Wounding Policy?

[bowgy]

There are some " hunters" that will fling an arrow at any animal they see.  that could really be a problem for an outfitter.    I've mostly seen the policy with private land guides and it usually says, if you fatally wound and animal and it isn't recovered your hunt is over.  I have always thought if the animal is fatally wounded and not recovered it's probably the guides fault.  If it's dead and he can't find it, isn't he supposed to be able to track?

[tradtusker]

Its a like a 5 sided Coin.
Its depends on a lot of things
were your hunting, what your hunting etc etc

Iv grown up in the hunting Industry seen, accompanied and guided more hunts then i can accurately remember. Iv also been a quit a few guided hunts, So it good to see it from both perspectives.
If the wounding policy is the only thing you consider when picking an outfitter then your really missing the bigger picture, there are many things i would be considering before that.

Like Rick was saying, you get a few hunters that are just bad, don't care about the animal and just shoot until something hits the deck, believe me iv seen some disgusting things in the field.
Unfortunately there are more then id like to admit.
  Look you get the hardcore good hunters that are really good, you get the good hunters that every now and then just get unlucky or make a bad shot (it happens to everyone its just a matter of time) and you get a lot of guys that love to hunt but dont have much time to practice or have the time to scout and hunt public land etc so they pay for a guided hunt, which would prob be the only hunt of the year for them.

due to a combination of factors you get a Lot of guys that are just poor shots, You get great shots, that suck on live animals, and only get a handful of consistently good shots on game.

you can not just have someone out there wounding animals.

There are also a lot of places that have a wounding policy that is not strictly enforced, Its is there to keep away the yahoo hunters. But it can be a can of worms making the decision.

It come more down to the individual, make a bad shot and are willing to put in hours-days of tracking or searching to find it, no matter the wounding policy,  most hunters will give up before the trackers. Some guides are lazy and will push you to quite and keep hunting something else, more you kill = more $  

what if you owned a property and the animals on it, you had a hunter come and gut shoot a trophy animal, you do everything you can to recover it but never find it. Would you charge the trophy fee?

[Kudu Kid]

"I know on public land the animals do not belong to the outfitter, but he has the right to say "your hunt with me is over" at some point."

I absolutely agree.  The outfitter has every right to end hunt at this point.  And so does the outfitter on private land.

But I still stand on my principal that a  outfitter does not "own" that animal, they are only providing a service of the hunt and the amenities that surround that.

[Tony B]

We do not have the draw it you bought policy. But i think i would have a talk with the hunter if they wounded a second one.Wounding an animal stinks, Bit it happens! We can not controll everything, Your shoting a man made weapon at an animal that can move jump and shift. We had 3 wounded bears last fall and one the year before, well later last season we killed 3 out of 4 of those wounded bears! All were hit with arrows. One was graze on the top of the back. And the other 2 were hit high with little penitration.So they can live.All of these bears were feeding back on the baits. Just some thoughts!

[Kudu Kid]

I apologize, after rereading the initial post, I was assuming trophy fees were being charged for a wounded animal.

[Pepper]

If hunting on public land, or on animals that come from public land, I don't see where the guide has any more obligation to protect "his" resources than the next guy.
If he is charging you to guide and you make an ethical shot, he is as responsible as you to recover the game, or at least put you in the position to finish the job.
Some of these "guides" are only in it for the profit, the more hunters, the more profit.  If you are not hunting penned animals,(not hunting IMO), that were bought and paid for buy someone, they are making money from you on both ends.
Nothing wrong with using a guide, but do your home work.

[tradtusker]

In the USA on Public land where the tag is yours its a different story im sure.

I do wonder (non guided) over there how many guys repeatedly wound animals and dont do everything they can to find them, on the same tag.

Pepper don't forget though there are as many hunters out there just in it for themselves and more then happy to screw the guides over.

[Don Stokes]

On a Colorado elk hunt, I glanced an arrow off the back of a bull, and drew some blood. Later in the hunt, I killed a 4 pt. bull. If the outfitter had had the wounding policy, my hunt would have been over after the first hit. The bull wasn't hurt much, and I was comfortable with the outcome. Each situation has to be judged on its merits. A drawn blood policy is just not reasonable without taking the situation into consideration.

[paperenginner]

I would agree with a skill test to make sure you are proficient with your weapon but I don't agree with a wounding policy.  Not finding an animal is part of hunting.  It sucks and no one wants it to happen but it can.  Then again if you are paying for a guide it is clearly an optinional choice and you must play by their rules.

[Burnsie]

Originally posted by Don Stokes:
On a Colorado elk hunt, I glanced an arrow off the back of a bull, and drew some blood. Later in the hunt, I killed a 4 pt. bull. If the outfitter had had the wounding policy, my hunt would have been over after the first hit. The bull wasn't hurt much, and I was comfortable with the outcome. Each situation has to be judged on its merits. A drawn blood policy is just not reasonable without taking the situation into consideration.

I agree with Mr. Stokes, some common sense has to be part of the decision.  The slightest nick from a sharp broadhead can leave a lot blood.  I would hate to have my hunt called short due to a superficial flesh wound.  If the hit is somewhere in the main torso of the animal, different story.

