PLEASE! Stab or knife your deer!

[SOMDSHOOT]

I'm a bit direct at times and don't always fully explain myself. In the situation given that you have a wounded animal that is probably flailing/ thrashing and no firearm, back home the general consensus is to go for the neck. You out yourself in too much harms way with the hooves to go for the heart and it's too easy to miss on a moving animal.

Generally it is easier and safer for you to hold the head just enough to get in a good slice to the neck.

HUH ?
You first told us, "I actually DID grow up on a farm and have a Bachelors in Animal Science" Don't you know the Neck in on the back. You have to mean Throat ? I'm just a good ol' boy from Southern By'Gawd Merland and I have done better keeping up here. College really is for parties and sleeping. Animal Science ? That must mean shooting Monkeys to the Moon. Back home must be New Yurk City.

 

[TxAggie]

Wow. 35 years of Deer hunting and I have never had a Deer that needed a second shot. If you have a Deer that has not expired on the first shot, put a second shot right in the vitals and I bet you can't count to 3 before that Deer is done.

Yeah, real nice 1st post. I'm very happy you are a perfect shot.

Then check my first only a few after yours and you will plainly see that I suggest a bullet first and a knife only if I didn't have a gun. My main point has always been for your safety and for the animals sake, if you have to use a knife the better choice is to the neck, not the heart.

So I officially apologize for looking out for the safety of my fellow man and trying to help him or her return home with fresh unspoiled venison on the table.

 

[SOMDSHOOT]

Okay, I can do that... shot a deer with a muzzleloader several years ago, actually shot two that morning and when I went to recover them, one was gone... well, not where is should have fallen, so... I start to track the trail it left. It headed straight for the property line, under the fence and into a neighboring farm's cattle field, where the cows are always roaming.. it wasn't dead, but laying about 50yds from the fence. Not wanting to shoot around the cattle and having an agreement with our neighbors about recovering wounded deer on the adjacent properties, it was my decision then to do the same thing. Walk out into the field, be sure the deer wasn't gonna go nutso on me when I straddled it and slit it's throat. Took less than 5 mins, cows didn't care and the deer went home to be butchered.

I didn't want to discharge my gun on the property next door unless I really had to and no, I didn't need to shoot it again to dispatch it. The knife is just as humane as another shot to the kill zone. Unless it's a doe that I can put a head shot on to finish off without ruining more meat, I will almost always opt for a good sharp knife and a throat slitting (I would have to think about that if it were a wall hanging buck, but luckily I have never had to face that decision. Then I may use a second shot).

The OP was about shooting a deer.. didn't specify with a gun...To be honest, I rarely hunt deer with a gun, I mostly bowhunt and this is all the more reason to know how to dispatch a deer that is suffering without having to keep flinging arrows at them until they die. I have seen that all too much around other bowhunters over the years, its just not my style.

Apology accepted.

 

[SOMDSHOOT]

Yeah, real nice 1st post. I'm very happy you are a perfect shot.

Then check my first only a few after yours and you will plainly see that I suggest a bullet first and a knife only if I didn't have a gun. My main point has always been for your safety and for the animals sake, if you have to use a knife the better choice is to the neck, not the heart.

So I officially apologize for looking out for the safety of my fellow man and trying to help him or her return home with fresh unspoiled venison on the table.

Thanks ! I guess I have just simply not had my first "do over"... yet.

 

[Kbroc2]

Internet Annie oakleys are out today

 

[TxAggie]

Thanks ! I guess I have just simply not had my first "do over"... yet.

Seriously, I'm sure you're a very likable guy and we will get along great. And I do agree that you should do everything possible to get a clean kill, even if that means you pass up a shot because you don't have the right angle.

I still stand by my approach to the OP's initial statement. If you don't have a firearm or another arrow, the safest and most effective way to finish the animal (regardless if it is deer, boar, etc) is to cut the carotid artery with a knife. If it is too dangerous to get the throat (happy?) I don't see how another organ would be easier to get to.

Happy hunting.

 

[SOMDSHOOT]

Seriously, I'm sure you're a very likable guy and we will get along great. And I do agree that you should do everything possible to get a clean kill, even if that means you pass up a shot because you don't have the right angle.

I still stand by my approach to the OP's initial statement. If you don't have a firearm or another arrow, the safest and most effective way to finish the animal (regardless if it is deer, boar, etc) is to cut the carotid artery with a knife. If it is too dangerous to get the throat (happy?) I don't see how another organ would be easier to get to.

