Deer Season Incidents

I used to think I wanted to own property where I could hunt without having to worry about safety or intruders. A couple incidents from this past deer season have made me realize that I might be fortunate not to own any land.

On the opening day of deer season, a landowner was sitting in a stand on his own, posted property. Suddenly, BANG! A shot rang out from behind him. He turned to find two outlaws. One had shot a small deer after jumping out of a vehicle. He illegally shot from the road into the posted property. The landowner confronted the outlaws and told them to take the little fawn and to leave. The property owner probably should have reported the incident.

The following Saturday he was sitting in another stand on his property when he spotted an interloper brazenly strolling up a jeep trail. The landowner had to shout at this creep to leave. This landowner paid a significant amount of money to buy this property, hoping to have an enjoyable place to hunt.

Another landowner, who hunts a nice, posted property, didn't have good luck deer hunting there this year. The cameras he placed throughout the property show that outlaws enter the property frequently, which has caused the deer to move to other places. Again, he spent a lot of money trying to secure a nice place for him and his family members to hunt.

Landowners have posted their properties in efforts to avoid incidents like the next one. On the Saturday at the end of the first week of rifle season, a hunter shot a nice buck that ran after having been shot. When shot in the heart as this one had been, deer often run a hundred yards or more before falling. The hunter trailed the fine eight-point buck till he saw him; but before he could get to the fallen buck, another hunter fired at it. When the first hunter arrived at the downed deer, the second shooter said, "This is the biggest buck I've ever gotten."

The first hunter said, "But, he was already down when you shot."

The second shooter replied, "Yes, but he tried to lift his head. He's mine."

The first hunter, an experienced sportsman, chose not to have a confrontation with an armed game hog. So, he took a couple of pictures with his cell phone and left the deer to the person who had shot at him when he was already down.

Incidents such as these spoil deer season for ethical sportsmen.