Great gesture - but would you do same?
Whitetail Deer
Pat: I have a few nice ones on the wall, so putting another would NOT matter that much. I would rather see the excited guy get the buck. This is with one understanding... that we talked about the hunting situation and "get along". I know a few "slob hunters" if I may use that term, that I would just say... "non-lethal hit he's mine"..... maybe next time he/she would be more careful (if that makes sense).
This guy has true character and integrity! I'd like to think I could do the same. Big antlers do have a way of clouding our perspective at times, but he did the right thing.
Yes but as far as deer being smart that is not the case. I would expect the other hunter to realize his mistake and for him to do the right thing. Sorry but as the "other" guy I would probably not want the deer as my shot really did not kill him. Shawn
Awkward situation. No right answer.
I would have supported the hunter with either decision.
A flesh wound doesn't give you rights to the animal. If I had done that and my buddy shot him I would give him the choice with no hard feelings (I should have made a better shot).
It sucks but it was his responsibility to make a better shot and he didn't.
BTW Wouldn't it be considered party hunting in CT if the guy who doesn't kill it tags it?
The whole thing has to be a fairly tale. If we've learned anything from all of those CT live hunts, it's that there are no deer in CT, let alone one that big.
Not sure what I would do and thankfully have never run into this scenario. I often hunt on my own property and have several neighbors who do the same. If I am honest with myself, I think it would largely come down to who the person is. I have one neighbor who is a complete a&&ho!e and there is no way in hell I'm giving him that deer (but he wouldn't be calling me either). If it was one of my other neighbors, or one of their kids, I'd like to think I'd be helping them drag it back to their property, especially if it's their first big buck. Lots of variable in play, so very hard to say.
There is no guarantee the OP would have got a shot at the buck had it not been wounded and pushed his way. That doesn't automatically make it his.
Hard call either way. Do unto others as you would have the do unto you.
These things are all situation specific. Its just a deer. Hunting should be all on the positive side of the scale. I would want the other guy to have it whether I was the first or the second shooter. A good neighbor is more important than a good deer.
This brings up the question...is party hunting legal in CT?
Not trying to bust balls....just curious whether you can legally kill a deer and not tag it yourself.
I don't know.
If I was the first guy, the new neighbor, I think that I'd feel bad about looking at that rack, thinking about how I shanked a shot and my neighbor gave me the deer after he killed it.
If I was the OP and kept the deer when the neighbor shot it first and was extremely excited, I don't think that I'd enjoy looking at it either.
The more minor the initial wounding, the tougher it might be for me to abandon rights to the deer though. I think Bonehead is a class act. I hope his new neighbor appreciates him.
I would take the back straps at least, probably all the meat assuming all the other guy wants is the rack anyway.
Seriously though if you KNOW you didn't kill the deer why would you want it?
After thinking about it I think I would have said, "Look, it's clear you didn't put a killing shot on this deer. It's also clear the deer probably wouldn't have come my way had you not shot at it. Your choice - you can have the meat or horns but not both."
That way he gets punished for a poor shot and you get some reward/relief for sharing a big buck.
I would not feel right taking a deer that I hit with minor flesh wound and at same time would have a hard time relinquishing it if I knew in fact that it had a superficial wound that would not lead to the deers death in a reasonable amount of time. Putting a 2nd shot on a gut shot deer someone else hit then by all means it goes to the other hunter without question.
Good will goes a long way! Besides that what if your wife or kid nicked him with the first shot? Who's deer would it be then?
Kudos to that guy, but he killed the buck and should have been the one to tag him. In my state, you shoot it, you tag it. That would probably be an issue for him to have killed it and the other guy took it.
Would this be an issue if it was a doe?
I guess at my age now, I would have taken a pic with the deer and guy to remember the moment and help him bring the deer to his home. Pop open a few beers, take some more pics and then help him start cutting it up. I believe in karma, who knows maybe now he has a friend for life that will be there for him when he needs it most. Its only a deer, get back out there and kill another. Great job!
you need to assess the situation when it does happen ,,#1 Did the person who actually shot the deer put a lethal shot on the deer to begin with? lethal meaning maybe not a quick death like liver shot, one lung shot or even maybe a gut shot. If the person who shot it made this type of a shot and the deer death is certain after hours of suffering then the deer should be his or hers, all you did was save the deer that agony.#2 if the person who shot the deer did not make a lethal or non fatal shot on the deer and you put the lethal shot on it then its your deer. If the deer is grazed or would positively recover from a the initial injury. Both hunters should inspect and discuss the outcome. hopefully the person who made the bad shot realizes he did not make a lethal hit and accept the outcome. But again size of antlers on a animal can be a issue when a person only wounded a buck of a lifetime so both parties need to keep a cool head if this situation arises. It is easier for the person to accept a doe or a small buck that got away from them due to a non lethal shot but when antlers of any size are part of the equation then it can become a more difficult situation.
