Say you are hunting, and you have a doe tag only. All of a sudden, the buck of a lifetime walks out from the brush and stops broadside flicking his tail teasingly (lol). The question is....what do you do?
We all see the headlines about so and so shot a huge monster buck, and he's praised for his skills (or luck..lol), but come to find out, the deer was poached. We see similar in the fishing world. As much as it disgusts us as hunters when that happens, I wonder what we (myself) would do in a similar situation. (Plus, we don't have many polls here..thought it would be a nice change LoL )

So, what do you do? Do you let it walk and then try and get a tag for it, and come hunt it the rest of the season?
Do you take the deer, tell no one, and either give it to the tax man and hope he doesn't tell anyone about the "big deer you shot", or try and do it yourself (maybe even a European mount)?
Or, do you take the deer...stuff it in the freezer, and try and immediately get a tag for it?

This is a tough question for some, I'm sure. Some people hunt solely for trophy deer their whole lives, and would probably find it difficult to do anything else but take it. Some people are strictly meat hunters, and would let it walk, because...hey, the meat wouldn't be the best they ever had.
Some people follow the laws to a T, and some have slip ups now and then. It's really a tough situation to gauge, I suppose.
So, with that said...you do NOT have to post to this poll. But, you are surely invited to if you would like to!

I'm a total "yakker", so, I'm gonna post my thoughts on it.

The situation really wouldn't exist here since we have no tags and can take a buck a day anyhow. If I'm to pretend that "here" is like "insert state here" that has tags issued, then my answer would be to "let it walk".
But, I'm here to tell you...I would do so kicking my own butt for not having a tag, AND, it would probably haunt me for a long while, and I would probably have those thoughts like " I'm sure no one would have even known" because I AM human and I cannot deny that that buck would haunt me. Still..I would let it walk because, to me, respect (as a person from a person) and honor...they trump all. I feel I would be more respected (lol..although, probably called a dummy by some) if I let it walk than if I took it illegally. So, easy enough answer for me...but, a hard one to let go, no doubt.

On poaching..........
A poacher is someone who takes an animal illegally, or out of season, or at wrong hours, or etc(which ..lol..all would also be "illegally"). I do not coddle or shelter blatant poachers because, in most instances, I firmly believe laws are a way for a reason. However, I'm not about to condemn "Billy Bob" because he shot a deer in July, or shot a few extra squirrels or rabbits because he has all those mouths to feed and he got laid off and is doing what he can to keep his family off the streets and fed. (or..JimBob because he thought he was shooting a doe, but found tiny knots on it's head after the fact. To me, it was a mistake. What he does AFTER the fact determines for me his level of "poaching".) I know a "poacher is a poacher", (I agree) and I surely do NOT expect anyone to feel the same as I do; it's not about that. My personal feelings are that even though respect and honor trump all...it can never trump family (mainly, wife/husband and kids...immediate, the ones you are responsible for).
So, even though I still feel that's still poaching...I feel there are different levels of poaching. Some not as bad (if "compassion and sympathy" were tallied in, of course. Legally, it's the same) as others, although all "wrong".


But, of course...this instance in the poll is not about that. This is about knowingly taking a trophy animal that you do not have a tag for.

I say "let it walk", and gave my reasons. Another reason is, states that have tags do so for the health of the herd, even though sometimes it's questionable, IMO. I've thought about "well, it's just one deer! It wouldn't hurt!", but, I have to say..."What if everyone had that mentality?" What then? I'm quite sure, if we're talking about affecting numbers, then one deer wouldn't make a blimp. But, what if you had 100 or 1000 (per county/state) that felt the same way? I think other than, of course hunting and getting our bellies full or sweet horns on the wall...one of our main goals as hunters is to insure that hunting is around for our future generations. The laws, the allowances of tags and such, they all not only help us preserve the future of hunting so other people can enjoy it in the future...but, they also are there for the animals. I'm far from a bleeding heart...but, I would rather animals stay healthy in numbers and in body than suffer from hunter's mistakes. But, this is my own thoughts on the matter. I'm not earning an income as a judge, and I surely don't want to step on the toes of the Man Upstairs, because it's not my place. So, if ANY soul on here votes anything other than than the first choice...I would have to say "thank you" for being honest, and I do realize that you are human, and I'm QUITE sure than 1 out of 10 would have voted the same. Perhaps more, perhaps less...who knows. So...don't be shy on the votes, whichever one you choose. (or comments, if any)

I voted to let it walk... I never was one to pass up a "good rack"...but all that aside... I never was real big on getting busted either... Now, when living in the country I did generally take a nice fat doe or two for the freezer every fall and/or winter, but then I was primarily a meat hunter anyway.

I also voted to let it walk. Besides being the right thing to do, it would be abetter feeling inside. Like Mongo when I was younger and farming I took quite a few for the freezer,but now don't need so much meat. Just seeing a buck like that would be pleasure.

Being reared on a farm as a youngen ... I'd let it walk, even if I was legal and it resided nearby ... ya never go butchering yer best damn bull !! Thou, you can bet yer sweet azz that any small buck or doe tagging along with it, proly wouldn't share that same fate !!


99er

ROFL!!

Hands,

Just remember that saying that I told ya about a while back that my 100+ yr old neighbor in PA used to have ... "a fellow hates to lie" !!


99er

I'd let it walk.Just aint fun when it's not legal and such.Feels like cheating.

I'd let it walk for a couple reasons. First, I prefer meat to decor and a monster buck is gonna make monster fawns. Secondly, and more to the point, I read an article where a fella was caught with a poached record-class deer. They threw the book at him with 5 years prison, $50K in fines, and permanent loos of all hunting/fishing priveledges in 29 states.

Yes sir, Mr. Monster, have a nice day.

LOL..yep, that'd help you decide in a hurry. Ouch!