my ethical dillema

[Rifleman1776]

After feeling like I was killing myself dragging a deer out of the woods, uphill, last year, I feel as though my hunting days might be over. At age 74 I really don't want to cardiac arrest dragging a deer out of the woods. We can no longer use ATVs in the public forests. So manual dragging is the only option left where I live.
Now, this year there is an abundance of deer in my area. We have them in the back yard every day. All I would have to do to shoot one, or several, is open my back door and shoot.
This year we are even seeing bucks in the yard. Normally, they are very cautious and stay back in the tree line. Not so this year. We had two fighting about 20 feet from the house last night.
Now, I have two ml guns I would dearly love to harvest some deer with. My .54 Jaeger and my 20 ga. fowler.
My wife wants me to take a couple of the bucks. I say I don't feel right doing that. It just ain't hunting, it would be harvesting. No challenge, no sport.
But, I would like to use my guns, get the racks and put meat in the freezer.
Still doesn't feel 'right'.
Wat to do?

 

[DUSTY 14]

if they are fighting in your yard they are no longer wild. this is dangerous. if it is legal and you harvest ( yes it ain't hunting) 1 or 2 from your yard they will get back to being wild real quick. non wild game is dangerous

 

[Sperit de bois]

Become a Mentor!!!!!!!!!!Young strapping lads are always needing some instruction in the fine art of hunting,,Their just as good as an ATV ,shorter attention span but trainable....

 

[oldude]

How large is your property? Take a walk and set up a blind/stand or still hunt just as you would on public land.Yeh it aint the same as traveling 50 miles and walking in to a hunt area hoping to get an animal but as conditions change (both yours and the deer herd size)you need to adapte. Bent

 

[Black Hand]

Become a Mentor!!!!!!!!!!Young strapping lads are always needing some instruction in the fine art of hunting,,Their just as good as an ATV ,shorter attention span but trainable....

But not as cheap to feed....

Mentor a youth! Not only do you get a companion (and pack mule) but you carry on the tradition. You will find that many will take to it with gusto.

 

[Billnpatti]

If you have that many deer that close to your house and you can legally kill them, I'd say shoot 'em and stack 'em. That's way too many deer to have in your yard. They will most certainly damage your yard and could hurt someone. It may not be hunting but it is more like self defense. I'm sure that the ones from your yard will be just as tasty as the ones from the woods and little chance of getting a coronary from having to drag them any distance. Now, how to get rid of the gut pile? :hmm:

It's good to know when to quit deer hunting. I have reached that age, too. I can still hunt squirrels, though. They may be big here in Texas but not so big that I could over exert myself hauling one out of the woods by myself. :haha:

 

[Mort Scott]

All that hunt will reach a time where it is getting harder and harder to do. I no longer can hunt alone but make sure I have younger hunters in our group. They learn from us old farts and they are always their to pitch in.I now have a blue card that allows me to shoot out the truck window. I can't bring myself to do this yet. But if I can drop one from my rocking chair than I'm going for it.

 

[cynthialee]

Deer were coming into my yard until the opening day of the hunting season.
No deer come to the yard the last month.

I would just shoot the bucks that come in the yard if I was in your position. Nothing wrong with harvesting, especially if your hunting days are limited. Meat is meat and as long as it wasn;t taken brutally or by theft then no foul.

 

[roundball]

I have deer eating apples cores, bread, 15 feet from the back porch every year...one time multiple bucks, one a 10 pointer...wouldn't even think of shooting one as it for sure wouldn't be "hunting".

And what would you claim if you shot one?

1) If you posted a photo that you "got one" with your ML without saying you shot it out of your back door, it would be mis-representing what happened as an actual hunting story.

2) And if you say you shot a semi-tame deer outside your back door, nobody would think it was any kind of an accomplishment, and some would probably consider it a poor deed.

