# What would you have done?



## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Today my friend and I made a decision deer hunting which we beleive to be the right one. I was curious as to what others think.

My friend had an early season doe tag, while I only have late tags. I was pushing a small section of trees for him, and a doe ran out. He passed up the shot. An instant later my eyes caught a deer's eyes looking at me. It was a doe bedded down about 10 feet from me. I quickly noticed that it had a wound in the hindquarters (very fresh), and dripping blood. I kept an eye on it and kept my distance. It didn't take it's eyes off of me either. We finished the push, then quietly walked up on the deer. We thought that since it didn't run, it was probably in bad shape. John shot it and tagged it.

We realize he probably will lose some meat because somebody took a bad shot at this doe and didn't continue to search for it. Whether they were lazy or actually put in a good search is unknown. Perhaps they did try to find it. We think we did the ethical thing. I would appreciate comments.


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## drjongy (Oct 13, 2003)

I think it was real good of you guys to do that!


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## holmsvc (Nov 26, 2003)

There's no reason to let a deer stuffer and we have too many does. I wouldn't have had a problem if u would have just put it down and left it.


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

With out question You guys did the right thing!!!!!

Congrats!!!

Bob


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Definitely would have done the same. Hats off to you for doing the right thing!!!


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## sotaman (Apr 6, 2004)

Porkchop

Glad to see they couldn't keep you down. I had to do the same thing already this year up on some PLOTS land by Sherwood. My question for you if it made you feel good by doing that then you most have done the wrong thing. I can not think of any true sportsman that I know of want to see an animal suffer.


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

Fallguy, you definately did a good thing, I think that they should award bonus tags in cases like this.
:beer:


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## DeltaBoy (Mar 4, 2004)

Fallguy,

Wow... My hat's off to both of you guys. It's sad to say, but some guys would have just left the doe to die.

Congrats to both of ya! I am sure you will have extra luck with you for doing such a thing in the near future.

:beer:


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## Jimr (Nov 5, 2004)

awesome thing to do ..congrats...now next year for doing the good deed he will get a buck tag and maybe bag his biggest yet haha...Hopefully...


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## OneShotOneKill (Feb 13, 2004)

*Excellent job!* I am very happy to hear you shot it and tagged it. *That was the ethical and legal thing to do! If you had shot it and left it you would have been charged with wonton waste of game meat plus other game violations.* I would like to say thank you for teaching other of what to do.
*12. Wanton Waste*
No person shall kill, cripple, waste, destroy, spoil, or abandon the edible flesh of any big game animal without making a reasonable effort to retrieve and retain the big game animal in his/her actual custody, at the place where taken and between that place and either (a) his/her permanent residence (b) a taxidermist (c) a common carrier or (d) a commercial processor.
http://www.state.nd.us/gnf/licenses/pro ... html#waste


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

Definately the RIGHT thing to do, congrats!!!


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

That was exactly the right thing to do!

Last night we went out deer hunting around Center and we saw a man shoot a muley buck that was running through a pasture......with about 30 minutes left of shooting time. He hit the deer in the back right knee and we drove over to him and said we'd help him get the deer because I hate to see them suffer like that. He said....."I don't know if I'll go get that one, it is getting pretty dark and by the time we finally kill it it will be too dark to start gutting him out"

We were outraged!!! In a forcefull, but nice, manner we said he was wrong and that the 3 of us (me, my partner, the stranger) would push through the small coulee to finish him off. Well, we did and we harvested the deer. Good thing too, because the guys shot completely went through the deers knee and also clipped its other hind leg. It would have been coyote meat for sure!

ONCE AGAIN, I COMMEND YOU FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING !!!!!


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## Ryan_Todd (Apr 11, 2004)

you did the right thing and you should get another tag to use.


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

There are many tags availble still. If you want to "hunt" one, I'd pay the $20 and get it! :lol:


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## gaddyshooter (Oct 12, 2003)

Of course that was the right thing to do. Hopefully whoever shot if originally put forth some effort and searched for it the best that they could. It is possible that they did put forth the effort and simply could not find the deer. Unfortunate, but it happens. I would like to think that any true sportsman, if confronted with the same situation would do the same thing.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

You did the right thing. Please bring lots of bullets and come to my farm.


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## Niles Short (Mar 18, 2004)

Let me get this right you left it and finished your walk hoping you would get a different doe? why did'nt you shoot right then? Can I assume that you would have left it alive if you would have filled your tags??


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## oldrosey1 (Mar 2, 2004)

there's one in every crowd here :withstupid: too. see above post :


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## indsport (Aug 29, 2003)

To all,

if you find a wounded deer, you can call a game warden rather than use your own tag. However, both my wife and I have used our tags on wounded deer in the past and have also put some wounded out of their misery (e.g. found a fawn two years ago while pheasant hunting, gut shot with both back legs wounded). I usually carry a slug or two and the cell phone after rifle season to call the game warden and put down wounded deer.


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## headhunter (Oct 10, 2002)

If the deer would have been very sick / and the wound would have been very old , I would have either called a warden and told him, or shot the deer myself and kept hunting. We have a duty to be humane. thats all I got.


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## sdeprie (May 1, 2004)

Niles Short said:


> Let me get this right you left it and finished your walk hoping you would get a different doe? why did'nt you shoot right then? Can I assume that you would have left it alive if you would have filled your tags??


Other that that, I, too, think you did the right thing.


