What would you do?!?!

[jackelope]

I'd tag it too. There would be no "long quiet ride home" either. People make mistakes. If you guys would seriously never hunt with your hunting buddies again because they made an honest mistake I'm glad I'm not your hunting buddy. Geez there's either a bunch of internet tough guys here or a bunch of perfect angels who have never made a mistake.

[BIGINNER]

I'd tag it too. There would be no "long quiet ride home" either. People make mistakes. If you guys would seriously never hunt with your hunting buddies again because they made an honest mistake I'm glad I'm not your hunting buddy. Geez there's either a bunch of internet tough guys here or a bunch of perfect angels who have never made a mistake.

i agree with you.  i would tag the deer and i wouldn't give my patner $hit about it,  it was an honest mistake,  i would tag the deer and have a full freezer   

[rasbo]

I would tag it,no waste..Ive heard of this happening

[Skillet]

I'd tag it too. There would be no "long quiet ride home" either. People make mistakes. If you guys would seriously never hunt with your hunting buddies again because they made an honest mistake I'm glad I'm not your hunting buddy. Geez there's either a bunch of internet tough guys here or a bunch of perfect angels who have never made a mistake.

Respectfully disagree - the perfect angels are the ones calling the WDFW or making the buddy turn himself in under threat of reporting him as a poacher.  The majority would be rightfully PO'd that their season is over because of a mistake the buddy made.
This is a good poll.  I guess technically I'm a lawbreaker at heart - I feel the intent of the law is not to ruin a guy for making this mistake, but to prevent wonton waste of game, and that the waste of the deer is a greater crime than me tagging an animal I didn't shoot and my season ending sooner than it should.  I tag the deer, chew his butt for being a *censored* and ending my season early for me, and if he gets lippy with me at all about it or isn't falling all over himself apologizing, I don't go hunting with him anymore.  Can't trust him to not make that mistake again if he thinks it's "no big deal."  I would start thinking it was all a story, and he saw the two bucks to begin with and couldn't resist dropping them both.

[remington300mag]

Here is another question to add a little too this.....would it matter if they were both 180" 4x4's rather than small spindly 3x2's?!?!?

I also want to say that after looking at the results so far and reading the posts....It has only helped me to see that the men and woman on this forum are stand up friends, hunting partners, and people! Mistakes do happen....and it is nice to see we don't look for any and all reasons to persecute others!

[bullrider97]

My grandfather actually did this in his later years. He shot at a buck that kept on running. Never found a blood trail. He then shot at a doe that did the same thing. My father went to help him track, found the blood, then found both deer piled up side by side. It wasn't Grandpa's intention, but that doesn't make it better either.

I don't know what the outcome was.

[markts]

I'd tag it too. There would be no "long quiet ride home" either. People make mistakes. If you guys would seriously never hunt with your hunting buddies again because they made an honest mistake I'm glad I'm not your hunting buddy. Geez there's either a bunch of internet tough guys here or a bunch of perfect angels who have never made a mistake.

My thoughts exactly

[docsven]

In that situation I would probably tag it.  When I was first hunting deer at 12, there was this brother-in-law of one of my uncles who would sometimes be in our party who shot a deer then asked me to tag it.  I thought it was weird, I refused, and later asked my dad about it.  He told me that this guy would shoot as many deer as there were tags in the party and expect everyone to tag the animals.  I wondered why something like that happened more than once.  Lots of people seem to get tags for their wife or kids and try to tag everyone out so they have meat for the winter.  Not hunting to me.

[jackelope]

I'd tag it too. There would be no "long quiet ride home" either. People make mistakes. If you guys would seriously never hunt with your hunting buddies again because they made an honest mistake I'm glad I'm not your hunting buddy. Geez there's either a bunch of internet tough guys here or a bunch of perfect angels who have never made a mistake.

Respectfully disagree - the perfect angels are the ones calling the WDFW or making the buddy turn himself in under threat of reporting him as a poacher.  The majority would be rightfully PO'd that their season is over because of a mistake the buddy made.
This is a good poll.  I guess technically I'm a lawbreaker at heart - I feel the intent of the law is not to ruin a guy for making this mistake, but to prevent wonton waste of game, and that the waste of the deer is a greater crime than me tagging an animal I didn't shoot and my season ending sooner than it should.  I tag the deer, chew his butt for being a *censored* and ending my season early for me, and if he gets lippy with me at all about it or isn't falling all over himself apologizing, I don't go hunting with him anymore.  Can't trust him to not make that mistake again if he thinks it's "no big deal."  I would start thinking it was all a story, and he saw the two bucks to begin with and couldn't resist dropping them both.

Skillet-
With all due respect...
My comment was pretty much based solely on this comment:

After you arrive to help out your partner you realize that he has just shot and killed 2 absolutely twin 4x4 bucks

If he shot a dink 3x3 then a 180 4x4 popped up and he dumped that one too my story would be exactly opposite. Because the OP said twin 4x4's I chalk it up to an honest mistake that we do occasionally make....we are human after all. If that kind of mistake is what it takes to cost you a friend and a hunting partner, I don't want to be your hunting partner.  Don't take that the wrong way, I'm not directing it specifically at you, just making conversation.

[Lowedog]

In that situation I would probably tag it.  When I was first hunting deer at 12, there was this brother-in-law of one of my uncles who would sometimes be in our party who shot a deer then asked me to tag it.  I thought it was weird, I refused, and later asked my dad about it.  He told me that this guy would shoot as many deer as there were tags in the party and expect everyone to tag the animals.  I wondered why something like that happened more than once.  Lots of people seem to get tags for their wife or kids and try to tag everyone out so they have meat for the winter.  Not hunting to me.

This goes on way more than we all know.  Or maybe we do know and there isn't much that can be done.  There are far too many people who feel it is fine to shoot animals for other people. 

[ouchfoss]

A guy I know had this happen to him a few years ago on a 4x4 bull elk during rifle season. He sneaks up close on a herd and gets a good shot on the bull and it runs about 10 feet behind a stump and falls over dead right there. At that exact moment another 4x4 runs out from behind that stump the opposite direction and stops and stares at him and thinking that it was the same bull, he shoots again and gets a killer shot on that one too. After he figures out that there is 2 dead bulls, he tags one of them and leaves the woods and calls up WDFW to let them know the situation. He also calls up a buddy and lets hime know that there is a dead elk that he can tag if he wants to that way there is no waste. After the officer gets there and looks at the elk, he lets the friend tag the other elk and gives the first guy a big ticket. I think it was for exceeding the bag limit but I could be wrong, its been a while. Anyhow, made him kinda mad for doing right thing by calling WDFW first considering he could have just not said a word like most people would do.

[actionshooter]

Well since its the night before Halloween, I voted for the FAIRY TALE...........".Call game department and report what your partner has done..."WDFW are very understanding people, they would never charge him for this, being truly an accident!"..............    

[remington300mag]

I was hoping to figure out who voted that way!!  Glad to hear it was a joke......

[cashmerekev]

If he is your hunting buddy you would expect him to do the same for you.   Harass him for the rest of his life over it...  Always getting to ride shotgun and getting first shot at the best buck you see next year.....

[7mag.]

Ethical is not always legal. Ethical wins every time in my book. I chose #1. I would not punish my partner for an honest mistake, and I would not leave the animal to rot.

Seems a lot of people are caught up in following the law to the letter, and don't stop to think for themselves. There is always special circumstances that make following the letter of the law not the right thing to do. It is impossible to right a law that covers every circumstance with one broad stroke.