was sitting that close to someone in the woods with a rifle. I might of shot it, but then again, deer that have been running tend to taste a bit bad, in my opinion.

[white eagle]

Public lands public animals.

Even if I was on someone's land I really wouldn't even worry about it....if it is a good safe shot at a legal animal I wanted I would shoot.

Yep what he said
you never know the circumstances why the animal fled
200 yds is kinda close don't you think?
I agree with Beaver that a scared animal kinda have a
different flavor than a calm one.[smilie=s:

[EMC45]

Last deer I killed was a 10 point that walked off the neighbor's land and onto my brother's land. The neighbor's son spooked it filling up the timed feeder. I shot it and then gutted it and then the neighbor and his son came down saying I just shot "their" deer. Said they had been feeding it and watching it for weeks and were getting ready to kill it themselves. Too bad. I would shoot if I were you.

[Jpholla]

I'd be more scared knowing I was sitting that close to someone in the woods with a rifle. I might of shot it, but then again, deer that have been running tend to taste a bit bad, in my opinion.

Lactic acid builds up in muscles being heavily exerted. It eventually clears out unless the animal dies of course. The same can happen in fish that are played too long.

I would say it depends on who was there first if it was public land if the animal was heading toward a "hunter/caller." If it was heading away from them and they had no shot, I would not see any breach of etiquette.

[runfiverun]

your area, your shot.
you were sitting there waiting for the animal to walk by in the first place, otherwise you wouldn't have had a rifle and a tag with you.

[Wolfer]

In the public land where I hunt after the rut the bigger bucks will become nearly nocturnal. They will be bedded in a grown up clear cut by daylight and won't get up until dark. Unless someone spooks them up. The guy who walks them up may never know it but the guy on the next ridge may get a shot.

I take them as they come to me. I don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

[M-Tecs]

If it was going to the call or rattling I would not shot. Running from the call or rattling I would shot.

[Hickok]

I would have shot. I don't see anything at all wrong or unethical with taking the animal.

Runfiverun has said it best, "Your area, your shot."

[44man]

All in the woods are for the animal hunted. If I did something to bring deer to a friend or neighbor I would feel good. To say a deer BELONGS TO US no matter what is against all law. Deer belong to the state.

[Mica_Hiebert]

I try to avoid hunting the same area as other hunters but while hunting public land it is hard to avoid some times, one morning I headed out at what I thought was early enough to find a decent place to park and get a good distance into the woods before sun up, but as I got out into the woods every single place clear enough to pull a car off the side of the road was occupied so I kept driving farther and farther and farther until I finally found an unoccupied spot to park and start my hunt that was far enough away from where others where hunting, I slipped off into the woods and started hiking pausing from time to time to watch clearings, I was somewhat frustrated because day break was upon me before I had even gotten parked, but decided to make the most of the day, I covered many miles that day over the course of several hours and then the heavens opened up soaking me to the bone and temps where in the mid 30s I was freezing and hadnt seen any game that day and decided it was about time to loop back to the truck, on my way back I herd shooting and kinda meandered in that direction in hopes that I may get a chance shot at a deer some one had missed but no luck... what I did find was some one gutting a deer they had shot 50 yards away from my parked truck and 3 other vehicles parked with mine one of which was blocking me in my parking spot keeping me from leaving until they where done with their hunt. Not sure where I was going with this rant but I guess what Im trying to say is any thing goes while hunting public land! there are no ethics, you can try to be as polite and respectful to others as you would like others to be to you and in the end the *** hat road hunting and drinking beer and checking his zero on road signs will fill his tag and you will be eating tag soup trying to be respectful to others and pass on game you feel some one else may have worked harder for... but in the end what ever will allow you to sleep at night is the right answer.

[Ramjet-SS]

There is no moral or ethical dilemma here. You are a predator if the noise is from another hunter who is not versed in hunting skills then why not?


Now in this scenario; Deer comes running by obviously wounded do you shoot and if you drop the deer and the hunter who wounded it comes walking up ...... what would you do?

See that is an ethics question. In your scenario the "calling" Hunter has no claim or even an encounter with the game animal as they were oblivious to the existence of that animal.