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## mallardhunter (May 15, 2004)

You did what I would have done. We did it a couple years ago we were walking a slough and a doe started running, but it didn't run that fast because someone shot her foot off. So we shot her and put the tag on her. I hate to see deer like that. During this spring snow goose hunting me and my dad were sitting in a ditch and we saw a doe we 3 1/2 legs. I flet so sorry for that doe I wish I could have just killed it with my shotgun because it couldn't go anywhere unless it hobbled slowly. I hate to see things like that.


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

In response to Niles Short,

Yes, we finished walking the tree grove before shooting the doe. My friend also had a buck tag, and I wanted to finish the 50 yards that were left to push before shooting the wounded doe. I was carrying my .243 with 55 grain Silvertips which I use for coyotes. I don't think that would have done a very good job with the deer. I did, however, tell my friend there was a doe in the trees and not to shoot if another one came out. Thanks for thinking about the situation though.


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

While pheasant hunting yesterday (no rifles in the sub) we came across a buck and a doe (separately) that were wounded and could barely out run me. Poor things won't make it much longer and the doe actually laid down after hobbling 100 from us.

Why don't people track game they have shot? I know it was a rather fresh shot and could have been tracked if an honest effort had been made!


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## mallardhunter (May 15, 2004)

In SD if you wound a deer and it goes into a different field you have to have permission to go in the field to get it. I think that is a stupid law, but I have to fallow it.


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## Matt Fiala (Nov 8, 2004)

Nice work fall guy, In response to Niles Short, I picked it up right away, Falluy didn't have a legal tag to shoot the doe in the first place, so he did exactly the right thing by finishing the drive and having his buddy bag it and tag it. Congrats again to Fallguy!!

The ethical way is always the way to do it. We need more sportsman like you , cuz there are so many like the one that left the deer there to die, that they give the rest of us a bad name in the eyes of some people.
:beer:


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## Chris Schulz (Sep 7, 2004)

why is that stupid? i think that its a good law. If a person has to wait to get permission from the landowner they have a greater chance of losing the deer. in my eyes i think that its a great law to keep hunters from wasting game


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## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

I would assume that this will be a year when many deer are wounded and not harvested because it is much more difficult to track a deer without snow on the ground. Snow just simplifies things considerably.


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## hunt4P&amp;Y (Sep 23, 2004)

We always have our bow with us for this situation. If you don't have a tage for the right sex, you can shoot it with your bow. I shot a nice 5x5 last yaer the week after rifle season with jaw gone and front leg dangling. I never got and meat off of him. But I still tagged him. Everything was *****.


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## Burnout (Apr 20, 2004)

I also think you did a good thing.
it has happend to me also where ive had to shoot a wounded deer, 
a few years back me and my father both shot wounded deer on the second weekend, mine was in really bad shape, and was suffering from gangrene, and my fathers was in similar shape though not quite so severe. we called the warden, removed the hides ( the smell would have gagged a maggot) and showed him the deer. I was able to get a replacemet tag, but my father was turned down, they said some of the meat was salvageable, (we kept a shoulder).
I just hope your buddy was able to keep most of the meat.


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## tail chaser (Sep 24, 2004)

Its nice to know I share the field with alot of ethical sportsman. Good job guys! I remember my very first muley buck when I was young. It wasn't hit very hard and ran onto private land that was posted so I tracked down the land owner who agreed to help us find it. So in his truck we went and I hopped in the box as I was the youngest and there was no room in the cab. I expected him to arrive at the area we had described and stop, instead he rolled down his window. I'm geussing it was because he had his gun in the cab with him. He never stopped just kept driving deeper into the draw, off trail and then about 20 deer, 3 of them bucks, got up most just looked at us. The landowner/rancher is yelling shoot! shoot!, Keep in mind the truck is still rolling! He finally got the hint to stop the truck and I got out and was quite intimitaded by this crazy rancher who was still telling me to shoot another deer even though I had a differnt one hit in the area. by now I'm very nervous being only 15 I did what I thought was the best thing to do, I shot at the closest buck to us about 75 yards away and made darn sure I missed, just to make him happy. When the rancher saw where I hit he threw his hands in the air got back in his truck and left with a few harsh words. I looked at my dad and said I'll meet you back at the truck and while walking back to the truck found my buck dead, 50 yds from where it entered private land. At 75 yds I missed the 2nd buck by at least 20 feet, maybe I should have put the round a little closer but I was 15. I can just imagine the story this rancher has told of how bad of a shot I was.
TC


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## Ryan.Anderson (Oct 12, 2004)

Quick thinking TC. Very ethical choice. Last year muzelloader hunting I passed up a very nice buck because we were busy tracking a deer that my little brother had wounded. Just a couple of seconds after this nice buck jumped out, another jumped out, then another. The last buck was the wounded one. I was working my way ahead of my father and my brother so I was the only one there to shoot. It was 200 yards, but I took the shot anyways because it was wounded. I aimed just a couple inches to high and didn't hit him. I still know that I made the right choice passing up the big buck to get an opportunity at my brothers wounded buck even though it didn't work out.


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## sdeprie (May 1, 2004)

Good job, you guys. I haven't had the same experience, but I know I won't take the shot if just think there is some chance of getting some kind of a hit. My ex-hunting partner used to get disgusted with me all of the time because I would pass up a shot. He was the best wing shot I have ever seen, shot bricks out of the air with a rifle for practice. I couldn't hope to hit what he was shooting at and wouldn't take the chance.


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