Well he evaded me yesterday!

[fishnfool38]

The bruiser I have been after http://www.bbcboards.net...fails
came(limped) in yesterday 9:30 am through a thicket crossed a fence, worked a scrape line then came and bedded down 50 yds from me in the middle of the field, at 12:00 he gets up takes a whiz, walks 20yds away beds back down, 30 minutes before dark he gets up and limps off the field. I am hunting him with a bow and just could not get a clean shot, even after watching him for 10hrs.

He held me in the stand all day and I was supposed to have been out by 1:00pm so I did not carry any drinks or snacks. I was thirsting and starving to death but in no way was I going to give up my stand to him.

I get a call last night from a friend that someone had shot him with a rifle(out of the window of their house ) and couldn't find him, so that explained his limp. I could not see any damage maybe it is not to bad and he can survive.Good thing is they think he is dead the only ones that know better are my buddy, you and I

He is in some pain and not moving very far so hopefully this week he will stay close by and we can have a do over! It has been very hard to not bring some lead into this battle, I could have killed him 3 times already with a gun but I want him with a bow if he wins, he wins...This year that is! But I still have plenty of days left so hopefully I will win! That is what it is all about IMHO! But if he keeps cheating I may have level the playing field a bit!

[Zach G]

thats bow hunting and thats why i LOVE it
Good Luck

[lukinupinbama]

FF38, I normally don't post much but I feel a need to speak up on this one. Of course, this is only my honest opinion that follows, so take it with a grain of salt. You post that the deer was limping, stayed down all day except to take a 20 yd whiz/walk and then bedded back down. Since he has been shot with a rifle I'm sure there is a wound, pain and infection beginning to set up. While you are trying to feed your ego with that bow, he is suffering and going downhill every day, if not every hour . He may eventually limp away at night and you'll never see him again (unless you find his carcass below the soaring buzzards). Why not reconsider this buck's situation and take your rifle asap and give him a death befitting such a noble animal? I don't think shooting a crippled deer with your bow (after he becomes sick and weak) is what you're after here. You would just be humanely finishing what the as-h-le who shot out the window started. And you would be a better man for doing it. I don't believe it is about a winner/loser here in this situation. Again, just my opinion, but based on a previous experience.

[ol man river]

+1

[javelinbill]

im a avid hunter and i agree <TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lukinupinbama &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">FF38, I normally don't post much but I feel a need to speak up on this one. Of course, this is only my honest opinion that follows, so take it with a grain of salt. You post that the deer was limping, stayed down all day except to take a 20 yd whiz/walk and then bedded back down. Since he has been shot with a rifle I'm sure there is a wound, pain and infection beginning to set up. While you are trying to feed your ego with that bow, he is suffering and going downhill every day, if not every hour . He may eventually limp away at night and you'll never see him again (unless you find his carcass below the soaring buzzards). Why not reconsider this buck's situation and take your rifle asap and give him a death befitting such a noble animal? I don't think shooting a crippled deer with your bow (after he becomes sick and weak) is what you're after here. You would just be humanely finishing what the as-h-le who shot out the window started. And you would be a better man for doing it. I don't believe it is about a winner/loser here in this situation. Again, just my opinion, but based on a previous experience. </TD></TR></TABLE>

[moto]

depends on the severity of the wound and only he has seen it since the wound was inflicted. i'd agree if he had said it's leg was all jacked up or he saw signs of severe infection. of course the worst scenario would be yotes getting to him

[swilliford]

Also to consider is that even if he is not wounded badly and should survive, his rack will suffer from the injury next year. I say take your gun and harvest this deer humanly and prize the rack he has now.

[fishnfool38]

I saw him for almost 10 hrs that day with binoculars and not once could I see what was inflicting the pain on him and I looked hard. At the time I had no idea he had been shot (but feared that was the case) until the phone call I received later that night.

I believe the deer will survive he had a limp but he still jumped a fence and worked a scrape line when he first came in.

I want it to be a legal kill, under the circumstances I pretty much am limited to a bow in the area I am hunting although I could probably get away with using a rifle it would not be legal and I do not think the DNR would issue me an at a boy for a humane illegal kill!

