Ethics in hunting, the story of my once in a lifetime Buck....

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mwebs

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For so reason this doesn’t feel like the whole story but if there is an autopsy involved I am all ears…
 

hh76

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Seems weird to me that we've gotten ourselves to a point with trophy hunting that autopsies are being performed during ongoing investigations into who gets to keep horns.
 
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Guess this makes me curious as to when the deer becomes “yours”. Serious question. No clue when you can actually lay claim to an animal.

If the OP had no recovered it from the field yet, was it his? If I came along a hypothetical fresh deer dead in the woods, do I have to assume someone is coming to claim it?

FWIW I had someone “find” a decent 4 point buck I had downed a few years back. Not a trophy but a good freezer filler. One lung arrow shot just before last light. I couldn’t get in the woods until mid morning the next day. Decent blood trail that had crossed a trail hunters used to get access to that particular area. I found it 500 yards away from my shot point and about 200 yards off that trail. It was an easy track and someone had followed it earlier in the day. they had done a smash and grab on it - back straps and one back leg. I tagged it and recovered what I could. I always felt like someone “stole it“ from me, but I guess I never really knew for sure.
 

ColoradoV

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Well seems other folks were watching the buck as well. No one found it after dark = you were not alone on the buck.

My advice is it happens - get over it and work harder next year to find 2 or 3 bucks.. It seems to happen more if you hunt really big bucks and this looks to be a big buck.

Anytime you find a real big buck fair to say others/guides/professional scouters have as well and that’s what makes them so hard to get…

My sob story = this year my #1 was killed by the gov tag on the opening day of archery - w a rifle.. I had 4 years into that buck….. Again it happens more than folks think = so no bitching or butt hurt just on to #2 and #3 who were just as big.. Or I have learned don’t put all your apples in one bag and have the discipline to put in the time to find multiple bucks…

Too bad you lost the deer but more times than not it can get western in this game of hunting giant mule deer. Finally try and remember it is just a deer man. Yea just a deer… Have faith that if you choose to do so and have the discipline to put in the effort/time that once in a lifetime deer come around more than you think.

Good luck w the rest of your journey.
 
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GSPHUNTER

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I'm waiting foe Elon Musk to invent a time transfer portal ( not like the one on Dr Pepper commercial ) so I can go back to 1968 and recover nice buck I shot with a Fred Bear recurve in southern Wis. I hit it at 35 yards, it went over a hill, no Mts. in Wis. I waited about 20 mins before going to recover it, when I did I saw a guy putting it in the bed of his truck and driving off. to make matters worst I got three days of school detention for skipping class to go hunting. No deer and detention really sucked. Maybe when Elon come through I will be able to get my deer and out of the detention once I show them my nice buck. I'm getting a little long in the tooth so Elon best hurry. OP could be younger so it may work out for him.
 
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This reminds me of guys posting a pic with part of the antler and the tag notches sitting on it. Just a tease for more attention.

I would ask which one of your "partners" has a nice buck in their back shed they "found" this year.
 

TX_Diver

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Well seems other folks were watching the buck as well. No one found it after dark = you were not alone on the buck.

My advice is it happens - get over it and work harder next year to find 2 or 3 bucks.. It seems to happen more if you hunt really big bucks and this looks to be a big buck.

Anytime you find a real big buck fair to say others/guides/professional scouters have as well and that’s what makes them so hard to get…

My sob story = this year my #1 was killed by the gov tag on the opening day of archery - w a rifle.. I had 4 years into that buck….. Again it happens more than folks think = so no bitching or butt hurt just on to #2 and #3 who were just as big.. Or I have learned don’t put all your apples in one bag and have the discipline to put in the time to find multiple bucks…

Too bad you lost the deer but more times than not it can get western in this game of hunting giant mule deer. Finally try and remember it is just a deer man. Yea just a deer… Have faith that if you choose to do so and have the discipline to put in the effort/time that once in a lifetime deer come around more than you think.

Good luck w the rest of your journey.

Would love to see some pics of that buck if you're willing to share...

Since everyone is waiting for the OP to come back anyways... lol
 
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