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!!!

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It’s Friday…and here at deerPhD.com we like to celebrate the weekend with a weekly feature: What Would You Do? I want to remind everyone that if you have any ideas for a WWYD scenario, drop me an e-mail at deerPhD@gmail.com. This week’s scenario is broken down into two parts - feel free to respond to both:

You are invited to go on an all expenses paid hunting trip with a friend. You’ve never hunted with this friend before, but you’ve seen the trophies on this hunter’s wall (enough to make your salivate!).  In planning for the excursion, you’ve already requested time off work and made arrangements with your family.

PART 1:  Let’s say it’s a week before the hunt, and your friend let’s you know that the hunt is on a high fence preserve. “In fact”, he says, “all those trophies were taken in those walls…it’s a great way to hunt!” Your friend tells you that he wants to get his money’s worth for going on a trip. WHAT DO YOU DO?

A. Those a nice trophies and a free hunt - who could pass that up? Fences or no fences - it’s all the same.

B.  Express concern to your friend, but still go out on the hunt.

C. Refuse to attend because you’re 100% fair chase.

PART 2: Now pretend that your friend never said anything about fences, and you ‘discover’ them as you approach the hunting lodge. When you ask your friend what’s going on, he replies, “Oh yeah…that’s just how we do things here. It will be a blast!”

D. Those a nice trophies and a free hunt - who could pass that up? Fences or no fences - it’s all the same.

E.  Express concern to your friend, but still go out on the hunt.

F.  Tell your friend that you’re in for a fun weekend and that you’ll go out with him on the hunts, but no actuall hunting for you.

G. Turn around and head back to the airport - you want nothing to do with this style of hunting.

I’m looking forward to your responses, and have a great weekend!

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It’s that time of the week again, and this week’s What Would You Do comes from Matt, of Bright Idea Outdoors:

Hey Bryan:

I’ve got an amusing “What Would You Do?” scenario for you?

Here it is:

It’s bow season.

You’re lucky enough to have a good hunting spot about 10 minutes from your place of employment, and on this particular day you decide to do a little deer hunting before work. So you throw on the camo coveralls over your work clothes and head to the stand.

You don’t see anything, and at about 8:40 a.m. you figure it’s time to head for the truck. You’re supposed to be at work by 9:00, and you’ve got a big project that has to be finished today.

Just then, antlers emerge followed by a big deer. It’s an eight-pointer, and, while it wouldn’t be the biggest deer you’ve ever killed, it would be your first of the year and is definitely respectable.

The buck lingers in the clearing, offering you a clear shot at 25 yards and giving you a moment to consider the situation. If you shoot the deer, you’re realistically looking at waiting at least half an hour before you get out of the tree, probably spending another half hour or more tracking the buck, another half hour to field dress and drag the deer and an hour to take the deer to the closest processor or to take it home and hang it.

You know that your boss will be mad if you’re late. He’s also not exactly hunter-friendly. So do you:

A. Shoot the deer, call the office and lie, saying your sick;
B. Shoot the deer, call the office, say there’s been a death in the family and then try to convince yourself it wasn’t a lie because you consider wildlife part of your family;
C. Shoot the deer, do what you have to do and worry about the consequences when you get to work; or
D. Pass on the buck, get down and go to work.

I think this is a scenario most of us have either experienced or thought about - so I’m looking forward to the comments! Thanks Matt!

————–UPDATE—————

Thanks again to Matt for the submission, and thanks to everyone who responded!  Sounds like this scenario has been “real-life” for several responders, so many thanks for sharing your stories. I’d probably take Option C, and depending on the weather I’d try to track the buck later that day (after work)…though I know I’d be daydreaming all day!!!

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This week’s What Would You Do was submitted by an anonymous reader out of Omaha, Nebraska. I’m told this is a true story. As always, let me know what you think and I’ll follow-up come Monday. If you have any ideas for a post, send me an e-mail at deerPhD@gmail.com. Until then, have a great weekend!

