Can you believe it’s Friday already? TGIF!!! By now, most of you know what that means here at deerPhD - It’s What Would You Do time? Today’s scenario is a real-life situation I experienced about a year and a half ago.

Here’s the backdrop: It’s the final day of the PA rifle season. I have only a buck tag, and my father has only a doe tag. Since I was away in OH most of the season, BigK and I decide to hunt together - each with our own rifle. If a shooter buck comes, it’s mine - if a big doe steps out - it’s his. At about 4:30 PM, we spot a beautiful and mature doe standing about 150 yards away. BigK aims his Remington Model 700 30-06 and delivers a perfect shot (I mean perfect!!!).

The deer ran down a hill about 80 yards from an access road, so we exit the woods and park his truck on this road. We then re-enter the woods from this road (BigK unarmed; I take my rifle in case we spot a buck) to gut and drag the doe.

Here’s the itchy scenario: While dragging the deer, we hear, “Freeze, Game Commission. Stop where you are and drop your gun. Step away from the deer.”

Dad and I were freaked. We put our hands up and turned around.

“I watched you shoot from the road. You’re going to be cited.” (Note: he was literally yelling at us, with his hand on his pistol ready to draw.)

Dad and I are astounded, but before I tell you how it went down…WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

A. Talk with the officer and get things straightened out.

B. Call for back-up (i.e., friends, maybe even the state police).

C. This officer was way out of line, and you can’t help but be frustrated an angered. A heated argument is inevitable.

D. Comply with the officer’s every request, even if that means being cited for something you didn’t do (he’s got a gun, and he’s in charge now).

Since this was a real-life event, I am really looking forward to your comments. I’ll be sure to finish the story early next week. Until then, have a wonderful weekend!

 ———UPDATED March 4, 2008———

Awesome comments everyone - thanks for chiming in. As many of you alluded to, this was a tight situation for Big K and myself…here’s how it went down.

My first thoughts were, “There’s no way out of this - he’s lying and he has already made-up his mind.”  I think it was my gut reaction to start walking toward him, wanting to shake his hand and start to talk things over. Wow was this a bad move. The officer yelled louder, “I said freeze - don’t walk to me, I’ll walk to you.” He then bee-lined for the deer and checked his ear tag (everything was legal by the way).  He then said, “Okay, I will write you up - I saw you shoot from the road.”

Being the one who made the shot, my dad said, “Now wait a minute, we shot from the other direction - go look at the blood trail.” The officer responded, “But I saw you shoot from the road.”

Big K’s response, “Now wait a minute, we have huts on the other side from which we shot. Let’s go look; I bet the casing is still there. Plus, you can follow the blood trail.”

The officer then said, “Okay, tell me your story” and Big K did just that.

No questions asked - he believed the story and congratulated him on a successful kill. He then said, “I’ll follow you to your truck; I want to check you stored your gun.”

Luckily (well, not luck, it’s good practice) BigK stored his rifle unloaded and bolt open. The officer waited until I put my gun away and then said, “Now let me see how you did it.”

Needless to say, this guy was on the prowl. I don’t know what his deal was, but it sure did give me a sour taste of PA Game Management. In my opinion, that’s the worst thing an officer can do - they should be there to encourage us to obey the law, not catch us in a trap (or worse, a made-up story). Fortunately, it all worked out in the end. I still think of that great shot BigK pulled off - it was absolutely perfect!!!

deer, deerPhD, ethics, Game Commission, hunting, PA, Remington, rifle, What would you do?

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