Post by: GeoSwan on November 09, 2025, 06:38:51 PM
The hunters who shot him appeared at the top of the plateau 15 minutes later and clearly didn't see that the area the buck went into was a mere 100 yards away from them. They gave a feeble attempt at trying to locate the deer and turned around and walked away.
We ended up shooting the deer who had by now dropped a few hundred feet in elevation and was sitting under a cliff. My brother snuck up to him and put him out of his misery.
I called WDFW to get an actual legal opinion on this and they said what I though: If everything else was legal, which it was, (tag, 3 point min, shooting hours, public land etc.) We were fine from a legal standpoint.
I think I know the answer that most of you will give, which is yeah, go put meat in your freezer because the first shooter was done looking for it, but I just want to see of anyone had any other opinion on this from an etiquette perspective or if anyone has a story of something like this happening to you. I'm curious to hear them. Thanks
Post by: Fidelk on November 09, 2025, 06:55:55 PM
Post by: jamesfromseattle on November 09, 2025, 08:40:00 PM
Post by: Gentrys on November 09, 2025, 08:50:06 PM
Post by: Kingofthemountain83 on November 09, 2025, 10:27:33 PM
Long ago in Cowichie, when it was any buck... My Dad was sitting in a spot he sat often... Shooting started above him... Two different guns... One series of shots... About 8 or so... Then a pause for a few minutes... Then another series of shots... About 6... Then he see's a deer running down ridge past him... My Dad shoots it and drops it... A small forky muley... Lead it too far at 400 yards and blew the neck out quartering away... Was very obvious where my Dad shot it... 7mm Weatherby with 154gr spire points... My Dad starts gutting it then the guys come down ask if he's gutting their deer... My Dad shows them where he shot it and non of them could find a spot where they hit it... They go back up ridge while my Dad deals with the buck... He found one of them actually hit it in the paunch flap wear the rear legs are while it was running but you couldn't tell while the deer was still alive... Through and through flesh wound... Deer would've survived...
About 20 years ago in Mason GMU I hiked in about a mile to sit on a cut in gated timberland... Some people have keyed access... I heard a rig coming up a road... I spot a deer and glass it up... It's a nice buck... Froze staring toward the road... I get lined up for the shot and squeeze off... I hit the deer good and he kicks up and runs... 228 yards... Then I hear a shot, deer drops, and some yelling... A guy and his son were driving up the road and saw the deer running after I shot it... They got out and the kid shot it while it was in it'd death wobbles... I shot it through the middle of the lungs angled cause I was slightly uphill... Kid blew the spine and back straps out of it... Dropped it... Like 70 yards... I think the kid was like 9... He was very excited... It was a big 4x! I helped them gut it and get it in the truck... Seemed like his Dad didn't know what he was doing... Was a nice guy... Still kind of butt hurt... I hunted that area a lot over the years and never saw them again...
Post by: elkboy on November 10, 2025, 06:16:07 AM
You did the right thing, and it is absolutely your deer after you delivered an accurate and effective 'coup de grace'. If the buck had been mortally wounded by the first shooter, and you saw where the buck had gone, to help the other hunter would have been the right action, in my opinion.
Post by: NOCK NOCK on November 10, 2025, 07:11:55 AM
Turns out I made the wrong decision to not interfere. A bit further up the road another hunter had talked to the shooter. Shooter had ZERO idea what direction the deer was headed, and I couldn't find shooter to tell him, so I went back and spent hours glassing for the injured buck (very open country) but never turned it up.
I'm positive that buck didn't survive his injury, and still to this day regret not shooting it when I had the chance.
Every 2nd shooter scenario has situations where ethics/morals come into question. I have adjusted mine after that day.
IMHO, the OP did the correct thing.
Post by: CamoDup on November 10, 2025, 07:31:15 AM
If someone else shoots a deer and you decide to "put it down" before they can deliver the final blow or just wait for the first shot to do its work just doesn't sit right with me. Legal? Yes. But in my opinion it's chicken $hit.
I know there's a million different situations but what I'm saying if the original shooter was on his tail and has a chance to kill it then it's their animal.
