two hunters two kill shots, who gets the deer

Bullsnake · Nov 18, 2015

this was the story from my nephew(17 yrs old), he and his dad where hunting and area found a nice buck( 150-160 im told his biggest deer anyway) made a move and was able to get a kill shot on it, said it got up and stumbled to over the next hill and bedded, again this is his story, other hunters saw this and were in position to move in, they did, walked up and finished off the deer. my nephew and his dad approach them and the deer and the bickering starts each claiming the deer, my nephew jumps on his deer for a pic, and while doing so one of the other hunters go and tag the deer, claiming it, now my brother in law calls the game and fish, no help , and the other hunters load and leave with the deer leaving my nephew and his dad pissed beyond belief. so the story my question is who should really get the deer? I could see if it was running wounded with so signs of slowing down and the other hunters would have a claim but the way it was told to me tells me these other hunters looking for an easy take, again this was a pretty good deer.

KDM · Nov 18, 2015

First one with the kill shot gets the deer. At least that is what I was taught. Sorry to hear of some more SLOBS getting away with douche baggery at the expense of a youngster.

Airwolf1972 · Nov 18, 2015

Guess the way I was always taught was rifle hunting kill shot, when bow hunting first blood....

701FishSlayer · Nov 18, 2015

If those hunters saw the initial shot, and knew the other set of hunters were on that deer and still went in after it, they should be smacked in the mouth.

ndbwhunter · Nov 18, 2015

To me, this is more a matter of ethics and sportsmanship than anything else. There are obviously two sides to the story. If I were in that situation and knew the deer had been shot, I would give it to the hunter that drew first blood. If I didn't know that the deer was fatally wounded and I shot it, I would claim it. Situations like this are difficult to prove, and unfortunately for him, there are no real "rules" for this kind of thing.

bigv · Nov 18, 2015

A lot of factors play into this. If deer was hit by another hunter and I witnessed it and I had chance to help put it down...I would and give to first hunter. But if deer is wounded and two days later I come across it and am able to finish it. It is mine.
In this story can proof of lethal shot be presented? Did first hunter just wound it? Where were the holes? But like said, if i were second hunter I wouldve given deer to kid if I knew he hit it first.

Captain Ahab · Nov 18, 2015

Been in this situation before. Really nice buck trots by with a dangling back leg. I put one in it and then another finishing shot to the neck. Wondered if a guy was tracking it so I sat around for a while instead of tagging it right away. A while later a truck pulls up and it was the dude that blew his leg off. Said ok, here's your deer and carried on my way.

Bed Wetter · Nov 18, 2015

701FishSlayer said:
If those hunters saw the initial shot, and knew the other set of hunters were on that deer and still went in after it, they should be punched in the weener.

Fixed it

KDM · Nov 18, 2015

I got a t-shirt for the same exact situation a few years ago IB. To me, if the guys are tracking it and giving it a good effort, it's their deer. However, I've also been in the situation of finishing off a deer and nobody comes around. Then it's mine. That doesn't seem to be the case here. Putting another round in an already immobilized deer and then claiming it would make me fightin' mad. I don't care how big or small it is.

Bed Wetter · Nov 18, 2015

If you snag a paddlefish and are battling it and another guy runs up and snags it, who's fish is it? What a bunch of d-bags.

Rowdie · Nov 18, 2015

Big trophy bucks make people do things they might not ever do normally. In this case (we've only heard one side) the deer should go to the kid that made the initial shot. In fact, if it were me, I'd have stayed back and let him finish his deer himself. May have helped with my positioning, but left him alone. But maybe these guys didn't think he was hit? Or didn't care because of its size, IDK? If you're hunting on land where others can be legally, then you better keep shooting till he doesn't move. Run to the animal and claim it before anyone else has a chance.

Mort · Nov 18, 2015

I witnessed a similar scenario quite a few years back when we were hunting with a small group of guys, everyone knew each other. While glassing for deer on a ridge across a very large coulee....we spot a very nice 5 x 5 muley bedded down by a doe. We get together and do a plan of attack...a couple of guys would approach it from the top, the others trying to approach from the side out of his view. We had snow at that time, so the trek getting into position was quite tricky. I was the one lagging.....lol...my buddy was going along the side of the coulee and another was on top of the coulee, when they got into position and the deer got up..both shot, both think they hit it...deer drops.

