# Party hunting for Deer?



## PSDC (Jul 17, 2003)

I have recently read in another outdoor publication why Minnesota
should outlaw party hunting for deer.

What is every one else's views?

Does ND or SD allow party hunting for deer? I believe ND does not
allow party hunting, correct?

I can see both sides of the argument for party hunting.

The one reason I can see for party hunting, there are too
many deer in Minnesota.


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## Goldy's Pal (Jan 6, 2004)

> I have recently read in another outdoor publication why Minnesota
> should outlaw party hunting for deer.


Can you post it?


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## PSDC (Jul 17, 2003)

Maybe I should rephrase myself.

There has been many letters in the MN Outdoor news
discussing the topic.

I am curious to see what other deer hunters feel is 
ethical when it comes to party hunting.


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

I do NOT believe in party hunting...........WHY???????????????

Because too many non-hunters end up with Tags

JMHO


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## PSDC (Jul 17, 2003)

Zogman,

Are you referring to ND buck tags?

Please verify for me if party hunting is illegal in ND.

Thanks


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

Party hunting is illegal in ND.

No I am not refering to just Buck tags.

When you allow party hunting I think you have non-deer hunters putting in for tags. And that allows the real hunters in that group or party to have a better chance at ending up with a buck tag or two or even more based upon the luck of the draw with our lottery system.

I feel the lottery system we have here in ND is excellent. And we don't need to allow party hunting.

Side story I've told before. When I was fortunate enough to bag a wall hanger the group of 4 that I hunted with made me, in a nice way of course :lol: put in for only doe tags until one of them got a nice buck. Turned out to be about 4 or 5 years. Kind of an honor thing they said. Actually they beat me into submission after a few adult beverages at the huntin shack :beer:


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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

I prefer to shoot my own deer, thank you.

I believe that party hunting can turn younger hunters off to hunting, consider this, a teenager on his first deer hunt with the "men", he really is looking forward to shooting a deer. Along comes Bubba who gets lucky , comes out of his drunken stupor long enough to shoot several deer cause hey, there's a bunch of tags in camp. Now this young man who has been looking forward to hunting deer all year long has to put his tag on a deer that someone else has shot. Who knows how many years this goes on before the kid is "allowed" to shoot his own deer. And if he wants to go hunting, can he really express his feelings about this matter?

I hope that it is NEVER allowed in ND. Even though it is illegal it happens far too often.

huntin1


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

Huntin 1,

Double dittos from this camp :beer: :beer: Couldn't of said it better myself. :bowdown:


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## Tator (Dec 10, 2005)

I know a 'friend of mine that party hunts, and personally I guess I dont mind it IF used the right way. The thing that does bug me a bit is the guys who put in for their wife/sister/daughter, who probably doesn't even know what a gun is or does. These people misuse party hunting. Just my opinion. I do know people who party hunt for does, but that's just people who I know, not me..........


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## kase (Jan 23, 2005)

yeah, i definitely think that its wrong when john doe sends in an app for his wife and she draws a buck tag. then old john gets to shoot two bucks while jane doe (who has never shot a gun before and feels bad when she sees a dead deer) sits back at the house and knits. i'm with huntin1 on this one...i hope that it is never legal in ND. also, who in the hell would wanna slap their tag on a deer someone else killed?

kase


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## Todd Reber (Nov 6, 2005)

i agree with huntin1, party hunting is illegal in Northdakota but it happens way to often. I like to hunt for my own deer and allow my kids to hunt for their own deer, who ever shoots the deer should have to tag it and if you don't have a tag for that sex of deer you better not be shooting, at least here in nortdakota. 8)


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## PSDC (Jul 17, 2003)

Thank you for the responses.

I could take it or leave it when party hunting for deer.

My problem, just as some have stated is individuals tagging
deer for non-hunters. To me this is borderline poaching.

But, in my area where I deer hunt, poaching has become an
epidemic. The poachers are starting to get smarter.

Just the past month, caught one of the neighbors going slow
down a township road with his lights off around dusk.
Thought his actions were strange, later I found out that
he was placing corn behind trees, approximately 30 yards
in the woodline. Since he knew where his bait was located,
he would turn off the lights and attempt to sneak up on 
any deer that was feeding.

In a two week stint, the neighbors found over 4 blood trails
out of the woods onto the township road.

A few TIP calls were made, but no report of any conviction.