I want to kill this deer but ironically when I seen him limping I actually felt bad and disgusted.

And as for the "feeding my ego" you have the wrong guy for that one! I totally respect all deer but this one for some reason I am somewhat attached to, it has been more like a chess match between him & I and if the time comes it will be a hard shot to make!

[James john]

The bow kill i feel u on also. Ive been after the same deer for 3 years. id rather the bow kill then a rifle. I can shoot them all day with rifle but a bow is a different reason. Im hunting him with bow this weekend!

[lukinupinbama]

FF38, sorry I chose the wrong wording on the 'feeding your ego' statement. Didn't mean to offend you. I meant it more like you were focused on the bow because of the challenge it presented you, but at same time, not acknowledging that the poor ol' buck was having a hard time while you waited for a good bow range shot. Maybe 'playing the game' would have been more appropriate.
I had a somewhat similar situation about 20 years ago and I let a fine animal go to waste, eaten by the coyotes and buzzards. I had my mind made up to do it my way, regardless. I was sick because I was so focused on my sense of accomplishment that I didn't realize that the animal was playing any part in 'my' game. In actuality, he WAS my game. I was responsible for delivering him a clean, quick killing shot. But, I was the reason he eventually crawled up into a big blowdown and died a slow stinking death. I didn't want to finish him off, hoping I could get a chance to redeem myself during that season. I cringe when I think of that animal still to this day. We owe it to them, you know.

[fishnfool38]

No problem, I understand what you are saying totally but the law is still the law. I have been thinking about it all week and am about sick over the whole deal. The part that tears me up.... I am the type that if I do not get a clean shot I will pass it up gun or bow.

Then you have the type that do not hunt, go to the restroom, see a big buck out the window, get a gun and bullet that is corroded from age and just throw a shot out the window when the gun has not been sighted in for 15 years and I rest assured he does not even have a hunting license. Then brags that he shot the deer and could not find it doh: ... not even realizing any true hunter is thinking that he has no ethics.

[Sticks11]

If it's not legally a modern gun season then thats a whole different story. Not worth getting caught, wether your humanely taking him out of his misery or not. You still have time though hopefully. Good luck. Fish and wildlife guys would at you if you said "well I saw him limping so I figured I'd put him out of his misery." then promptly take your gun, truck, stand, and four wheeler and put you in cuffs.

[hatcreek]

From reading your posts here, I have absolutely no doubt that you'll do everything possible to take this buck legally and humanely. That's coming from a former game warden who's had to "read" a lot of intent and character over the years.

A whitetail is an amazing critter when it comes to the amount of punishment they can take and still function in what most of us would consider a "normal" way. I have no idea whether or not they process "pain" in the same way that we do, but it's a natural reaction by ethical hunters to assume that a deer with any sort of obvious physical limitation is "hurting" or "wounded."

Just as an example, I personally know of a doe that was shot in the head (unintentionally, it was just a very bad shot) during the October archery season and was not recovered. She was subsequently observed by at least 3 other hunters and myself (I would have killed her the time I saw her, but did not have a rifle) during archery season, not only moving and feeding in a completely normal fashion, but caring for twin yearlings as well.

This doe was eventually shot during rifle season, not once, but twice.... two weeks apart. The first shot did a lot of damage to a shoulder, and she was lost again. The hunter who ended up killing her said that prior to his shot, he only noticed a "very slight limp."

The old girl had a 2117 Easton XX75 tipped with a Muzzy 125 gr 4-blade lodged in her auditory and sinous canals (we couldn't budge it) for approximately 6 weeks w/o any obvious ill effects. She also soaked up the trauma of a ruined shoulder and did her thing for another week before finally being killed.

Was she hurting? I can't answer that because, again, I don't know how deer process such things. If I had to answer, I'd probably say that yes, she was in some form of discomfort (natural human perspective, right?).

Anyway, I've rambled on way too long here just to say that both sides of this debate (hunting method vs. consideration for the animal) have merit.

While I've got to side with lukinup on this one (take the buck by ANY legal means necessary), I know you'll do what you think is right for the animal.

Again, I applaud your ethics and concern and I wish you success.