do you "back up" your hunting partner?

[NEEHAMA]

how many of you back up your hunting partner when he or she is taking a shot at an animal? i.e. moose at 250 yards near a steep draw etc.

"back up" - meaning to shoulder your own rifle and be prepared to finish off an animal. (to avoid loosing a wounded animal etc).

[steel_ram]

Yes, but it should be previously discussed and agreed when one is and is not to shoot.

[dave_fras]

ALWAY!.. me back eachother up 100% of the time!

[Mr. Dean]

Better to have a dead animal now and in sight instead of later and somewhere.

I do make it clear though, that I won't pull the trigger untill I hear the word "SHOOT" from my partner. His animal. His call.

[Gateholio]

Depends on the situation....

We try to avoid too many holes in an animal, but sometimes it's a good idea.

[Wildman]

Yes definatly.

[Mr. Dean]

Depends on the situation....

We try to avoid too many holes in an animal, but sometimes it's a good idea.

I've seen some animals that looked like they got hit w/ a machine gun. Is having a group of 5, all shooting untill the animal is down, backing up?

[Gateholio]

I've seen some animals that looked like they got hit w/ a machine gun. Is having a group of 5, all shooting untill the animal is down, backing up?

Naw, that's called "suppresive fire"

[Elkhound]

Naw, that's called "suppresive fire"

:lol::lol:

Yes we usually back each other up. But as stated before. Every situation is different

[elkguide]

being in on 20-30 kills a year I always prepare for a back up shot if need and only on certain animals ( elk,Moose,bear,Goat), like said before it should be discussed and be very clear before the hunt starts.....real touchy subject with some guys I know......They won't want to tag an animal that someone else has put a bullet in.

[bigwhiteys]

I won't back them up with a rifle... I have it handy and ready but I would rather watch through binos or a spotting scope to see where and if the bullet strikes the game. Personally I wouldn't want someone shooting at my animal.

Happy Hunting!
Carl

[Fisher-Dude]

Sometimes. It depends on the situation. Most likely on moose and elk. Not usually with deer...I even let my one huntin' partner shoot little whitetails with Nosler Partitions! :lol:

[NEEHAMA]

can you lawfully "finish off" game if you don't have the tag once it's been offically lost? - i was asked to help look for an animal once.

[srupp]

Yup on grizzlies and bears I do not want to go into the thick stuff after any bear....

As for deer etc their call

steven

[Mauser98]

I rarely hunt with anyone else and I like it that way. If I don't figure I can make a killing hit, I pass.

[Farmer]

As others have stated, it depends on the situation. I have helped out when asked, and been helped out when needed.

Gord

[mtnmax]

I agree, every situation is a bit different. For the most part when my partner and I are walking the lead man has first crack at the animal. Well ,,,if he spots it that is. Dad was walking 25ft straight in front of me a couple yrs ago and was totally oblivious to the buck that was watching him to his left. The buck did not see me and when I had a clear and SAFE shot I took it. Lets just say I woke up my dad in a hurry. My scope ended up being out and I missed the deer but so far that is the only time we have had to back up each other. This spring I will be backing up the Mrs as this will be her first bear hunt.

[Fisher-Dude]

can you lawfully "finish off" game if you don't have the tag once it's been offically lost? - i was asked to help look for an animal once.

My understanding is "no". Tough call on that when personal ethics and a wounded animal clash with "technical law".

In a similar situation, a fellow I know shot and hit a buck on the last afternoon of the season, and ran out of light looking for it. He phoned the COs to say he wanted to go find it the next morning, and they said if he found it and finished it off, he would be breaking the law. I guess they felt they had to be very black and white on the law to keep abusers from abusing. Too bad in that situation. A bow hunting friend of his found that deer dead, just a couple of hundred yards away, a few days later.

[Barracuda]

I do not want to go into the thick stuff after any bear....

As for deer etc their call

steven

Thats half the fun isnt it :lol:

[hunter1947]

When ever i am along side my partner i will back him or he will back up me ,we talk about this issue before we head out into the field. hunter 1947.

[southpaw]

i wouldn't want back up on a trophy animal.it would taint the hunt.when i look up on the wall i want to feel proud with a clear concience.on a meat hunt why not.

[bsa30-06]

I hunt alone mostly, but if i were hunting with a partner and he asked me to back him up then yes i would.Having said that i would only take the shot if there was an immediate chance of loosing the animal or a malfunction with his rifle preventing him from a second shot of his own, and of course if it was charging me.

[ARC]

I never back up with my rifle. When my hunting partner is shooting, I try to carefully watch where the animal goes, if anywhere. I know if you're shooting, sometimes in the heat of the moment people forget to look at exactly where the animal entered the bush, etc.

That's one thing I am concerned about when choosing a hunting partner.....I prefer to finish my game off on my own. I don't want anybody else blasting away. A few years back, one of my hunting partners shot a cow moose in the back of the head while it was walking up a bit of an incline, as it was falling the guy he was with shot in the ass. I dont want to have to worry about somebody pulling something like that.

[CHilko21]

It would definately depend on the situation. When my brother, cousin and I were younger, my dad would always put a bullet in the head of our moose or other big animals just to be on the safe side, especially after he was charged my a wounded mulie buck that my opa had shot. I've backed up my aunt on a few occaisions, but I refuse to shoot until she has hit the animal, and then only if she can't get another clean shot.