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## Ranger_Compact (Nov 2, 2005)

huntin1 said:


> I prefer to shoot my own deer, thank you.
> 
> I believe that party hunting can turn younger hunters off to hunting, consider this, a teenager on his first deer hunt with the "men", he really is looking forward to shooting a deer. Along comes Bubba who gets lucky , comes out of his drunken stupor long enough to shoot several deer cause hey, there's a bunch of tags in camp. Now this young man who has been looking forward to hunting deer all year long has to put his tag on a deer that someone else has shot. Who knows how many years this goes on before the kid is "allowed" to shoot his own deer. And if he wants to go hunting, can he really express his feelings about this matter?
> 
> ...


You couldn't have stated that any better. My cousin Bryno from Grand Forks goes hunting with my uncle, because his father just isn't that into deer hunting right now. For the last THREE years, my uncle has shot Bryno's deer. My uncle claims that Bryno is too slow, and won't shoot it in time. BS! So he is almost 18 and he still hasn't shot his first deer yet. By the way, all three of the deer have been bucks, somehow he (his mom/dad) draw buck tags every year! :roll: My first buck that my dad held back and let me shoot by myself, was bigger than any of the bucks that Bryno has ever "shot". Which is nice, because he always excells better than me in other sports. Oh the competition of loved ones!


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## Powder (Sep 9, 2003)

_My problem, just as some have stated is individuals tagging 
deer for non-hunters. To me this is borderline poaching. _

Nothing borderline about it. It's poaching plain and simple. Party hunting was intended for hunters to help fill tags of other hunters. Buying and filling a tag for a friend or relative that is not, nor ever will be hunting with you is illegal.


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## hill billy (Jan 10, 2006)

But really think about it, the state allows so many tags a year right. So they are allowing the harvest of said amount of deer right. So if a person fills a tag for someone else with that persons consent whats the problem. Why does it matter who kills the deer. The deer is just as dead as if the actual person who owns the tag killed it. Its not poaching by any means.


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## hill billy (Jan 10, 2006)

Okay I didnt read very well apparently, I dont agree witht hem buying a permit for someone who wont be hunting and using it, thats no good...


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## Todd Reber (Nov 6, 2005)

this party hunting subject has got me thinking, we all pretty much all agree that yes it is the law in Nortdakota that it is illegal to party hunt, and deer hunting is the issue that was brought up, :roll: and me myself agrees that I do not deer party hunt and don't like it. On the other hand when talking about party hunting what about bird hunting or fishing? i know there are alot of people out there including me who have shot more then there limit of birds or caught more then there limit of fish just because they have the numbers. do we ever say o'kay you got your three pheasants sit the rest of the day out? It's common to say just keep shooting we are not done yet? illegal you bet, different standards? Yes? why? I don't know. what does other people think about this? :roll:


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## Ranger_Compact (Nov 2, 2005)

I have never purposely taken over my limit in hunting or fishing. Yes, accidents happen, and I may have dropped two birds in a shot, that's where other hunters come in handy, if they don't have their limit yet. Rules and regulations are usually there for a reason. Lets try to obey them.


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

When I am o


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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

Deer, fish or birds. Does not matter. If you have taken your limit, you're done. Especially when young people are involved. I don't know how many times I've talked to teenagers who don't care if they go hunting or not simply because it's boring to sit there and watch someone else shoot their game for them.

huntin1


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

For those kids that can


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## hill billy (Jan 10, 2006)

Thats a good way to keep somebody from shooting your deer. hahaha I liked that one...


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Why did you put YOUR tag on it? :eyeroll:


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

We used to hunt with a guy tat wanted to shoot everyone's deer...legal or not. I flat out told him if he shoots it he better have tag for it.....He actually didn't believe me and shot a doe.....you guessed it..no tag....well I hated to leave it lay but I told him if I were him that I hoped there wasn't a game warden watching. Never hunted with him again after that day.

Tell any yahoo that wants to shoot you deer for you in ND the same thing and them stick to it.

I've seen way too many kids that didn't get to shoot a deer for 2-3 years just because Dad or the Uncle didn't have the patience for junior to learn how to do it and shoot his own.

If anyone thinks that party huntng isn't done in ND then they haven't been arouond very long.


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## PSDC (Jul 17, 2003)

Ken,

Good question.

Our group still party hunts in Minnesota. But, with a twist,
the youths, or new hunters get 1st crack to fill ANY license
they desire, if not multiple. For everyone else, QDM comes
into play. 8 points(4x4) or less walks. In order to fill some-
one else tag, that hunter must be physically out in the woods
at the time of harvest.

And for you, Ken, if you reach a certain age you fall into the
1st crack party! Our age limit is 75 and older!


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

Ken W


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## Lvn2Hnt (Feb 22, 2005)

Field Hunter, I like that you stick to your guns..so to speak, but I really don't agree with leaving a shot dear lay, that's just unethical, it's poaching just as much as party hunting is. I like that you haven't hunted with the guy since, but in that situation, your hunting party was just as guilty as he was.


