am i wrong ?

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Otherwise in my opinion….it is wrong to kill something just to kill. If he wasn’t looking to give the meat away I would not have a problem with it. Shooting an animal and then looking for someone to take it off your hands is wrong in my eyes.

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That is dead on. If one wants to shoot a smaller animal, because that trips their trigger, and they want the meat. Congratulations are in order. If you go out and shoot a 1.5 and a nubb, just so you can pull the trigger and then brag, you should be fed your nuts through a straw. A lot of the posts on this thread really suprise me. I wonder if there would be different answers if these were 24″-30″ female walleyes on the miss? In reality, they are very similar situations.

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There are plenty of people out there who like to kill deer but do not like to eat venison and there are plenty of people out there that like to eat venison but do not like to kill deer.

Agreed

I have said this before and I know it is not popular but weather most of us admit it or not IMO the number one reason that most of us deer hunt is not for the venison, yes the venison is a nice bonus from killing a deer but it is not the main reason why most of us hunt. The number one reason why most of us deer hunt is because we love the challenge of the hunt and we love the rush we get from the kill, if we did not get a rush from the kill most of us would not deer hunt.

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Glad you stated that it is your opinion, because I strongly disagree. It (for me) and most people I know, is about the TOTAL experience, the scouting, the watching, hanging stands, camaraderie of others in camp, watching the bear, fox, and other animals in the woods, and foremost figuring out the animal. The kill provides no rush for me, more of sense of finality. If all MOST of us were after was just the kill, hell we would just hit a a game farm every month, and save the rest of the time for something else

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If one wants to shoot a smaller animal, because that trips their trigger, and they want the meat. Congratulations are in order. If you go out and shoot a 1.5 and a nubb, just so you can pull the trigger and then brag, you should be fed your nuts through a straw.

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Just to be clear I do not condone killing young deer, I will only shoot a mature deer.

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Glad you stated that it is your opinion, because I strongly disagree. It (for me) and most people I know, is about the TOTAL experience, the scouting, the watching, hanging stands, camaraderie of others in camp, watching the bear, fox, and other animals in the woods, and foremost figuring out the animal. The kill provides no rush for me, more of sense of finality.

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Maybe I should have worded it a little better but when I said……..

“The number one reason why most of us deer hunt is because we love the challenge of the hunt”

I was also talking about the TOTAL experience, the scouting, the watching, hanging stands, camaraderie of others in camp, watching the bear, fox, and other animals in the woods, and foremost figuring out the animal.

I also said that MOST OF US I did not say ALL HUNTERS get a rush from the kill. I did not mean to imply that the kill is the only reason we hunt but it is part of the total experience.

Bottom line, he can hunt his property within the law, feelings don’t count. Secondly, gut, I agree, it is wrong to shoot ANY deer, then try to come up with a plan for disposal. This should have been done ahead of time. I have a guy that will take all venison he can get his hands on, he has heart issues (he’s like 42 years old ) and the doctor told him, nothing better than straight venison for his condition. I like venison, but love beef… Thirdly, Steve, I do get a “rush” when I shoot at a deer, when I recover a deer and everything leading up to it, smaller rush’s occur. I believe if you don’t get a “rush” when you get to put your hands on your kill, then you must be dead already…

big G

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I believe if you don’t get a “rush” when you get to put your hands on your kill, then you must be dead already…

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Yup I get that rush also

My whole point is that I do NOT believe that the number one reason most guys hunt is for the venison, like I said the venison is a nice bonus but it is secondary.

I also get a rush the whole time while hunting. From the time I see the deer to the time I put my hands on it I feel like I’ve accomplished a good hunt and have treated myself right. At times I have felt a little sorry for the animal but thats just me taking a living creatures life to feed myself,,,but I like the taste of venison and the many ways it can be prepared. Too me its the whole sceneriao of the hunt from beginning to end, good pepper sticks, summer sausage and hot dogs are the best, plus it does show we can feed ourselves and others.

Was this hunt in WI? If so, the whole lot of you are missing the fact that this landowner broke the law. Party hunting does allow you to shoot another deer for someone else but they have to be present and within shouting distance so they can immediately tag the deer.

Giving away deer is legal but only if you tag and register the deer. If someone shoots a deer and then starts hunting for someone else to tag it, he’s breaking the law, bottom line.

Whenever a hunter breaks the law, you have every right to get angry over it.

If you’ve developed a solid relationship with this guy, you should be able to question his ethics, but done diplomatically. I wouldn’t want anyone to break a friendship over a disagreement but many people aren’t that mature in their accountability standards so being tactful is definitely good advice.

It is possible he spoke with a number of people wanting deer before the season started and he was just calling to see who wanted to tag what size deer. However, he’s still breaking the law. To donate deer, you MUST tag and register the deer yourself. To party hunt and shoot a deer for another licensed hunter, they MUST be present.

Be careful….. but know that whether you decide to confront or dismiss the situation, you have every right to be upset.

As for those who fear the hand that feeds you, what level of law breaking do you accept before deciding you no longer what to be associated with it? This in itself is a subject of ethics…. remember, maturity in accountability standards…. is a big problem in our government. At what level do we decide to resemble them and just look the other way.

As for me, being a landowner, I know that the ethics of the camp are the ethics of the camp. If you don’t like our ethics, you can hunt somewhere else. Before I had my own property, I hunted with a camp that did not share my ethics and both my father and I decided we would hunt public land before we’d return to join those “law benders”, and did so for 2 years before obtaining our own turf. We are still friends with those other hunters but refuse to join them in their efforts because we do not want to have any part of the way they degrade our sport and it’s sportsmanship.

