[Brian Pfleuger]

I haven't the slightest issue with choosing to not shoot this buck if you could.

I probably wouldn't be interested, though if they opened a hunting program as they did with Cornell, due to severe over-population problems, and that deer walked by I'd shoot it.

That's a different scenario than trying to find a way to meet this particular deer in one spot that just happens to be legal and then shooting him and bragging about it.

The issue I have is the implication that it's somehow unethical to shoot it.

Given a big bucks range, there's good chance that this guy wanders onto huntable land and probably a good chance that some of the people who hunt that land have no idea that this wild animal is someone (or a whole town's) adopted "pet".

I worked with a guy once who hunted an area about 25 miles from his home. Opening day of deer season one year, he or his father (I don't recall which) shot a piebald deer.

On the way home, the stopped at the town diner. Before they had even been served, someone walks in and says "Hey! Who shot that deer out on that truck!?" Long story short, the owner of the diner refused to serve them and they were all but run out of town.

Turns out the town had "adopted" that deer. People had food piles in their yards for it. That's illegal in NY State, BTW. The guy I worked with had no idea. He didn't know anyone knew the deer existed. He had no idea if it were tame or not tame. He saw it and shot it. Suddenly it's a huge ethical issue, he's a bad guy, whole town hates him.

It's just crazy, IMO.