I’m sure some of you have bad stories about guests or friends killing the wrong deer but I had a cluster screw ball mess over Thanksgiving with family coming to hunt and I learned my lesson doing that, or so I thought I let a long time friend that has hunted his entire life take his kid hunting this morning to go after a specific 8 point and he called to say they can’t find him so I go down and help them look for it. Guess what, they mistook the 8 point at 40 yards for a 12 point that I had showed him pictures of to watch out for since he shows up daily. I was beyond pissed off but I acted happy for the sake of the kids hunt and told him I was proud of him but I took dad aside afterwards and it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. I’m even more pissed off he put me in that situation, the days of letting anyone hunt without me in the stand with them are 100% over and I’m not getting in the blind with anyone so the gigs up. Rant Over

I don't blame you. People suck nowadays. Try to be nice & people take advantage of you.

If he'll do that on you, think what else he is willing to do?

Man it is unbelievable someone would do that to you. I've had the same thing happen to me, and it was no accident.

Sure hate to hear this.

Sorry to hear that. Don't know you from Adam but pretty kind to congratulate the kid. That sucks for sure though.

Had similar experiences in the past. No guest deer hunt on my ranch without me in the stand with them. In fact there's only one guest I'll allow to hunt and he still has to be with me.

Sorry to hear that. But I my WAG on my part..... is that it was not a mistake but the Dad wanting that particular buck for his son. He pics of the buck not to shoot.

Bad deal all the way around - we never let anyone sit by themselves unless they are a paying member

WOW mistaking a 12 point for an 8 point at 40 yards is pretty damn special!! That really does suck, when ever I am given the green on certain deer I make sure I have trail cam photos sent to me and sometimes I will take a pic and send it off before squeezing that trigger. Personally for me that is one thing that I worry about, because it's not worth it to ruin a life long friendship over a deer.

Sorry to hear that, especially if you warned him about the other buck. At the same time, I can see the kid being excited and cajoling the Dad into letting him shoot it, and putting pressure on him that way. Some parents will do anything to satisfy their kids!!

I have had the same thing happen to me before. I know exactly how you feel.

I feel bad for you for sure. We encourage guests but absolutely they must be with a member at all times. It sounds like in this case that even if he was a paying member he would of done the same thing. Of course the repercussions may of been to get kicked off so maybe he wouldnt of done same.

Hearing stories like this is why I've taken a guest hunting just once during the 40+ years that I've been on hunting leases. It's not so much the impact their actions could have on me but more so on my fellow lease members.

FYI...It wasn't an accident.

"Sports don't build character. They reveal it."

I had the ranch owner I lease from take his 14yr old son out this morning to find him a cull buck and we have some great deer this yr on 14k acres. I texted him to what they were seeing he said 4 young 10 points and one mature 10 sent me the picture of the buck at 15yds I surveyed the deer and he was a high 140s-150 very mature 6yr or so. This boy lives in town with his mom and stepdad and doesn't get to the ranch very often. I told him let that boy shoot that buck. He didn't have the potential to make a 170+ ever in my mind.
That smile of him holding his best buck ever was worth it to me! Especially for a mexican boy that lives in a border town and doesn't get to see his dad that often. My ranch owner would not have let that happen, because he told his son that they were looking for mature 8 points if I hadn't give the green light. But I agree with the original poster a 12 at 40yds with pictures is uncalled for. I had passed a young buck about 4 yrs ago that was a 15 point 4 yr old at best several times and told everyone don't shoot this deer, well one of my best friends didn't like the talk, but he is the same guy that took me mule deer hunting when I was 14 like 34 yrs ago and we have been hunting every yr since so I didn't raise to much cane over a mistake on a 178 young buck, no deer is worth losing a lifetime friend, mistake or no mistake.

Integrity. I think it was a little clip I read about Warren Buffett the other day. He said the number one thing they look for in hiring is Integrity. I say the same thing about picking lease members. If you have that then usually other things will fall into place. I think the same thing would apply to picking what guests you allow to hunt alone. You likely thought you had done that, but in this case it just didnt work. Lifes not always fair and you know that. This too will pass, although Im sure you will adjust as you said you would.

Nobody hunts alone on this place, other than me, but the one grandson. The oldest granddaughter’s boyfriend might ask to hunt at Christmas, but the answer will be no.

I have a lack of trust these days myself.

Been there. Been burned. Can show you numbers of pic's of young immature bucks that were off limits that got shot anyway. Some people can make some stuuuuppppiiiidddd decisions in the heat of the moment. Had a hunter ask one time if he could shoot pig's on our place (he had paid for a mule deer hunt and already taken one earlier that day). Told him he could shoot one from the blind, but that our fields were too muddy and we couldn't go out and hunt them with the UTV. So.. he shoots a pig from his blind and just wings it. Jumps out of his blind and goes tearing across the muddy field in his 4x4 truck trying to finish it off. The 3 legged pig crosses our fence line onto a neighbors property and he empties his magazine shooting across the fence. Right in front of the shocked (now pissed) neighbor. His excuse? "I just got lost in the heat of the moment". He was asked to leave, and was never invited back.

No mistake. Too bad on the Dad but you handled it well for the boy. Just another example of poor judgment by people that really IMO knew better.

Big deer will make people do stupid things.

It's too bad that people out there do these things. Not all people are like that. Thumper, don't forget that there are good people out there. I don't own the land I hunt in OK, but after hunting up there for 20ish years, the LO allowed me to build a little shack to stay in up there, and I have been hunting there for a really long time. The LO up there allows quite a few people to hunt up there as I do. Over the years, he has had to ask a few to not come back, and he has had to change the locks a few times too. I try to follow all the LO rules to a "T", and try to help him out with anything that I am able to as well. I also try to leave his property in better shape than it was when I showed up. I am grateful that he didn't kick everyone off when a few screwed him. If you find the right people it can be beneficial to you as well.

Roger that.

Wrong deer shot twice in one season? That’s just terrible.

Deer make people do stupid stuff, this was a 3 year old 145” deer that would have been a great deer in a few years. My cousins shot 2 other bucks during the Thanksgiving Cull Hunt that were big non shooters for them so Im done with anyone hunting here ever again unless I have the time to spend with them. The deer will simply die of old age if me, my wife or dad doesn’t shoot them. I normally take a few kids hunting every year myself but it’s been a screwey season and I haven't had time so I made the very poor decision to let some cousins take out a few deer that needed to go that didn’t work out and now this. I’ll never be making this years mistakes again.. Trust none when it comes to deer,