I've seen and heard of a ton of different instances where people's bucks have been "stolen". It's happened to me ON A QUALITY DRAW TAG! It happened to my boss last season, it happened to my bosses son this year.
Every situation is different I get that, but I'm saying where the original shooter knows where the animal is and has already put one in him... that's his deer.
:twocents:
Post by: HntnFsh on November 10, 2025, 07:46:24 AM
Post by: BD1 on November 10, 2025, 08:06:12 AM
Post by: hunter399 on November 10, 2025, 08:32:35 AM
With that said ,I do believe the days of someone helping another out are gone.
Guys that are coming to the rescue,as soon as they hear a shot.... ridiculous.
Or could yell at someone and point your finger,say hay go that direction,those days are gone.
It's to a point ,that I'm afraid to even leave it ,to grab game cart.
Post by: wafisherman on November 10, 2025, 08:45:52 AM
Post by: HUNTIN4SIX on November 10, 2025, 09:26:58 AM
Two problems I've seen countless times..... Hunters get to excited after the shot and push their deer to the abyss or hunters do a quick search for blood and find very little to none so they give up. I have always viewed blood as a bonus. That mindset has allowed me to recover many injured deer i otherwise might not have found. :twocents:
Post by: Bullkllr on November 10, 2025, 09:37:09 AM
And I don't think the days of helping others out are over. This includes putting an injured animal down for a hunter who is still actively looking for it. I've done it twice for strangers. Both times they were grateful the animals weren't lost.
Post by: HillHound on November 10, 2025, 09:44:43 AM
I made a long shot across a draw and hit the elk high. Dropped it and he slid down the hill. Tried to get up and his back half was paralyzed. I sent another at him and missed as he was struggling to get up but just sliding on the steep hillside since he had no use of his back legs. Instead of continuing to shoot from that distance I dropped down out of sight and crossed the draw. On my way up I hear two more shots. Weird I thought, all the elk took off. I get up there as another guy is tagging my elk and his entourage of 5 other dudes and a kid are coming down the hill. I asked why he killed and tagged my paralyzed elk? He said exactly what some have said “doesn’t matter who shoots it, it’s who kills it.” About that time his party showed up and made sure I knew I was outnumbered and their word against mine. I proceeded to tell them what pieces of *censored* they were and glad to know their kid was going to grow up to be a big piece of *censored* just like them since that was what they were teaching him.
Some people aren’t worth the air they breathe.
Post by: pianoman9701 on November 10, 2025, 10:19:22 AM
People who shoot a deer that has already been shot by another hunter then claim it for themselves are not morally correct in my opinion. Whatever happened to helping out another hunter and having some morals?
If someone else shoots a deer and you decide to "put it down" before they can deliver the final blow or just wait for the first shot to do its work just doesn't sit right with me. Legal? Yes. But in my opinion it's chicken $hit.
I know there's a million different situations but what I'm saying if the original shooter was on his tail and has a chance to kill it then it's their animal.
I've seen and heard of a ton of different instances where people's bucks have been "stolen". It's happened to me ON A QUALITY DRAW TAG! It happened to my boss last season, it happened to my bosses son this year.
Every situation is different I get that, but I'm saying where the original shooter knows where the animal is and has already put one in him... that's his deer.
:twocents:
But the original shooter gave up and left, with the animal wounded. Not putting it out of its misery would've been "Chicken chit". The OP did exactly the right thing. And I bet if the original shooter had shown up, he'd have let him have the animal, too. That's the kind of ethics he showed in the first place by putting a suffering animal down.
Post by: EnglishSetter on November 10, 2025, 11:11:35 AM
If possible, I'd try and help the other hunter locate the shot deer so he can finish it. But, if I am not able, I would do this as well. Better than letting the deer suffer and possibly be wasted. Wouldn't feel great about it - but would put meat in the freezer and would be grateful for that.
That's where I stand.
Post by: dilleytech on November 10, 2025, 11:43:23 AM
Post by: HereDuckyDucky on November 10, 2025, 11:43:59 AM
If possible, I'd try and help the other hunter locate the shot deer so he can finish it. But, if I am not able, I would do this as well. Better than letting the deer suffer and possibly be wasted. Wouldn't feel great about it - but would put meat in the freezer and would be grateful for that.
