The Real You

When someone else, another hunter on your lease or neighbor bags that trophy buck you've been seeing on game cam the last season or even seasons, "what are your first thoughts", "disappointment and anger that you weren't the one that pulled the trigger and do these fade quickly" or are you the one that "congratulates all on their trophy and move on to thoughts of the next known or unknown trophy that may exist". Call me soft or simply too nice, but I have pretty much leaned to the latter, nearly always extending out a handshake and/or sincere compliments on a trophy well taken. I guess as a fellow hunter I understand the excitement and jubilation with scoring the big one irrespective of circumstance. What one are you and why do think you are that way??

Depends on the circumstances and type of person the other guy is. My first hunt on a new lease that a friend got me on, I went over and introduced myself to a couple of other guys the night before. This was the type of place that you owned your blind and feeder and that's where you hunted. I'd bought another guy's stuff that was already at a spot, fed it, cleaned it up, etc.

They were real interested in where I was hunting and when I walked away, I heard them frantically changing their plans for the morning. Morning comes, a real nice 10-pt. comes out, but I don't know what this lease actually holds, so I let him walk. 30 minutes later - "BOOM". At camp it was the same deer. I was nice and congratulated them, 'never let on that I'd watched it at mine for a while. They were ecstatic, but I think it was more over them "winning" than the buck.

I can be either.

If a lease member harvests a nice buck, along the lines of our management plan, in the agreed upon manner, I am ecstatic for them. Congratulation are in order.

If they shoot something they aint supposed to, +/- a manner we had not agreed on, the lease member is given his walking papers immediately, & perhaps the GW gets involved, with charges attached.

Understand, for clarification my scenario was purely speaking from the harvest being on the "up & up", no funny business.

Really getting at, "is this a congratulatory moment for you or an exhibition of sour grapes" since that buck you were fixated on has met its demise at the hands of another...

I have been ticked off before when some lazy punk gets a nice deer on his first and only hunt. But I always give a congratulatory handshake or pat on the back, regardless what I think. God will make more deer.

Another it depends.

Almost always on the congrats side unless it was experienced hunters and they intentionally shot a nice young buck just to shoot a buck even though they know there is a good amount of mature bucks and does in the area.

This is me on my place......
I am happy for that person when they take an animal. WTD Axis etc.

What I am not happy about.....
Shooting baby deer. Guys next door shoot any buck .5, 1.5, dont matter to them.
Bad shots, lost deer.. This happens, I know. Find the deer bloated, stinking? No meat, no antlers. Leave it all.

I don’t recall ever being upset or jealous. I get irritated over people doing dumb things, in general, but not because they shot a nice deer.

I don't worry about that stuff. Congrats are in order if someone put forth a true effort, helped pay for feed, hauled water, collected firewood, etc. Slackers will be looked at with disdain and not congratulated.

Barring someone I know as a douche or someone unknown coming across as one, I'm handshaking and high fiving on a nice mature trophy buck.

I'm happy for them and tell them so, and I just go on to the next buck or next season. But, I must admit, that sometimes on a buck i have let walk for several years and was planning on taking it next year, I am a little disappointed for me. But I get over it quickly. I'm there to enjoy the hunt, not the size of my trophy. and, not to hijack this string, I'll start another one, I've gone 6 years without killing a buck before. So honestly, how can I be anything but happy for them when they do get one.

If I haven't put a tag on it, I don't own it. To me it isn't logical to try and claim a deer as "mine" while it is still walking around. I have no more legitimate claim to any deer than anyone else does. Game belongs to the hunter that tags it and nobody else. Personally I could care less one way or the other what someone else tags. Their tag, their business.

About the only feeling other than being happy for them is kicking my own behind for not spending more time on stand and getting beat out.
Sometimes it's just luck and I have been on both ends of it.

Always congrats to the hunter. I was disappointed in myself a few years ago when I missed a fine big, heavy 9pt (shot hit a t-post) and another members wife killed it two weeks later. I didn't realize just how big that buck was until they brought it back to camp!

I’m not a horn hunter, if I were I wouldn’t have changed leases a long one ago. I like seeing smiles on people’s faces when they are proud of their kill. I just like hunting, no matter the animal, and enjoy the comradieri that comes with it

I always cogratulate. Even if they are wiping milk off the lips....

I am a 100% meat hunter. Antlers don't really matter to me. A quick humane kill with DRT shot placement, fast field dressing, and taking good care of the carcass to maximize meat quality is what matters to me.

If I shoot a yearling doe, and my hunting partner/landowner shoots the beast 10 point that we have been seeing on the game camera, I am happy for him and I will congratulate him.

I think we have all hunted with people/been on leases with people that see another hunter shoot a big deer and with a serious tone say, "Why did you shoot my deer?". One hunter replied, "I did not see you name written on it when I shot it".

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

I’m interested in seeing what our place can produce and work hard to that end. I will always congratulate any of our hunters on the harvest but am chagrined if the deer is not yet mature. I’d rather find a mature buck dead in the pasture than shot as a 3.5 year old without a chance to grow.

I'm definitely the latter. There isn't a deer in existence that has my brand on it, so if someone else kills a deer I'm watching it was just their day, not mine.
Many years ago I had the same situation Creekrunner had but with opposite results. I was the new guy on a lease and I had only met two of seven people on the lease as of opening morning. I met one more that morning before I headed out. I ended up killing an 11 point that morning which was the biggest buck that had been killed on that lease. I very quickly went from really excited about the buck to wondering how the other guys were going to react. Every one of them were genuinely happy for me and immediately put my mind at ease.

