What would you do?...

[Doc]

Where i hunt there are not a lot of deer running around with tags punched in their ears.. so I would probably think something was up... but if I had no prior knowledge of a deer farm in that area or a farm deer on the loose.. I think I might pull then trigger as well and deal with the rest later... hard tellin' not knowin'

I have never seen a deer or anything else running around in the wild with a tag in it's ear. So it definitely would be a brand new experience for me, and in the short time that you have to analyze the situation, it sure would be ugly to let the thing walk and then always be second-guessing what the real story was and whether you did the right thing or whether it was just a plain old dumb move.....lol.

[First-light]

It probably would be a good idea to put the animal down ASAP. Just a thought but didn't CWD spread for farm raised deer??

[G-Man]

What if you shot it and didn't notice its tags, report it and find out it escaped 3 years prior..is it mountable..is it still a farm buck? At what point do escaped farm raised wild animals become wild? 3-4 years is a pretty mature deer in the wild... Its not like it's an escaped cow that is definatly domesticated... B and c have classes for corsican rams,and other exotics killed on non high fenced ranches aren't they domestic escapee's as well....

Edited January 4, 2012 by G-Man

[Four Season Whitetail's]

So there ya go doc.You are one of the so called good guys on this site yet you say this farmer is a jerk for putting you in that position. Did you ever think the guy didnt know some jerk of a so called hunter cut the guys fence to let those huge bucks out so mabey he could get a crack at one??? Amazing how two different threads can show the real side of some.

[growalot]

OK before this goes south let me change the subject a bit....Four seasons.....being a cervid farmer in NYS....what are the rules on escaped legally reg. /tagged live stock....what has NYS put in writing concerning the shooting of....even during a season?

[SteveB]

OK to shoot as long as it's not in a cemetery and you are in your street cloths.

[nyantler]

I have never seen a deer or anything else running around in the wild with a tag in it's ear. So it definitely would be a brand new experience for me, and in the short time that you have to analyze the situation, it sure would be ugly to let the thing walk and then always be second-guessing what the real story was and whether you did the right thing or whether it was just a plain old dumb move.....lol.

agreed..lol

[Four Season Whitetail's]

The only case i know of in which the fence was cut without the owners knowledge the dec and dept of ag gave him 48 hours to get them back or they were going to send guys out to kill them. Ofcourse it was around the rut and one buck was shot about 2 miles away and killin them was not just like some say..Shootin cows... Thats where alot of people have no clue.. On most ranches that hunt these deer are just as wild or even more so than there low fence cousins and if they get out i would say they are history. All i really can speak for is myself and if you look at the pic in my avatar you will see the class of whitetails i raise which are made for breeders. If someone or even myself see's a 250 to 300 whitetail runnin through the woods in ny state would no doubt shoot(mabey you would have to clean youeself up after you do). I said and want it to be known that i would shoot any deer i saw that had a tag in its ear with mine included. Yes i would give 100% energy to get a dart with my dart gun in his butt and if that was not possible i would take him out myself. (That would hurt). I have no problem with anyone on here shooting a deer with a tag in its ear and im sure most would know if they saw the tag first that it came from a farm as i have never heard of deer tagging in ny state.If my deer were out i would know in a matter of hours in not minutes and i would not be on the farmers side if he is one of the ones that never or not very often rides his fence to check things out and make sure all is ok as a tree could have fell or a bear could have bent it down or whatever but if his fence was cut that was beyond his control but he still should have found it. My problem is with some that say they would shoot,eat,mount and forget that they shot a deer with a tag and then never atleast find the owner or call dec and find the problem as there must be one!!!! I am sure the owner would let anyone keep the deer and he might not even have a choice but he would want the nodes to test for cwd as the state makes us do because that buck is on his inventory sheet. Heck i know myself i would give you one of my farm tags so you didnt have to burn your buck tag on it.... But ofcourse that would be for the few honest guys on here that would have done the right thing!!!!!

[Uncle Nicky]

It would depend on how I felt that day, I suppose. In all likelihood, I'd let it go, it's not really a "trophy" in my eyes, and I'd feel stupid paying $400 to mount someone's livestock...but I'm guessing the thing ate pretty well, so it might be decent table fare.

If I DID decide to kill it, I think I'd just keep it to myself. Once word gets out you shot someone's farm deer, you're bound to get grief from the game farm owner, regardless of whatever the law may be. Who needs the extra aggravation?

[growalot]

No offense Four Seasons....grief from the owner would be the least of my worries...my FAMILY would never let me live it down...EVER!