That's where I stand.
Me too.
RW
Post by: Fidelk on November 10, 2025, 11:55:13 AM
This situation can play out so many ways it’s hard to say what I would do morally but if I shoot an injured deer and my tags notched and attached it’s going home with me. Which legally is correct.
IMHO, putting a wounded animal out of its misery is the only moral issue here. Beyond that, the regulations apply. Shoot it and tag it....or give it to the hunter who wounded it, if you want. I see the occasional injured deer with broken or missing parts of a leg limp through my yard. My moral choice should be to kill it......but the law forbids me to do so.
Post by: Tinmaniac on November 10, 2025, 12:23:54 PM
Post by: dilleytech on November 10, 2025, 12:34:17 PM
This situation can play out so many ways it’s hard to say what I would do morally but if I shoot an injured deer and my tags notched and attached it’s going home with me. Which legally is correct.
IMHO, putting a wounded animal out of its misery is the only moral issue here. Beyond that, the regulations apply. Shoot it and tag it....or give it to the hunter who wounded it, if you want. I see the occasional injured deer with broken or missing parts of a leg limp through my yard. My moral choice should be to kill it......but the law forbids me to do so.
I have killed numerous animals with bad wounds that survived. You can’t just assume a knee shot deer is going to die regardless. The moral question comes when what do you do when you realize another hunter was right on its trail and very well could have caught up to it and killed it. Specially rifle hunting. A lot goes into what right or wrong there but what’s legal is the last person to shoot it has the legal right to it. If I wound an animal and someone else puts it down I don’t think I would try to claim it unless the person insisted. Depending on how it’s wounded of course.
Post by: ghosthunter on November 10, 2025, 12:39:05 PM
If possible, I'd try and help the other hunter locate the shot deer so he can finish it. But, if I am not able, I would do this as well. Better than letting the deer suffer and possibly be wasted. Wouldn't feel great about it - but would put meat in the freezer and would be grateful for that.
That's where I stand.
Me too.
RW
:tup:
Post by: EnglishSetter on November 10, 2025, 01:28:38 PM
I've only killed one injured deer. He'd been injured (best guess) that morning and it was afternoon. He had a 38 cal pistol round (perhaps PCC) wound in the broiler room, had eluded the shooter and found himself a tree to lie under while he slowly expired. Didn't know for sure he was injured, just didn't act alert. Yes I tagged him and didn't make a poll of who may have shot an unrecovered deer with a pistol round.
I determined that day I would always use more gun than a pistol/PCC for a broiler room shot.
Post by: Magnum_Willys on November 10, 2025, 07:06:20 PM
You likely did the right thing.
Post by: hunter399 on November 10, 2025, 09:00:03 PM
So the hunters that shot this deer came looking for it,OP saw where the deer went and didn't point the shooter at least in the right direction?Then,when shooter leaves puts a tag on it?Not much of a hunt and even less of a sportsman in my opinion.
That's kinda what I was thinking,you sit there silently and wait for the guy to leave.
Then your hero for putting the animal down.
If your waving at the guy, pointing into the draw,guy turns and leaves.
Then I guess you did the right thing.
Maybe he didn't want to ruin your hunt,was unsure the buck went down there.
I also agree ,only solid good is the deer was not wasted or suffering.
It reminds me of a story about a Hunter who shot a buck in the throat.
Then the buck got it's throat silt by another hunter and tagged.
Post by: GeoSwan on November 10, 2025, 09:21:35 PM
So the hunters that shot this deer came looking for it,OP saw where the deer went and didn't point the shooter at least in the right direction?Then,when shooter leaves puts a tag on it?Not much of a hunt and even less of a sportsman in my opinion.
No, trying to communicate with the hunters would have been a long shot at best. I'm not going to stand up and wave around like an idiot. I don't think they even saw us.
They tracked the deer on a plateau, and didn't have the desire or ability to walk down a shallow divet that was the top of a short ravine. The buck then ran from that shallow ravine several hundred yards totaling around a 400 foot elevation drop. If they were too lazy to drop into that upper ravine 100 yards from them where the buck originally was, there was no way they were going to actually recover and finish this buck. The buck was mobile as deer are on 3 legs. There was still fair chase, but the buck parked in a spot that also happened to be easy for us to sneak.