Happy hunting.

Some guys are just "Desperate Shooters" and I don't like lies about what happened and back-pedaling on stories. We'll assume a twig got in the way again.

 

[TxAggie]

Some guys are just "Desperate Shooters" and I don't like lies about what happened and back-pedaling on stories. We'll assume a twig got in the way again.

And sometimes shit happens and you miss, so you need to be prepared to do what's necessary. For some, shooting then gutting an expired deer is easy, but actually cutting a live kicking one with their bare hands and a knife is too much for them. Weird I know, but it happens.

 

[Franklin]

I'm a bit direct at times and don't always fully explain myself. In the situation given that you have a wounded animal that is probably flailing/ thrashing and no firearm, back home the general consensus is to go for the neck. You out yourself in too much harms way with the hooves to go for the heart and it's too easy to miss on a moving animal.

Generally it is easier and safer for you to hold the head just enough to get in a good slice to the neck.

i will give you that! if you go to the calvert fair on saturday, i will be showing cattle so stop by and bring me a beer!

All you crack shots who could never miss the heart of an animal make me laugh. There are a thousand different variables that would make some one miss by a few inches, we aren't bench rest shooting we have foliage, strange angles from elevated positions, varying distances that are hard to judge or hard to practice shots. For instance I've had one instance of needing to kill a doe that I spined with a bow she was below my stand about ten yards out, well its hard to practice shots twenty foot up a tree and ten yards out and the kill area is quite a bit smaller at that angle, anyhow for whatever reason my arrow went higher than I aimed maybe she flinched or I flinched or I may have held to high for the distance or angle, don't know but there she was crawling on her front hooves and making a hell of a sound so I climbed down and had to make a decision on what to do, hardest thing I've ever had to do as a hunter. do I try to hit it in the heart which is small and somewhere in the chest cavity in a real life 3d space with a 6 inch blade or cut its throat while is calling out and kicking I decided to step on its neck and cut the throat. It was a very hard thing to do but needed to be done. Missing a couple of inches high is very easy to do in the real world of hunting conditions aren't perfect the deer don't stand still like your target have some empathy

instead of shooting vertical you should have waited for a better shot, your situation could have been avoided. Its not a matter if i miss the heart, i have always had the common sence enough to not take a risky shot like that with a bow therfor not putting me in those situations...i will go pull a steak out of the freezer before i take a shot like that.

 

[livefast1]

I would have nver guessed this thread would of headed this direction.

 

[SOMDSHOOT]

I would have nver guessed this thread would of headed this direction.

This is Maryland Shooters and sometimes you just gotta play along. Or follow the path laid before us. You know everything turns in to a debate here. Head-Butting, testosterone-fuel, chest beating, friendly-fire. LMAO at the end of the day we're all still passing the beer and waiting for the next round bell to ring.

Actually getting useful knowledge is... rare.

HEY TxAggie. WHERE'D YOU GO ?!?!?! I AIN'T DONE WITH YOU YET...

see what I mean LiveFast1 ?

 

[Kbroc2]

instead of shooting vertical you should have waited for a better shot, your situation could have been avoided. Its not a matter if i miss the heart, i have always had the common sence enough to not take a risky shot like that with a bow therfor not putting me in those situations...i will go pull a steak out of the freezer before i take a shot like that.

I didn't think it was that risky of a shot and still don't, many variables involved the point is some of you don't believe its possible to miss a little high low left or right, a lot of people can't even hit a deer at times and your getting all high and mighty because someone hits a spine by missing by a couple of inches. Bow hunting, deer can duck out of the way of a perfect shot. Get off your high horse.

 

[Franklin]

I would have nver guessed this thread would of headed this direction.

I like it! its like i have a bunch of friends to talk shit and get loud with but i dont have to get up at 4 am to bail them out or help them move from their house....

 

[livefast1]

I gotcha. Knowing how to dispatch a deer is an important skill that shoukd be passed down. I remember watching my dad knife a deer my first time after doing a bit of driving. Was it pleasant? No. Was it a good lesson in not allowing the gift you have been givin to suffer? Yes. At the end of the day you have to do what you have to do.

