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Thread: When do ethics out weigh the law

  1. #1
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    Default When do ethics out weigh the law

    I was talking with a fellow hunter at breakfast this morning. He was telling me that they had wounded a deer, it was hit in the hips, when they got to the deer it was 20 minutes after legal light, they said that becuase it was after legal shooting time they had to let it go...
    I say BS, and was literally pissed to teh point that I could not finnish eating and had to leave or my mouth would of got me in trouble.

    Was I wrong?
    Am I the only one that would have put the deer out of misery....
    To leave this deer with basically a broken hip is not only unethical but it is that kind of stuff that gets the antis ammunition ...

    I am actually not even sure what the law is in a case like this..

    What are your thoughts, should I have said OH great job ....I even asked if they at least went out this am to see if they could track and finnish and reply, "sure the yotes got to it"

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  3. #2
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    As sad as it sounds, if it's after legal light, not much you can do, unless you cut its throat? Tough to imagine, but fact never the less?

    Personally, I avoid hunting to the final minutes, for that very reason. A wound shot at that critical time is just cruel!

  4. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by hockeymjt View Post
    I was talking with a fellow hunter at breakfast this morning. He was telling me that they had wounded a deer, it was hit in the hips, when they got to the deer it was 20 minutes after legal light, they said that becuase it was after legal shooting time they had to let it go...
    I say BS, and was literally pissed to teh point that I could not finnish eating and had to leave or my mouth would of got me in trouble.

    Was I wrong?
    Am I the only one that would have put the deer out of misery....
    To leave this deer with basically a broken hip is not only unethical but it is that kind of stuff that gets the antis ammunition ...

    I am actually not even sure what the law is in a case like this..

    What are your thoughts, should I have said OH great job ....I even asked if they at least went out this am to see if they could track and finnish and reply, "sure the yotes got to it"
    Quote Originally Posted by Bushmoose View Post
    not much you can do, unless you cut its throat?
    Cutting a throat in the dark can on a wounded antlered animal sounds like a recipe for a "hold my beer and watch this" moment. I had one instance about 7 or 8 years ago where we tracked a a wounded deer and came up on him after legal light was done. He was clearly pretty much spent but none of wanted to shoot in the dark or cut his throat. I ended up duct taping my hunting knife to a 6 or 7 foot tree branch that I trimmed up and than stuck him through the heart and lungs. He was dead 30 seconds later but did do some impressive kicking in those 30 seconds that would have made an up close and personal not so fun.

    Not actually sure if that was legal but seemed the right thing to do at the time.

    As to when ethics out weigh the law - my answer is - never with a caveat. The caveat being if your ethics require breaking the law than that is fine as long as you are prepared to accept the consequences of said actions i.e. pay the fine, do the time or whatever.
    Last edited by Species8472; November 10th, 2019 at 01:24 AM.
    They say a man turns old when sorrow and regret take the place of hope and dreams

  5. #4
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    I don’t know but will say it obviously wasn’t a well taken shot. Same could have happened a half hour before and taken till after legal light to find the animal.

    Species had it right - honestly where there is a will there is a way.

    At the end of the day bad shots happen and you have to be willing to do what’s needed.

    It’s inexcusable in my opinion.

  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Species8472 View Post
    Cutting a throat in the dark can on a wounded antlered animal sounds like a recipe for a "hold my beer and watch this" moment. .
    It was said "tongue in cheek"

  7. #6
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    I agree, do what ever it takes, we all run the risk of bad shots, and in saying that we should be prepared to do what ever it takes.....Once we walked up on a wounded buc and we were able to cut throat however he had very little strength left in him...but if you walk up on a deer and it has the strength to kick, drag its self, kick, then cutting its throat is placing your self in danger.

    I do like species idea, but why would anyone carry duct tape with them hunting?

    Not sure but my instincts and ethics would be to shot the deer out of respect and end any misery.

  8. #7
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    I know what I would have done and I wouldn’t tell anyone. My personal ethics would have trumped the law

  9. #8
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    Well if you can call the c.o. and report your case he / she may turn a blind eye to the shot if reported .

  10. #9
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    You shouldn’t let an animal suffer and if the only way to put it down is to shoot it, then that’s what you have to do. If you wanted to cover your butt you could take a video or picture of the deer when you found it to show that it had been shot. I find it hard to believe that no one on the forum has tracked a wounded deer and had to shoot it after legal shooting time.

  11. #10
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    That really sucks. I’m hopeful that no hunter shoots with the intention of abandoning their game in these kind of situations. I like what species did with the knife to the pole idea. A bad shot is a bad shot but I believe if you are willing to take the shot, then you are willing to finish the job to retrieve your game and not let it spoil. Shooting after legal would have been a mistake and attracted unwanted attention even though it’s ethically justifiable.

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