It's tough to be a nice guy

[Caveman]

So I was out hunting today and was approached by two men who said they were looking for a deer they had wounded.  They described it as "a huge 12 point with a spread like this" (at this point he motions with his arms a spread that was obviously an exaggeration)  I told them that I hadn't seen anything come through but I'd keep an eye out on my way back to the truck. 

On the way back I decided to follow the creek since most wounded deer I've dealt with headed to water.  Sure enough there was the buck.  I was really surprised when he weakly lifted his head and revealed a huge 12 point rack with an impressive spread (not quite as big as was indicated but very wide nonetheless).  He made a weak attempt to get up so I knocked an arrow and put one more in him for good measure.  I figured if he got his second wind and took off he'd never be recovered. 

So now I'm kneeling over the biggest deer I've ever see in person, I put the kill shot in him and I happen to have a buck tag in my pocket.  What a dilemma right?  Well I wound up backtracking a half mile, finding the guys, and leading them to the deer.  I gave away the biggest deer I've ever seen.  I figure the trophy is worthless without a good story and fond memories right?

What do you guys think you would have done? 

[Zem18]

I tip my hat to you sir. You are a true gentleman and a true hunter. It makes me proud to read a story like this. Thank you!!!

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Kudos to you!!!You did what the other half of the hunting world would not have done.Somewhere tonite there is a happy camper havin a cold one and thanking you over and over again.Great job!!!!!

[burmjohn]

You did the right thing.

[Pygmy]

You did the right thing, my friend...

You can share my hunting camp anytime...

[fasteddie]

You did the right thing !

Personally , I would have had a difficult time making the decision as i figure my time for taking a big buck is running out .

[Bleitten04]

It really is a tough decision!!! You killed the deer but they did the work in getting it to come in and get a shot.  In my mind neither person deserves the entire "right" to the deer.  Wildcats if you are happy with what you did I say you made the right decision.  I congradulate you on doing what you thought was right.  You cetainly made someones day and possibly their hunting career!!!

[ELMER J. FUDD]

Good job. Good Karma will come back your way one day.

[Caveman]

Lets hope the hunting gods saw that and send me my own deer.  I can count the number I've seen this year on one hand and that's out of close to 40 stand hours.

[biggamefish]

Absolutely the right to have done. If the shoe was on the other foot you would want it that way. I say good job.

[Lawdwaz]

You did the only thing you could.  Why would you want to put a tag on a deer you just finished?

A lesser man may have kept it but you knew better. 

[Cabin Fever]

Yeah, I don't think that would have been a tough decision at all. Why would you want to claim that buck? That rack might have looked nice, but you wouldn't have gotten that warm fuzzy feeling when you looked at it on the wall...

I bet you sure made the other guys day though!

[Bleitten04]

Cabin Fever

Why would you want to put a tag on a deer that you just wounded and someone else put a kill shot on?  Although if wildcats feels he did the right thing then good job.  I really do hope some good karma is on your way. 

[fasteddie]

The original shooter did a poor job of tracking the buck and wouldn't have found it if Wildcats han't done a search and found it . Did the original shooter deserve the deer ? Really ? Lucky for the guy that wildcats found the buck or the Yotes would have been feeding on it !

[Cabin Fever]

Cabin Fever

Why would you want to put a tag on a deer that you just wounded and someone else put a kill shot on?  Although if wildcats feels he did the right thing then good job.  I really do hope some good karma is on your way.

Sounds like the buck was mortally wounded and would have died soon anyway if it couldn't even get up out of it's bed. I would think that the guy that shot it first would be greatful that I put it down for him, ending his stressful search and he would tag "his" buck. If he for some reason refused to tag it, since I put it down, then I would have to.

[Karpteach]

You did the right thing. Congratulations, I think many sportsman would have done different.

[Lawdwaz]

Cabin Fever

Why would you want to put a tag on a deer that you just wounded and someone else put a kill shot on?  Although if wildcats feels he did the right thing then good job.  I really do hope some good karma is on your way.

Cabin Fever never said he would tag it.  What am I missing here?

[WNYBuckHunter]

You did the right thing. My hats off to you. I have been on the other end of that situation and ended up dealing with someone who didnt have your scruples. It sucked. Its just too bad there arent more hunters like you out there.

To anyone that thinks that maybe the first guys didnt track the deer good enough, I dont remember any description of the blood trail and whos to say those guys wouldnt have called Deer Search and found it? Assumptions are dangerous.

Again, great thing you did Wildcat. 

[nyantler]

wildcat... everyone can take a good lesson from what you did.. good for you...

[Caveman]

To anyone that thinks that maybe the first guys didnt track the deer good enough, I dont remember any description of the blood trail and whos to say those guys wouldnt have called Deer Search and found it? Assumptions are dangerous.

The bloodtrail was almost non-existent.  The initial shot caught the top part of one lung and got there through the no man's land between the spine and the thoracic aorta.  Almost all of the bleeding was inside the chest cavity.  I wasn't following the blood trail, I was following the water source I thought he would head to.  I can't blame them for not finding him themselves. 

[NYDeer]

Good move Wildcats, hopefully the karma will come back your way when needed.. 

You shoulda took a pic with the deer, the other shooter & yourself for the wall..

[outdoorstom]

A situation like shows what a man is made of. I'd like to think most hunters would do that, but I'd only be fooling myself. Good job! Personally, if I ever tagged a deer under those circumstances, I'd know I hadn't done the right thing every time I looked at it on the wall.

[Bleitten04]

Cabin Fever

Why would you want to put a tag on a deer that you just wounded and someone else put a kill shot on?  Although if wildcats feels he did the right thing then good job.  I really do hope some good karma is on your way.

Cabin Fever never said he would tag it.  What am I missing here?

What I was trying to say is if you have a problem with shooting it like wildcats did and then tagging it why wouldn't you feel any different if you were the person who shot it first and then had someone else kill it.  This is why I feel it would be a tough decision.  Does the guy who shot it first deserve the deer any more then wildcats does?  Telling the guy about the deer is the "right" thing to do but if you take it yourself is it really "wrong"? 

[WNYBuckHunter]

To anyone that thinks that maybe the first guys didnt track the deer good enough, I dont remember any description of the blood trail and whos to say those guys wouldnt have called Deer Search and found it? Assumptions are dangerous.

The bloodtrail was almost non-existent.  The initial shot caught the top part of one lung and got there through the no man's land between the spine and the thoracic aorta.  Almost all of the bleeding was inside the chest cavity.  I wasn't following the blood trail, I was following the water source I thought he would head to.  I can't blame them for not finding him themselves.

I figured it was something along those lines.

[sadass]

I think you did what I would have done.    Thank you!        I would have tried to  determined if the wound would have been fatal in a reasonable amount of time. 

  But lets face it, there is a line.    Example was last year./  I double lung shot an 8 point last year that had been shot the same season. not sure how long before me either.    there was a cut from a  broad head blade from someone else that cut  the bucks on his back.  It was evident  only  one blade of the head broke through the skin like a shave that got a little to close.  For me fortunately, It was easy to prove it was a mere flesh wound .        there there is no way that deer was someone else s to claim.  Buy It did get me thinking about the whole situation of who should claim the deer.      You did the right thing IMOP