I've been in boneheads situation, and did similar. I feel I'm in pointingdogs shoes and I wouldn't have mounted it, it meant far more to the other fella. I was just glad to be a part of it, the experience was enough for me.
If it went down as the OP described (minor leg wound), I'd keep the rack if it was important to me - biggest buck ever, whatever - and offer to share half the meat with the neighbor.
If I didn't care either way about the antlers and still had some tags left for the freezer, I might offer the whole deer to the neighbor. Not because he deserved it or earned, but just to build goodwill. In CO you can donate a whole deer to someone with a "like" license, but you both punch your tags. Not sure how that works in CT.
As far as the deer being "pushed" to him by the neighbor searching for it, isn't that an hourly occurrence in the East? If that was the criteria for keeping an animal or giving it to the other guy who pushed it, there would be continuous deer swapping going on. IMO that aspect shouldn't factor into the situation at all.
I would have said here is my camera. Please take a few picture of me with the deer and you can have it after that.
That's all I need these days. Plenty of other meat in the freezer, don't need another rack in the box in the basement, don't need another carcass on the wall. A nice 8x10" will suffice................an more importantly the memory of the day I killed a nice buck.
Kudos to you BoneHead. I've experienced the same situation only a smaller buck. Neighbors kid shot a deer in the front leg. Good neighbors are more important than any deer!
It does happen all the time, but the other person doesn't always have your cell number. We all know things can get ugly, it really comes down to the personalities and understanding. I've heard of these situations almost ending in fist fights. All in all I think it was noble of bonehead to avoid conflict and avoid potentially losing an ally of neighboring properties. Its a deer, there will be others, some people have the tendency of taking things too far. Under the circumstances bonehead stepped up to be the bigger man, had I been the neighbor I would've congratulated bonehead and helped him drag his deer out.
My dad had an instance like this where the other guy literally shot the buck in the hoof and tried to claim it. That didn't fly, esp back then when dad was putting meat on the table.
Bonehead, certainly a nice buck. x1000 Greg.
So many ways this could have come out. My main question is this: Bone said after he called he knew right where the buck would go. Does that mean he moved into position to get him when the guy started tracking? If so , then he helped finish off the buck for his neighbor and I would have done what he did: give him the buck. That is what is sounded like he did to me
Or another possibility might be the neighbor thinks nothing of taking any shot he has. I shot a nice buck gun opener many years ago when a guy started shooting his 30-30 200yds at a nice buck hitting him in the lower leg. The deer ran another 200 yds to me where I put the killing shot on him. The guy was very nice about it never claimed it and even helped me get him into my pick up I had no reservations claiming the deer as mine either.
Tough one. I'd say the first guy certainly had no claim to the deer and it was Bonehead's call as to which way it went and he decided to make the guy happy/avoid conflict/build bridges. That's admirable. I don't know that I'd have done the same thing.
If the fellow who first shot the deer was one of my hunting group and I (or one of the group made the killing shot) it'd be his deer without a second thought. Seeing as he knows this man and is an neighbor I'd also do what he did. I certainly would tell him it's his deer. If he offered it back to me then that's a different story.
But on the other hand, if I were the original shooter I would tell the neighbor/friend who made the killing shot that it was his deer.
If the original shot was clearly non-lethal, and I made the only lethal shot, I'd keep the deer.
If the original shot was clearly lethal but I made the finishing shot, I'd give the deer to the first shooter.
If I made the nonlethal shot and tracked the deer to where someone else made the killing shot, I would want him to keep that deer.
If I made a shot that would have clearly been lethal and somehow that deer makes it in front of another hunter who finishes it off, I'd hope the other hunter would give me the deer.
For me, it all depends on whether the first shot was a lethal shot. Deer can go a long way before they die.
Change that story to a 330" bull elk and I have done the same and will do the same again. I've also done it with a nice 10 point whitetail. There's lots of animals out there to kill, there's also a lot of chances to be decent to one another as hunters and neighbors. I'm a believer in karma of some kind. I'll take all the good I can get by giving all the good I can.
I would do exactly the same. Deer, and killing a deer, simply are not that important in life. I would much rather help out others than worry about who gets a stinky deer rack.
This story brings back a painful memory. I had almost the identical thing happen to me when I was 16. The fence line separating our farm from the neighbors was a super thick-over grown fence line and a big travel corridor. Open day of MD rifle season. I shot a great buck for western MD. He jumped the fence and I heard another shot. The buck died in another 10 yards. My shot was a double lung shot. The neighbors was right in the leg. It was a good buck. The neighbor never for a millisecond pondered over whether it was his shot that put it down. He had his tag on it before I even got there. This is a neighbor we got along with. I didn't really hold it against him although several other older guys in the neighborhood found out the scoop and did hold get pretty pissed.
Easy come easy go I guess. I know it's easy to sit here and say it but it's just a deer and I would rather have a good relationship with a neighbor and no deer than a feud and a deer. But if it happens again you might want to speak up. In my case, something similar DID happen-3 MORE TIMES!!! And I got super pissed. But that is a different story.
Guess I have not experienced a hunting situation where "double lunged deer" can make it four different times to the neighbors property.
Jodie-not sure where I said that. The other three times involved the father, who was getting old and admittedly losing his sight shooting and losing three bucks in two years on our property. I went with him to help find all three. No luck on any of them. On the last one we walked to his stand which was on the same fence line. He said "there's my stand and here is where I shot him." pointing right down to where we were standing...on OUR property...not his. I pretty much snapped. Unleashing a verbal assault of how I was sick of him flinging arrows and wasting all the bucks in the area. I told him if he couldn't see and couldn't shoot he needs to get a crossbow. Yada, yada, yada. It had been an all give relationship for hunting. During rifle season they invited every family member and friend to come shot everything in the area. The only one that knew how to shoot was the son. We actually had a good enough relationship though that the dad took my "lecture" to heart and their were never any hard feelings.
I had a similar experience several years ago on a one day draw hunt in the local refuge. Young bowhunter (mid-20's I would guess) shot a 140+" buck through one ham. Arrow did not hit an artery, so he and his father-in-law were pushing the buck an hour later when it came by me. I put the deer on the ground within sight of my stand. When they caught up to me and the dead deer, they did not make a single attempt to claim the deer. The young bowhunter bent over the buck in awe and said he had never seen a buck that big. Figured I was looking at a buck that I probably would not mount versus a buck that would make that young man's bowhunting career to date. Gave him kudos for his tracking effort...and said I was glad I could put the deer down for him. The celebration that followed was well worth it. They had the entire family in the woods an hour later and made an event out of it.
I'm definitely on the page a killing shot trumps first blood....but have absolutely no regrets with my decision that day.
Great story, pav! Although you don't have that deer on the wall to look at, you made a great memory for the young hunter that the two of you both will never forget.
It's all situational and I don't know that there is necessarily a hard-fast rule that I would apply to all scenarios. My thought is that when the communication line was opened in this given instance it became an assistance to put the wounded deer down and became less about the hunt and more about helping the neighbor out? Either way, kudos to getting the job done and recovering the animal.
I'm with orionsbrother. I would not mount it either way. If the neighbor it would remind me of a failure that I wounded a great buck. If the OP, it would remind me of the way the kill went down, plus the fight with a neighbor over who got it, etc. Good for the OP, better to keep his tag and kill one with his own wits and woodsmanship than punch out due to another's bad shot. And plus, it would be good to keep on good terms with the neighbor.
Of course, easy to say sitting here, especially if it would be the OP's biggest ever buck.
I've had a similar situation as well - with a wall hanger buck. I put the lethal shot on it hours after it was shot in the leg by someone else and they wouldn't have found it without me killing it. He was thrilled with "his" buck and I never even considered keeping it. I guess I'm of the same opinion as most that are commenting. I'd rather error on the side of being gracious.
--Mitch
The poster did the right thing, the first hunter did not. If I were the first hunter and saw where I hit the deer, I would have told the poster it was his deer.
I guess I think differently than most. There is no way I could be proud of that kill if I were the hunter that made the superficial wound. But hey, that's what you get when everyone gets a trophy for participation.
This is an easy question for me to answer; I would have done exactly what BoneHead did. I had a similar situation when I was new to elk hunting, but I was on the receiving end of the other hunter’s generosity. Caution rifle hunt story: I jumped a bull elk down at bottom of a draw. As it was running I shot at him, hitting him several times. The bull was still in sight when another hunter shot the bull dropping it in its tracks. I immediately got pissed, I was young and this was my first bull elk. It took me some time to get down where the bull was. Once I got to the bottom of the valley I found a blood trail that led right to the bull. The other hunter was waiting at the bull when I got there. I was ready to argue with the other hunter, but luckily the other hunter was much more mature than I was. He simply said if you can show me a blood trail this is your elk. He then assisted in gutting and quartering the elk. I learned so much from that experience! My take away at the time was that in this situation or any like the animal is not worth being in a possible very bad situation. My take away now with 23 years of elk hunting experiences sense the event is that I now know that there is a good chance that I may have never recovered that elk. If I had to do it again and knew what I know now, I would have given that other hunter the elk. Live an Learn!
WWJD.
I mean..... what would Jake do?
Our camp, and a good many western camps, first blood tags the animal. In most cases. This is pretty borderline as a very marginal hit. But the guy did call him before hand, he did say he knew right where it was going after talking to him, and "in all fairness he pushed him right to me". Up to them. Good call IMO, glad it worked out.
Rifle hunt anyway, I don't care one way or another..... =D
"I'sa joke son.... Ah say it's a joke......"