I have far too many blessings outside of hunting to be concerned about what luck others have in the deer woods. Besides, luck can shine on anyone.

If you hunt long enough it will happen on both sides of the equation. I always congratulate the hunter.

I have felt the other side.......consistent success brings out jealousy and envy from those that don't experience it.

Honestly? We never had that problem, we never had any trophy bucks. Deer were shot but nothing in a trophy range caliber. When some of the bucks were shot I was never at the lease to see the deer others had shot. I know kinda weird.

Understanding that luck particularly in low fence is a dominant ingredient in hunter success I have learned a long time ago that it's rather dumb to harbor any anger for another's success. Not often but a few times I have tagged a deer in spite of some one's advantage. Saw a nice buck sneak right behind another hunter in my youth and for the life of me couldn't believe he walked into my range. I understood it was my lucky day.

90% of the time I would be very happy for the hunter, but there are a few instances where it might bother me.

1.) If the hunter who shot it was one of the lazy ones that never help with anything around camp and who seem to always lack in the feeding department

2.) If the buck was a known young stud that needed more time

We have a mix of seasoned hunters and relative newbies on the lease. I'm the oldest and have probably killed the most deer, so I like it just fine when one of the younger guys gets the big one. Besides, they do a lot of the heavy lifting during the off season and believe me, I appreciate that!

I'm genuinely pleased to see one of the other members tag a trophy. I'm a trophy hunter and hunt low fence. When it comes to mature trophy deer I am blessed and the good lord has sent more my way than any man deserves. I know the jubilation taking one brings and enjoy sharing that with those I hunt with.

I hate deer lease drama.

Set rules, follow rules, and keep it fun.

I have passed MANY deer that were shot by others. It doesn't bother me one bit unless it's against the rules.

After thinking on this a while I remember one time I got mad over a big 10 point I had been chasing. I noticed someone had broken off some limbs in the tree I had a stand in and asked in camp. I was informed that another hunter had decided to hunt my stand and had wounded the deer but could not find it. It was never seen again by anyone on the lease. That was my last year on that one as I heard they just looked the other way when this one person violated the rules.

Our neighbor across the road shot the biggest deer we have had on our property 2 years ago. 18 scorable points and scored in the 60's according to them. They feed and are careful with what they shoot, have more property than we do and the deer spent most of its time on their property. Is there part of me that wishes we got him? Sure, but im happy for them, they deserve a good deer as much as anyone.

In past hunting on a lease with some hunters that shot anything that I would get frustrated with after they shot some bucks I really wanted to walk and had passed on. I never said a word about it to them out of respect and they had a paid spot on the lease and were allowed to shoot what the law allowed.

Hunting our own property I couldn't be happier than when my dad or brother wife, sister in law etc. get a good one and when our kids start im sure it will add another level.

as long as the deer was taken ethically and within the rules of the lease, I am always happy for the other hunter ... it's when it doesn't meet that criteria that I get mad, actually mad is not the proper word to use ... disappointed would be better.

Last 10 years I’ve ended up giving my trophy allocation to my dad or attempted to give it to my wife.
I don’t care what anyone kills. If they killed it, they wanted so more power to them.

I take a lot of pictures, I tend to judge my year by my memory card fullness. I love sharing photos, and love finding good mature deer for kids to take. With that said love feeling freezer with my bow and does, grant it I usually shoot three within first two sits.

Life’s to damn short to let a deer control you mindset and friendships. It’s just a deer, new deer are born ever year friends and family aren’t

If it's one of my lease mates, I'm genuinely happy for them, but it does irk me when a guest goes and nails one of our target deer (which comes off of the quota for the inviting lease member). I actually get more jealous of someone shooting a hog at our lease because they're relatively rare there and I've had horrendous luck with them!

I only hunt with close friends and family so I'm always happy for them.

One of the best quotes ever.

I can't imagine what it feels like for a landowner that has been dreaming of a buck he caught on camera, when someone he is leasing to takes it. It's gotta burn at least a little bit, at least at first. Unless of course it is the result of a management plan, and good for business, which is a primary source of income!

It may well be a dream come true for a landowner, if his management plan has paid off that well, and it creates opportunities for the growth or his business. Especially for someone maybe retired and just trying to maintain a certain lifestyle, who enjoys country living and hopes to leave a great legacy to his kids.

Depends if they put in equal time and or money as I have but usually more of a congrats

You should always congratulate someone if they’re happy with what they killed. It’s just a deer, why get upset about it no matter what it is.

I’m happy for other lease members when they kill. We have one guy who killed his deer this year within an hour of sitting for the first time. He didn’t hunt again the entire season and I put in roughly 100 hours to kill my buck. Didn’t bother me at all because his work schedule is crazy and doesn’t get to hunt often.

Had nice 3. year old come by one opening morning and jsut watched him. He hops the fence to the net property and soon there is a shot ans some happy yelling. They drive right at the corner of my place getting in and out of there so I walked over to the corner and when they came by they stopped and showed me the buck. We talked for a bit and he said it was his biggest buck ever A second congrats and hand shake happened. Then they ask about a wide 8pt they had pics of and if I had seen him or gotten pics of him. I said I watched him 3 times in archery season out of range and if they like wide there is a 7pt around that is a good 4 inches wider than the 8. That following Friday I tood the wide 8pt after watching him breed a doe. Couple weeks later ran into the same guys and showed them the rack that was still in the back of the truck. One was happy but could tell the other one that had not killed a deer was a lbit pissed off taht I had gotten "his" buck especially since I had not had ti mounted.

I am happy for anyone that gets a buck legally be it one I was after or not.