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You have an archery tag for a buck and a doe - assume you can harvest more than 1 deer per day. While walking to your stand, you drop your bow and 2 arrows break, leaving you with only 2 straight ones for the day’s hunt. While on stand, a doe walks by and you shoot, but it’s a spine shot. She is down 15yds from you squirming & kicking. You’re down to one arrow. As you knock this arrow, you notice a shooter buck coming into range. What Do You Do?

(picture from Huntersfriend.com)

1. Use the arrow on the doe to finish the job
2. Knowing a spine shot is lethal, take your chances with your last arrow on the buck
3. Let the buck pass and wait for the doe to die - you don’t want to ruin your final arrow.

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Reminder: Send What Would You Do ideas deerPhD@gmail.com. Reader submitted posts will be recognized with a link to the respective website (unless you prefer to remain anonymous).

————UPDATE————

Wow - school life got really crazy on me for a while, so I’m a week late on this update. Many thanks to those who chimed in!!!  I think that I’m with everyone on this one - if I shoot a deer, I’m done until the deer is done. I also hunt in areas where there is either a one deer/day limit, or you can’t bag a second deer until the first is out of the woods. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be tempted though…

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This week’s What Would You Do comes from one of the hunting world’s greatest ambassadors - Babe Winkleman…

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I found an interesting article written by hunting great, Babe Winkleman. In this article, Babe discusses interesting What Would You Do Scenarios in light of the fact that ethical decisions sometimes contrast with the law. For example…

You’re sitting in your deer stand with an anterless permit when a large buck comes into view. The animal has obviously been injured and is not likely to survive. The ethical course of action would be to put the deer out of its misery, but technically speaking killing the deer is illegal because you don’t have a buck permit. If you kill the deer, you also should draw it so the meat doesn’t go to waste, then try to track down the hunter who shot it.

Be sure to check-out the full article for more fun examples, including whether or not you should tag a buck with a child’s deer tag or tracking a buck onto posted land.

ONE MORE THING: I’m always looking for new What Would You Do Posts. If you have any ideas, drop me an e-mail at deerPhD@gmail.com. Any contributors will receive a free link back to their site in the post.

 ———-UPDATE: 1/29/08———-

Many thanks to all who commented on this ethical dilemma presented by Babe Winkleman. This might be the first time that everyone agreed!!!  As many pointed out (see comments), often times our decisions are driven not by what we think we ‘ought’ to do because it’s right - but by what the law says. This brings to mind some interesting Psychological theories and other fun stuff I hope to expand on in the near future. But for now, I’ll say that I would likely do the same as everyone else - stick to the law because I want to keep hunting!

Thanks again to everyone for commenting - have a great week!

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This week’s What Would You Do is something many of you may be familiar with…

It’s the middle of turkey season and you’ve been working some birds the last few days but no shooting. Being turkey season, you’re pretty exhausted from waking up day after day at 4:00 AM (or earlier). You have a job interview tomorrow at 3:00 PM. Assume legal hunting hours run until 12:00 PM. What do you do?

1. Go after the birds before work - Spring Gobblers come just once a year! Hunt until noon then try to nap for an hour or so
2. Sleep in to prepare for the interview - these opportunities are far and few between themselves!
3. Go out for an hour hunt and then come home to rest up

As always, I’ll share my opinion on Monday - in the meantime, I will look forward to your responses! Have a great weekend!

————UPDATE: 1/21/08————

 Great responses everyone! Looks like the consensus in #1, so I guess that means the blogosphere definitely has its share of dedicated hunters!!! As for me, I think I would lean toward #3. I might take some slack for that, but that about sums up my life - delayed gratification. Enjoy it some now, but make sure I land that job so I can enjoy it a lot later! Of course, I think I tend to lean too far on that side though…and if the gratification is delayed too long it may never come. Basically, I’m saying I wish I was a 1, but I know I’m really a 3.