Post by: blackveltbowhunter on November 10, 2025, 09:55:15 PM
I have been in a few scenarios where I was able to help another hunter get an animal down. I cant remember any negative outcomes. I did have one scenario that left me in a quandary several years ago, and I walked away from an injured animals for several hours, with no intent to tag it. Even wrestling with that decision heavily as i knew it was siuffering. I searched hard ( drove to a completely different area ) to locate the original shooter, and (luckily) found them and helped them get it killed. If I hadn't found them, I would have contacted a game warden to avoid waste, even though it possibly would have ended poorly for me. However, I had significantly more info than this situation described. Congrats on the buck BTW!
Post by: hunter399 on November 11, 2025, 05:48:50 AM
Then good job on the save.
Congrats on the buck.
Post by: GWP on November 11, 2025, 06:46:37 AM
On the other hand, do you want someone that already took a poor shot, and did not or could not make any more effort to get the critter possibly wounding it more and/or pushing it further away?
I had a friend that took 5 shots at a deer with a lever gun while it was running. 5. He even laughed about it. WTH?
It could be the guy decided he did not even hit the deer if it was moving that much?
Either way, he gave up, you put it out of it's misery, pain and suffering. You filled the freezer.
Good to go.
Post by: Dan-o on November 11, 2025, 08:14:46 AM
It's not like we're watching video of it here.
Who knows if they even had a chance to flag the first shooter down.
I can envision seeing the first shooter pop over a distant ridge, think he's going to trail/track his buck, have him disappear and never be seen again.
Good job recovering the buck.
Post by: dilleytech on November 11, 2025, 08:15:19 AM
1st lead in the animal owns it. If you can’t locate the shooter to help him recover the animal then no choice but to tag it to avoid waste at risk of original shooter showing up with buddies to search for it and claim it.
You likely did the right thing.
Definitely not 😂
Post by: Nate p on November 11, 2025, 08:38:40 AM
That being said I have also noticed a trend lately of other hunters flocking to the sound of shots. This year my 9 year old shot his first buck and within 5 minutes of the shot we had people coming out of the woodwork and looking over the landings down to were we had shot from. We ended up having to relocate to a road above the deer to haul it out and ran into a hunter on the landing we were going to pull from. I walked up to this hunter and stated that we needed access to the landing for the retrieval of a deer we just shot and didn't want to seem like we were stepping on his toes. He stated he heard the shot and was investigating the area because of this???
Years ago i had a bull elk that we had shot from about 500 yards away. We watched a individual look at us on the ridge with his binoculars and start running to the valley we were shooting into. The bull was still alive but mortally wounded and we were still actively trying to dispatch the animal when this guy came up and shot the bull as he lay dying. He started processing the elk until we showed up at the site and he stated he was just doing us a favor by putting it down and processing it.
This behavior is crossing that moral line in my opinion. It seems that guys are trying to take advantage of the law how it reads being that the animal belongs to the person who delivers the final kill shot. I personally find no sport in chasing down other peoples wounded game in the hopes I can take home some meat.
OP's situation is different in the fact that he watched the original shooter attempt recovery and then give up and walk away but this in my opinion is a grey area as well because I have been in situations before where I wasn't confident in my shot placement and have walked away from an animal for hours to give them time to expire before trying to blood trail for risk of pushing them further. Just my :twocents:
Post by: Rugergunsite308 on November 11, 2025, 09:44:55 AM
One of our guys did that and followed the trail the next morning to find other hunters carving up his bull. Not a happy day in camp because the other hunters had tagged it and were very abrasive about "finders keeper, loser's weepers".
