I had a great chance meeting with a long time friend who is also a game warden. I've watched this guy grow up and I believe that

[libertyfirst]

I had a great chance meeting with a long time friend who is also a game warden. I've watched this guy grow up and I believe that he is a very good and honest man. During our conversation he asked me what I thought would happen if the average hunter who had already tagged out came upon a monster buck in an isolated area where there was probably no one around. I said without hesitation that he would let the buck walk. The warden smiled and said "I've found in my business that all hunters are simply creatures of opportunity". I thought about what he said all day. What would the average hunter do?

[troutslayer]

i would def. let it walk. if i had aready killed a buck then that is the buck that the good lord intended me to harvest that year. it's the people that would take that buck that give honest hunters a bad name.

[Jim in Mo]

I'd tell my friend he's a dumb ass. A simple government trained person that I don't think could be my close friend again. He's already formed an opinion on all hunters. He's the one wrong here.

[buckhunter]

Jim in Mo is correct.

[MLH]

Nothing to think about. I would laugh at my missed opportunity and just admire that buck until he walked away. I'd be back the next season scouting for him, though. Frustrating that he assumes the hunter is guilty before the fact.

[DakotaMan]

I'd let it walk but I would say that about half of the hunters I have seen would pop the big buck and dump their tagged deer. It is sad but true... many hunters are driven by being able to show off to their buddies and big horns are everything. I feel that the hunting laws are very fair and are there to ensure we can all keep hunting an ample supply of game over time. If we follow those laws, we can all keep hunting. Therefore, I feel that I am doing my part in game conservation by following the laws to ensure future generations will have the opportunity for the same enjoyment I have had.

[whiteriverguide1]

I would let it walk. Thankfull for seeing such a fine creature and harvesting one already. I know where I would be scouting the following year. Maybe right then to try and find a track from the big one so I know his "fingerprint". Then back to the drag at hand. Then a backstrap dinner!

[libertyfirst]

Jim in Mo
I had the same reaction as you. He's judging everyone who hunts and that in my book is wrong. But maybe he sees all the bad guys as a game warden and doesn't see as many of the good ones. Think about this, is he going to be sent out to investigate you or me who are trying our best to follow the letter of the law or will he probably be assigned a case involving some lowlife who has no respect for anything.

[steve182]

Been there, and done it. Hope to find that buck next year. I'm sure your buddy see's a lot of scumbags, but the guys i hunt with have ethics and good moral character.

[KingFisher907]

I think SOME law enforcement officers eventually develop a similar attitude...it would be difficult not to...

that being said, Id let that buck walk...

I love hunting too much to chance losing my privileges...

[huntcamp]

It is illegal here to hunt when your tag is already used without being in hearing distance of another hunter. We can party hunt during gun season as long as you are close to another hunter. Cannot in archery. Wisconsin. No tag let it walk.

[matouse3]

I guess I just hunt with good group of guys, but we would all let the buck walk and then laugh about how we used our tags up and couldn't shoot it. Just makes for good discussion on whats important, racks or meat. Should you save your tag "just in case" and shoot a doe or two for the meat? What is the "right" buck to shoot? Never know what you might see, guess thats what makes it so much fun.

[CPT BRAD]

I'd definintly shoot it. With whatever camera I had! Most people I hunt with are law abiding and although I have seen some that would I am not in that crowd. I like something to hang on the wall just like anyone else but an 8x10 is as good for me as a 10 pointer.

[Del in KS]

That is why I let many deer walk every fall. A few years ago that very thing happened to me. Shot a nice 9 pointer and at the shot an even bigger buck jumped out of the brush. I had to let him go didn't even consider shooting that buck.
I feel there is a percentage of game wardens that become jaded. I know a couple police officers that hunt and even they feel upset with some game wardens.
One guy a LT in the KS Highway Patrol shot and tagged a doe on land he had hunted for 20 years. A warden checked him and was going to charge him with trespassing on his friend's farm because he didn't have written permission in his pocket. He had to call the landowner to get the warden off his back. No professional courtesy at all. Written permission is the law in KS but I don't know anyone that always has it in their pocket but me.

[prairieghost]

had that exact situation happen last fall. i dropped a very decent mule deer buck following does. he had barely hit the ground when his daddy stepped out of the pines, at eighty yards, broadside, to check out the commotion. i watched him follow the does back up the draw into the pines. he was one of the biggest bucks i've ever seen in MT and i hope to see him again next season.