Lesson learned from gun season.

[Birdddog]

Saturday 12/7/13, a group of us were doing deer drives in the afternoon trying to make something happen. Myself and 2 others were driving for the rest of the group. Five shots rang out as we made our way through some very think junk on top of the hill. When I made it off the top and down to the others, I found out one in the group wounded a deer. With snow on the ground, the father of the hunter who wounded the animal and I took up the trail with hopes of catching up to the animal. It didn't take long. The father tracked the animal down into a holler and I stayed up on a shelf to watch out ahead of him. He yelled the deer was heading to me and the deer came out of the brush, obviously hit, and I took the shot and put the animal down. After making his way back up the hill, I told him we needed to go get the hunter who shot it so they could tag it. He said "No, you killed it." Prior to tracking, we did not discuss anything about who would tag the animal. I assumed his kid would tag it since she shot it. I didn't argue with him about it to much, but I let him know I was rather pissed for having to burn a tag for mercy killing a deer his kid shot. I don't know why he didn't have his kid go with us, but I thought I was helping him out in recovering the deer. So needless to say, he gets no more help from me. The year before, I helped him track one on the same hill because he made a poor shot and we never did find that animal. I donated the meat to farmers and hunters feeding the hungry.

[Strother23]

That sucks you we're put in an awkward situation. Well at least you did the right thing by killing the deer and donating the meet

[nomad_archer]

Technically he was right that you put the killing shot on the deer so it was yours. However at least in my group usually the original shooter is involved in the tracking and they would want that deer. However your doe tags are OTC in Ohio get another tag and get in the woods. In pa I can see being pissed since tags are tough to come by. You are rightfully upset though. That is a terrible position to be put in

[mrbb]

well legally if you kill the deer, you legally cannot have another person tag it, that's the law in most states
by shooting a deer with intentions of another tagging it also is WAY in the gray area
that said, I have been in your shoes a few times, and I help end the suffering, some times I even ate a buck tag due to the first shooter leaving??
and that sucks a lot more than loosing a doe tag, but its the right thing to do
I would have said something ebfor etracking, all the more so if I seen the kid wasn't taking [part in the tracking, that would have been a red flag to me right there LOl
but hey, some times doing the right thing is the reward, so be glad you did it, even if it cost you a tag, Karma, can go both ways on you and them, maybe next yr you will kill that bg one, and they will go deer less!

[nomad_archer]

Mrbb hit the nail on the head. Legally you did the right thing and Mrbb it really isn't a grey area. You kill said deer and it is wounded, you killed it and should tag it. What happens when tracking a wounded deer well sometimes people don't follow the letter of the law

[nomad_archer]

Really the first shooter should have been in birddogs position in case the deer ran like it did

[mrbb]

Nomad, I agree, was just being nice by saying gray area, in some state there is what's call party hunting, were a group can hunt together and anyone can shoot, with only one tag being used between the group
so in a way, gray area LOL
I recalls for yrs, how so many hunters in Pa(other states too) used to buy a tag for there kid, just so they could have a second buck tag, sad but true, and sure it still happens
If I shoot it,I expect to tag it, after all thats hunting, no?? You kill it , its yours(well as long as legally killled )

[nomad_archer]

I think the worst I have seen was in pa. A kid supposedly got his first buck a small 4 which is legal for youth but the kid didn't show the excitement of getting his first buck. I have a suspicion dad took the shot for the kid. That was a bit off topic.

[mrbb]

Hell when I HAD THE GUN STORE I heard tons of stories about how dad took kid out and wouldn't let hims him shoot when a buck came cause dad wanted the deer, but would use the kids tag, so he could keep hunting, heard that hundreds of times,or them using there wives tag too, that was also very common knowledge too

[nomad_archer]

Its pretty terrible what people do for a deer

[Birdddog]

It sucked, plain and simple. I am used to hunting with my dad and a couple others and that is how we have taken care of business, you wound the animal, it's yours if we find it. I did get another tag because OH bow season lasts forever it seems, plus we still have muzzleloader too. I know it was the right thing to do in the end, it is just one of those things that happen in the hunting world.

[Birdddog]

I can still kill a buck so I am thankful that it wasn't a one. The kid blew it off like, "thank god I didn't kill that little thing". This hunter killed a nice 8-point that week before, in the same place again she shot this one, during the youth season and I think that's why she showed little interest.

[mrbb]

well thats how some kids get spoiled, there parents or who ever takes them hunting lets them get away with things like this, and then later on they either smarten up, or get worse into the gray area, or loose interest in hunting all together
I think a lot of kids hunt to make parents happy, more than they want to, too!