Enjoy the meat!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MT Gianni]

In your scenario anyone calling ducks already has them in their legal bag. I would not like to be hunting withing 2-300 yards of someone else but would have taken the shot.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Last deer I killed was a 10 point that walked off the neighbor's land and onto my brother's land. The neighbor's son spooked it filling up the timed feeder. I shot it and then gutted it and then the neighbor and his son came down saying I just shot "their" deer. Said they had been feeding it and watching it for weeks and were getting ready to kill it themselves. Too bad. I would shoot if I were you.

I don't think you could go far wrong in answering them the way a calm and temperate person would your saying they had done the same with "your" deer.

For the OP there would be an ethical question, though one not certain of answer, if they had been calling or rattling well, and the deer was cooperating. As it was, it was unlikely they would ever have seen it. Anything letting you know there were other hunters in the area demands care in the shot, though.

The nearest I have come to the American whitetail deer was seeing Errol Flynn carrying one into Nottingham Castle. If they are like other species, though, I doubt if they would run hard or long from a bad call. Maybe if the individual animal associated it with a worse experience in the past.

[44man]

There is no moral or ethical dilemma here. You are a predator if the noise is from another hunter who is not versed in hunting skills then why not?


Now in this scenario; Deer comes running by obviously wounded do you shoot and if you drop the deer and the hunter who wounded it comes walking up ...... what would you do?

See that is an ethics question. In your scenario the "calling" Hunter has no claim or even an encounter with the game animal as they were oblivious to the existence of that animal.

Enjoy the meat!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have done it and wait for the hunter. It is the right thing to do. I have found a fresh kill many times and went to find the hunter. I have even gutted a few first.
One hunter I know shot a deer I was tracking and called my name. I tried to give him the deer but he refused it. We think the same here. It is nothing more then help to recover a deer.
Public areas are bad and if you track a good hit, chances are some jerk will be stealing it.
Once in PA I shot a nice archery doe and hung it next to the tent. I tied string to a leg, into the tent and to a pile of pans and silverware. In the middle of the night it fell over and we heard footsteps running. Then all the stories of deer stolen from camp cabin porches or deer stolen at gun point.
You will have stories told about you if you stop your hunt to help an old fella drag his deer out. Help gut it too.

[DougGuy]

Take the shot IF it is an ethical shot. Under the circumstances, THIS is the only ethics question that needs addressing.

Hunters move through the woods, they drive game toward other hunters, it's the way of the woods. We can't run dogs west of the Blue Ridge, but it doesn't say nothing about man drives pushing game out of the thickets and into hunters' sights. Ethics say to divide the deer or at least offer the drivers whatever meat they want if you take a deer they drove out into your shooting lane.

[MBTcustom]

Put yourself in the shoes of the guy doing the "calling". If the dude is trying to learn what and what not to do in the woods, there's nothing like gunfire that is not his own to teach him the lesson quickly. If he's smart, he'll wise up and learn. If he's not, he'll offer himself up as the definition of insanity.

Now personally, in the situation where a hunter's badly shot deer comes by and you smack it down, I say legally, the deer belongs to the guy that put it down, but the gentlemanly thing to do is to surrender it to the guy who shot first depending on his attitude. If he's humble he gets the deer. If he's a jerk about it, he can pound sand.
Thats the way I see it.

[grizz41]

Put yourself in the shoes of the guy doing the "calling". If the dude is trying to learn what and what not to do in the woods, there's nothing like gunfire that is not his own to teach him the lesson quickly. If he's smart, he'll wise up and learn. If he's not, he'll offer himself up as the definition of insanity.

Now personally, in the situation where a hunter's badly shot deer comes by and you smack it down, I say legally, the deer belongs to the guy that put it down, but the gentlemanly thing to do is to surrender it to the guy who shot first depending on his attitude. If he's humble he gets the deer. If he's a jerk about it, he can pound sand.
Thats the way I see it.
Iwould do the same unless game was very scarce, then I might offer to split the critter so everyone has something to chew on!