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## usmarine0352 (Nov 26, 2005)

*PARTY HUNTING - OK*

I guess we've never really "party hunted" for deer, because we never limit out.

But we do do it for pheasant. Like that other guy said, it's not like you say, you shot your 2, go sit in the truck. We keep hunting until we reach our limit.

I have shot deer for my mom, to fill her tag. She hunts, even on her own, but if it comes to the end of the season, she likes to have deer meet in their freezer, so I'll shoot one for her. But she's out there too.

I don't believe in shooting deer for people who aren't hunting. It's illegal I think too.

:sniper:


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

L2H,
I knew someone would feel that way. We were hunting in a party...yes, or another words a bunch of guys walking together....It was explainerd that everyone would shoot his own deer. This individual shot at a deer he didn't have a license for...and hit it. This took place many years ago when you got one tag and one tag only and believe it or not there were years when you didn't get either a buck tag or a doe tag. He thought we were kiddng and we weren't. How is that unethical....it's unethical for the person disregarding the law but why should one of us tagged a deer that we applied for in May and expected to shoot ourselves in Novemeber.
Sorry, can't agree with you.

So in this day and age when you can have multiple doe licenses and one idiot shoots a couple of does he doesn't have a license for in the first place...even after you tell him not to..you're saying it's unethical for the rest of the hunters to leave them lay.....I don't think so....it's poaching...nothing more or less...same as shooting them out of season.

Not to change the subject..but I could never understand the reasonng behind one guy getting lucky some morning in MN and havng a herd or bucks come through his stand, shooting 3-4 bucks and having the rest of the group tag them....just doesn't make sense to me.....I'd call those guys that would tag those deer, just to get a deer, as the unethical ones.

Is it huntng or filling the freezer? Party huntng n my opinion should never be allowed in ND.....If it ever does pass then it should be retermed.....Party Shooting....because it certanly isn't a real hunt in any sense of the word.


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## Goldy's Pal (Jan 6, 2004)

> I could never understand the reasonng behind one guy getting lucky some morning in MN and havng a herd or bucks come through his stand, shooting 3-4 bucks and having the rest of the group tag them..


I don't agree with that either, MN. has a lot of people who are just happy with the meat in the freezer at the end of the season though and are in it for their pre-hunt parties, during the hunt parties, and after the hunt parties and a shot of November cold air on their big game hunter wanna be a$$'s for a week.



> Is it huntng or filling the freezer?


EXACTLY!

Most of these deer firearm license purchasers never set a foot into the woods until opening morning with probably a hangover and a cigarette in their fingers. It happens every year, I bowhunt an area for 8 weeks without hearing a mouse fart until November rolls around and it's like the county road turns into I-90. It's just the way it is with gun season and always will be. I'm to the point where I can't deal with it so I'm strictly bowhunting around the gun season here.


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

People....I understand....14 or 15....kind of intimidated by dad and uncles....especially if everybody in the group has been doing it.I bet no one shoots one for you anymore. :eyeroll:

FH....if that happened to me I would tag it like you just because I didn't want it to lay there.

When I deer hunt with people I've never hunted with....the first thing I say...."I shoot my own.I don't care if a new World Record buck runs by."


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## Lvn2Hnt (Feb 22, 2005)

Field Hunter, from your posts I know that we both have the same opinions on this issue - which I believed we had from the beginning, and believe me, I'm not judging you or trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill from something that happened years ago. From how you told the story, you really had no choice, and it really wasn't you or your party that broke the law, it was the guy that shot the deer w/o a tag. I think what I'm most trying to state, and I think you'd agree, that just leaving a deer lay is not only illegal, but highly unethical.

In that situation, I really couldn't answer truthfully how exactly I'd react. Honestly, I think I would've done the same thing that you did.

I hope you didn't take my post as an attack on your character or ethics, I was just trying to express that leaving deer lay when someone w/o a tag shoots it should not become common practice.

By the way, what the heck was he doing walking the field with a rifle if he didn't have a tag in the first place? Granted, when I've finished my tags I'll walk with the rest, but I'll usually bring my shotgun - sometimes to the dismay of my group, but oh well :lol:


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

> your hunting party was just as guilty as he was.


The guilt party was the guy that shot the deer. No one else is under obligation to tag it for him. Perhaps they could have tagged it and then not hunted with him again but the rest of the guys actually shouldn't have tagged it by the strictest enforcement of the ND law that prohibits party hunting.



