burned a tag yesterday.......

[mikmaze]

set up in the am for Bear, no takers. afternoon went up in my climber so I could see more. 3:00 hear a buddy shoot, he says big 8, he is using buckshot, 45 yd shot, deer was spooky and bolted as he shot. he looks, no sign of hitting it, but it was heading my way. 4:15 about 11 deer mosy on by above me, then 10 minutes later I see a bigger body, limp0ing bad, toss the gun up, rack! figure with that limp it had to be the one my buddy put a shot on, narrow window, happening fast so I clickoff the saftey and give a yip to stop the deer, squeeze off a shot, it jumps, runs and jdissapears into the thick stuff. wait about ten minutes, and start down the tree in the climber. head off to where he was, kinda dark by now, see tracks and know which way he went and started walking that way. I made it thirty steps and found him piled up against a hickory tree. looks to be a 2.5 year old, Im a bit dissapointed, but with the limp, I figured I was finishing him off. Get him out and back to the guys and buddy does not think it was the buck he shot at, front right hoof rear "dew claw" is bloody and torn like it was damaged/ shot...... hence the limp. one buck tag burned, next will be saved for something I want to shoot, DOnt know if this one would have made the winter, or infection would have gotten him. at least it is meat in the freezer.

 

[Bill]

Congradulations anyway.

I completly forgot it was gun season. On the road yesterday so I wouldn't have heard shots. Haven't heard a single cap snap this morning. Maybe NJ is accomplishing it's goal of being deer free :(

 

[mikmaze]

This is how I found him piled up under the hickory tree. can't tell from the picture at all but the racks a lot wider than it looks. Good that passed his ears.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[JFK52]

I have rules for my hunters during the gun deer season about the minimum size of a buck I want harvested. It must be outside the ears, which is a minimum of a 16 inch spread. Same with any does we take for meat. There is one rule that over rides all others. If anyone sees a wounded deer, they need to finish it off immediately.

This rule has come into play four times in 27 years of hunting my land. All of the wounded deer have NOT been wounded by my hunters. Neighbors were the culprits in all instances.

One gun season (2012) I had to shoot a buck that had a fresh arrow stuck into it's left front leg bone. It was stuck so deep that it could not be pulled out by hand. I had to unscrew the arrow head and tell the deer processor about it. I doubt I would have taken that buck under normal circumstances but given it a pass for another year. That option was taken away from me due to some archer's incompetence.

Congratulations for doing the right thing to a wounded animal! It is better to give a deer a quick death than let the coyotes run it down during the deep snows of winter or have it die slowly from an infection.

 

[Buckly]

I wouldn’t stress one bit over it. You did what you thought was right at the time and probably was the best thing regardless. Also, “Doesn’t think it was the same buck”. That’s suspect to me, gut instinct tells me it was the one. No sense making an issue, it’s all done and over plus you got some meat in the freezer. Just one instance in hunting out of 100’s you’ll encounter.

 

[MRBB]

JFK52, just going to say this, as I KNOW It happens when there are rules like this in place
some times them hunters just DON"T tell of seeing wounded deer, so not to have to burn a tag
I have finished off wounded deer about 10 times in the past 30 yrs, and even once on a high end hunt in Alberta, a very costly tag, but to me, there is a right thing to do , when a HUNTER see's a animal suffering, it cannot always be about antlers and trophy's!
ON a side note, once in Missouri on a hunt I ran into a deer that had bene run by dogs to the point it couldn;t really move anymore, a small beagle too, was circling deer, tongue was hanging out and deer was very far gone, I shot that one tagged it, contacted local game warden, and he came and took deer and gave me a new tag to use(any questions on it were to contact him ASAP when I used it) ended up killing a nice 10 pointer the next day
SO< some times, you can get your tag back, if you care to ask
but still say there is a right thing to do when you see a deer in need and no hope for recovery!
hat's off to the OP for using his tag here!

 

[mikmaze]

Thanks guys. I knew it was the right thing to do, I would rather have the meat in my freezer then feed those damn coyotes.
I will be going out again this afternoon with a very specific goal pictured below....

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk