Give up or defend ?

You've waited years to draw this hunt and fineially got it. You spent 100 of hours and untold amounts of money prepareing yourself and your eqiupment. Now you are standing over your dream critter you hear a noise look up and there is a critter or critters that are determend to take from you no matter what. Do you defend your kill or back off and give it up?
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killerbee
shoot it......... :thumb
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Springville Shooter
I say stand over your kill, don't back down, challenge anything that threatens your position and defend yourself if you have to. Most predators are smart enough to take the easy way out and retreat.--------SS
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Deffend yourself and your animal!!! :thumb But if it going to eat you...
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Mularcher
Easy to say defend but if I'm over a dream buck and a mountain lion rolls up and wants the buck and all I'm packing a bow? I had better be good with the one shot I'll have.....
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stillhunterman
Yeah you can stand your ground with most predators but you NEVER know exactly what they are gonna do or how DETERMINED they are #-o

Took a nice Blactail in the Trinities of Cali one year. Hunted that buck for 3 hard days until I put him down. The shot was just over a hundred yards across a small canyon. A good sized blackie was on that buck before I got to it. I shot several times, yelled, threw sticks and rocks but that bear would NOT retreat. He grabbed my buck and hauled it up over the top with little effort. This was before you could carry a bear tag during the rifle deer hunt #-o Needless to say, I didn't kill the bear and lost my buck and ate my tag. Was not a happy hunter that year ](*,)
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Gut shoot em and let them die in the next county,problem solved :thumb
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"Mularcher" wrote:Easy to say defend but if I'm over a dream buck and a mountain lion rolls up and wants the buck and all I'm packing a bow? I had better be good with the one shot I'll have.....
 This is why I always carry my handgun while archery hunting. At least here in Utah you can if you have a concealed carry permit.
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WinMag
"Springville Shooter" wrote:I say stand over your kill, don't back down, challenge anything that threatens your position and defend yourself if you have to. Most predators are smart enough to take the easy way out and retreat.--------SS
 +1
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+2 There is no way I am giving up something I worked that hard for.
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Just my 2 cents but is shooting an animal with out a tag or out of season ok with everyone? Do you think leaving a down animal in the woods is a good thing or bad. And last would you pull the trigger if F&G was watching you. Hey don't get me wrong I hate wolfs, lions, coyotes anything that kills the game iam chasing, but I don't think I would loose my hunting lic over saving a game animal.
I shot a lion in Ca. the lion was eating my cows (beef) it was one bad legal battle. Yes I know shot 'em shove and shut up. But there are a lot of people in the woods these days.
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The way I understood the question your game is down and tagged, and whatever is coming after your game has to come through you to get it. In a matter of self defense I have no problem shooting any animal. And if fish and game was watching, there are my witnesses to self defense. If a mountain lion beats me to a live deer or elk then there is nothing I can do about it. Id be upset but I would turn around and find another animal to hunt.
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This will be a very big gray area I have talked it over with my partners 50% say they are taking the guy to jail the other say no. I say if you are on your game skinning or gutting you shot what's coming around but if you are just walking up to your down game and something is moving on it and you can't scare him off, you have to let it go. It's a gray area for sure, but one guy I know shot 2 elk thinking it was the same elk that got back up did the right thing and told an officer the officer took him to jail. The guy couldn't hunt for 5 years. There are some interesting officers out there.
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"capt.nw" wrote:This will be a very big gray area I have talked it over with my partners 50% say they are taking the guy to jail the other say no. I say if you are on your game skinning or gutting you shot what's coming around but if you are just walking up to your down game and something is moving on it and you can't scare him off, you have to let it go. It's a gray area for sure, but one guy I know shot 2 elk thinking it was the same elk that got back up did the right thing and told an officer the officer took him to jail. The guy couldn't hunt for 5 years. There are some interesting officers out there.
 It doesnt pay to be honest,I know of several cases where a hunter who made an honest mistake turned himself in and recieved fines,and loss of hunting rights,loss of rifles,ect for their honesty.Ill take my chances if something like this ever happened,any critter that poses a threat is getting shot,and Im not running down to the post to tell a warden what ive done so they can run me through the ringer. =;
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Being on both sides the hunter side and the law side I would have to agree with you. We all feel bad enough when we make a big hunting accident. There is no reason to get fine or hunting rights taken away for trying to do the right thing and reporting the accident. When I hear about wardens doing stuff like that to me feels like victimizing a victim. The sad thing is a lot of law officers fallow the letter of the law to the T.
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It makes no sense,I follow the rules but im not about to turn myself in after witnessing the crap storm my buddy got into after accidently dropping 2 cow elk,he did the "right" thing and called a warden,big mistake.Got the same penalty as a guy caught poaching,I wont make that mistake. #-o
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That is the problem with a lot of wardens they are taught the letter of the law and are told to follow it no matter what. They are not told they have discretion.
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