[skeettx]

It is called Hunting and not Getting
The other fella was Hunting and you should be the one to be Getting
SHOOT
Mike

[Ballistics in Scotland]

[QUOTE=goodsteel;3448048]Now personally, in the situation where a hunter's badly shot deer comes by and you smack it down, I say legally, the deer belongs to the guy that put it down, but the gentlemanly thing to do is to surrender it to the guy who shot first depending on his attitude. If he's humble he gets the deer. QUOTE]

That is the right thing to do, and the right thing for him to do is let you keep it. If his attitude is right, having the deer escape to die slowly, or recover seriously crippled and a living gift to the antis, would be a lot worse than having to go off and look for another.

[SPRINGFIELDM141972]

I would take the deer. He is not going to get the shot anyway. I see nothing to question in this situation.

[BwBrown]

Even in a case where the other hunter has taken a shot, missed, or had a poorly placed shot. His/her ineptness, or whatever, they lost out. It's part of learning to be a better hunter.

If hunter no. 1 shoots a deer and it runs 70yds and goes down... no question.

Rule of thumb around here... the hunter who kills the game takes it home.

[Cornbread]

Take the shot. When I lived in Oregon many years ago I found the best way to turkey hunt there was to go sit on an exit route for the birds on a weekend and not make a sound. Every novice caller and his brother would be out scaring the daylights out of the turkeys with gobbles that sounded like a car with a flat going down the road to what I assume were supposed to be putts that sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. Eventually a turkey or twenty would come running by scared out of their minds and I would get my bird. It worked with deer there too if you knew what you were doing and where the roads hunters spooked them to. No harm in making good on other hunters pushing stuff your way through their ineptitude.

[Win94ae]

Shoot!

[gtgeorge]

I don't see an ethics question really as the deer is in your shooting zone not to mentioned spooked by the other hunter. I am one that sometimes might be that guy making all that racket that has produced many harvests but I am sure has spooked even more. Hearing a shot close by is only a concern that it is "close by".

[tim338]

I have shot a few deer from noisy neighbors sent my way. I see no issue with it.

[44man]

I say legally, the deer belongs to the guy that put it down, but the gentlemanly thing to do is to surrender it to the guy who shot first depending on his attitude. If he's humble he gets the deer. If he's a jerk about it, he can pound sand.
Thats the way I see it.
Hard to agree but YES, if he nicked a leg and got out of sorts. Hunters should be friends and understand if you make a poor hit and someone else gets it. But a good hit from the first shot will go to the man that did it. Every case is different but to me a deer is never worth a confrontation.
I had the same when archery hunting with a "Friend" in Ohio. He shot an arrow and skinned a leg. The deer came to my stand and I killed it. He got out of sorts. Sorry, he did no damage, the deer was mine.
Today I have better friends. Greed is always green. Greed has no place in the field. There are times you need to help to stop a deer to prevent a loss. That does not mean it belongs to you.
Your life and feelings about your actions make you a hunter. How do you feel about yourself?

[Victor N TN]

I've been on both sides of the fence with this problem. The guy who put down the deer I crippled, didn't even offer me a mess of meat. Even though if he had left it alone it would have died shortly anyway.

The one I finished off was shot in the front foreleg. The bottom part of his front leg was just dangling. I did give him that front shoulder. Mainly I felt bad for the deer. I hope that kid learned to place his shot better in later years.

I say, you finished the dear, it's your meat.

[44man]

Different, you had no kill shot. A deer with a bad hit to cripple should go to the hunter that shot it.
My feelings are the deer did not suffer long.
If you think a deer with a broken leg is yours, find it. Deer can do well with 3 legs. I know darn well if I break a leg and another hunter shoots it, it is not my deer. I have a relief that my bad hit did not make a deer suffer. Ethics beats greed every time.
I feel so good about myself and the love and friends I have earned by being a sportsman first.
When the green monster is on your shoulder you should not be in the woods.

