|
|
Post by swilk on Nov 24, 2010 13:03:12 GMT -5
I just wouldn't want the inconvenience of going through all the court hoops ..... and then the off chance that you were wrong about the judges common sense.
I might post this question in the "ask a CO" forum ..... Im betting on it being against the law.
|
|
|
|
Post by turkeyscout on Nov 24, 2010 13:55:16 GMT -5
No doubt in my mind either. No doubt in my mine either!!!!!..............turkey scout |
|
|
|
Post by M4Madness on Nov 24, 2010 17:41:44 GMT -5
I was put in the same situation a few years ago, and opted not to use a firearm after dark to finish a deer off.
I was hunting during muzzeloader season and returned to my vehicle after dark to find a note under my windshield wiper from the landowner asking me to stop by his house on the way out.
When I did, he informed me that his mother had seen a wounded deer by one of their ponds. I told him that under no circumstances would I finish it off with a gunshot after dark, and grabbed my knife out of my vehicle.
We jumped in his farm truck, and drove through the field of high grass towards the pond. It didn't take long to jump the injured doe (gutshot), and she wasn't moving very well. I jumped out and took off after her. I found her lying down, and thought she had expired. As soon as I grabbed one of her front legs, she sprang to her feet!
I hung onto her foreleg for dear life, as she spun around me on three legs. It reminded me of a June bug on a string. LOL! As we spun, I kept spiralling us towards a ditch, and when we reached it, I slung her into it, while maintaining a hold on her leg. She was lying on her back, hanging into a ditch that her hind feet couldn't touch the bottom of, and I finally had her right where I needed her. With my free hand, I pulled my knife and cut her throat.
|
|
|
|
Post by deerbiskit on Nov 24, 2010 17:49:17 GMT -5
I was put in the same situation a few years ago, and opted not to use a firearm after dark to finish a deer off. I was hunting during muzzeloader season and returned to my vehicle after dark to find a note under my windshield wiper from the landowner asking me to stop by his house on the way out. When I did, he informed me that his mother had seen a wounded deer by one of their ponds. I told him that under no circumstances would I finish it off with a gunshot after dark, and grabbed my knife out of my vehicle. We jumped in his farm truck, and drove through the field of high grass towards the pond. It didn't take long to jump the injured doe (gutshot), and she wasn't moving very well. I jumped out and took off after her. I found her lying down, and thought she had expired. As soon as I grabbed one of her front legs, she sprang to her feet! I hung onto her foreleg for dear life, as she spun around me on three legs. It reminded me of a June bug on a string. LOL! As we spun, I kept spiralling us towards a ditch, and when we reached it, I slung her into it, while maintaining a hold on her leg. She was lying on her back, hanging into a ditch that her hind feet couldn't touch the bottom of, and I finally had her right where I needed her. With my free hand, I pulled my knife and cut her throat. ;DLOL, I bet that was a sight to see..... ;D |
|
|
|
Post by mrfixit on Nov 25, 2010 6:49:31 GMT -5
I would think so much rides on the preponderance of the evidence on hand. If there's a obvious blood trail leading to the deer's final resting spot etc. the CO would probably be understanding ... Heck for that matter it's legal to shoot at 'yotes after dark to scare them off and away from your dead deer  ..... not that I would advocate lying or anything .. ;D To back off and wait and not know is one thing. To be so close you can see your wounded deer and leave it overnight to die or be eaten alive by coyotes is just wrong. To me it's better for me to pay the fine and have the CO take my deer than to let it suffer or experience a much more painful death being eaten alive. It would be nice to have a CO weigh in on the subject with a real answer rather than the pat "it's illegal to shoot after dark" response. |
|
|
|
Post by huntd711 on Nov 25, 2010 10:07:16 GMT -5
