Do you really want someone else to fill your tag?

[mrklean]

i think everyone is just getting excited to do some deer hunting with bow,gun, group by yourself.

[Leaddog]

Ya it would. Didn't really mean to shoot back. I try to know the regs and follow the best I can. But I do miss somethings like allowing small shot for turkeys (used to be only 4,5,6). Tell people all the time, read your regs.

Archery is my preference, most intense hunt. And I think all shots should be taken within the target's comfort zone. But, rifle season has the Deer Camp atmosphere. Good Food, good friends, good pinochle and lots of stand time. Except for elk hunting (vacation)the rest of my archery hunting is the last hour of light if I run from work early enough, some Sunday afternoons. Its still quiet, sometimes active, blending into the scene. No better stress reliever (you can tell I need that) and I might let go of an arrow...love it!

Good luck!

[lakevet]

One reason I originally posted was to point out that those that LEGALLY AND ETHICALLY party hunt/make drives are often wrongly stereotyped as rednecks blasting everything in sight and are decimating the buck population. Many objections to party hunting/cross tagging involve stories where people violate EXISTING laws. A common one broken is someone shooting a deer that is tagged by someone back at camp. This can also be the trophy archer whose "BIG BUCK" underwent ground shrinkage so he went home to get his wife's tag . He then goes back in the woods to shoot a bigger buck. The law states that you must be afield at the same time. Often hunters that object to party hunting are from out of state that grew up with a different hunting tradition, or unfortunately had bad experiences due to unethical or illegal behavior.

I believe Minnesota is a state blessed with the resources, land base, and deer herd that we can coexist with all the different traditions and styles of hunting. I hope the rest of you can find room for my family's party hunting /cross tagging tradition. It spans over 120 yrs and over 6 generations of hunters in the same area of NE Minnesota. I personally value that way more than any book buck and want to pass it on to the generations to come. Have a great fall!

lakevet

[BobT]

Quote:

This can also be the trophy archer whose "BIG BUCK" underwent ground shrinkage so he went home to get his wife's tag . He then goes back in the woods to shoot a bigger buck.

Not only is this unethical, it is totally and blatantly illegal. Having the tag on the animal does him no good unless the license holder is there also. Should he get caught transporting a deer containing another person's tag but the other person isn't around, good luck in court. It's poaching plain and simple.

[lakevet]

And its no different in the eyes of the law than shooting a deer while your buddy is back at the camp/house napping,cooking,running to town to get something,driving up from the cities on his way to camp, scouting a different property,etc and using his tag after you meet back at camp. You must be in the field at the SAME TIME. And its just as illegal if its a buck or a doe. However most guys get more worked up if its a trophy buck than "just a doe". It just points out that existing cross tagging regulations are difficult to enforce. I remember one guy getting busted for using his wife's tag when the CO asked his wife to do a little target shooting with her bow. Didn't go very well. That guy got caught, but how may get away with it? EXISTING tagging regulations are already unfortunately violated on purpose and via ignorance of the existing law. Additional cross tagging regs only reduce the choices/traditions the ones who follow the rules.

lakevet

[Leaddog]

Excellant response, absolutely correct.

Part of my opinion expressed on farm ctry drives includes the hunting tradition in the area. In the past farmers had limited time to hunt and so did it in a fast effective manner. The Hunting Experience had little to do with it. It was meat on the table and in their eyes some crop protection. Things have changed but the practices have not.

To me, nothing beats a whitetail or elk on its own terms within its comfort zone calmly going about its business. I used to hunt near the boarder of our property and only saw running deer - at me. Now the boarder property has been leased so far fewer hunters and car doors and deer slowly feed by. Much more enjoyable the Old days!

Good luck, shoot straight!

[Wanderer]

IMO, there is a HUGE difference between a hunt and a shoot. Out of a half million people there will always be people who are just out there for the shoot. Especially when a significant percentage only "hunt" one or two weekends per year.

FWIW, I feel cross tagging isn't the worst thing that ever happens in the deer woods or fields. However, if we do it during a party hunt, it's dealt with on a case by case basis. Usually somebody says "Someone can fill my tag this year" because they aren't seeing anything but want a deer to eat.

Since I hunt from Sept through Dec., the only people I want filling my buck tag is either myself or one of our kids.

[kevfish1]

I have harvested alot of deer in my life time. If I am with friends or family and they do not have a tag they are welcome to shoot a deer on my tag if they want to. I get as much joy seeing otherws harvest a deer as i get when i do.