Until next week…

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I’ve been traveling the country for interviews, so I’m a couple days late on this What Would You Do scenario. This week’s scenario is a true story! I wish I could say that it happened to me, but the real man behind this story is Mike Hanback, one of the nation’s leading outdoor writers. As many of you may know, Mike has a passion for hunting the whitetail deer, and he is haunted by his obsession of a drop-tine buck. I keep waiting for the day that I check by blog feed to see a post from Mike that says, “Got him!!!” Until that day comes, here’s a What Would You Do that comes from a real story by Mike (Note: original story is in the Outdoor Life on stands now [”Giant Double Issue”]). Here we go…

It’s December and you open your mail to learn that you drew a buck tag for Iowa’s December shotgun/blackpowder season. Knowing that Iowa has developed into a hotbed for monster racks, you fly in with much enthusiasm, not to mention a few extra pairs of socks to help you cope with Iowa’s cold winter season. You’re second evening on stand, you spot a monster walking into bean field - and he’s got a heavy club dropping from one of his main beams!

Let’s throw another curve ball into the mix - this is your first time EVER hunting with a shotgun, so you predetermined a shorter range for shooting. This drop-tine is just beyond that range - and your heart is THUMPING!!!

I suppose we could stop the story here: Shoot or not shoot! But wait - there’s more!!! After watching old drop-tine for a bit, in comes a beastly Iowa typical - 170-180 class buck! He’s got a heavy frame with 10 distinct points. Drop-tine looks like an older deer, but this typical is clearly the dominant buck of the area…and he’s in range.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

1. Take the typical - it’s a world class buck, and there’s no guarantee that the drop-tine will come in range.
2. Take the typical - who said anything about a drop-tine anyway??? (i.e., you just want to take whatever buck is in range)
3. Hold-out and see what happens - two trophies in one field is a once-in-a-lifetime scenario, and you want to play it for all its worth. If the drop-tine comes in, you want him - and you’re willing to take the risk.
4. Shoot at the drop-time as soon as you get a clear shot - you know it’s a bit long, but it’s worth the risk.

As always, I’ll chime in after others get a chance to post. I’ll also let you know how Mike handled this real life scenario! In the meantime, I will look forward to your responses! Have a great weekend!

—UPDATE: 1/16/08—

Many thanks to everyone who participated this time around! I hope you all are enjoying this series as much as I am.

As you know, this week’s scenario was based on a true story. Outdoor writer Mike Hanback found himself in a field in Iowa with a shotgun and two beautiful bucks in his view! According to his article in the December Outdoor Life, Mike decided on option #1 - he took the giant typical whitetail.

Though I can only hope to be in his shoes someday, I think I’d be likely to take option 1 as well. It would be hard to wait knowing that my best buck is right in front of me!

Thanks again everyone…

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It’s Friday, so that must mean it’s time for another What Would You Do, the series that presents ethical and/or decision-making scenarios.

For this weekend’s scenario, imagine that it’s the first week of rifle season, and you have ample time to hunt over the next week. You’re posted on a treeline, and some buddy’s are driving through some thick cover where a 15o-class drop-tine has been spotted. You’re have high hopes that he’ll offer you a shot. You spot some rushing out of the thicket, and it’s a good-size coyote!

Let’s assume that you’re hunting in a state that permits coyote hunting and you are fully licensed.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

1. Take him! These opportunities don’t present too often.
2. Let him pass - you’re in big buck territory
3. Wait and see what happens. Maybe he’ll offer another shot, and maybe that buck will present - too soon to decide.

As always, I’ll share my opinion on Monday - in the meantime, I will look forward to your responses! Have a great weekend!

———UPDATE: 01/07/08———

Thanks a bunch to everyone who chimed in. Before adding my decision, here is the tally:

                 Take the Coyote - 5

                 Wait it out - 3

My Decision - Wow, this is another tough one. A lot of good points were made, and I think both sides could make a great argument. If it were me, I hope that in advance I would have discussed this possible situation with my hunting party. I guess this scenario points out the importance of ‘covering all the angles’ with your party prior to a hunt. I’d hope to get their opinions and make a group decision one way or another. But, since that wasn’t an option, I’d probably wait it out for the deer…but come back later that same week with some electronic calls! I’m hoping for a buck and a coyote.

Thanks again everyone…looking forward to Friday’s post already…

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The following is part of the ongoing “What Would You Do” Series. This series presents ethical dilemmas. It’s been a fun series, so I hope you participate!

