What would you do?

[hunter399]

All I know is that's the way it was told to me.
Best part deer didn't get wasted.
Just a story,I'm out.

[dilleytech]

I know I'm black sheep ,HW member now.....

But I do have a story I heard from a friend of a friend,co worker deal.
I'll keep this short as possible.

Hunter shoots deer ,tracks deer,unable to recover deer,weak blood trail, private property, whatever.
Recovery hunter finds deer next day dead. Tags deer.
First hunter is still active grid searching.
Both hunters end up talking,the recovery hunter gives the first hunter some BS story. Basically would never tell the truth.
Cause he would never want anyone to know his tag was notched on an already dead deer  .
The recovery hunters leaves the first hunter grid searching for a deer that has been found and tagged.
The deer was only shot one time by the first hunter.

The first hunter was left with nothing, no information where deer was found,grid searching, Stopped searching after talking with the recovery hunter .
Recovery hunter got the deer, will never say a word to anyone.
Look at that deer,remind him that he will never be as good of hunter as the first hunter.



What do you guys think of a whopper story like that .
This story is about ten years old.
It's an old one that always reminds how hunters are never friends among hunters.

Sounds like a story and one side of it at that. Maybe it was the first hunters deer, maybe the guy did just throw a tag on a dead deer, regardless you leave a deer on public land that you lost you can’t  be surprised to find out someone else found it. The first guys very easily would have never found it and in that case in this story the second guy is the good guy.

That's the catch to the story.
Is nobody ever knows. Cause no hunter would ever admit they tagged a dead deer or tell a soul where they found it.

I think it's just the moral of the story that still rings true.
Hunters are never friends amongst themselves.
From a very old hunting story.

Interesting, I find every hunter I interact with in the woods is in some way a friend of only for a moment.

I would tell people if I tagged a deer someone lost. Specially if it’s a decent animal on the last day and I’m ready to quit hunting just to legally salvage the rack even though the meats bad.

[OutHouse]

Agree that I should have taken the shot and am very much regretting I didn't. It was just a weird deal with a guy sitting there watching. Something told me not to shoot......don't know why cause normally I would've.
It was very open country, I will be back there on Sunday, so going to spend a couple hours on the glass to see if I can turn it up again. The guy watching it said he thought front leg was most likely broken so it prolly won't go too far (it was getting along and covering ground when I last saw it)


On a different note, earlier in the day I saw one of those bucks your'e pretty sure is legal at first sighting, but because it had some branches camo'ing his antlers was not 100% sure. Instead of nocking an arrow first like I SHOULD do, i put the bino's up, WRONG move.  Was definitely more than legal, just as I drew back on him he started moving and never stopped. UGH   Was a day of wrong choices 

There isn't a true right or wrong answer here; thus, nothing wrong with what you did. I would be careful as well with a guy sort of posted up on the deer in his truck like that. I've never had to deal with a two different hunters and one deer down situation, but I would be really hesitant, at least initially, to shoot a deer recently wounded by another hunter who may be in pursuit, simply because of the potential confrontation that could happen over it even if well intended.     

[NOCK NOCK]

Agree that I should have taken the shot and am very much regretting I didn't. It was just a weird deal with a guy sitting there watching. Something told me not to shoot......don't know why cause normally I would've.
It was very open country, I will be back there on Sunday, so going to spend a couple hours on the glass to see if I can turn it up again. The guy watching it said he thought front leg was most likely broken so it prolly won't go too far (it was getting along and covering ground when I last saw it)


On a different note, earlier in the day I saw one of those bucks your'e pretty sure is legal at first sighting, but because it had some branches camo'ing his antlers was not 100% sure. Instead of nocking an arrow first like I SHOULD do, i put the bino's up, WRONG move.  Was definitely more than legal, just as I drew back on him he started moving and never stopped. UGH   Was a day of wrong choices 

There isn't a true right or wrong answer here; thus, nothing wrong with what you did. I would be careful as well with a guy sort of posted up on the deer in his truck like that. I've never had to deal with a two different hunters and one deer down situation, but I would be really hesitant, at least initially, to shoot a deer recently wounded by another hunter who may be in pursuit, simply because of the potential confrontation that could happen over it even if well intended.     

Agreed!  No right or wrong action, and that's a good description of why I didn't shoot because I figured the truck guy was a part of the action. Talked to him when I came back, is when I learned he had nothing to do with the deer, or shooter, he just saw the deer moving/limping and was watching it. He was not hunting.