who's gets to claim the deer if two people shoot it?

Question

I fired off 4 shots into a nice 9point. (My very 1st deer). leaving a blood trail that the dogs followed about 75 yards in and the deer jumped up and ran into the road and was shot again by someone else. so who gets the kill? I have been told first blood drawn & deer down it yours. but it didnt happen this way
and it has cost a 15yrs friendship. What are the rules????

Answer 1

I must agree with the majority here. The person who puts the deer down for good is the rightful harvester. That is the rule of the woods, if not the law. Although when this issue has arisen between my hunting companions, we usually spend more time trying to talk the other guy into taking the animal. When I harvest an animal that was wounded by another, I usually offer to share the kill. Thats just a personal preference, not an obligation. I try to view it as a team effort.

Answer 2

whoever can run the fastest gets the deer. ;0)
No, actually there is no golden rule to follow. I have always felt that the person who drops the animal gets it. Especially if you fired 4 times into it and it still wasn't killed. No offense, but that is some pretty poor shooting. I'd do a lot more pre season sighting in, get a range finder if needed, whatever it takes to improve your accuracy so that an animal doesn't run off suffering from your woundings. I'm sorry about the lost friendship, but I would probably side with the other guy. But friends should have been able to work it out. I also noted that you said a trail that the dogs could follow. You hunt deer with dogs? I don't know what state your in, but in most states, that's not legal.

Answer 3

I grew up with a sort of similar situation. When several people took a shot at more or less the same time, we'd all sit around saying "Nice shot you made there" in an attempt to preserve the rest of the season. Now that bag limits are more liberal, the general rule is that if the first shot was a good one, that person claims the deer, and the second was just giving a finishing shot. I think it was a reasonable price to pay to find out who your friends really are.
If you gut shot it or were using something silly like a 22 centerfire or 7.62x39, then yours may have been only a wounding shot, and you should bow out gracefully.

Answer 4

This is a tough lesson to learn, and the best reason not to use dogs to track a Deer when you have a good blood trail. Next time leave the dogs at home where they belong.Had you not "forced" the Deer across the road with the pressure of the dogs chasing it, things might have turned out differently. The Deer if hit solidly,(after 4 shots) it would have laid down and expired,...Wounding is only half of the job.What counts is finishing it.
Normally the one that brings it down gets the Deer. You might have drawn first blood, but you didn't put it down. This might not be what you want to hear, but it's called "Sportsmanship".

Hardly worth giving up a 15 year relationship/friendship for..

Answer 5

whoever killed it. if a deer is alive and running it is still fair game, how is another hunter supposed to know if the deer they are gonna shoot at is wounded if it is still able to run. that happened to me when i was younger with a nice buck. but after it was explained to me i could see the point how was the other hunter supposed to know. Also just because the deer was laying down doesn't mean it was mortally wounded. What if the deer you shot and then jumped while tracking it was wounded by the hunter woh used to be your friend ran another 1/2 mile and was shot dead by a 3rd hunter. Just because you wound a deer dont expect to fill your tag with it, just make a better shot next time.

Answer 6

This actually happened to me last Saturday. My friend and I were just sitting there talking between the two hunts when a huge doe came running up to us. We saw her about 50 yards away and we wanted to shoot her when she was not moving. She then walked out, saw us and stopped. Then we both shot. We didn't plan it or anything we just didn't know if the other was going to shoot. Anyways (sorry about the story), we decided we would just donate it to hunters for the hungry. But in your case, you should have the deer. First, because it's your first deer. Second, because you shot it first and mortally wounded it.

Answer 7

I was hunting some years ago and shot a nice eatin' deer {4x4} and although it was hit hard it ran about 600 yds. and into the path of a young fella on his first deer hunt. He proceeded to hit it three times with a .338 mag before it could tip over ruining almost every ounce of meat on it. A few moments later I came upon him and when he looked towards me he realized I was following a blood trail and that he had shot "my" deer. He felt bad and was frustrated about what he had done but being the bigger man {and the fact he hit it in both front and rear quarters} I graciously "gave" it to him. I just can't imagine what his dad and brothers said about all that ruined meat when they got there later ! I filled my tag later that day and still put meat in the freezer.

Answer 8

The most important thing here is that you found out this person was not a real friend. If one of my friends shoots a deer and I finish it off I help my friend get the deer out of the woods and sometimes help cut it up, and it is my friend's deer, not mine. If my friend gives me some of the meat that's cool, but if my friend wants to take it all for his family that's cool too. There are no enforceable rules for this, but to me the honorable thing to do is let the person who shot it first have the deer and if I want a deer I'll go back out in the woods and get another one. Anyone who did what your "friend" did is not someone I want for a friend.

Answer 9

The first person to tag it with their hunting tag is the correct answer. Is this the most ethical? Actually, yes. If you shot at a deer and it ran off, you are most likely not shooting enough gun or the range was too far. Get a rifle that anchors the deer and you have a better chance at tagging it in crowded hunting conditions. A .444 Marlin is great if you can shoot it and are not recoil sensitive-One shot, one kill, one tag on the 9 pointer-YOURS.

Answer 10

The rules aren't written but by all rights that is your deer. You shot first, the other guy just followed up the shot.

If I was in your position I would make a peace offering of one back strap. After all, you wouldn't have got the deer if the guy hadn't helped you out!