[MT Gianni]

I say legally, the deer belongs to the guy that put it down, but the gentlemanly thing to do is to surrender it to the guy who shot first depending on his attitude. If he's humble he gets the deer. If he's a jerk about it, he can pound sand.
Thats the way I see it.
Hard to agree but YES, if he nicked a leg and got out of sorts. Hunters should be friends and understand if you make a poor hit and someone else gets it. But a good hit from the first shot will go to the man that did it. Every case is different but to me a deer is never worth a confrontation.
I had the same when archery hunting with a "Friend" in Ohio. He shot an arrow and skinned a leg. The deer came to my stand and I killed it. He got out of sorts. Sorry, he did no damage, the deer was mine.
Today I have better friends. Greed is always green. Greed has no place in the field. There are times you need to help to stop a deer to prevent a loss. That does not mean it belongs to you.
Your life and feelings about your actions make you a hunter. How do you feel about yourself?
In the original scenario the caller that spooked the deer had not taken a shot, nor had anyone with him.

[44man]

In the original scenario the caller that spooked the deer had not taken a shot, nor had anyone with him.
True, they have no claim. Deer do not know borders or fences.
I feed my deer in the yard, mulberries, pears and apples, then some corn. I don't hunt them and do worry about them but they are not MINE. I have no control if they are next door and get shot.
Yet if a hunter makes a good hit and it comes on my property, you better find it and you do not have to ask me. We have a deal here, get your deer and ask for help if needed.
I don't let many hunt my woods but if I catch you looking for a deer, I will help you and haul it out for you. To stop at my fence would be a crime if you are tracking.
Deer on my property do not belong to me and when they leave. they are fair game.

[waksupi]

If a deer runs by, there is nothing to say it was the same deer the other guy was hunting, or if he even knew it was in the area. Lots of deer out there. If I saw a wounded one going by, I would kill it if possible, because I don't like to see an animal suffer. The majority of hunters are miserable trackers, and it may take them hours to find a wounded animal, if they find it at all.

[Yodogsandman]

What if what you heard was a real buck fight and not poor calling by another hunter. Wild animals call badly because they've never seen the videos. Shoot it, it's yours to shoot, ethically either way.

[birddog]

Tim,
I agree to some extent. I have shot 7 deer that were previously shot and some not by guys in our party. I have always let them have their deer and there were 2 that were very nice wall hangers. But I don't care for boiled antler soup, generally pretty bland. I prefer to slip in and dump them in their beds. No one knows what happened.
Charlie

[Boyscout]

I have blown a number of sure things hunting. I don't know if someone had an opportunity to kill them afterwards or not. If they did, congratulations. On shooting previously wounded game, I think my rule would be first killing shot. A deer with two fatal wounds should go to the first hunter. I have seen heart shot deer travel some pretty impressive distances and they were dead on their feet.

[Motor]

What a weird question. Most of the deer we take with firearms are moving or driven, if you will, either by us or some other hunters.

Some people get upset if you end up benefiting from their drive. I'm proud to say that the people I hunt with are not like that. In fact if someone comes along as we're setting up a drive we'll invite them to participate.

Motor

[Mark454]

I was in a pretty tense situation once over this very issue. So intense that I thought i was going to get shot by some hillbilly.

So, I'm of the persuasion that if that animal, of its God-given free will, walks in front of you then you have the right to take that animal. Regardless of who/what influenced it to do such.

Anybody who would flip out and call a living deer "Theirs", should have kept their pet inside during hunting season. Nothing belongs to anybody until you properly harvest that animal.

If a lung/heartshot animal walks in front of me, I have no beef dropping it, but it belongs to the person who initially shot it. If the deer is just wounded, then the initial shooter needs to go home because nothing belongs to them.

Alright, I'm climbing down from my soapbox...

[white eagle]

All in the woods are for the animal hunted. If I did something to bring deer to a friend or neighbor I would feel good. To say a deer BELONGS TO US no matter what is against all law. Deer belong to the state.
deer belong to no one
the state may regulate when they can be hunted but but ownership can be claimed by no person
the neighbor who said it was his deer is out of touch with reality
shoot a deer someone else spooked up you bet [smilie=w:

[Suo Gan]

I think it would depend on the scenario, cover, landscape and other variables. First thing would be safety. If game is running away from someone then if you shoot at it, you might be shooting toward human beings. Letting it pass and shooting it wouldn't present an ethical problem in a wooded or hilly area I don't think. In an open or semi open and flat area if you are within 200 yards of driven game I would take cover and make my position known if possible to avoid being shot.

