Make the call - First Blood

[gp13581]

Hunting a youth hunt up in St Croix. Son shoots a small doe that goes nose first into the ground and snowplows for a bit. Lays down for a while but then gets up and runs off. Another youth sitting nearby takes two shots at it and drops it by hitting it in the neck. My son sat for 30 minutes like he is suppose to and then starts trail it. He has a good blood trail which takes him over to another father/son team who have gutted the deer and have dragged it out to a main trail. When I asked the dad if the deer was injured, he quickly said he didn't notice. It was obvious that our blood trail took us right to them. My son, who has not gotten his first deer yet, was heartbroken. He kept asking me about first blood, which he had learned about at Forkhorn camp.

I wasn't going to confront the other Dad since I am sure that was his son's first deer too as he seemed pretty excited.

As they were dragging it out, we had to walk past them back to our truck As we passed, the boy said, I got him in the neck, you got him in the gut. Obviously they knew it had been hit.

We got back to the truck and watched them take pictures and load up into their car. My son was heartbroken but he was very mature about it.

So, what would you have done? Needless to say, we ended up not getting a deer that weekend. I talked to a couple of guys that were out doing some scouting and they said the rule of first blood should have applied. What do you think? How do you handle it where you hunt? To top it off, two years ago, my son's first year of deer hunting, we found a wounded doe bedded down. I let my son put it down and as soon as he shot it, a guy comes over the ridge trailing it. He thanked us for putting the deer down and my son understood that it wasn't his.

[paul pachowicz]

this subject was hashed about a while ago. Personaly I'm in the 1st blood camp. Hunting we we do it is the law of the land and respected. But, let me add to what the father of the kid that killed the deer with the neck shot. I'm saying it was a lucky shot. Anyway, his remark about "not noticing" any wounds taught your son a lesson about integrity and taught his son how to lie. Who's better off? If that was pulled on me I'd walk off. If I downed a cripple and it was claimed by the 1st shooter I'd help him gut it.

[BobT]

You did the right thing. If your son gut shot it you could have been tracking that deer for a long way. Chaulk it up to a good learning experience and let it go. That would be a good time to explain the importance of shot placement. There will be other opportunities. It's not all about bringing home the bacon and this comes from a meat hunter.

[BobT]

It's entirely possible there was no visible wound. Based on the events it would seem likely the second shooter saw the same side as the entrance wound and they don't always leave a visible wound.

[mrklean]

i dont do first blood because like bob said you never know if its a kill shot or not. I gut shot a doe 2 years ago we left over night thinking it would die, nope went out next morning to track it and we found it alive and bedding, just not wanting to move walked about 5 yards from it and didnt even move. Yeah i shot it first but it wasnt dead, maybe it would have lived maybe it would have died later. If someone else would have found it and shot it as mad as it would have made me its their deer they put the kill shot on it. When it comes to kids it makes it tougher, much tougher because they get so excited and one small blow like that and they may never want to hunt again.

[Bear55]

I am more of a first blood guy but I really think it depends on the shot and I would evaluate each situation differently. Some first bloods would never have gotten the deer while others surely would have.

I don't think I would have made a big stink about who kept the deer but I would have clearly stated that my son had shot the deer first and that we would like to get some pics, you could have even taken a pic with both boys in it and it would have been a good story for years to come. The 2nd kid knew your son had hit it, too bad the dad didn't set a good example.

[BobT]

I like your suggestion about the photos, Bear55. Who knows, could have become future hunting partners.

[ANYFISH2]

This senerio is a tough one as it applies to two kids. I think you did the right thing and moved on.

Now I am on the fence with first blood, we have a rule that if we where to shoot a wounded deer that we would give if up if the original shooter was able to follow the blood to where we shot it. They put in the effort they get the reward. This only applies to body shots, head and leg wounds are up for disscusion at the time. Fourtunatly it has never happened.

[Jack Peterson]

I think it'll teach your son to be patient while hunting, and show him that there are other people with different morals and ethics in the woods. The first year I went deer hunting, I had some random guy come within about 50 yards of my stand, sit down on a bucket, and start to rattle antlers and make horrible grunt noises. Well, any deer that would've came through were scared off because of that guy.

