Doing the Right Thing

Contributed by Prostaffer Dennis Howell

There was a news flash today about some college football boys that went into a store, they thought was open. The door was unlocked and the lights where on. They waited for someone to show up, but no one did. They got what they needed and flashed the money to the camera and walked out. It made the national headline news. THEY DID THE RIGHT THING! The boys did right when no one was looking. They got rewarded for their honesty, as they should have. I hope some young kids look at their actions and follow what they saw.

We, as hunters are always out there by ourselves with no one watching. We think!  We are always trying to do right. When no one is around is when our ethics will show who we are as a person. I have always thought that,” Do as you would want someone to do to you”.

On my Utah mule deer hunt, I went up early Friday with my two mules and myself and packed into my favorite basin for mule deer. I got my camp all set up and then started to get my hunting pack ready for the morning opener. I went to get in my pack and then I realized that I had left my deer tag in my folder on my desk at home. Wow 3 hours from home with no tag what a good way to start a hunt. I went down  the mountain to get some cell phone coverage and called my wife. She said she would start driving and save me over two hours of windshield time.  What would we do without our best friends, our spouse's!
I met up with her and turned around and drove 2 hours back to the trailhead only to climb another 2 hours to my camp. It was 11.30pm before I got to bed. I did the right thing by making the effort to be legal and having my tag with me. I talked to several people that said they would have just hunted. I figured that if I did not have a tag in my pocket then the deer I killed would have been illegal. So I was good! I DID THE RIGHT THING!

Recently, I called one of my buddies. I said, “What are you doing” he said “I am skinning my deer out.” I said” So you got your Utah deer.” No I got my Colorado deer. I said “ That is great but the season does not start till Saturday. He  said “ No it starts on the 28th. I said  “OK but I think you are wrong. Well, a long story short, while we are on the phone he looks up his tag. The phone goes quite then I hear. O my God! Dennis I made a bad mistake!  So we start talking. He decides he is going to talk to his wife and then decide what to do. He asked me what I would do and I said 'no deer is worth getting in trouble over'. I would call and turn my self in. I told him to make a good example of himself and not a bad one. He is a pro staffer for several companies and he had a lot to lose if he DID NOT DO THE RIGHT THING! So this morning I get a call and he said he was going to turn him self in. I said “Great”.

I was glad that he had decided to call and turn himself in. As ethical hunters, we need to know that it is way better to confess than to hide our mistake. The fines and the embarrassment are way easier to deal with than the guilt a person would face trying to hide a violation.

He meet the officer at the state line and the officer told him that if he would not have turned himself in they could have taken his truck, and his weapon. They could have fined him a 2000.00 dollar fine, and 750 dollar trophy fee. Ultimately, they confiscated his animal and fined him a small amount.

The point I am making here is for us hunters to DO THE RIGHT THING! We need to set a good example if we do wrong. Our young people are watching every move we make. We need to set the bar high for our youth, and our peers that admire what DIY hunters do. We are the directors of the show that we are producing, so let us win an Emmy for our performance in the field of ethics and moral performances.

Good luck this season. I hope to see you at some of the shows this year. Grab your decoy and get out and hunt!!