Let's say you're hunting in a line of three people, and a covey flushes from left to right. Hunter on the left fires and hits the bird enough to knock feathers off, but it keeps flying. Hunter in the middle and hunter on the right also hit the bird, and it goes down. Whose bird is it?

In big-game hunting, whoever hits the animal first claims the animal, even if someone else makes a kill shot. Does that apply in upland bird hunting, or does the last shot claim the bird?

Whomever the dog brings it to killed the bird.

It's just a bird, and who it belongs to should never come between friends.

Did all 3 yell Goteeeeemm?

I had a guy look at me kinda funny when my dog brought his dove to me.
He got happy pretty quick when I met him halfway with his bird. A lot less walking for him to get his birds, and less lost birds.

We once called them claimers.

We always split our birds evenly at the end of the day. If someone needs a big mess then they take them. If we have a guest that doesn't get to go often then he gets the birds. It really doesn't matter who shot what.

I always let whoever claimed them, carry them!
We alway divided evenly at the end anyway!
My best friend and I would always hollar nice shot, then he or I would claim we never shot.
Countless times we would fire at the same time and never hear the others shot.

I never claim one in that instance. And my dog, if it retrieves, will bring the bird to me. Whomever claims the bird will get it.

Ditto Kahuna

I concur.

Agree with kindall above. Once saw two previous friends get into such a big argument that they literally dug shot out of the bird and checked/matched size to to what they were shooting. They were never friends after that and I decided to never hunt with either one of the idiots again!

Every group has that guy. It's amazing when pheasant hunting, a guy on the other side of the field comes running over to claim the bird.

I don't go on repeat hunts with anyone who gets uptight about "whose bird". I I were hunting with a kid or newbie, I would defer that they killed the bird.

It's an old joke.

The real question is "How bad is the bird shot up?"

I shoot so poorly that anytime two shots sound like one and a bird falls it's mine.

This.

Bag counts mean more to some than others.
Like the man said "it's just a bird."

This one guy on our lease at Millersview was trading quail for Cowboy tickets. I put around 35 dead quail from NSTRA in a bag and froze them. I later took them to our lease and threw them in the quail basket on my Gator. He took them all when offered. He through Chuck and I were great white quail hunters.

If you flushed a covey, why was everyone shooting at the same single bird?

It seems to happen a lot. Don't know why.

YEP! One bird stands out. I think I learned to wait for another good shot. I no longer shoot. They look as big as turkeys without a gun. I see some really good shots after the shooting is over.

Heck, I quail hunted with my Dad (RIP) for over 40 years before I ever killed a bird. He got em all. Would fuss with you over dead birds every hunt. I remember one hunt I had knocked 2 or 3 birds down on a flush in Baylor County and he went to pumping his chest about his good shooting. I made him hand me his gun. I unloaded 3 live rounds out of his gun that proved that he never shot. Just the way he was though.

His name wasn't Rob was it?