[Pointer]

Most outfitters are just guiding and assisting in recovery and processing of the trophy...they don't own the game you hunt. If they own it and are feeding it then it's not a real hunt to me...it's target practice on livestock..

I wouldn't hunt with an outfitter that had such a policy

[bucksbuouy]

"Most animals that are shot with arrows and not recovered, don't die."

I could not disagree with you more. You hit a deer it dies of infection or is taken by predators, period. I have seen more dead deer walking with chunks of rotten flesh falling off them and found more buck skeletons then I care to remember, all from bad bow shots. That being said, that kind of thing is bound to happen. Every hunter is entitled to a bad shot and a lost kill but there comes a point, if you are hitting deer and not recovering them, its time to go back to the drawing board, or stick to rifles.

And I would not hunt with a guide who has that rule.

[7 Lakes]

I've never hunted with a guide, much less one with this type of policy.  If I did I would expect my outfitter to have some excellent trailing dogs.  Many times "Lucy" has brought back ducks, doves, quail & rabbits that I thought I missed.  

After seeing many broadhead wounds I expect most of the deer hit and dismissed as "OK" are dead at the end of a 20 minute dog trail.

[el_kirk]

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but if I put an arrow or a bullet in it, that was my tag.  I was responsible for the shot and I bought the tag.  
For me there's no gray area.
I was taught it's NOT OK to TAKE a bad shot, but it's OK to MAKE a bad shot.  In other words, you do your best to prepare and you take shots you're VERY certain will kill quickly and cleanly.  If for some reason you don't connect or you make a bad shot you analyze what happened, learn from your mistake and change your behavior.  If you shot an animal poorly, you tracked the animal until you found it, then changed your habits so you were a better hunter.

[Don Stokes]

Bucksbuouy, I was quoting Dan Quillian about arrow wounds. I figured he knew what he was talking about. Deer have an amazing ability to recover from clean wounds.

[Don Stokes]

And I have to add that I've killed several deer with healed wounds, from both bow and gun. Sure, a gut-shot deer will probably die and might not be recovered, but muscle hits will heal if the deer doesn't lose enough blood to kill it quickly. In my early years, the first four deer I killed had been shot previously and healed.

I once shot a 6 point whitetail that had been shot twice in the head before I killed it. It was blind in one eye, and after the skull was cleaned I found that a bullet had gone through the eye and out the mouth, taking a couple of teeth out. The other wound was a few weeks old, and a fully expanded bullet was under the skin of its muzzle, right behind the nose. Another club member had shot and lost the buck, so I know how old the wound was. He appeared to be doing fine, but I took a lot of ribbing about having to shoot a buck that was half blind and couldn't smell me, either!    

I also killed a spike buck that had been shot in the back of the head with an arrow, and it had a perfect X through one ear. The arrow hit the back of the head and the scar was at least a year old, perfectly healed. It must have been shot as a fawn.

[doug77]

I have mixed feeling on this. I was on a bear hunt and a guy shot a bear what he told the guide was a hard quarting away and maybe a little far back and not a pass thru. We looked the next day for less then 2 hours and the guide and outfitter both qiut looking and said wonded bear your done hunting. Needless to say I won't be going back their. To look for less than 2 hours shows no respect to the bear or the hunter.

doug77

[Bowwild]

I have never been on a guided or outfitted hunt. I'd like to someday because for a couple of critters I'd like to hunt that's the only legal way to do it.

I would simply check out the vendor's rules and decide up front if I could live with them.  If I couldn't I'd shop elsewhere.  

I don't think it would be fair to argue a known rule after-the-fact.

[RUTANDSTRUT]

i am all for a wound policy with one exception, i don't want a guide telling me when we give up looking for an animal or charge for glancing hit.  i would happily pay a wound fee or eat my tag on any guided hunt if i was confident it was a solid hit and EVERY effort was made to retrieve my animal.  a wound policy is mainly to deter hunters from taking unethical shots. i've been on many guided hunts and have seen too many hunters take shots outside thier effective range or skill level because "its the biggest buck i've ever seen" or "i didn't pay all this money to come home empty handed".  you should understand all guides policies BEFORE you book a hunt.  i understand that unforseen circumstances happen resulting in a wounded animal at times but through practice, patience, and discipline to take only a shot that you have 100% confidence in, the chances of you wounding an animal is extremely minimal.  if all hunters had a "wound policy" mentality at all times, i bet there would an extremely high rate of recovered animals.  be confident and shoot straight!

[RC]

I`m not a "pro" guide but I tell anyone hunting with me to SHOOT if they have a shot. There is enough pressure on a fella as it is. I consider myself a good tracker and find some critters that folks have given up on.I don`t make a living at it and only take friends and St. Judes Winners that become friends.I`ve killed many deer and pigs that have been shot with all kind of weapons and lived.If you waited on a "perfect" standing broadside shot on everything where I hunt you would`nt shoot much.Take shots you feel you can make and we`ll do our best to find it. If we don`t after a satisfied effort we will go hunt another.RC