For me shooting these would be like shooting fish in a barrel...but others mileage may vary:

 

[Lonegun1894]

I vote take one or two if legal. I agree that it may be closer to shopping than hunting, but it will prevent you and your wife from being injured if one was to get a bit too comfortable there, and it will also prevent or lessen property damage. It also has the side benefit of filling your freezer. I shoot and eat squirrels that come raiding my garden, and dont see this as any different except that deer have a shorter season that you can take them in. I also wont hold it against you if you dont, as like has been said, it isn't even close to sporting and more a defensive move than a hunt, no matter how you look at it. I can see why it bothers you, because it probably would me too if I was in your position.

 

[juancho]

All I can see is that you have a back yard fridge full of fresh meat with the doors opened to be taken as needed.The key word is "needed", you can also go somewhere else and hunt if your morals tell you so.
I personaly would do both.Do you feel guilty at the supermarket picking up some burgers of questionable origin, or boxes of some heavily genetically engeneered seeds(cereals). I didn't think so.Consider yourself happy to have an option that most dont' have :wink:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Were did you get those pictures of my back yard? :wink:
I have less than two acres but am surrounded by private woods. All downhill and rocky.
Still considering. I know logically, I should shoot some, it is ml season here. Deer/car collisions are becoming very common. I can sometimes walk around the yard and the deer just watch. That is not good, I know.

 

[Dave K]

Of course it is your call. But, if you feel it is not right to shoot from the house, don't compromise your feelings. Like I read from some posters and I agree, become a mentor. Another said to hunt within a comfortable distance from the house. Myself, I have some problems as well. Finding friends to help me get a deer out, is just a phone call away. Now, I do return the favor with what ever skills I have, to return the favor. I wouldn't let my disabilities stop me from hunting the way I am able to hunt. I would just phone a friend when I need help. Everyone enjoys helping and of course I help them any time they call me. I always feel honored to be called to help and I think they all feel the same way when I call for help.

 

[cynthialee]

If they do not run away when you are walking in the yard then they are damn near tame and that is not safe for you or anyone else who comes around. Once the rut starts those bucks are going to be dangerous.
Shooting one just to put the fear of mankind back in them is a good idea. Leave a nice blood scent in the area and they will catch a clue.

 

[simeon england]

For me personally, theres nothing wrong with "harvesting" if you are going to eat or give the meat away to someone who will eat it. Its part of why animals are here for anyway, to eat. If your going to eat it (and you are), shoot it. I understand one is like work, the other more like sport. In the end, the animal is not wasted either way.


And as to your age and dragging deer out, first let me say I hope I am still hunting at 74. Second, consider the two wheeled cart you put the deer on and pull out rolling. Like pulling a deer out on a 2 wheeled wagon.

 

[silly goose]

If your going to eat them, stack them up. What do you think they would have done in 1765? They wouldn't have said "I won't shoot that one, its too close to the house(cabin, whatever)". I can't imagine not being able to do the things I do, although right now due to injury I temporarily cant do some of these things. I'm adjusting and enjoying some of the things I can do.

We all hunt for our own reasons. I don't know how many your allowed per season but maybe you could take one or two closeby, and be selective on your longer hunts. Just a thought.

As far as mentoring, hmmmmm. There arent that many young hunters around here, and to my own fault, not many that share my mindset. I'm kind of a loner, far less headaches that way. Hope this works out for you.

 

[nchawkeye]

Absolutely nothing wrong with a fellow taking a few deer if he plans to eat them...

When I hunt game lands around here, I carry a backpack and bone out the deer and come out with the meat...I'm not dragging that deer out just to discard the bones, hide, etc...

 

[hoochiepapa]

Kill 'em Rifleman!!

 

[AllenHawken]

I see this as more of an aesthetic dilemma than an ethical dilemma. I enjoy watching wildlife from my back deck. Birds, squirrels, deer, fox, chipmunks. If I kill them, they stop coming and I would miss the enjoyment of having them as part of the landscape. Prefer to go kill somebody else's landscape.

 

[dbutch]

Have used these for years they work...2 wheel cart.
http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/largeImagePopup.jsp?productId=1206641&cImage=s7_420292_999_02

Would rather eat from the backyard than what's at the store.