There are lots of deer. After decades hunting I recognize that many hunters do stupid things when they have buck fever. It is just a deer. I have let world class deer pass because of safety. You will live. There will be more deer.

I have killed wounded deer and given them to the hunter who shot first. I didn't want the deer to suffer. The main thing about hunting like wealth is that it brings out what is really in a person.

We all hide behind layers. Is what you present to the world who you really are? Are you someone who hates a thief but would trespass to kill a deer? Are you someone who admonishes anyone texting on their cell phone while driving, but would shoot toward other people?

Take care and be well my hunting brothers.

[44man]

That is profound and very well said. I feel good about myself but got a ticket when young. I shot a pheasant on the land I could hunt. It dropped on another property I was looking for it when stopped by a cop. It was his land. My gun was empty and I just wanted to save the bird to eat. I was wrong but so was he. I learned a lot about people.
A neighbor here lives next to a liberal and once in a while a deer he shoots gets on the liberals land but he dares not recover it. I had it out with the liberal for the waste he caused. He is in our association so I bashed him at a meeting.
Then I was bow hunting in my woods when the yucker kids above me were hunting squirrels on my land, shooting across my fence and coming over. One dropped 20 yards from me and I told them "don't cross my fence" you have no permission and you could have shot me. I am not allowed on their property at all. I used to hunt there but the jerk that bought it said he wants to protect the deer but he shoots at night and brings in poachers. He shot a deer going to a neighbor with a rifle in archery season. He had his friends shoot deer with rifles in archery season next door without permission. I followed the drag to his fence to a 4 wheel truck. Gone by then. They had tree stands on neighbors without permission. I called the warden about it and nothing was done.
I find trash tossed on our roads, to find mail, names and addresses. Call the warden and nothing is done either. The sheriff says the warden has jurisdiction. At least they scare the yuckers but they should be fined. WV is a dump. Deer parts are tossed all over.

[Area Man]

Even in a case where the other hunter has taken a shot, missed, or had a poorly placed shot. His/her ineptness, or whatever, they lost out. It's part of learning to be a better hunter..

My first (and only so far) deer was taken this way. Buddy shot at and missed, spooking it over to my stand. In retrospect I should have given him some meat.

[Whiterabbit]

I read that as tongue in cheek, but I wonder if it would have been such a funny incident if it was not your buddy who came over the hill to find you over the shot deer, but rather a 40 year old man and his 11 year old son. In my case, it was a father-son duo.

In that case, I expect you would have found yourself in the woods with a crying boy.

[44man]

A wounded deer that will sure die soon is so different. But I have given away so many deer if I would see the kid and even if he missed or made a bad hit, he would have it. I would remember it forever.
I have a brother that lived by greed and hope I never meet him when I die. It is a green fog that is evil.
There is a difference of course. If a guy comes up to you and your deer and says he hit it but there is only your bullet hole. He is the green one. You meet both kinds in the field.

[44man]

A buddy that missed and you shot it should be right there to help gut and drag. He should feel good to give you a shot.
My friends have more respect for each other then to demand what is not theirs. They will be at my side with smiles and help. As I will be for them.

[rca]

If it was running away from the sound and came by you, i'd say you missed your chance. I might even offer the noise makers part of the meat for unknowingly helping me out.

On more than a few occasions i've taken deer pushed by me by bird hunters or even rabbit hunters with dogs that i might otherwise not have gotten a shot at that day.

Lol i do a lot of hit and run deer hunting with grunt calls and rattling horns during the long seasons here in the south.
I've had deer come right to me and other times come in and "hang up" at a distance, then turn and ease away.
I've also had someone else kill the buck or doe that was coming to the rattling horns before it got to me....lol i didn't get too upset as they were just in the right place at the right time and it was public land.

On the other hand(and this is just me) i would not shoot a deer that was obviously heading toward someone rattling if i felt they had good odds of seeing the deer they were calling.
In that case, i'd rather sit back and watch the show unfold!!

