James B

There are a lot of laws that may contain a shade of grey but where I hunt the game laws are pretty darn clear. It is legal to fill your own tag and give the meat away but pure and simple illigal to shoot an animal to fill someone elses tag. And yes when my tags are filled or my limit is reached I unload my gun. I don't always want to but I always do. I am a believer that you can't go through life obeying the laws you feel are ok and the hell with the rest. As DM said when I was a younger man and we hunted just for the meat, things were different and there were no seasons on deer then where I lived but times have changed and laws have changed and we need to protect our sport for the next generation we need not provide fuel for the Anti's.

skeeter 7MM

To only allow a person to experience one part of the hunt ie: shooting the animal or getting to that point IMO is really robbing them of the value of the whole experience: I call hunting. However it is just that my opinion. Ethics are often debated but again how can you or I tell someone else how they should feel? You state your feelings based on your ethics, moral, whatever and to be truthful it is that individual who has to determine the line in which they will tote. If it is illegal or against your ethics they are the one who must pay for the actions be it getting caught and punished or feeling of guilt and remorse!

Would I shot the buck, nope...cuz as I stated it ain't one piece of the puzzle but the entire journey that I now consider hunting. Have I yes, just like stubblejumper I grew up in place where party hunting was an excepted practice even though not legal. It never was deer but rather moose or elk in our case...quite often a party of 6 or 8 would go and buy 3-4 tags once and if those were filled the hunt was over. In many cases we could have purchased and harvested more animals but 1/2 a critter was more than sufficent. So were we really being unethical? Maybe we were! We now all buy a tag but quite often the stop harvest remains the same, we get our share and everybody goes happy regardless of who actually got to notch a tag that fall! The rule is now/always was you shoot one and that is it your now working for the other guys or hunting deer only! If truth be known if your talking grey area, the fact we still pool our meat(moose or elk only) could also be considered illegal but we feel if you put forth the effort, work required and book the same time off work/family life than I get you get and vice versa is fair.

SpyroAndes

You are too much... I haven't even said what I did in that situation but it didn't stop you from calling me ignorant, stupid, unethical, immoral and slimy.

1) Jump to conclusions much?

2) Tell me how calling anyone an idiot, ignorant, stupid, slimy and etc is something that a moral person would do?

3) Never received a ticket for anything in your life?

And women wonder why the average american male would not want a woman as commander in chief... your post is reason #1.

The real winner here? My current girlfriend because she is getting flowers tomorrow because your whining makes me realize how lucky I am...

SA

ps. where did I ever insinuate that you were a liar?

James B

Skeeter. I don't know what the law is where you are but where I live there is nothing illigal about poolong the meat and dividing it up. As long as the animal was shot by the person with the tag. I doubt that any of us were in on making the game laws but its everyones responsibility to obey the laws that guide our sport. I can see one exception that I would allow if I were making the law and that would be to allow any hunter in the party to finish off an animal thats already wounded. I doubt that its legal but it should be. However I do my best to obey the game laws.

One place that the law may be a little gray is in the case where two animals are taken with one shot. This has happened to me not once but twice. In both cases I had multable tags but I don't know what would have happened If I had not. I don't recall reading in our game laws anything about that. Maybe someone else has.

RandyA

Virginia, how did you end up in Virginia from Wy.?

I doubt you would have ever caught me, I am actually never in that big of a hurry to get any where! And the law is the law!

RandyA

Spyro, you shot it and you know you shot it! Your into egos and goals not ethics! You reasoned some way or another that you could jusitfy shooting that deer. You won't convience me different.

stubblejumper

Where I live that is not a legal requirement nor should it be.We have had several hunters attacked and even killed by black bears and grizzlies.It is not at all uncommon for them to show up at a kill site when an animal is being dressed.

I will not see an animal suffer unnecessarily.If we are searching for an animal that one of us has wounded,whoever finds it will kill it as soon as possible to end it's suffering.A wounded animal can go a long ways in a hurry and we aren't going to risk having it limp away into cover while waiting for the person that wounded it to arrive to finish it off.It is actually illegal according to our laws but I believe it is the morally and ethically right thing to do.

DM

I'm the same way, once it's hit i don't give a damn what the law says!!! How is that any different than if i take you out on a brown bear hunt, you wound the bear, and what am i supose to do????? Stand there and watch that bear run into the biggest meanest thickest clump of alders?????? I'm the one that has to go in that stuff after it!!!! Ever have to go in after a wounded brownie????? I have!!

If it's hit, and it's getting away, i'm shooting at it!!!!

This is why i always preach that i like to use a bullet that will drive to the vitals from ANY ANGLE of the animial that i'm hunting, INSTEAD of useing a bullet that i'm limited to side rib shots!!

Drilling Man

hillbillyhunter1

Spyro

Imo, I would never pull the trigger in the situation as you described it. That is, shooting a trophy animal for anyone else. I would also question the character of a "hunter" (your partner) who could not themselves pull the trigger and then would want another to shoot their "trophy" for them. Game does not have to be taken in order to validate a great experience in the field. I would liken them to some boob from NYC that purchased a mount then told all his buddies about his great abilities. Now, if your partner had shot and wounded the animal, then of course, I would say do what you can to put it down.

As others here have said, I consider this situation different from the person who just wants some meat and, for one reason or another, is either unsure of their abilities or has limited opportunities. The difference is the use of the animal. The difference between the humble acceptance and gratitude for some meat or using the staus of an undeserved animal to boost ones own estimation of self worth.

If you had pulled the trigger, do you think it was your girlfriends intention (in her mind) to claim (to friends and others) that she did it and it would be your alls secret or were you just gonna be given the opportunity to harvest a second trophy of your own?

BGHUNTER00

Wow! Spyro you have been tried and crucified for simply posting a very real situation that many hunters are faced with. This a very intereting topic that apparently some are too immature to answer. As much as I might want to fill anothers tag on a big game animal I would not. This situation could very easily influence the rookies future of hunting forever, so I would attempt to set a good example and let the animal pass. Personally I could not take pride in an animal that was taken illegally.