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Would you shoot or not?

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PAHunter

Guest
What would you do if you were to ever encounter one of these scenarios while bowhunting? Scenario #1 While making your wat to your stand for an evening hunt,you come across an excepectional buck entangled in a wire fence.After closer inspection you realize he's perfectly healthy,and sports a 170 class rack.Would you free him or shoot him? Scenario #2 Again while making your way to your stand during the heat of the rut,you find two monster bucks locked together.The one buck is dead,but the other is healthy and very much alive.Your able to walk within feet of him and notice both bucks are carring headgear atleast in the 170's.Would you shoot him or free him? Remember that both bucks are healthy and you figure they'll survive. In both scenarios,I'd honestly have to free them both.To me it just dosen't seem like fair chase,with these bucks being so helpless.And the pride factor of harvesting one of them,just wouldn't be there.But if either were to pass my stand in the days to come I wouldn't hesitate.
 
I would do my best make sure they both survived. I would not feel good about killing either one under the circumstances. I would guess most people on this board would do the same. However a lot of people out there would shoot them in a heartbeat (in or out of season).

If I had one handy I would shoot them with a camera first.
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mike
 
For the buck caught in the fence, I would feel better about letting him go. For the locked up bucks, I don’t know, I might shoot him. Reason – the fence is a man made structure...if it wasn’t there he wouldn’t have gotten caught. Bucks getting locked up are part of nature. I don’t know...I might let him go too though, and use my tag on the buck that died if it had not been dead very long, or could you get some kind of a salvage tag?

If you shoot a buck that is alive and locked up with a buck that’s dead will the DNR let you keep both bucks? That would make an awesome mount and also might factor into the decision, although it would still depend on several factors at that moment. If I was able to walk right up to them and touch them I probably would let them go. Just to experience that would be enough. Sometimes you just don’t know exactly how you would act until faced with a certain situation. Good question though. No matter what the decision, pictures would be mandatory!
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Probably shoot the locked buck and hope for a salvage tag, but cut the fence on the other. It would be hard to cut apart the locked bucks and by the time you got back to them to free them they both might be dead. But the fence would be an easy rescue.
 
The only way to get a salvage tag is if the meat is still fit for consumption. I tried to get a salvage permit for a road kill buck and the DNR officer said to leave it lay since the meat was not fit.

If a buck (or any deer for that matter) is entangled enough in a fence (usually a leg), they most likely have done enough damage to the leg that the chance of survival would be 50/50 due to infection, IMO. It might be different if he had his rack caught in it somehow and hadn't suffered wire cuts. I came across a doe hung in a fence last shotgun season, still very much alive. The wire was to the bone all the way around. She might have survived as a three legged deer, but I doubt it. At first I wanted to call the DNR to have them tag her, rather than use my tag, but I figured it would take hours for them to show up. I ended her suffering and tagged her.

Two locked bucks, one dead. Without someone else (maybe two or three people)to help, there is no way I'm trying to cut an antler on the dead one to set the live one free. You would be within striking distance of the live bucks front feet. Not a place I want to be. Then, if you shoot the live one, you have to get the DNR involved to tag the dead one. From my understanding, it might be up to their discretion as to whether they take it.
 
I would have to agree with you JNR.Unless the buck in the fence was pretty chewed up from fighting to get out of the fence I would do all that I could to set him free.It to me would be against fair chase as well as my own ethics.If he was somehow mortally injured that would be the only way i would end it.
On the situatin with two locked together getting in the way of those front hoofs would not be that entertaining at all.I would see if it was possible to unlock them and call DNR for the salvage tag.If there was no way at all possible to seperate them I would take the live one.DNR would have to make the decision on the dead animal.In my eyes it isn't fair chase to kill either one but if injuries were mortal then letting them suffer do to their injuries is immoral.
 
well the more i think about it here is how i would handle both situations. as i walked up on the situation i would do everything i could to free the deer in the fence and the deer locked up because it just wouldn't seem like fair chase to shoot them in the state that they are in. now if i was able to get both deer free and they ran out 20 or 30 yards away from me and then stopped and turned around to look back towards me, as if they were thanking me, i would let them both have it, 'cause technically it's fair chase then.
 
I wouldn't shoot any of them, I would set them all free, even if i couldnt do it by myself, a buddy is just a phone call away. If the bucks were near death,I still wouldn't shoot them, i would call the dnr and wait it out, and if they die, they die. I wouldn't waste a tag on any of them, thats just me though
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Alot of good points made,specifically with the two locked together,Thanks to all.I must admit,if I were to come across either situatioin it would be tempting,but I would do my best to free them.And I agree,the two bucks locked together would make for one pretty cool looking mount.I always dreamed of getting a double mount,but I always envisioned a big buck coming by with another head in his rack that had already been torn off.What's the chances of that?If one of these scenarios were to happen to someone I knew,and they shot him,I wouldn't fault them with their descision.As long as they didn't fabricate a new story,I'd be okay with it.Just because some of us wouldn't shoot,doesn't mean everyone else shouldn't.After all,I guess they both would be considered legal game.As alot of you stated pictures would be a must.Could you amagine telling others of such a rare occasion without pictures?I'm really sure they'd believe it.
 
It just makes you think that we are the only predators with a conscience. Wolves, coyotes, big cats, etc. wouldn’t think twice about taking advantage of an opportunity like that. As much as the anti’s would have everyone believe otherwise, we are truly compassionate predators.

There’s not much compassion with the alternatives: disease, starvation or a fast moving chevy.
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