That stinks, sorry to hear this. I’ll probably sit with most ppl who hunt our place for that reason. My BIL who has never hunted to my knowledge wants to shoot a deer. He may not want to once he finds out I’ll be sitting next to him. And we will need to walk to the blind that’s about .5 mile away. He’s a big boy and I’m not sure if he’s gonna be excited about walking that distance in the dark across rocky terrain. We shall see. I’m not willing to let him go at it alone especially not knowing much about deer. We shall see if he’s still game once he gets the details.

I 100% agree, it is all about respect. I hunt on a close friends place and Will not take a shot without consent ( low fence fair chase). I know it is the State of Texas deer but I am on his property.

MUST BE RESPECTFUL.

You handled it with class with the kid. And I'm sorry you're experiencing issues with guests.
Once upon a time being a guest was my only option and only shooting what I was told, even just getting to go and enjoy camp was a privilege. So the concept of violating a friendship that way does not compute for me.
Having my own land I have opportunities to share with friends and it is something I'm happy to do. Especially those who cannot afford to go otherwise. I had one wound two doe the other day and I wasn't happy. Especially about the bad shooting or his lack of concept about the implications. The fact those were deer another person wouldn't get to shoot. And the fact he expected justvthe shoot another the next morning. Now I'm not saying he won't get an invite back but next time I'll be clear he gets one deer, and blood counts as that deer recovery or no.

Father typed up as set of rules and all guest hunters were required to read the rules prior to hunting.

That’s the kind of stuff that messes it up for everyone. I will say most folks know better and wouldn’t do that but just takes one genius.

Nobody shoots a gun on my ranch unless I'm there with them. I learned that a long time ago.

Very true. I only let one person hunt my place...my BIL. When he stops by to get the keys I usually give him a gas tank and tell him to put gas in my buggy and the price of admission is a few bags of corn in the feeders. Works out well and so far he has taken great care of the place when I'm not there, plus I feel like if he has a little skin in the game he will appreciate it a little more.

Wow, I would have said something in front of them all I don’t think I could have held off

Sorry man, that’s pretty sorry of him

This is no different than leaving your wallet out at camp and a "friend" taking its contents.

truth

When I had the youth hunt out here this year, the director of the program told me they once had a grandfather tell his grandson to shoot a nice buck, over the objections of the guide in the blind with them at the time. (It was a doe only hunt.) What's the poor kid going to do? He shot the buck. And, of course, they were immediately told to pack up there stuff and get off the ranch. The director said they have most of their problems with grandparents. I can't even imagine the arrogance of the sphincter grandfather. What a great example for the little boy.

Yeppers, spot on "I am just concerned with how whatever was told to the son was told to him. This could all be even worser than you guys are imagining. Apples don't fall far from a tree and there are many reasons for it."

I am interested on this as well.

Neither guns nor alcohol "change" a personality, the individual may feel the inhibition to act on their true personality has been removed; however, if anything all either do is expose the true personality that's been there all along. Don't blame the gun or the bottle, the responsibility lies solely with the individual.

Spot on.

This one is complex. I lease out a lot of land to hunters. Deer hunting really exposes the character of some men. Odds are the old boy knew what was going down. An A-hole move. 30 years ago I extended that olive branch to one of my brother-in-laws. After discussing the rules with him, he said F it and shot a deer on the “no shoot” list. He is still the wife’s family and my sons uncle but we don’t hunt together. Not everyone recognizes or puts the same value on a trophy deer or even recognizes any significance. A fellow without a place to hunt most likely falls into that category. The real blame resided on my shoulders. I was the one that brought the fellow in the gate that couldn’t keep his foot off the gas….

Lessons earned are lessons learned.

Have to disagree again...

Its not about the value or significance a guest puts on a deer. Its about them respecting the value or significance you put on the deer. In this case in particular that value seemed to be very well established as I'm sure it is in most cases like this. Also don't feel most people without a place to hunt fall into the category of these A-holes. Being able to share comradery while hunting is a huge factor of what keeps it going and one of if not the main thing most of us value the most. You have to be able to trust people, if they choose to lose that trust its on them 100% you're not to blame unless you fail to explain the rules to them.

What I was getting at is someone that does not put enough value on deer hunting hunting to procure their own place to hunt does not see a trophy deer with the same reverence as I see it.

I agree the vast majority of humans do not revere, respect, honor, or value most animal species the way the hunters who pursue those animals do. But when a guest comes to your ranch or lease it no longer becomes about their beliefs or value systems, it becomes about them honoring yours. Just as those of us who hunt in other countries do not try to impose our beliefs or traditions on other cultures we, or at least most of us, try to honor local customs and traditions. After all that's part of the reason we're there, to see how its done in other places, and if we don't like the way its done its not our place to pass judgement we're free to chose not to have that experience again. A non hunter or someone who hunts very little is somewhat like a foreigner in a different land when we bring them hunting. When an instance happens as described by the OP its a horrible thing. Betrayal, regardless of the circumstance, is one of the worst feelings you can experience especially when it involves someone you've know for an extended time and consider a close friend.

Get a rope.

This makes sense when you consider hunters make up such a small segment of the overall population. It would also make sense that at least some of these do not see themselves as being "serious" deer hunters, and even fewer who are serious in their efforts to manage wildlife and habitat.

I've never really thought about it but chances are any guests (especially those who are relative newcomers) that you take will likely not harbor a strong commitment to the sport or managing wildlife. While they may very well develop these values over time, for now they just see deer with horns.

A lot of good discussion and comments here. I hope that someone who needs these lessons gets to read over this and it helps them.

I'm just gonna say that you handled much better than I probably would have!!

I just do not understand how people pull chit like this and especially if this was someone you knew.
He would NEVER be invited back again...........EVER

take your photo of the deer at the gate as that would be the last time you ever saw it.

No reason you still can't be friends. He just doesn't get to hunt any longer...He would be welcome to show up a camp with steaks and crown, but leave the rifle at home!