On the flip side, I hit a cow one year high in the "no man's land" and spent all evening looking for it. The next day we all went out and followed blood until it petered out. After a while, everyone else started hunting away while my dad and I kept looking with a growing pit in my stomach. When over the radio came the call that one of the other members in camp had shot a cow a few hundred yards away. My dad got there before me and noticed a hole where I said I hit the elk, in addition to the holes where our buddy hit the elk. As I approached my Dad confronted me and told me this was most likely the elk I hit, and if I wanted to claim it, he would back me up since we generally follow the first blood rule. He also said that our buddy was really excited about shooting the elk. I new instantly that I didn't care about our first blood rule. The biggest satisfaction and relief I felt was knowing the cow wasn't wounded and lost. I didn't feel like I earned that elk.
So as I approached the elk, we were all able to celebrate together and work together on butchering and packing my buddy's elk.
I guess I didn't clear anything up. Just be courteous and leave the ego's at home.
Post by: fmlyarcher on November 11, 2025, 09:48:05 AM
Post by: Fidelk on November 11, 2025, 10:39:44 AM
So the hunters that shot this deer came looking for it,OP saw where the deer went and didn't point the shooter at least in the right direction?Then,when shooter leaves puts a tag on it?Not much of a hunt and even less of a sportsman in my opinion.
That's kinda what I was thinking,you sit there silently and wait for the guy to leave.
Then your hero for putting the animal down.
If your waving at the guy, pointing into the draw,guy turns and leaves.
Then I guess you did the right thing.
Maybe he didn't want to ruin your hunt,was unsure the buck went down there.
I also agree ,only solid good is the deer was not wasted or suffering.
It reminds me of a story about a Hunter who shot a buck in the throat.
Then the buck got it's throat silt by another hunter and tagged.
In the first highlighted quote......in my experience, if you are on public land and shoot an animal, you are now in a race to recover what you just shot. People will leave their camp knowing that they might get lucky and have an opportunity to kill an animal that is dying from another hunter's shot and we all know that a mortally wounded animal can take some time to expire. Given that, not sure how much moral or legal responsibility another hunter would have to help out "the competition". The competition that would steal your dying animal in a heart beat.
In the second highlighted quote.......this has been discussed several times around the campfire at our elk camp........any killing of big game animals must be done by legal means.......killing an animal by slitting its throat with a knife is not "legal means".....neither is your spear or a curare tipped dart fired from your blow gun. It wouldn't even be legal to pull out your snub nose .38 and shoot it in the head.
Post by: Ridgeratt on November 11, 2025, 10:59:40 AM
That was over 40 years ago and it has just gotten worse.
Post by: OutHouse on November 11, 2025, 11:14:02 AM
If I shot a wounded animal and the hunter caught up with me, I would give it to him/her, unless they claimed that I was the rightful owner because I put it down. I like the spirit of hunters helping other hunters.
This issue came up with family member who was dying to get a deer with a new rifle. He shoots the deer, the deer beds down next to where it was hit. He's just watching the deer, but won't shoot it again. At that time, my old man had my scope rifle and so I am bee bopping around with an old open sight Mosin Nagant. I hike up just a bit and can see all this unfolding after I hear the shot.
Deer gets up and starts to walk down hill with a noticeable low and back shot with dark blood on its side, but not much. My mind instantly tells me, liver shot and not a good one. Buck appears to be moving just fine. My family member still won't take a second shot. I leveled my rifle and shot it broadside about 80 yards away.
Family member is irritated with me, says I made the bad shot, and should not have shot at all. Found both bullets just inside the fur on the opposite side of the bullet's entry. My bullet was 30 cal, his a 270. It was very clear that he made the bad shot and that mine went right through the boiler room.
To this day, he gets pissy if the subject comes up, but he agrees he was in the wrong. There was no question between us that it was his deer.
Post by: Fidelk on November 11, 2025, 11:42:05 AM
To this day, he gets pissy if the subject comes up, but he agrees he was in the wrong. There was no question between us that it was his deer.
For fun.....mail him (anonymously) the page out of the hunting regs (relevant portion high-lighted in yellow) that says the shooter who actually kills the animal is legally entitled to keep it
Post by: Fidelk on November 11, 2025, 11:56:09 AM
This is a really interesting and thought provoking thread!
It really is, good learning opportunity. I learned a lot from another recent thread that discussed having a loaded magazine in a vehicle (but not inserted into the rifle) and whether that was a violation. A few weeks later that came up as a buddy and I were driving up to where we hunt elk.
