Deer hunting ethics

[HairyScandinavian]

I think i hit him behind the lungs but before the guts based on blood and how the deer reacted. Everytime i have hit an animal with this combo it doesnt go more than 50 yards with better blood than i had in this instance.

Which way was the wind blowing and how confident are you in the wind call? Between that spot should be liver and he'd be dead by now, it doesn't stop bleeding. A little high and you went above the spine and backstrapped him.

 

[NVUplandHunter]

I think i hit him behind the lungs but before the guts based on blood and how the deer reacted. Everytime i have hit an animal with this combo it doesnt go more than 50 yards with better blood than i had in this instance.

so a real solid liver shot then? Man i dont know.. but like others have said, in the end its your tag and your gut you gotta live with. That sounds like a lethal shot to me, but it also sounds like you did a hell of a lot of work to try and find it.

at this point im guessing aliens took your buck haha

 

[blacktailcentral]

Wind was sub 2mph and at my back. Deer was quartering to me. Looking downhill, i was shooting across the canyon, him being uphill of me

 

[blacktailcentral]

Also we did find a piece of bone fragment, on the blood trail, we figured it was rib

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Wind was sub 2mph and at my back. Deer was quartering to me. Looking downhill, i was shooting across the canyon, him being uphill of me

Also we did find a piece of bone fragment, on the blood trail, we figured it was rib

He fall at the shot and get up? If what you're saying about the tracking job is true I can't imagine not finding him with a liver hit. Nothing brown or gross in the blood, all bright red? Angling down it would be possible to hit high in the straps and chip some bone off that upper spine but I can't imagine he wouldn't hit the ground for a bit with the shock on the spine.

 

[Chris in TN]

Also we did find a piece of bone fragment, on the blood trail, we figured it was rib

I'd say that finding any sort of bone fragment on a quartering-to shot would be unlikely, at least from a rib. I'm sure it could happen, just not likely. A leg bone fragment from a lower hit would be more likely. I've seen leg-hit deer bleed like that before - it's been 20+ years now but I trailed one the better part of a mile like that once. He was seen later, still alive.

A deer hit anywhere in the chest cavity at an angle the way you described, that gets into one lung and the liver - well, really, any shot that gets into the liver at all - will result in a dead animal, and usually within a couple hundred yards. It's hard to imagine finding an actual rib fragment and the animal not dying fairly soon.

It sounds to me like you hit a leg. Obviously I wasn't there and don't know, nor do I know what I'd do in your shoes, but I suspect I'd keep hunting.

 

[blacktailcentral]

He kicked and ran right away, doe nearby didn’t move.

 

[NVUplandHunter]

These arguments are also going to be based on a scenario where population control is already being managed via birth control methods.

Here is my list:

1- The biggest reason I see hunting as ethical is it prevents an individual animal from suffering a horrendous death via predation, starvation/disease, or otherwise old age without medical care.

So many of us have watched documentaries growing up where the screen cuts to black when the prey is captured. We don't see them being literally eaten alive. If you spend any amount of time online watching real nature videos, you'd know that a bullet is a much more compassionate death. Even if it misses the mark, they aren't full of horror from being chased and mauled, and the hunter will do everything possible to make sure they are dispatched quickly.

2- Hunters have the ability to target specific aggressive individuals who are causing stress to the group or who are hoarding resources/mates. This can include older dominant males for example, who have had years of successful breeding already. It gives the younger males a chance to step up and relieves their stress, on top of saving them from injury from a fight. And it gives the older male a quick and more dignified death compared to what he'd experience down the line when he loses his throne and gets eaten alive.

3- Protecting herd health. Hunters have the ability to kill animals showing signs of disease or genetic abnormalities, keeping them from spreading throughout the herd. Yes we could develop vaccines and possibly treat certain diseases in a way that doesn't involve killing, but this is an alternative when those options aren't available.

bro.... what are you talking about? none of that has to do with this post about whether a dude should punch his tag or not..

Animals are not people.. they dont have "dignity" or care about how many does they have to pump during the rut. They also arent pets who "receive medical care" in their old age. they are wild animals, they get eaten or die of something else natural and have been since the dawn of time. That has no baring on hunting at all..
and i sure as shit am not supporting or eating vaccinated game animals.. that just wild. we go to get that meat because its all O-Natur-al.

 

[Swamp Fox]

bro.... what are you talking about? none of that has to do with this post about whether a dude should punch his tag or not..

Animals are not people.. they dont have "dignity" or care about how many does they have to pump during the rut. They also arent pets who "receive medical care" in their old age. they are wild animals, they get eaten or die of something else natural and have been since the dawn of time. That has no baring on hunting at all..
and i sure as shit am not supporting or eating vaccinated game animals.. that just wild. we go to get that meat because its all O-Natur-al.

You realize you're talking to a bot, right?

 

[displacedtexan]

BOAL?

Maybe someone stole him.

 

[NVUplandHunter]

You realize you're talking to a bot, right?

Clearly not