 

[Franklin]

I didn't think it was that risky of a shot and still don't, many variables involved the point is some of you don't believe its possible to miss a little high low left or right, a lot of people can't even hit a deer at times and your getting all high and mighty because someone hits a spine by missing by a couple of inches. Bow hunting, deer can duck out of the way of a perfect shot. Get off your high horse.

no no no you made a questionable shot and had to deal with it! if i screw up its because i screwed up, not because i made a vertical or hard quarter shot, i just plain F'ed up. never said i havent screwed up! You aren't starving to death so dont make the shot unless the odds are on your side.

 

[wilcam47]

And sometimes shit happens and you miss, so you need to be prepared to do what's necessary. For some, shooting then gutting an expired deer is easy, but actually cutting a live kicking one with their bare hands and a knife is too much for them. Weird I know, but it happens.

Time for them to pull their huggies up and get the job done. Im no perfect shot but I don't like to let them suffer either...

 

[iH8DemLibz]

Some guys are just "Desperate Shooters" and I don't like lies about what happened and back-pedaling on stories. We'll assume a twig got in the way again.

I like it when it's 6am and the woods are nice and quiet and dark. Just the sounds of birds and squirrels waking up. The sun is gently coming up behind me. Then off in the distance I hear BOOOOMMM followed by semi-aimed BOOOOMMM BOOOMMM BOOOMMM!!!!!!

With the first boom I'm wishing someone good luck in finding the deer. With the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th boom I'm cussing them for taking running shots at the deer they clearly missed with the first shot.

You don't always shoot at the deer you see.

But when you do, shoot to kill.

Stay ethical my friends.

 

[TxAggie]

This is Maryland Shooters and sometimes you just gotta play along. Or follow the path laid before us. You know everything turns in to a debate here. Head-Butting, testosterone-fuel, chest beating, friendly-fire. LMAO at the end of the day we're all still passing the beer and waiting for the next round bell to ring.

Actually getting useful knowledge is... rare.

HEY TxAggie. WHERE'D YOU GO ?!?!?! I AIN'T DONE WITH YOU YET...

see what I mean LiveFast1 ?

On the road. Know if anywhere in Calvert County has Shiner Bock? Apparently I owe Franklin a beer.

Now I know you two are true country boys. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten into fights and 30 minutes later both of us were laughing over a beer. Good bull.

 

[marko]

OP HERE!! Ha ha you guys. The reason I posted was, many years ago, there was a doe gasping and gargling and clearly suffering and the shooter had no knife
and I gotta say it was awkward and heart rending.
No one thought to shoot it again.
Since then, if I don't get a clean kill, I get a fast, more ethical kill.
The 1st deer I spined actually fell over like a sack of spuds.. as I approached, she
tried to drag herself into the woods by the front legs.
Not so fast, I thought, and put her out of her misery.
Good point, you farm boys, (Tx and SOMD) slit that carotid and let the heart pump out the blood.
So - do you insert the knife blade outwards, between the vertebrae and
throat, and saw thru the throat, back of knife to vertebrae? Me likee.

 

[Sticky]

Apology accepted.

Great forum... great members, love the debates.

Hunting is about ethics... knowing when to and when not to take a shot. Most of us that have been hunting for a long time learned early on, but there are always new hunters that sometimes need to learn those lessons often times, like we did.. the hard way... Hopefully those lessons come quickly and they become efficient hunters without too many experiences that they'd rather forget.. lol

Like I said, I rarely hunt deer in MD with a gun, though if the freezer is scantily clad come opening day of shotgun or ML season, I will, on occasion take the smoker out and put one or two in the freezer.. then it's usually back to bow for the rest of that season for me. A bowhunter learns very quickly (or at least SHOULD learn very quickly) what constitutes a good shot opportunity and what does not, but heck... we're all human an on occasion, we make a less than perfect choice. That is when you need to know how to deal with the situation that is presented and for me, that is a quick slice with the knife to finish off a wounded deer, mine or someone else's, no different. It isn't usually easy to put a second arrow in a deer to finish it off and I don't carry a 22 pistol, which would actually be my choice if I could, but... a quick slice from side to side with a good blade will dispatch that deer quickly, trust me. Yes, you do have to be careful with a buck and for the legs/hooves, but if you made a decent, but not quickly fatal shot, you should be able to get to the deer and slit it's throat. It will be slow, near death and not able to put up as much fight as one may think, at least that has been my experience over many, many years of hunting them critters.