Deer moving away from other hunters....whole nuther ball game!
35 shooter said it right

[44man]

On the other hand(and this is just me) i would not shoot a deer that was obviously heading toward someone rattling if i felt they had good odds of seeing the deer they were calling.
In that case, i'd rather sit back and watch the show unfold!!
Me too, good man. It is not just you, it is all true sportsmen.

[DeadWoodDan]

"if you aint shootin; you aint kill'n" I learned this this the hard way. If I have the shot I take it. My brother and I have patterned not deer themselves but how they react to other hunters entering leaving the field. We as bow hunters only participate in the firearms season for the trophy buck we have been seeing and too fill the freezer.

I have been blessed with taking a few P&Y bucks, my brother not so lucky. Hes had the chance but bad shot or getting busted as he says is his luck. Just last week we were hunkered down 20yds from each other when three deer came walking towards us; one of them a nice buck. Feeling for him and honestly he had a better shot with me being closer I let him take the shot. He missed, I got a shot on what turned out to be a button buck. The doe and buck went North from us, crossed creek and the buck stopped long enough for me to put a good hit on him. I gave him the shot he missed, I wasn't waiting a second time and we did it together so meat is in the freezer.

[TXGunNut]

"if you aint shootin; you aint kill'n" -DeadWoodDan

Well spoken and a hunting story well told. Meat in the freezer and a good hunt for both of you. It just doesn't get much better. A trophy buck is not in every hunter's future but meat in the freezer will help him bide his time. I've spent enough on taxidermists, I'm all about good meat and herd management at this point.
Maybe someday I'll shoot a trophy buck, just not this season. My freezer is full and I'm tired of processing meat.

[castalott]

Being a land owner in a very good hunting area will open your eyes. Some people are good...some are real jerks.

These things really happened but not all to me....

Riding your 4 wheeler and the fence is in the way? Just cut it!

Too lazy to get out and close the pasture gate after you opened it...no problem...those aren't my cows...

"But you gave me permission to hunt and these guys (around 10 of them) are my friends!"

"You need to leave...this is my land and I don't allow anyone else to hunt on it." Said by some guy to the landowner.....

And my favorite is when a large farmer was hunting quail on his own land. 3 guys came up hunting and he asked them in a friendly manner ( everyone used to hunt on everyone but no more)where they were from and if they had permission to hunt here. " Oh ya...I know the owner well and he said it's ok." My friend said " You are 40 miles from home. Turn around a 360 and everything you see for as far as you can see is mine. And I don't know you guys...."

I could go on and on....

[TXGunNut]

It's hard to believe some of the things slob hunters do but the stories are true and they give the whole sport a bad name. You forgot to mention road hunters shooting livestock, castalot. That's a big problem around here. I don't think these slobs deserve the title of "hunter", they're simply vandals, trespassers and thieves.

[44man]

Yes, we had horses and a mule. Found my fence cut many times. OK to recover a wounded deer but never cut a fence. Respect to the land owner or stay out.
You do not know what me and friends had. One farm had the old owners go south for the winter and we had the house for hunting season. Then we could stay in the son's home when it was built. In front of a fire place. I had to leave Ohio but my farmer friends are always in my heart and prayers. Such wonderful people.
I have the same here being able to go all over without asking.

[44man]

Every state is different and my friend in VA went to every farm to ask and was told "Get the f**ck off my porch. Liberals are the worst ever. They think they own all and build horse jumps over farmers fences without permission to chase fox. Horse people are the strangest of all. Not those that work horses but race horse owners and fox runners.
I don't think it is legal to kill fox in VA. Horse people release trapped fox to run. Mange is common and other diseases.

[JSnover]

If it's trying to leave the area (away from the 'spook') sure I'd shoot it. I might share the meat… depends on the other guys attitude.
It's not 'yours' until you shoot it and it's not legally yours until you tag it.

[44man]

[QUOTE=JSnover;3467877]If it's trying to leave the area (away from the 'spook') sure I'd shoot it. I might share the meat… depends on the other guys attitude.
It's not 'yours' until you shoot it and it's not legally yours until you tag it.[/QUOTE.
True but to drop a gut shot deer is saving it for the hunter, I do not want any meat. The joy is saving the meat for the man that is going nuts after a bad hit. Why would you demand some meat?
I do not know a single persons name nor do they remember mine but I tell you they remember what I did.