Post by: Rainier10 on November 11, 2025, 05:09:45 PM
Went back the next day and here comes a limping deer but much smaller than the one I shot. Did I remember wrong? My buddy got eyes on the limping deer. That’s not him too small. What to do? If someone else just hit that deer and is blood trailing it’s their deer and I still need to find mine.
Jump him 30 minutes later big boy. Can’t get a shot, follow him over a ridge and meet two other hunters. Did you just see a limper come by? Yep, big buck, we took a running shot but missed. Okay thanks.
Go over the next ridge back towards where I saw the smaller limper. Three guys on the hill in the brush. Hike over to see if they saw the buck come by and they are gutting the big buck I had hit.
Thanks for knocking him down, I wish I would have hit him better. At least I know he is dead and can go look for another one.
What are you talking about we shot this deer this morning. Uh no I shot it yesterday and have been following it. Sorry but no we dhot this and followed it to here and finished it off.
Oh I saw a smaller buck come through limping. Smaller antlers and no eye guards. His buddy says hey now that you mention it this buck has 3” eye guards and I don’t remember the one you shot having eye guards.
Well there are three of you, tag this one and go look for the one you actually hit this morning.
Shooter says this is the one I hit this morning. Now I’m getting pissed. Ok well then where is the front leg? We already cut it off. Just one lower leg and you left the other three? Yep. I hike downhill grab the leg. Whatcha doing with that? I pull the bone fragment out of my pocket from the day before and line it up with the leg they threw away.
Why would I have a piece of bone in my pocket from a deer you shot just a little bit ago?
They all knew I had shot that buck, they killed it’s theirs just don’t say I didn’t shoot it first and at least go after the deer you originally shot.
Post by: hunter399 on November 11, 2025, 09:07:24 PM
Found some blood,while taking my wife hunting.
Couldn't figure it out , anybody ever find blood from a doe in heat.
It was strange, hopefully not the buck my wife has been looking for.
So I'm saying this topic sucks.,sure hope I'm not finding one .
Post by: Tball77 on November 11, 2025, 09:25:35 PM
Post by: GeoSwan on November 12, 2025, 01:17:38 PM
Kneecap injury isn’t survivable. That’s not even something to question as it runs by. You did great by harvesting him.
WDFW said they will chew off their leg and go on their merry way. I'm sure it's not survivable in all cases though.
Post by: OutHouse on November 12, 2025, 02:57:16 PM
To this day, he gets pissy if the subject comes up, but he agrees he was in the wrong. There was no question between us that it was his deer.
For fun.....mail him (anonymously) the page out of the hunting regs (relevant portion high-lighted in yellow) that says the shooter who actually kills the animal is legally entitled to keep it
Ha haaaaaaaaa!! It may come to fists if I do that!
Post by: Bullkllr on November 12, 2025, 03:12:14 PM
I know this topic had me looking for an injured animal today.
Found some blood,while taking my wife hunting.
Couldn't figure it out , anybody ever find blood from a doe in heat.
It was strange, hopefully not the buck my wife has been looking for.
So I'm saying this topic sucks.,sure hope I'm not finding one .
I killed a buck by following a blood trail I found in the snow. Blood was from a fresh muzzle-loader ball in the hindquarter. No other hunters in the area.
Can't imagine a doe in heat leaving a trail.
Post by: fishngamereaper on November 12, 2025, 03:43:57 PM
But this thread reinforces why I avoid general season public land hunts....
Post by: OutHouse on November 12, 2025, 03:49:36 PM
This is a really interesting and thought provoking thread!
It really is, good learning opportunity. I learned a lot from another recent thread that discussed having a loaded magazine in a vehicle (but not inserted into the rifle) and whether that was a violation. A few weeks later that came up as a buddy and I were driving up to where we hunt elk.
Exactly. I read that one as well and had to re-think some things. The best threads are ones where upon first read you have to contemplate the issues and consider competing sides/arguments to formulate your own opinion. I love this site!
Post by: Tball77 on November 13, 2025, 08:31:31 PM
Post by: EnglishSetter on November 13, 2025, 10:55:36 PM