It's just a deer and he didn't get his. If it were a kid I'd tell him he's done shooting. A grown man with no set rule needs to make his own decision.

Y'all killed a 207" deer in Stephens county? I want to see the pictures of that one.

He done.

Sounds like a case where some friendly hunter coaching from the lease mamma's needed. Tell him to focus on the future.

I can't add much here, but he absolutely should be done. However, if that rule wasn't already in place you'll have to rely on his good will and cooperation IMO. I don't know the guy, but maybe if you and the other hunters sit down with him and express your wishes he'll agree. Stranger things have happened.
Incidentally, by talk to him I don't mean a blanket party.

Done under these circumstances for sure. Sorry, next year.

as much as I hate it I agree. It should have been in writing.

If it were me I'd consider myself done with an exception of a giant. I'd keep hunting but if the top dog showed up he'd be dead. I don't think anyone would fault him if he showed up with a 208" deer. If y'all did cry about it somethings wrong with the group you have on the lease.

Deer hunting is supposed to be about fun. There are too many guys that take it too seriously. I have been in a fistfight over a poker game in camp when I was 17, I believe deer camp is for fun and everyone shouldn't take it so seriously unless they call an old boy from Odessa a cheater when he's holding a full boat and calls with all his machine shop money.

It needs to be 'policy' (well understood by everyone BEFORE the season starts).

But personally, I'd say he has burned his tag...unless it was known (without doubt) that only a superficial wound was inflicted.

Sounds like a mortal wound was the case here.

I have always used a self imposed policy of burning a tag anytime I have drawn blood, (Doe or Buck). I have failed to recover very few deer in my 47 years of hunting (and most of that was bowhunting). But...when that has happened, I ALWAYS tear up a tag.

Though I agree with you in spirit, it tends to get serious when you spend thousands of dollars and hours or even years of time to develop quality deer and improve the land. Even more so as a landowner it becomes important.

I have to tell myself every year to chill out and have fun because I get stressed about making the right decisions.

If it's in writing or a known lease policy, he's done. As many have said if it was me, I would be done given I made a clearly fatal shot on the deer from the evidence you mentioned. I would find the deer or exhaust every effort doing so.

Blood and done!!!!

I'm in the one and done camp myself, as that's the way it is on our place too. I am very curious though, if there was blood pouring out of his shoulder, how was the buck not recovered? Do any of the neighbors have any tracking dogs?

[censored] happens let the guy kill the deer sounds like he's either lucky or putting the time into the spot... I would consider myself done for trophy bucks at least but even though I feel that way dont mean this other fella that pays for a lease just the same as me feels the same.. So why should my opinion over rule his when both are legal and really not gona hurt a thing. Live and let live

What would taking a mature deer out of a herd do to cripple management? The truth is if one lost and another shot truley has potential to mess with a management practice then there are to many hunters on the lease

Wondering what caliber was used. Case in point one of my great nephews (Junior in High school) shot a trophy deer he said last Saturday afternoon that ran off. He was using a 22-250. They found a small amount of blood and jumped the wounded deer up once but never found him. One of the other experienced hunters saw a big deer grazing for quite some time this afternoon from a distance that was hobbling along and in his opinion didn't think it was a fatal injury.

There is a understanding that we follow, and each hunter has a copy of the hunting guidelines. If you draw blood that is considered your buck. With that said every attempt is made to locate the buck to include a tracking dog. I have gone as far as hiring a helicopter to fly the area where the deer was shot and it was located.

I don't think that needs to be in the rules to enforce it, though it would probably be better if it was.

It should be a simple conversation for him to understand. Trophy bucks are are exception and if you take one out of the herd, whether you find him or not, he is lost for anyone else. So he counts as your trophy. If he shows back up on the trail cam alive, then we can re-evaluate.

If he doesn't accept that, then he might not be the type of hunter you want on your lease long term.

With all due respect I think you are missing the point. If one hunter is allowed to mortally wound a trophy buck and then go shoot another what happens when the next lease member does the same? Then it does affect the entire herd and ranch and lease. If there are no consequences then IMO it becomes a free for all. And this was not a case of he shot and was not sure if he hit the deer or not -

Spend a few thousand more and get on a lease with enough country that one extra deer won't destroy your whole management plan. Why would you get stressed over making a decision about which deer to kill?

The only time you should get upset or stressed at deer camp is if someone drinks all of your camp whiskey and doesn't replace it or at least call and tell you you're out.

I agree with this 100%

This is nothing to get upset over. Im curious how long have you guys been hunting together and has this ever happened before? With him or someone else on the lease? How was it handled.

Tell him how the other hunters feel and let him know that blood drawn counts as his buck. Tell him its not in the rules but you thought all hunters knew and understood that blood drawn counts as the hunters deer. Let him know that next year it will be in the rules and with that being said because it was not in the rules the decision is his to make whether or not to harvest another deer. I would think that it will take care of itself.

Let him buy another trophy tag. Same price as the yearly spot.

I too believe that it should be his trophy...BUT....if it's not a rule, if it was not stated as a lease rule prior to this occurring then I believe he has the right to expect to still get his trophy. This happened on a lease I was on in the past...guy shot two bucks, one of which I found 100yds from his blind in low grass, which he claimed he "must have missed" and ended up shooting three that year only tagging one. So I feel your pain and agree it should be his one and only but again without it being a current part of the rules then I think he gets to keep hunting.