When should you punch your tag

[krazy]

I posted this in another forum, but I should have posted it here, since it was off the main topic of the other thread.

I have an ethical question for you all. I am not trying to stir the pot, just curious what the ethical and/or courteous thing to do is, in this situation.

Rumors of a wounded bull elk got me thinking. If the rumors are true and the bull was injured with a shot "a little too far back", should that hunter notch his tag? Does that depend on how severe the wound is, in the hunter's estimation?

If he does notch his tag, and if the bull is later killed by another hunter, who should keep the bull? Is it unethical for the second hunter to keep it, since it was possibly mortally wounded by the other hunter? Or is it ethical for the second to keep it, even if it might be a bit discourteous? Is it discourteous at all?

Good luck to all this season!

 

[30Hart]

As far as who shot it first vs. who shot it last that is always a touchy subject but here goes. If the first hunter wounds it in a non-immediately life threatening area then the one who puts it down gets to claim it. If the first hunter shoots it in an immediatetly fatal area (lets say a single lung shot or liver shot) but it goes past another hunter and stops allowing them to shoot it right before it drops then it's the first hunters animal. First immediately fatal wound (heart, lungs, liver etc) gets it. I grew up in PA and the woods were crowded and it wasn't unusual for a buck to have 2 or 3 diferent people having actually shot it before it went down as they were so pumped up on adrenaline trying to get away...some bucks had 8 or 9 holes in them before they went down. This always leads to fighting in the field and guns have been drawn on some of my friends over this.

 

[Zeke]

Duh!
Never punch a tag until you have "reduced the animal to bag"
meaning you have him in your hands! You might find the animal later in the hunt and the dates will be wrong if the tag is pre-punched. Oh, and you can't hunt for that animal on a punched tag! Don't quit and go home like a baby! LOOK FOR THE ANIMAL WITH A LEGAL TAG IN HAND!

Any hunter MAY quit hunting if his standards dictate but the tag should never be punched. Keep looking for that one and only animal and punch only when you find it.

If the animal is never found then go home and frame your license knowing you did everything in your power to find him!

Zeke

PS: if someone else kills non-immediatly-mortally wounded animal THEN IT BECOMES THEIRS!

 

[elkfromabove]

>I posted this in another forum,
>but I should have posted
>it here, since it was
>off the main topic of
>the other thread.
>
>I have an ethical question for
>you all. I am not
>trying to stir the pot,
>just curious what the ethical
>and/or courteous thing to do
>is, in this situation.
>
>Rumors of a wounded bull elk
>got me thinking. If
>the rumors are true and
>the bull was injured with
>a shot "a little too
>far back", should that hunter
>notch his tag? Does that
>depend on how severe the
>wound is, in the hunter's
>estimation?
>
>If he does notch his tag,
>and if the bull is
>later killed by another hunter,
>who should keep the bull?
>Is it unethical for the
>second hunter to keep it,
>since it was possibly mortally
>wounded by the other hunter?
>Or is it ethical for
>the second to keep it,
>even if it might be
>a bit discourteous? Is it
>discourteous at all?
>
>Good luck to all this season!
>

Legally, you punch your tag just before you put it on the dead animal. Ethically, it's another issue. Personally, I prefer to punch my tag if I know it's a fatal hit and I don't locate the animal after extensive searching. And I consider the final shot the fatal shot. I'd let the other guy tag it and I'll keep my tag and keep hunting. To me, it's not worth any hassle. And I don't think it discourteous. In fact I would consider it discourteous for the other person to insist I tag it. If he didn't really want it, why would he shoot it?

 

[krazy]

Zeke,

No one ever said that the hunter should just go home. Of course, he/she should keep looking for the animal. And I realize that I may have been to literal when I said to notch the tag. But too many hunters won't keep looking, they will just look for the next animal in range.

My main question goes to the definition of "immediately mortally wounded animal". Does that mean it will die within an hour? 5 hours? a day? A few years ago, we came across a little buck on a general unit that had a front leg blown off, and had been gut shot. I don't doubt that that deer would have died of its wounds pretty quickly, but we hadn't seen a hunter or heard a shot in that area all day long. That hunter gave up in my opinion, because the trail would have been easy to follow in the two feet of snow that was on the ground.