[youngfellla]

Only with Grizz. With us, the guy with the tag takes the first crack, and backup gunner takes an immediate follow up shot to anchor the bear. Nothing wrong with having insurance.8-)

[sawmill]

I backed up my bud when he called me and said "If the old lady calls tell her we were moose hunting all weekend,by the way forget about that 20$ you owe me":lol:

[CanAm500]

Im there 100%. If my hunting partner needs the shot all they have to say is take the shot!

Like this year we shot a dee 250 yards down hill and he needed to reload so he told me to take the shot and i took it.

[johnes50]

It's always depends on the situation for us. We always have our guns loaded and ready to help if necessary in case of a wounded animal.

Whoever sees the animal first gets first shot and it's considered "his" animal. If it's wounded and charging us I would take a shot otherwise I wouldn't unless asked to.

If they were to miss completely a couple of times cause their scope was out of whack or something, and the animal was still around, then I would take a shot instead of watching the animal walk into the timber.

But each hunt is different and we tend to do what seems right for the moment. We share the meat anyhow.

[CanAm500]

Whoever sees the animal first gets first shot and it's considered "his" animal.


Thats the same here with us. Whoever sees it first its theirs, unless they pass it up for whatever reason.

[mark]

Ive done it before, we usually talk about it before hand. If buddy yells shoot, i will obey. I once ran into some guys that wounded a bison up pink mtn way. they were afraid to go into the christmas trees to look for it, so i went in tracking it and finished it at about 10 feet! Personally i dont want backup, unless its bears, nothing worse than tracking wounded bears in the thick crap!

[Chuck]

Not usually. We seldom ever hunt out of a truck, so in the bush we always split up in order to better our chances. If the need arises, one can call the other via radio, which we always carry.

[Schmaus]

Too bad in that situation. A bow hunting friend of his found that deer dead, just a couple of hundred yards away, a few days later.

Even though you wouldn't be able to lawfully shoot the animal again I still would have made an effort to go and look for the animal the next day.

I don't know if it is true or not but I heard it is actually legal to be a back up shooter on a grizzly hunt. Everything else it is illegal, (even though I would back up a hunting partner any time he/she would ask/need).

[Fisher-Dude]

Even though you wouldn't be able to lawfully shoot the animal again I still would have made an effort to go and look for the animal the next day.


Me too Schmaus. I think the fellow that told me the story was a bit confused about what the COs told him and afraid getting into trouble. I think he would have been fine coming home with a cold stiff deer the next morning.

[tuchodi]

Only on Grizzly's and that goes without even asking as we have hunted together for more than 30 years. We look to see which way the animal may go and help each other in that way. A couple of the guys we hunt with flip to see who shots the first one.

[Gateholio]

Even though you wouldn't be able to lawfully shoot the animal again I still would have made an effort to go and look for the animal the next day.

I don't know if it is true or not but I heard it is actually legal to be a back up shooter on a grizzly hunt. Everything else it is illegal, (even though I would back up a hunting partner any time he/she would ask/need).

No, there is no law that says this.

Frankly, the whole "backing up" idea- legal or not- is agood idea in certain circumstances in that it prevents lost game.

However, it's a poor substitute for good shooting in the first place.

I backed up my buddy on a grizzly hunt- I shot at the pelvis afer he anchored the shoulders- but it wasn't necessary. To this day, he wrongly accuses me of being an ass shooter!!:lol:

That is what you have hunting buddies for, though- to take the piss out of them!8-)

With bears in general, I hate digging them out of thick cover- for safety, but mostly because they are like hauling around a 400lb dead Mafia guy...I'd rather they get dumped close to acess, so a back up sn't ou of the question. Never needed it, but if a bear I shot was high tailing it to cover..I wouldn't mind if my buddy planted one into him!:lol:

[hunter1947]

Most of the time i do hunt by myself ,but there are times now that im getting older that i do team up with my partner. I lost a big elk one year in the cranbrook area ,i put it down at around 300 yards ,it hit the ground hard ,i waited 5 min then started towards it to clame it ,as i got to the hafe way point it got up and ran into the timber ,i took one shot at him on the run but missed him ,if i had my partner beside me he might have got a shot off as well helping me put this animal down ,it turned out after 2 days of looking we never did find this elk :mad: hunter 1947.

[Mooseman]

Legally:
As you can imagine this is a subject that comes up once or twice in a season. If you shoot at an animal, hit by another person before or not, you need to have the legal authorization to do so. LEH and tag.

Ethically:
If an animal is about to get away wounded or if you are being charged, I would feel it to be ok to back up. It should have been talked about before you go out though.

I hope they adjust the law in that matter a bit as this is a big problem for me when I am tracking wounded game for others with my dog.

[NEEHAMA]

it would be a loop hole if the amended the law. guy's would be out shooting game that was "already wounded" wink wink.
as long as the CO's don't charge people for trying to make the best choices in the field, it good enough for me.

[Mooseman]

A loop hole is something else!

A law is either obeyed or not and when not you can be charged! It is that cut and dry.

If a CO looks the other way because it was "ethically" the right thing to do, then I find that honorable and he/she has earned my respect.............but !

[Rainwater]

Sounds like this a party hunting thread!! Backup, I thought the Police used that.