Whose deer is it, anyway?

[Hamilton Reef]

We hear of these stories every year. Just another deer hijacking from two views.
http://mu.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/20001122mohdeer658.frm

[Skibum]

Legally the first hunter should not have gone onto the others property without permission and therefor has no right to the deer. Morally, who knows. Sounds like the original hunter fired the fatal shot. I've never understood people wanting a deer so bad they would take it from another hunter. Greed and too much focus on proving their manhood I guess.

Skibum

[Markfaz]

yet another nightmare story about a hunter who found his deer, left it to get help, and basically lost the deer upon returning. let me re-emphasis a point many others have made here....DO NOT LEAVE YOUR DEER UNATTENDED!! If you get to your deer and it is dead, gut it on the spot after tagging it. Do not go back to your buddies first. There is plenty of time for that later.

if i am correct when you locate your deer the first thing you do is attach your tag i think that is michigan law. Peterson had NO Permission to tresspass also my vote if it counts at all is the land owner should have got the deer

[nightstalker]

The bottom line says it all , DONT EVER LEAVE A DEER. Who knows ?

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In the wind he's still alive!! Fred Bear

[BowHunt10]

hmmmmm, if there was a blood trail, then how did the deer fall in its tracks, and only 1 hole in it? In 1981 the weather was wet and miserable on opening day nov 15th, at about 0930 in the morning i had a 5 point buck taken from me, i was 12, i unloaded 5 shots from my auto 12 ga. rem model #11, slug, buck shot, slug, buck shot, slug, it was below 32 degrees out and was sleeting out. My ol shotgun was smoking from heat and gun powder and i pulled of 5 shots in seconds at a buck. As my heart was racing i watched the buck swaye slowly as it walked about 35 yards and then bang over my right shoulder, the deer dropped. This orange pumkin a** started down at the deer. I ran over to it gun unloaded and excitment flowing trough my veins, this guy from southern MI meets me at the deer. I said look at this buck i just killed, he said to me you didnt get him i did and pointed his bolt action gun at me. You could see a blood trail a foot wide all over the leaves. Well i was with my dads best friend who was hunting in the marsh below the ridge and i didnt know the area to his hunting spot, "he would just drop me off an say ill meet your here at dark, dont move" i watched him gut the deer, drag it to his truck and then call for his friends. Well, that left a very lasting memory i'll never forget. So, when it come to who gets the deer, i kinda side with the guy who "REALLY" killed the deer.

[boehr]

The story provides conflicting information at best and also not enough information. This one as with most of them is very difficult and a correct call can not be made with the information given. It's unfortunate for this type of thing to get press but the situation does happen every year. I've been the referee in many of these situations and from the story I would say niether hunter is lying about their story as they believe it is what happened. The only point that seems clear from the story is the one hunter should have never went on property of another without permission. The signs, if there really were none, would create the possibility of not being able to be charged but... Anyone investigating the situation can not properly make a detirmination without going to the scene and find a blood trail and actually see and walk through the hunters stories!

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"A particular virtue in wildlife ethics is that the hunter ordinarily has no gallery to applaud or disapprove of the conduct, whatever the acts, they are dictated by their own conscience, rather than that of onlookers."
Aldo Leopold

[lawnboy]

This is one of the resons why I use a radio...I call in the help. I would never leave it taged someone would just take the deer and toss my tag...but if I had to leave I would mark it with tape so that if the next guy comes along he would now that someone found it...and just hope for the best.

[DeerCrazy]

Bowhunt10, I really hope you were hunting in another state when that happened to you, if not you didn't deserve that deer anyway. You were hunting illegally. As far back as I can remember you must be 14 to hunt deer with a gun!!!

Mike

[loghog]

thank you deercrazy for spoting the obvious I noticed the same thing. The story sound fishey to me?????
Loghog