Hopefully you can take him out this weekend and get him a nice buck! There's plenty of time to hunt, and just be happy it wasn't a trophy boon and crockett buck!

[nonteepical]

first blood to me is a mortal wound. hoof, horn or gut shot dosen't fall into that catagory to me. use the expierence as a learning tool for your son and teach him to be the better man in this situation and his day will come.

[NaturesRespect]

i see it this way. Falling in love with hunting if i took the second shot and made the lethal shot i wuld have gutted it after 30 mins, wen the first blood shooter comes id be glad to give him back the deer since i believe since it was already shot b4 my shot i believe it was just a bring it down thing i didnt really sit and waited for it the first blood shooter did.

a few years back someone downed a deer and left it. we found it cold and stiff so it probobly sat for about a few hours b4 we found it. we left the deer sat in the stand next to it and after about 3 hours we shot our own doe, we then decided to gut both the buck we found and the doe we shot then after 30 mins later the guy who shot the buck came back to claim it. he said he was getting his tags from camp but that does not take a whole afternoon plus your suppose to have it at all times. well after we explained why we decided to gut it ourselves he simply let us have it because i think he was doing something illegal. he seemed to have pauses in his explanation and seemed to be making his story up.

either way we got a free deer, in all i believe if a deer sits for too long its okay to take it and claim it unless your story does not have long pauses and you say you did not have your tag im not giving the deer back.

unless your hunting private land id probobly leave it then since its private land the first blood shooter wuld have the assumption it be there the next day

if this happened to me id just let it slide.... just another excuse to go back out hunting am i right! the lesson your son learned is that sh!t happens in life and it shouldnt bring him down, you and your son showed maturity and i think you just taught your son how to be a more ethical hunter

[Pinusbanksiana]

I think your teaching your son some valuable lessons on how to deal with people. A deer is not worth an argument, especially not in front of your son. The other father missed his opportunity to teach or show his son how to act, but your a stand up guy for not making an issue out of it. Plenty of other deer out there for your son. Its not about killing deer so much as about life lessons on how to treat others. They learn just as much seeing other do the wrong thing as you showing them the right way.

[Lund79]

My group believes in the first kill shot gets the deer. Luckily, I hunt with my dad, 2 brothers and a nephew so not mut to quarrel about. We all see the deer and the excitement each of us gets.

I think you set a good example for your son by letting it go. I know it was hard to do it. Let your son know that it takes time to get the 1st deer. For me, it took 7 years to get my first deer before I could lay my hands on it. Previously, I had shot a doe and trailed her but lost the blood trail when it went to a field where tracks were everywhere. She had bedded down a couple times and eventually clotted. We were trailing her by the tracks once we lost blood and lost the tracks amongst the 1,000s of tracks in the field.

[ItsaCrappieLife]

As tough as it was it sounds like you did the right thing and taught your son some good sportsmanship. If your son had not finished off the deer there is a good chance it would have got away and gone to waste. Seems like the comment about the gut shot most likely came from the Dad since he was feeling a little guilty about jumping on the deer.

I actually had a similar incident duck hunting opener weekend. This guy hit a Goose across the lake and ended up chasing the wounded goose all the way around the lake in his waders. When it swam past our boat we finished it off. To my suprise when we took the goose over to him he actually offered for us to keep it. We declined and gave him the goose.

[BobT]

The advantage of hunting in a group and having to deal with this is that the group can establish the precedent before the hunt. In this case though, it sounds like it was not another member of the same hunting party but just another hunter nearby. There are no pre-established rules for this.

[mrklean]

i think if your in the group its easier because most of the time they will go first blood cause your all friends and what not so its no big deal most of the time you want others to get a deer. When your in a situation like the one above everything is tossed out the window.

[DaMoose]

I believe you did the right thing. Two years ago on opening morning, I shot at a small buck. I waited 30 min to go check, I did hit it after the bullet when through a 2" maple sapling. I followed the blood for bout an hour and then got my buddy to help. We jumped the deer twice, but never got a shot at it. About 10 min after we jumped it the last time we heard a shot in the direction it was headed. We tracked it up to the other hunter, who said it was hit and we could have it. I went and looked and seen that my shot had only took a chunk out of the front leg. I told him he could have it since my shot wasn't a fatal one, I was just glad after tracking it for 3 hrs that it did not go to waste.

