Posted on 10/26/2014 10:18:08 AM PDT by cripplecreek
An 11-year-old hunter from Oceola Township, Michigan, took a rare albino 12-pointer with a crossbow last week while hunting with his father. The albino buck was well known in the area, but Gavin Dingman ended up being the lucky hunter to harvest it. Sadly, the celebration ended for Dingman and his family, as they became the subject of death threats and social media backlash.
"My dad was just like, 'Take a deep breath. Are you sure you can take the shot? If you're not 100 percent, we don't want to injure it,'” Dingman told the Livingston Daily on Monday. The boy explained that he'd been quite nervous, but he harvested a six-point buck last year, and his father, Mick, was confident in his abilities. “Quite a few of the guys in the neighborhood were trying to get it," Mick added.
The family was making arrangements for a full body mount of the animal to be made as a (very large) reminder of the young hunter’s success. The Livingston Daily story even quoted the boy's father as saying, "He kind of feels like a rock star right now. Everyone is calling, all of the hunting shows and hunting magazines." But social media backlash had cast a dark pall over the boy's experience by the time OutdoorHub spoke to Mick Dingman on Tuesday. "We've had death threats and everything else that you can imagine," he said.
The OutdoorHub reporter expressed his regret and wrote, "Hopefully not too long from now, Gavin and his family can look back on this hunt with only pride and good memories."
Deer carcasses lying around attract all manner of large predators as well as loose dogs. My family has lived in an area where this has been a problem. Do not leave them lying around, you’ll draw coyotes and loose dogs. The carcass will be dragged all over the place. It will end up in the yards of people who do not care to have to clean up after inconsiderate hunters. If you’re pro-hunting you’ll agree. Creating enemies of people who are not opposed to hunting due to leaving a mess behind for them to deal with is not a good thing to do. Dumping the remains on the side of the road is another stupid thing that lazy so-called hunters will do. I’ve known three people whose dogs managed to get out to get to those things and be killed in traffic. Very bad PR. Police your own, shame them into doing right. Or, marginal people will be persuaded into the anti-hunting camp. I’m seeing it firsthand.
My post #79 was meant for you...sorry for the mix up!!!
No problem, I responded anyway, lol. Maybe some areas are more wide-open and leaving a carcass doesn’t create such a problem but man does it ever here. These are not roadkill they’re clearly missing the rack and tenderloin and either left to rot or dumped on the side of the road, I know having had to do cleanup at my folk’s place in the past. I haven’t hunted in many years, but have friends and family who do. Venison is touchy for me, it’s easy to ruin and have it turn out skunky if you don’t know what you’re doing. I can’t eat it if there’s any hint of that going on.
Because many people are stupid and if you live you life by what other people think you are stupid as well.
Kid did good.
The guy that Ted Nugent sold his house to in Michigan is a taxidermist. (Mark Ditzel)
https://www.facebook.com/mark.ditzel.52
He used to hold a free demo at the local meat processing place every year on how to properly skin a deer to prepare it for taxidermy.
I can’t explain stupid inconsiderate people. The taxidermist I use has all kinds of people he can dispose of the meat with and he never has enough to go around. Any thing he has doubts about he sells for animal food. Most people do what I do and pick the meat up at a later date and lets him have the skin. I quit mounting racks long ago unless a real trophy shows up!!
Noobie teen boys unsupervised out playing on their camo-bedecked ATV’s is what I’ve seen. They’re damaging the perception of hunters who do it the right way.
Noobie teen boys do a lot worse that shoot deer!!Like I said some one needs to tell them how much money they are wasting. Something else you should consider...some people who walk upon a dead deer will take the antlers. Antlers are a valuable asset...knife handles, sribshaw and such.
Aww man! Never never kill an albino animal. That is just wrong. Did his parents not teach him that? I was always taught that while hunting not to do that. Maybe it’s an old wives tale or something, folk lure, what have you but don’t kill an albino animal. It’s just wrong.
“just why not wait for the next one, since many people think an albino animal in the wild is special.”
I’m with you dude. I hunt same as the next FReeper but shooting an albino is not on the agenda. I’d never do it. Was told to never do it.
I was brought up deer hunting starting out with a recurve 50# bow and we made our own arrows from store bought wooden shafts. For many hunters it's the getting out in the woods that matters. As well a 16 point and larger Buck takes skill and just plain luck. The deer got those points by being just a little bit smarter than other animals after it. I have a 16 likely now larger buck on my place three hunters including myself have missed LOL.
In general ones hunting deer for food also look to take out deer with defects. Two positives are the deer doesn't reproduce and the herds are stronger and the hunter gets the food.
The kid or his dad likely paid a good price in licensing and permits just to deer hunt on the gamble they may or may not harvest a deer that season. Some adults need to grow up. Hunters serve a very valuable part of nature and the deer and other wildlife as well as fish benefit form their services and paid fees. You do not want to see areas where deer overpopulate. Very bad things happen. First is more car vs deer accidents and a deer going through a windshield can kill. The other is overpopulated deer will soon die out from diseases, deformities, and lack of food. In most areas it will also increase the very undesirable Yote population. I see no reason to come down on the kid. He made a good clean kill.
Someones out of area transplant or pet they brought with them from elsewhere perhaps and turned loose? Could explain a lot.
Nonsense. More than 99% of deer carcasses “lying around” are road kill.
Something about anti hunting rhetoric, whether it’s the malignant, radical forms or simply the milder versions, just seems like it starts and ends with ignorance and unchecked emotion.
When they’ve got their rack sawed off and the tenderloin cut out, no, they’re not. Every hunter is not perfect and many, especially younger ones, have no consideration. Teach them, shame bad behavior. It’s having an effect and not a good one, out in the exurbs.
It's legal to salvage roadkill here and I often see a deer or elk by the road with the backstraps jerked. Perfectly legal and acceptable. If it's a bull or buck, why not take the antlers if you want them, too?
I would suppose many persons seeing a fresh roadkill deer may be tempted to cut the backstraps out and leave the rest. The thing is deer roadkills increase in rut season. The deer end up laying in the ditch or in yards. That said I own 30 acres myself and have found a few dead deer with no entry wounds.
The other deer probably shoved it out from behind a bush because it was drawing unwanted attention to the whole herd. LOL
************************
Reminds me of the Far Side cartoon...
“Bummer of a birthmark, Hal!”
I believe you are very wrong. Hunters I know eat their kill. I guess we agree to disagree.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.