I’m not perfect, I don’t mean to portray that….but when I’m honest with myself, I know what I have to do and I’m only trying to encourage others to find the strength to do their best as well.

Good luck!

I must have missed the part where he said he didn’t tag them, I read he called around to see who wanted them, not looking for someone to tag. It is also illegal in MN to shoot a deer and have someone who is not “afield” hunting with you tag it. Maybe gut can clarify, did he tag the deer or was he looking for tags ? If he was looking for tags, TIP !!!

big G

it was legal he tagged and registered then gave away so that part was ok it was just shocking in some of the replies that i became the -hole in all this just blew me away

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Was this hunt in WI? If so, the whole lot of you are missing the fact that this landowner broke the law. Party hunting does allow you to shoot another deer for someone else but they have to be present and within shouting distance so they can immediately tag the deer

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Ken I totally agree with you if that in fact is what happened but from what gut posted we can not assume that he was alone and did indeed break the law. We need him to clarify a bit more before we know that for sure, we need to give the guy the benefit of dought until we know all the facts.

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ok the guy that owns the land i hunt on shot a button buck and a 6-pointer opening morning then had to call around to find someone who would take the deer

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Steve bud…. from the original post, the comment was made that he was calling around to see who wanted the deer. Doesn’t that kind of nullify the idea that anyone else in the immediate area was going to tag it?

Gutone4me has already clarified, and I’m glad he did, but according to the law Steve, you have to use your head. If you shoot a deer thinking the guy next to you is going to tag it but doesn’t, should a CO happen along, the shooter is still in trouble. If someone in the party has agreed to tag your kill, by all means, let ‘er rip. But if this agreement hasn’t been made, the shooter is taking a risk.

Per gutone4me’s clarification, the landowner is in his right, legal, and imho….. is free of any reason for me to feel upset. Here’s another take on it…..

With the donation program in trouble, some people are still using this as a method to help those less fortunate. Reasons can vary from being too old to get around in the woods, meat is too expensive and they don’t own a gun, they’ve just fallen on hard times, they’ve lost their own area to hunt (this can even happen in public areas), and the list can go on. Again, it may be that those phone calls were regarding who was willing to settle for a smaller deer and as Steve said, maybe we should just give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Gutone4me will have to judge for himself because he knows the guy and likely knows his character better than any of us.

In the name of helping those less fortunate, I have had to wrestle with this myself. The deer herd is not evenly distributed but when numbers were really high, deer were everywhere around my land. This year, things were tough all over. Wolves are growing in number, coyotes have a field day on fawns every spring, and we had a fairly significant winter kill last year. Throw in car accidents and there goes a lot more. So, how many dead deer are too many? Should they be reserved only for those who can afford it or have access to the resource? I’ve listened to bow hunters with extra tags brag about shooting over a dozen deer in a season. How much did they keep and how much did they need to give away? Isn’t that just killing and disposing of the animal in a legal manner? I’ve just had to settle for the fact that as long as someone is within the boundaries of the law, my ethics will not always be someone elses and given the right circumstances, I’m probably prone to change my position on the ethics, as long as I’m legal….. hope y’all know what I mean by that sentence. It’s like getting mad at that crazy driver who’s……..driving just like I was a few days ago. Ahh yes, justification by selfish reasoning. So, with that being said, I’ve decided I can’t get too worked up over it and I just need to do the best I can with what I have, everyday.

Again, if it did bother you gutone4me, just talk to the guy about donating deer, to friends or the foodshelf, from the angle that you just want to know what he’s okay with you doing. That way he’ll explain his point of view without feeling like you’re addressing his actions. You’re just wondering if it’s okay for you to take an extra deer or two, next year, for those less fortunate…..see what he says. Be nice, protect the friendship, but find out what you need to know.

Good Luck!

I did not see gutone4me’s post untill after I posted my last reply at 11:58 AM

If he has management tags, yes.

gut, it also would bother me that someone would shoot deer, any deer, then not have a plan for proper use, so in that respect, I would say you are not wrong. I think alot of posters, that maybe threw the flag, don’t have alot of access to private land and would be happy just having the opportunity to hunt the ground. At my cousins, there are guys in the group that are brown is down, that is fine with me, it fills their tags and leaves the big boys for me to hunt I wouldn’t say anything to the guy and just thank him every year for the opportunity to hunt his land.

big G

I’m a land owner and I feel I have the right to shoot whatever buck comes along if I choose. But,if I tell my fellow hunters not to shoot the little bucks because of some QDM plan I have, then it wouldn’t be right for me to turn around and shoot one. It would be contradictory to my plan and just not right.
For me to go and shoot two bucks, only to decide I don’t want them, would be poor hunting ethics on my part. And then to decide to pawn (almost forcing) those deer off on the other hunters in my party, just so I get yet another chance at shooting a bigger buck, is absurd.
Part of the hunting experience is the comradery we hunters share at deer camp. If I acted like the land owner you describe, I have a feeling I may be hunting alone the following year.
The guys in my deer camp; help mow the trails and plant the food plots in summer, help cut my firewood in the fall, and bring food or money for food when deer camp opens. These guys are awesome and I feel they do more than their share be able to hunt my land. I make sure I thank them all too! What I’m trying to say is, I need those guys as much as they need me. So I make every attempt not to urine any of them off.
The guy sounds like a total jerk. Not much you can do but suck it up if you plan to keep hunting there. Personally, I would leave. The guy is just going to do the same thing next year and the year after that and so on.