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This weekend’s “What Would You Do” is less of an ethical question - I’m putting you in the woods with at least one good buck in range. Let’s see how you react…

Imagine it’s the heart of the rut. You’ve been hunting aggressively this season. In fact, it’s the final evening of a week-long vacation you took from work just to hunt this special time of the year. So far, you’ve seen a lot of does being chased by younger bucks. You’ve passed on several shooting opportunities, as you wait patiently for a 140-class 10-point you caught on film all summer.

 

About 30 minutes left of daylight and you catch a flash of antler in some thicket. A lone buck is making a rub. As you spy him, you notice it’s the buck you’ve been waiting for - a definite shooter! After finishing his rub, he walks 10 more yards and makes a scrape on a fence-line. He takes a few more steps - he’s in range offering a perfect broadside shot. Your bow is already drawn and you prepare to shoot….

 

BUT WAIT - you catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye. It draws your attention and you notice it’s a massive buck trotting across the field - I’m talking a 170-plus drop-tine! He stops at 60 yards and eyes the buck in your sites.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

 

1. Refocus your attention on the 140-class 10-point and take the original shot. You’ve been hunting this bad boy all year (and you know it’s back to work tomorrow).
2. Let your draw down and wait. You know you have about 20 minutes of daylight, and you want to see if the drop-tine approaches. If he doesn’t, you can either shoot the 10-point, or if he walks out of range, you still have the rest of the season to hunt (in between work).
3. Take aim at the 170-class buck at 60 yards. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You’ve practiced up to 50 or 55 yards this summer, and you have a pretty good guess where your arrow will fly at 60 yards.
4. Other (Please Specify)

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Update: 12/17/2007

Awesome discussion brewing on this topic. I shared my response in the comments section, but to reiterate, I’d do everything I can do drop the buck that’s in shooting range. It would be my personal best, and given my current time and land access constraints, I wouldn’t want to get greedy. If you’d hold-off for the big(ger) boy, all the more power to ya’!

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The following is part of the ongoing “What Would You Do” Series. This series presents ethical dilemmas. It’s been a fun series, so I hope you participate!

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This week’s “What Would You Do” presents a real-life scenario sent-in by Andy from Andy & Julie Outdoors. My thanks to Andy for this thought-provoking circumstance which he found himself in:

“Julie just called me from the gas station. She saw someone with a large 10-point on top of their car. She stopped to talk to the hunter and learned that he also had a bull Elk in the vehicle. She asked what area they came from and the hunter answered, “Colorado”. The vehicle had Pennsylvania plates, so we may assume the intact carcasses were in transport to Pennsylvania.

Some areas of Colorado are known CWD areas. According to Ohio law, it is legal to transport animals from CWD states through Ohio as long as the animal is not offloaded. From what I can find on Pennsylvania laws, it is not legal to import high-risk cervid parts from CWD states.

I had her take down the license plate. It is now decision time.

What would you do?

 

1. Look the other way. It isn’t my business.
2. Politely ask the hunter for more details before making a decision. Maybe it came from one of the non-CWD zones in Colorado.
3. Politely inform the hunter that what he is doing may be illegal. Hope that in the future he will change his ways.
4. Report the hunter to the authorities. CWD is a serious threat to our cervid herds both in Ohio and in Neighboring states.

As always, I’ll offer my opinion after the weekend. Until then, I will be looking forward to your decisions!

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UPDATE: 12/11/07

Okay, time for me to chime in - but first, many thanks to everyone who responded! I think I’d probably talk it over with my hunting group, but then ultimately decide not to do anything. I mention this not to say what I think is right, but mroe to reveal what I think is a problem with my current way of thinking. I’ve seen poaching, but never did anything about it. If I were to see the above scenario, I have no reason to think I’d act otherwise. I guess my fear is that if I start patrolling other hunters, they might reciprocate on me and get me doing something I didn’t know was wrong. I think this fear stems from a legal system that’s based more on punishment than on reinforcement (I know - it’s the psychologist in me!)

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