AKDoug

Damn right it does. This is the problem we get when we start shooting for racks instead of meat for the freezer. If getting the biggest deer in your hunting career is worth breaking the law...well I' ll stop there.

The law is in place because 90% of the deer that the biologists are trying to save meet that description. That one GIANT that also happens to fall in that catagory is just a lucky bastard and hopefully somebody without ethics or morals won' t whack him.

Jimimac

AKDoug...I was waiting for someone to bite on that one. Just because there is a law in place and someone breaks it, it doesn' t always mean that person is being unethical. Not all laws are so cut and dry. Using that logic then anyone who drives 63 in a 55 is unethical because he is breaking the law. Do you use a radar detector? How about the holdouts in Canada who have refused to register their firearms. They are breaking the law but are they now unethical as well? Also, I am not a trophy hunter by any stretch of the imagination, but doesn' t everyone hope to someday tag a big buck. I have never taken one, have you? This is not a meat in the freezer versus trophy hunting argument at all. It' s about the buck of a lifetime coming by your stand and not measuring up to a regulation that may or may not be valid in this particular case. I' m not convinced it would be unethical to tag the deer. I' m not trying to flame ya man. Sometimes when using this medium things sound harsher than they really are. Actually, this is the type of response I was hoping for. It' s a heck of a lot better than your typical what type of treestand do you use thread.


I think PABowhunter said it much better than me using the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law argument. He was also one of the few people on this thread in that was truly being honest in my opinion. Either that, or we have the potential of making of one heck of a bible study group!

Arthur P

I will put it quite bluntly... Anyone that intentionally breaks game laws is not, and never will be, welcome in my camp. If I catch someone in the act, my next move is to pull out the cell phone and call the game warden. I have done it before and I will do it again.

Not submitting to an oppressive law that infringes on your rights is one thing. Game law violations does not fall under that heading.

bscofield

WOW... good thing someone finaly posted a " relevant issue!" [:@]

The problem with the letter of the law or the spirit of the law is that if you go by the spirit of the law than it is left up to you to interpret. This is not good. " I think it' s a 3 1/2 yr. old." When in reality it could be a 2 or so. Now this in your example isn' t the case because there' d be no doubt as to the age, but it " starts" something, ya know?

That' s why the law has to be the law because we can' t decide we can change it when we want. To use the speeding example: We could decide that since speed limits are put in place to protect people from un-safe driving that since we are all safe drivers (ya right ) we can speed because we' re obeying the spirit of the law. You can' t go this route, IMHO, or your getting to where everyone decides for themselves whether or not their doing the right thing.

Now as to the question... that' s a hard one. I can honestly say that I wouldn' t know what I' d do until the buck wandered into range. But if I did let it go it would be a SAD day [:' (]

brucelit

wellll I was being as honest as I could be, I' d let that buck walk! Now the reality since you brought it up, I don' t have to live by point restrictions YET If I were in your shoes I would get in touch with a warden or other law person and ask the question. Are you enforcing the letter of the law or in this scenario with an obviously mature animal would you consider it legal. Kind of like another thread I read about finding a downed animal after legal shooting hours[:' (]

Rack-attack

I have NEVER shot a deer for meat in the freazer, and probably never will - its the last thing on my mind. Don' t start dragging rack hunters into this for the wrong reasons. We all have our reasons why we hunt.....

Don' t go dragging mine through the mud[:-]

AKDoug

Cool enough. However, when somebody get' s all shakey inside with indecision about breaking a law due to rack size then it becomes part of the discussion.

Mantis Mayer

WoW! Bravo on the post! You totaly redeamed yourself!

PA folks, You don' t want the people in your state to start picking this rule apart. It won' t work if you do. Just like the speed limit didn' t work for me on the way home tonight from the fishing trip.....I know, I' m an unethical driver[] If PA thought everyone could judge age on deer they would have done things differently. Fact is they can' t and you don' t want this idea to sound ethical because to many speeders I meen hunters will violate the law. The big difference between speed zones and point restrictions is, the later is a great idea and will be awesome if everyone abides by the law. When someone is doing the speed limit, you slow down and roll your eyes. O yeah, why in the H would I wanna take my virginity back!!!!!!????[&:]

pseavenger

this is silly... there should be no discussion at all on this topic.. rules are rules

Jimimac

It is not a silly discussion. There has been some good stuff going around on this one. I actually wish more posts stretched our personal boundaries and limits a bit. Asking the tough questions of yourself and then sharing them here on the BBS is far more interesting and entertaining than the generic stuff that is so prevalent in these types of forums. I wish everyone would reach out and put up posts similar to this one where the potential to really get your butt handed to you exists. I posted this to create controversy and opened myself up to criticism. Also, I want you all to know that I respect your opinions and it has given me a lot to think about. I' m still not sure how I would handle it but believe me, you have all come across to me with flying colors. And Mantis...that was a hell of a post. So how about it guys and girls. None of us are perfect. (even if some on this BBS seem to be) We all fall short somewhere in our lives and also where it comes to hunting. Bare your souls or we will constantly be reading posts like " what color fletching do you use?" [>:]