I've let deer that were 3x's better than the one I shot this year walk by ...just because they wouldn't cross a mere 10yrds over the line on to us first...now many are saying right now "idiot" but it's just I know my brain...it would eat away at me... a "do as......" thing.

[Doc]

So there ya go doc.You are one of the so called good guys on this site yet you say this farmer is a jerk for putting you in that position. Did you ever think the guy didnt know some jerk of a so called hunter cut the guys fence to let those huge bucks out so mabey he could get a crack at one??? Amazing how two different threads can show the real side of some.

Now really ...... is that what happened? Most likely not. More likely, the fences were simply not maintained. And yes there is no excuse for that. Believe me, anyone who raises livestock takes on a responsibility for maintaining and controlling that livestock. And there is no reason for shirking that responsibility. And yes, I hold them responsible for checking and maintaining their enclosures. We raised sheep, goats and cows for years when I was a kid, including one of the hardest things to contain ..... pigs. We maintained and patrolled fencelines regularly and in all those years, never had any of them get out. Other farmers of the area also took their responsibilities of livestock ownership very seriously and I don't recall ever hearing of escaped critters when the owners cared enough about their animals to maintain proper containment. And yet some of the more numerous escapes that I have heard of recently involve farmers with wild boars and farmers with deer. There's no reason to excuse that.

I almost had an encounter with some guy's horse on my way to work a bunch of years ago. It was a near miss. If I had hit it, there is no doubt that I would have made him very aware of his legal responsibilities regarding control and maintanence of his livestock (that is if I was still alive to do so). So yes, I am pretty rigid on that stuff and don't really accept a lot of excuses.

[NFA-ADK]

Interesting post. In the ADK I would shoot anything that size but the last thing I would look at are his ears. Even if I saw something in his ear I would assume it was a leave or branch stuck in his antlers. When I hunt the main thing I look for is a main beam of at least 14 inches with at least 3 points on top of body size... The closest town is about 7 miles away(as the crow flies) and I doubt a farm buck would make it in that deep. (Not impossible)

If I saw the tag on cam pics and realized it was a farm buck, I doubt I would shoot it... It would just not feel right to me if I knew it was a farm buck, just like many I am sure my hunting partner's would see it as fair game which in my oppinion it would be, just not for me.

I think this post is about ethics, at least for me the fair chase would not be so fair with this animal. Not as bad as hunting a cemetary in jeans with a known hand feed deer but for me I could not shoot a known farm raised animal. Same reason I do not go wild boar hunting in Penn, they were on a farm in a fenced area. Just does not feel like hunting. Same reason I do not shoot what I call "stupid deer", if it comes right up to me, it is not much of a hunt and takes the thrill out of what I am in the woods for...

[nyantler]

No offense Four Seasons....grief from the owner would be the least of my worries...my FAMILY would never let me live it down...EVER!

I've let deer that were 3x's better than the one I shot this year walk by ...just because they wouldn't cross a mere 10yrds over the line on to us first...now many are saying right now "idiot" but it's just I know my brain...it would eat away at me... a "do as......" thing.

That says a lot about your character.. and the "do as..." rule is a good one to follow... good for you

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Same reason I do not shoot what I call "stupid deer", if it comes right up to me, it is not much of a hunt and takes the thrill out of what I am in the woods for...

Those are the ones I save my "stupid deer" tags for. the ones that are tougher to take get the regular tags...lol. I could have used a few stupid ones in my grinder this year

[Paulie]

There are no deer farms down here that I know of and I have never seen a tagged deer. Honestly, if I saw one I would shoot it as I would think it was part of a study. I read about one a few years back down here, a doe was shot with a collar on..I think it turned out she was 12 years old. So I would shoot and after, if I identified it to be someones investment I would contact them. However I would still want the mount to look at......a story is a story afterall. (And yes, I would tell it as it is)

[Meat First]

Let him go until after the rut hence stealing his genetics then make your decision..

[WNYBuckHunter]

Those are the ones I save my "stupid deer" tags for. the ones that are tougher to take get the regular tags...lol. I could have used a few stupid ones in my grinder this year

LOL, the last thing a "stupid deer" sees from me is a muzzle flash or broadhead traveling in their direction. Personally, I dont set stands or sit in spots where I think deer will be heading away from me, I want them to walk toward me and get as close as possible. Stupid deer taste just as good as smart ones!

[Culvercreek hunt club]

On the actual topic. I have no question what my action would be. There is NO WAY I could successfully shoot a 200+ inch buck. I would fall to peices. So if he walked by me he would be safe.

[ELMER J. FUDD]

Choot 'em!