Now both of these guys are big guys...both over 250 lbs....start arguing over who got it. So the guy who claimed he got it, did most of the work getting the damn thing out of that coulee.

We get the deer to a farm of one of the guys that was in the group, and they are still arguing who's deer it is. So one of the guys suggested they look at the bullet hole, that should determine who shot it, since both were at different angles, we find only one bullet wound, the bullet path should determine whose bullet killed it. Turns out at the angle bullet entered deer, suggested it was shot by my buddy at the angle he was at, so he received the deer.

savage270 · Nov 18, 2015

As others have said, we've only heard 1 side of the story and it is a tricky situation. I do think its bullshit the G&F wouldn't get involved to help sort it out.

On the plus side, your nephew and brother-in-law get to keep hunting.

Colonel Angus · Nov 18, 2015

If I put down a deer that was mortally wounded or gut shot or even just had a leg taken off, I would give it to the hunter/s who initially shot it (if they come for it trailing blood.) If not then I get to tag it or go accross the fence and let that group know they have a dead deer to come and get. If the deer looked otherwise healthy when I shot it, I would stand my ground as this deer would have been fine if I hadn't shot it. Likely these hunters would be looking for an excuse to cross the fence and look around if they aren't trailing blood.

As far as this story goes, these other hunters would have known that this deer was hit by another hunter first, and it must have been hit pretty good if it layed down so quick. I wouldn't think twice about letting the first blood hunter claim it, if it was clearly hit before the final shot. There should be good evidence of blood trail and wound.

Many years ago, I was trailing a deer which managed to get into the gov't pasture where it met it's end in a hail of bullets. As I tracked the blood right up to the deer which was surrounded by hunters at this time, they asked me what I was doing? I told them I was trailing a deer. They assured me they hadn't seen any wounded deer. I probably would have done a little arguing, but didn't really want a deer with a half dozen holes in it.

Obi-Wan · Nov 18, 2015

If people were meat hunters instead of horn hunters this would never happen.

Keep in mind shooting ( finishing off ) a deer that you do not personally tag is illegal.

Bri-guy · Nov 18, 2015

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...._Post&usg=AFQjCNHPyyWPTmlHv3moLsHvF6UDZKJrQg

This is the common law on this issue. We actually spent a lot of time discussing this case in property law. First one to actually put the animal down for good gets it. The law favors finality, and the one who puts the final shot on should be awarded the property. Without the final shot, who knows what could/would have happened. Maybe it wanders off another 200 yards and is never found. Maybe coyotes get it before you do. If it's a leg shot it'll go on for miles and hours on some occasions. Just because an animal "is going to die" at some point, doesn't give you the right to claim it. The one who finally kills it gets that right.

Colonel Angus · Nov 18, 2015

Obi-Wan said:
If people were meat hunters instead of horn hunters this would never happen.

Keep in mind shooting ( finishing off ) a deer that you do not personally tag is illegal.

Illegal, but unethical?

I'm sure we all do our best to stay out of such sticky situations, but once in a while shit happens. To make things clear, I would not let a deer go without a tag.

Bowhunter_24 · Nov 18, 2015

If the first shot makes it so the next shot is possible then the person with the first shot should get it. For example, if u blow a hoof off a buck and it runs into a buck brush 1000 yards away and stops. The deer is probably not mortally wounded but it would have kept hauling ass passed the brush had its foot not been blown off. Then u go to brush and the deer busts out of there, and looks like there is nothing wrong, it should be all guns a blazing and the initial shooter should still get to tag it.

Captain Ahab · Nov 18, 2015

Ishmael's Boss said:
Been in this situation before. Really nice buck trots by with a dangling back leg. I put one in it and then another finishing shot to the neck. Wondered if a guy was tracking it so I sat around for a while instead of tagging it right away. A while later a truck pulls up and it was the dude that blew his leg off. Said ok, here's your deer and carried on my way.

Apparently this activity is said to be illegal. I was 16 years old at the time and I would have tagged the deer because it would have been my biggest white-tail buck. I know if I would have tagged it and finished the gut job when he showed up, he would have been pissed(kinda know the guy). It felt like the right thing to do at the time.

Rowdie · Nov 18, 2015

There are so many situations like this that are very difficult to judge. Does the size of the deer matter? You betcha! It shouldn't but it does. I'll bet if it was a 200" white tail your tag would have been on it. I know mine would have been. I'll admit it.

two hunters two kill shots, who gets the deer

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