[Bear55]

first blood to me is a mortal wound. hoof, horn or gut shot dosen't fall into that catagory to me.

Not to start an argument but a gut shot deer is a fatal wound, it's just the tracking and recovery that can be a problem. If you don't push them and let them bed down they will often be done for. However if you stay on them they can go for miles and miles so there is lots of gray area to work with here.

[BobT]

I agree with that.

[SartellMN]

The biggest thing you taught your son is it is not worth fighting over this kind of thing. Emotions and guns do not mix well.

[paceman]

I agree SartellMN, over the years I have finished off two decent bucks for neighbors that they have wounded. They came across the fence to our property and I couldn't let them suffer so I finished them. I even gutted them out for them. When they trailed them over at first they were very upset claiming I was stealing their deer but I calmly said here is your deer. I am not going to argue over a deer.....

[CodyDawg]

I think you could use this as a learning point also in that the deer got up and left. I dont know all of the situation, but it sounds like you could have maybe had Jr be at the ready for that to happen and if he saw a twitch put another round into it. I was recently on an elk hunt and one of the other hunters in camp dropped a nice bull and wasnt paying attention and it got up and ran away. So teach your son that you stay at the ready for a long time after that animal has gone completely still. I waited 10 minutes on my bull after he stopped moving. Safety off, finger on trigger, looking through the scope....just waiting for any sign he was going to get up. Then after I decided it was dead, I reloaded completely so if he got up when i was walking to him ,it was going to be offhand at a running animal and I wanted all my booooolits available. There are quite a few stories about how this has happened to experienced hunters.

Just thinking about it now, I realized the buck in my office kind of did that to me. But I was ready and got another good hit in him and that ended it quickly. If I had been doing something else and not been ready, who knows how that would have turned out.

[Musky Buck]

I'd say if it's a mortal wound give that deer to whoever hit it first, I would hope before that kid finished it off that the adult could tell it was injured and would think it was looked over pretty good and it shouldve smelled a touch having gut juice potentially leaking out, another good reason for me to go neck shot if possible, they drop on the spot, tough deal with kids looking for deer #1. It's almost like neither got it now.

[DinnerPail]

Quote:

The biggest thing you taught your son is it is not worth fighting over this kind of thing. Emotions and guns do not mix well

Agree

[BARNEZ]

Wow, your son is a man now. He took it in stride, I can remember my first deer. I was 16 sitting in the stand by myself for the first time. I heard gun shots, then a little 4 pointer came running by scared out of it's mind. I took 2 shots and watched it slowing down, then i heard another shot near by which made me nervous that someone was sitting that close to me. I sat in my stand and waited for about 5 min., to excited could not sit any longer, good thing I didnt. I followed the blood trail over a hill and there were 3 adults standing over my deer. One dude hunting with 2 pistols, other dude with a rifle, in shotgun zone, and the other one that was the last shot I heard sitting about 300yds away saying he just winged one out there. It wasnt like it was when I hunted with my Dad, teaching me the proper ways of hunting, but he had to work that weekend. After they bullied me for a bit trying to claim the deer, I stood there with my knife in hand, trying to get to the bottom of this. I noticed the enterance wound came for the direction I was shooting, it was not from a pistol,rifle, or from the crazy looking dude that was shooting from the other direction. I rolled the deer over and saw a lump in its side and cut it, to find my rifled slug. They were all very supprised, that it didnt match their ammo. Then they were like Its just a 4 pointer you can have it. I looked at these crazy hunters and said it is mine anyways. They stood there, I ask them to leave, which they did. Proud as could be gutting my deer, I was thinking I just need to get this deer out of here, and find a new place to hunt. Now 34 yrs old, I moved my deer stands up north where I dont see anybody, I still think of that day, which makes me respect the outdoors and other hunters. A great lesson for your little guy if you ask me.