I was put in the same situation a few years ago, and opted not to use a firearm after dark to finish a deer off. I was hunting during muzzeloader season and returned to my vehicle after dark to find a note under my windshield wiper from the landowner asking me to stop by his house on the way out. When I did, he informed me that his mother had seen a wounded deer by one of their ponds. I told him that under no circumstances would I finish it off with a gunshot after dark, and grabbed my knife out of my vehicle. We jumped in his farm truck, and drove through the field of high grass towards the pond. It didn't take long to jump the injured doe (gutshot), and she wasn't moving very well. I jumped out and took off after her. I found her lying down, and thought she had expired. As soon as I grabbed one of her front legs, she sprang to her feet! I hung onto her foreleg for dear life, as she spun around me on three legs. It reminded me of a June bug on a string. LOL! As we spun, I kept spiralling us towards a ditch, and when we reached it, I slung her into it, while maintaining a hold on her leg. She was lying on her back, hanging into a ditch that her hind feet couldn't touch the bottom of, and I finally had her right where I needed her. With my free hand, I pulled my knife and cut her throat. This is not something I would recommend to anyone. Why would you take the chance at getting yourself hurt, or worse! I'm sure the whole time you were wrestling around with her you had your knife in your hand? Sooo many things can go bad in a scenario like that, stabbing or cutting yourself, rolling down the ditch, etc. If this had been a buck you could have even gotten a tine stuck in you. I have seen so many times of how these animals appear to be dead and then somehow find the strength and energy to get up and go another 200 or 300 yards and wondered how they managed to do it. The power and strength of deer, even after being wounded, is an awsome thing. If you are gonna put the finish on one of these, use your gun! It's not worth the risk to yourselfl! And here's a story as an example. My uncle got a phone call from a friend to help track a deer that was shot with a bow after dark. Once they found the deer, they walked right up on it and it wasn't moving, it appeared to have expired. My uncle, standing in front of the body at the head, bent down and picked up the rack to admire the fine buck. Much to his surprise, the buck jumped up, with my uncle still holding onto the rack, and proceeded to run off while tossing him to the side. The buck went another 100 yards or so before laying back down. Talk about lucky there! Even that close to death it managed to find the strenght to toss a grown man to the side! |
|
|
|
Post by huntd711 on Nov 25, 2010 10:09:54 GMT -5
And what I meant was that the tracking event was after dark. The deer was shot just before dark, sorry, after reading that I mad it sound like the deer was shot after dark.
|
|
|
|
Post by ridgerunner on Nov 26, 2010 10:05:55 GMT -5
I know a bunch of COs' that would probably chew a few pounds off your back side if you didn't finish the deer off. I agree 110%.. Never heard of finishing a deer being illegal if you're blood trailing it..I was taught you make every attempt to find and dispatch a wounded animal..That came from the CO's mouth, who taught our Hunter Ed classes my sons attended..First time I ever heard it being illegal to finish off a deer if you're on his blood trail and come up on him after dark....  |
|
|
|
Post by danf on Nov 26, 2010 10:09:15 GMT -5
I don't think it's illegal to finish off a deer after dark, but I do think it's illegal to do so using either a firearm or bow....
|
|
|
|
Post by danf on Nov 26, 2010 10:18:31 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by boonechaser on Nov 26, 2010 15:28:56 GMT -5
Well there's the correct answer, but ethically speaking I would finish him off and keep it to myself. That's the right thing to do for the animal !!!! Sometime's man's law and common sense don't mix.
|
|
|
|
Post by mrfixit on Nov 26, 2010 19:55:29 GMT -5
I'd probably have to fire a round or two downrange just to make sure there ain't no coyotes or big cats around. I sure hope I miss the deer while doing so ;D On a more serious note, the best thing to do is just climb outa your stand and head for the truck because you really don't wanna know what happened until the next morning. Better to believe it's a clean kill and it's laying out there 75 or 100 yds away than to know you wounded it up real bad and it's not going to die until way up into the wee hours of the morning when a coyote tries to eat it. Best just to be blissfully ignorant about the whole thing. |
|
..... not that I would advocate lying or anything .. ;D