> I'd call those guys that would tag those deer, just to get a deer, as the unethical ones


Why is that unethical. As long as the MN laws are followed, there is nothing wrong with tagging a deer that someone else shoots. Remember, in a lot of areas of Mn the season is two days!!!! You can't really be as picky as you can in ND. Our normal rule of thumb in MN is that the first day you shoot your own deer and after that you shoot whatever the party has tags for. The exception being that I have tried to get the adults to shoot either large bucks or does only (of course I was the first one to screw that up this year   ). Trying to stay away from the smaller bucks. The young guys that hunt with us have free reign to shoot what they want.

Why is it that people always are trying to impose their standards on other situations that they know nothing about???? Try hunting another situation before we make judgements about others. As long as the law is followed.


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## Lvn2Hnt (Feb 22, 2005)

> your hunting party was just as guilty as he was.
> 
> The guilt party was the guy that shot the deer. No one else is under obligation to tag it for him. Perhaps they could have tagged it and then not hunted with him again but the rest of the guys actually shouldn't have tagged it by the strictest enforcement of the ND law that prohibits party hunting.


Yes and no. By anyone else tagging that deer that was shot by someone else, that would've have been illegal too, hence poaching. But, there's always the "guilt by association" and the fact of being guilty of lack of ethics. Using words like guilt and ethics.... they are harsh, and I'm really not trying to be that black and white. Like I stated in my response to FH... I just wanted to make a point of not making a practice out of leaving dead deer just lay.



> Why is it that people always are trying to impose their standards on other situations that they know nothing about???? Try hunting another situation before we make judgements about others.


Dont' know if this comment was directed entirely at me or a comment in general, but 1) I don't think talking ethics is trying to impose standards....there are just some "given" items that all hunters should abide by....in an ideal world anyway 2) I don't think anyone here is doing that, it was asked to give opinions and that what I've seen typed. 3) I don't think any of us, and I know that's not my intent, are making judgements about others, I am and will continue to make judgements about _situations_....that's the freedom of opinion and perspective. But, like I said before to FH, I have no idea what I would have done in his situation, but chances are that I would've done the same thing.

Fact remains, party hunting and the choice to participate or not is someting every hunter has encountered or will encounter. And every situation will require a unique approach. I think a thread like this, no matter which views are expressed or which judgements are passed, helps everyone to see different things and gives them some options to fall back on when a sticky situation arrises.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

It definately was NOT aimed at you or anyone in general. FH is a very good friend of mine and my main hunting partner so it was not aimed at him either. I just am saying that MN and ND are two different animals. I actually hunted deer in ND with FH for only my second time ever. MN is a much shorter season and party hunting is legal! ND is a longer season and party huntring is illegal. If a person is hunting within the law in the state they are in how can they be unethical. I will tell you I enjoy MN deer hunting much more than ND, we get closer to them in the river bottoms vs. the open prairie.
We might not agree with different wasy of hunting but there is nothing unethical about it if within the law. I daon't agree with jump shooting birds anymore but I once did it. I don't think it is unethical, just don't want to do it anymore (not looking to start that debate here, just using anexample). I also don't think that hunting with a guide is hunting, it is shooting. That doesn't mean it is unethical, because it is legal here.


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## Lvn2Hnt (Feb 22, 2005)

> If a person is hunting within the law in the state they are in how can they be unethical.


You do make a really good point. But, in that specific instance, someone in that hunting party could've used a tag instead of wasting the deer. Since no one did, it could be considered unethical eventhough it may not have been illegal.

Put it this way, on a larger scale. A buddy of yours -or even an aquaintance - shoots someone, steals something, or in any other way commits a crime. You were standing right there, watched the whole thing, may not have participated, but you witnessed it and didn't do anything to try to correct or help the situation. In the eyes of the law, you may actually be guilty of a crime, but the main question pertaining to this conversation is: You really had nothing to do with the crime committed, but you also did nothing to remedy the situation - ethical or not.

I hope I'm not creating any bad feelings between you or FH by continuing this conversation, that is not my intent, because I actually agree with you. I just like to pick the heads of other sporsmen and often play the devils advocate. If I have come across as a self-righteous B**ch, I am sorry. :beer: :lol:


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## killadoe (Dec 12, 2005)

If you feel its bad dont do it then. If you like to party hunt then there is nothing the good people on this site can do to stop you. Its the same thing back and forth, either you agree or disagree. Instead of everybody writing these big long paragraphs about their opinion, just say agree aor disagree.. Save yourself the keystrokes.....LoL just kidding, Good thread..


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

No, I think you have a good point there, never looked at it like that. And you can't come between me and Field Hunter, I already know what an *** he is!!!!! :wink: :lol: Just kidding. I can definately see it both ways!!! No hard feelings at all. :beer:


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