[JSnover]

In the OP the deer hadn't been shot and was leaving the area. Fair game. If the Spook happened along while I was dressing the deer, he doesn't have the right to demand anything but I might make an offer… or not.
If it had been shot before I finished it off, it's his and I won't ask for one ounce of it. I'd just be happy to put it out of it's misery and prevent it from going to waste.

[castalott]

A few more examples....

Someone drove thru standing corn to get to a favorite fishing hole...and then drove another path to leave thru the same gate....

Anything that shines eyeballs at night is shot at...some calves die this way in deer season....

When I was a kid and home alone, two guys showed up and hunted rabbits around our house and garden. Walked thru the yard with their shotguns shooting away....

Then this legend although I know not where it happened.....Big city hunter is asked at gas station if he got a deer. "I don't really know what it is... I think it's a bear!" In the back was an Angus calf....


You guys aren't going like this but I think hunting is doomed (if you don't own the ground). Too many bad apples....too many guys who hunt but don't share what they get with the owners.

I had one guy pick out the prettiest oak tree you ever saw and nail a target on it to zero his slug gun. Maybe I wouldn't harvest it in my lifetime but I didn't want it shot up. ( He didn't clean up his mess or take down his target.... I guess that is what I'm for...)


Ok guys...sorry for the rant.... I won't say anymore about it

[castalott]

Sorry....but I want to add one more. A friend posted his ground and run several bird hunters off.. some more than once. ( The big hunters brag in the local restaurant that they love to hunt posted ground because there are more birds there.)

The last time he told them to stay off they said , "We have no control where the dog goes." " That's ok", says my friend. "I'll get my 223 and shoot it now while it's in the middle of my 60 (acres)." They somehow managed to keep the dog off of it after that....


Or the guy that kills 5 birds in a covey of 20...and 5 more tomorrow.. and 5 more the day after...and 5 more until....


All completely legal and ethical but how smart to kill ALL the seed?

[castalott]

My apologies to Whiterabbit for the thread drift. I didn't answer his questions and thought of only myself. Sorry Whiterabbit...

Dale

[44man]

I still remember a picture in a store in MI. Two foreigners had what they thought were deer strapped over fenders of an old car, turned out to be goats.
One day I shot a young buck and an old fella came along, could barely walk. He said "You got one, I said yep, do you want him?" The poor fella kind of came apart and he was shaking so bad I feared for his life with a knife so I gutted it and drug it to the road.
Then all here know of Dave that finally shot a deer with his .270, little thing, gut shot. I said you better clean her out. He took out a knife that I swear he was cutting RR rails with. The back of the blade was sharper then the edge. I gave him my knife and he later said he never seen one so sharp. Mine is a folding Gerber and with two hands I can split rib cages with it.
We stray but stories posted are great. Keep them coming.

[BAGTIC]

Around here it is illegal to feed or bait deer during the hunting season just like it is illegal to bait waterfowl.

[Bigslug]

I hunt in a 3% success-rate zone. While I have more accomplished friends that actually pass on deer, to me, this is an alien concept. I'll shoot any spooked-by-other-hunters legal deer that gives me a decent, safe angle with a smile on my face and a song in my heart!

[Smoke4320]

according to the OP original statement hunter was making a racket and deer was running the OTHER way .. I have no issue shooting the deer in that case ..
If deer is sneaking TOWARD the calling I would probably pass .. especially if my shot would be in the direction of the caller..
A wounded deer I am putting it down and out... If other hunter shows has a good attitude and the deer had a fatal wound just and fallen by the time it reached my I will probably let him have it .. If he shows up and is d##k my shot my deer

[CITYREPO61]

I once spooked a beautiful 8 pointer that was shot by another hunter (the guy shot the buck 5 times!). I was disappointed that I didn't get that buck and that the idiot had to shoot him so many times but I wasn't mad and i was actually happy for the guy. Because the buck was on awesome looking buck. So I agree with most you should have taken that deer