The "consequences of illegally harvesting deer" thread got me thinking. I wonder what percentage of folks on this forum run straight and narrow with the law, and what percentage think they can bend it some. So I'm gonna post a hunting ethics question each day for the next week to see what folks would REALLY do when faced with breaking a game law. Send me a PM if you have an idea for a question you'd like polled.


Scenario #1

8:30am opening morning, your best friend calls from his blind just down the draw from yours with a big problem. The "monster" buck he shot at first light was actually two bucks silhouetting each other. They are both legal, but you are in a 1 buck county. Your lease manager is very game management and law conscious, and will most likely call his buddy the game warden and boot your friend off the lease.

Please answer honestly. Your poll response is anonymous

Do you.... single choice
	Tag the 2nd buck and say you shot it to help him out of the jam? (which ends your hunting season)
	Tell him "it's been nice hunting with you" and hope for the best?
	Find a shovel and help him hide the 2nd buck?
Votes accepted starting: 08/01/13 03:28 PM You must vote before you can view the results of this poll.

I voted 1, but it really depends. Im not helping bury and waste it either way. If it was family or a "friend" I really considered a true friend I would tag it and give him some good ribbing for a while. If it was more of a friend as in someone who hung around may just let them deal with it.

If this is my best bud were talking about here, I can take one for the team. God knows he's either taken some sort of crap for me in the past or will in the near future.

I agree with Cole P. This is a no brainer to me.

At this point in my life, i'd hope i'd chooose option 2 and be up front and honest with the land owner hoping he'd understand. If not, i guess we'd pack up and move along. And you know the Game warden is probably standing behind the bush when you arrive, so better be ready to explain that one..

In my younger days, i'd been scared out of my mind and probably tagged the 2nd deer followed by a quick "lets get our stories straight."

There is some missing information that other than an outlaw would need to make a decision. How many shots were fired? That way I can determine if my friend is a liar.

If one shot, I'd opt for #1 and call him an idiot for not being able to dicern his target

If more than one shot, option number #2 then find a better class of losers that wouldn't lie.

For one thing, if it is opening day someone heard the (1) shot, and anyone hunting close to you will know you did not shoot. So basically they will know you are lying, best bet is call the game warden yourself and explain---consequences are what they are. I know a guy that bragged about shooting a 10 point after he had already shot a little 6 minutes earlier, he drug the 6 off in the brush and was done with it. I could not believe what I was hearing when he was telling the story, imagine this, they lost the lease after the season.

I agree with HighPriest. If it was a good friend and it looked like an honest mistake I'd probably go with number 1. If it was more than 1 shot, had been pretty light out when he took the shot, etc. I'd go with number 2.

This is a good one. option three is out of the question cause nothing can go to waste. My choice would really have to depend on the relationship with the lease manager. If you have a really good relationship and he knows you would never jack around with him then I would tell him and hope for the best. IF the friend gets booted I would go as well. If the realtionship isnt that good then option 1 would be it for me.

Funny thing is this reminded me of a story my Hunter Saftey course instructor told during class. He shoot three ducks with one shoot and the third one put him over the limit. Guy comes up to him and congratulates him on the great shoot and he told the guy that it sent him over the limit and he was going to tell the GW about it. Turned out the guy was a GW and was able to vouch for him since he saw the whole thing.

I have seen it happen, except it was 2 does. A smaller one was behind the big one, I was in the blind with the guy, neither of us saw the second doe walking beside the bigger one. We watched the big one for about 30 minutes, never had a clue about the other one. It was getting closer to sundown, and his last day to hunt, so I told him to shoot. He had 2 doe tags, so there was not a problem.

What RC said +1 Blood is thicker than water...

I did this once, but with a much bigger animal than a deer. All I can say is don't think it can't happen to you.

I'd check out the evidence. And if it were a good (read honest) friend, who made an honest mistake, I'd go to the landowner and explain. If necessary, I'd offer to put my tag on the deer to satiate the landowner. If that didn't make the landowner happy, I guess I'd start packing.

Mistakes happen to everyone. Sometimes the best lessons are the hardest learned. I wouldn't expect anyone to waste their tag on me. Since the hypothetical situation was with a friend, I voted the way I did. If it were my dad, I'd vote different.

For this very reason, I'd never turn a guest loose on their own. They'd sit with me. The guest has nothing to lose. I could lose everything. I'd never let it get to this scenario to begin with.

#1 for sure.

It wouldn't end my hunting season. Just my hunting season there.

I have plenty of other places to hunt.

I might try to tie the 2nd buck to some sort of zipline apparatus and zing him across the feeder area of someone else on the lease so they'd think they shot him.

Weekend at Bernies style.

I like the way you think.

I voted #1 out of the choices provided, I would have voted for option #4, come clean and hope for the best, had it been there

That would work on 90% of East Texas leases, zing him down the pipeline, it would kinda be like a Redneck Pinata.

it didnt say the shooter is a guest. he is a fellow lease member...

And to add to my previous post.

If I were the guest that did this, there is no way in hell that I'd allow my buddy that was kind enough to invite me on a hunt to take the heat for this.

I'd own it like a responsible adult and take my medicine, whatever it may be.

If the hunter was my guest, I'd expect no less from them as well.

Nowhere does it say he's a guest.

The shooter has 3 buck tags to use.... easier to pencil whip a tag than get someone else involved to cluster stories (Not that I would condone such activity)

How will you explain that to the GW, you have to write down date killed on the back of you're license now, it's a 1 buck county.

Upon careful re-reading of the OP, you are correct. In this case, assuming you are both paid hunters on the lease, then I'd tag the spare for him. Of course, I'd expect him to repay my generosity with interest.

Meaning, a year's supply of beer and snuff. Plus next years lease fees. Hey, fair is fair.