I realize the law can't cover all the grey area. Ethics should fill those gaps. That said, I agree with you; if you wound an animal and you're sure it will die (immediately or not), I think your hunt should be for that animal alone.

 

[30Hart]

As far as the punching of the tag, I think a lot of this comes from some of the guided hunts out there. I know of some in Alaska and a lot in Africa that if you wound it and don't get it your tag is done and you still pay the trophy fee.

 

[Zeke]

I've cross-shot a couple animals and with each episode ran into excellent sportsman and we just worked things out. My brother shot a bull in Wyo and some guys were shooting at the bull also but they beat him to the beast and "that was that". They got the bull. Ethical? I don't know but when we arrive it was tagged with their tag! We were not happy but left without incident.

I have to agree with you Krazy, there are some guys who put little effort into tracking wounded animals, or for that matter, even follow-up after the shot. This behavior seems silly to me but it happens.

As for defining a mortally wounded animal... well... to me it means within a half hour +/- with a bow and within 10+/- minutes with a rifle. I can tell you that when the times exceed these numbers by very much, the animals become exponentially more difficult to "reduce to bag". That's when the work and real ethics must come into play BUT STILL DON'T PUNCH THE TAG.

I don't know if I've danced around you question again or not. Some ethical questions are best answered on a case by case basis.

Zeke

 

[krazy]

I don't think you danced at all. Good response.

As far as a definition, and most ethical questions, I think you are right, it should be a case by case determination.

 

[Zeke]

>As far as the punching of
>the tag, I think a
>lot of this comes from
>some of the guided hunts
>out there. I know
>of some in Alaska and
>a lot in Africa that
>if you wound it and
>don't get it your tag
>is done and you still
>pay the trophy fee.

I think you're right 30Hart.
There would be less "spray and pray" mentality if hunters went afield with this as their guide. " You wound him and he's yours... unless another hunter legally tags him"
Zeke

 

[Ropinfool]

i'll notch my tag when im finished gutting him. hunter that puts the animal down for good gets him.....and that could be a can of worms.

 

[jodog]

I think when the law gets involved it's who ever put the fatal shot on it.

If the animal comes by me on his last leg just about ready to die and I shoot him ...you can have him. If one comes by and I cant even tell it's been hit or I kill it and find he has a wound that he would recover from ....it's probably going home with me.

 

[hornhunter247]

For question 1 it would really depend on the circumstances. If I made an iffy shot on an animal and wounded it, I would hunt that 1 animal for the remainder of my hunt. Now if I had taken a great shot and knew the animal was fine I'd probably hunt for him but be open to taking another animal if the opportunity was presented.

To answer your second question, if an animal is still on its feet hours after you had shot, it's fair game! Just because you wound an animal doesn't give you any rights to that animal. You should have made a better shot. Just my .02 cents


I just call em as I see em!

 

[hunts2much]

I thinks this brings up alot a different questions. Me and two friends were walking a river bottom I shot a doe and it dropped in my view. At the same time my friend dropped one on the other side and needed my help. When I was helping we looked over and there was 2 guys taking my deer. I yelled at them and they got the deer loaded in ther truck before I could get to them. So I never noth my tag unless I have animal in hand.

 

[sageadvice]

" hunter that puts the animal down for good gets him.....and that could be a can of worms."

Can of worms indeed!! I have seen heart shot bucks run 100 yds before dropping and in a orange punkin patch, that could include 3-4 other guys shooting at him.

I'm surprised than nobody has been shot over who gets a big buck that was mortally wounded but someone else decided to claim him. If it hasn't happened yet, i predict that it will.

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

 

[bullskin]

Well, as a kid, I once shot a goose that my hunting partner then proceeded to shoot three more times as it fell to my feet. He let me keep it.

I don't know. Perhaps this has little to do with your question, Krazy.

 

[BRUIN4L]

>Well, as a kid, I once
>shot a goose that my
>hunting partner then proceeded to
>shoot three more times as
>it fell to my feet.
> He let me keep
>it.
>
>I don't know. Perhaps this
>has little to do with
>your question, Krazy.


It has a lot to do with this subject. Don't hunt with that guy again.