Mercy kill?

[mi650]

I found my own broadhead in a buck that I hit 4 years before. Ha ha. Stuck in his shoulder blade. It was grown in to the bone.

That's crazy!

 

[Pony Soldier]

When I was 12 or so I found a deer that had been gutshot and I finished the job. There wasn't anything worth saving. I have finished a couple deer on the highway after them having been hit by a car. I finished one off that I hit.

A couple of elk we killed had broadheads stuck in their spine but had been healed for a number of years. Both were muzzys.

I have finished off a number of horses for varying reasons ranging from no teeth to hip failure.

I have killed a number of my dogs because of old age and worthlessness.

 

[nodakian]

A friend's favorite cat got hit by a car. Broke its back. My friend knew it was a goner but didn't have the stomach to watch it suffer or to finish his pet, so he asked me to do it. Couldn't shoot in town, so a well placed blow with a club had to do the job. Nasty. I hope I never have to do anything like that again.

 

[mi650]

A friend's favorite cat got hit by a car. Broke its back. My friend knew it was a goner but didn't have the stomach to watch it suffer or to finish his pet, so he asked me to do it. Couldn't shoot in town, so a well placed blow with a club had to do the job. Nasty. I hope I never have to do anything like that again.

Years ago my wifes aunt asked me to take her dog out to the woods and shoot him. Couldn't do it.

 

[huntnful]

Had to kill a little fawn that was hit by a car right in front of me. They didn’t stop, but I pulled off and carried it out of the road and put it out of its misery. Broke my heart. I was bummed out that whole weekend!

 

[mi650]

Had to kill a little fawn that was hit by a car right in front of me. They didn’t stop, but I pulled off and carried it out of the road and put it out of its misery. Broke my heart. I was bummed out that whole weekend!

The one that I had to use my knife on was a button buck. Yep, it was rough.

 

[cnelk]

Killed an antelope buck that was caught up in a barbwire fence along the road - Middle of the winter and there was blood everywhere on the snow and he was half dead.
Couldn’t just keep driving

 

[MattB]

My friends watched a guy mercy kill a doe that had a broken leg. It had been broken for 3 years and she had raised 2 fawns since the injury.

 

[Silveroddo]

I worked for a state highway department for many years, dealt with a lot of vehicle hits, usually got ahold of local PD if I could.
It’s difficult to deal with a half alive deer and nothing to work with. Been in on several rodeos just to get them off the road.
Worst was a day I was roading a rubber tired backhoe somewhere and came across a fresh hit, called the boss to call patrol or a county cop, nobody was around. “Just get it done” was what I was told. I told him
I wasn’t responsible if a school bus full of kids drove by, or if it ended up on YouTube. I’ve killed a lot of deer but something about having to do it with a backhoe bucket still doesn’t sit right.

 

[Fowl Play]

It is amazing what an animal can survive. I ran into a small 8 point last year that was laying down in the middle of a field. I thought something was off and walked over. He struggled to get up and I got within 20 yards of him before he stood. Looked like he had been hit fully broadside by a truck at high speed. One front leg completely gone. One back leg broken off below the knee. Terrible scarring all over his body. Only thing was it was all healed! Looked like very old injuries — all skin and scar tissue. The thing ran off balancing on two legs on one side of his body . I raised my rifle, but couldn’t bring myself to shoot him after it looked like he had been through hell to survive and won.

 

[jmez]

Anthropomorphism.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2023 using Tapatalk

 

[ODB]

When I was 10 I watched my dad kill a doe that had been hit by a car and broke all four legs. She was in the full act of running but without legs she wasn't going anywhere. My dad got his Mauser HsC .380 out of the glove box and shot her in the head. That was 41 years ago - still remember it vividly.

 

[insanelupus]

Probably odd man out here, but if an animal is still mobile, I leave them alone unless I injured them (poor shot during season, etc.).

An animal that is hobbling, broken leg, shoulder, etc., but still mobile goes on their way. I've seen several bucks trailing does with severe limps and coyotes running faster on three legs than some 4. An old game warden told me that was his standard for dispatching an animal. If it's still mobile, leave it alone. Even if it is slow and rests a lot.

Broken backs and no real mobility due to limb issues, etc., yes of course. I've seen multiple animals heal and recover from significant wounds and evading predators long enough to continue to live.

I can always give an educated guess on what might kill them but not always with absolute certainty. The mobility test is, to me, a good standard on where I step in or let predators do what predators do.

 

[swavescatter]

1 afternoon, my son and I were in my ladder stand, and started hearing what sounded like sneezing 6-7 times per minute. It was quite a way off, but getting closer. As it got closer, it slowed down. Eventually, we had a doe in front of us, basically sneezing.

This was early October and fairly warm, low-mid 70s. My best guess is someone had some apples out for bait, apples attracted hornets, and she got stung in the nose.

By the time she left, the sneezing was down to once every couple minutes.

So you're out there "euthanizing" every animal that so much as sneezes? I guess we found Aram Von Benedikt's account!



JK - but I agree that unless an animal isn't mobile at all I'm not killing it. Let nature run its course. The fact that you have so many mercy kills under your belt is a bit... suspect surprising? I'm not sure on the legality of those scenarios and I'm guessing Game and Fish would tell me to just leave the animals alone.

 

[mtnwrunner]

I do it all the time at work. It's truly amazing how many animals get hit by vehicles.

Randy

 

[sconnieVLP]

I’ve done it a few times, always in the aftermath of folks on neighboring properties doing drives during rifle season. Give them a look over for blood when they come through and have had to put a few down that were hit.

 

[Jethro]

Mercy kill for a broken leg? No I don’t think so. If injured animal is mobile I’m not killing it unless my plan is to tag it and make it my hunting kill.

Have seen too many deer around with mended breaks or walking on just 3. Knew a doe that lived at least 3 years with arrow in head. This summer fawn with both fronts broke still traveling with its mom and feeding.

 

[Yoder]

I had to shoot a buck in my back yard a few years ago. It had a crossbow bolt sticking out of it's back. It was through the back strap angling down into the opposite shoulder. The nock was still lit up. It's amazing how tough they are.

 

[swavescatter]

I had to shoot a buck in my back yard a few years ago. It had a crossbow bolt sticking out of it's back. It was through the back strap angling down into the opposite shoulder. The nock was still lit up. It's amazing how tough they are.

So you stole someone's BOAL?

This thread delivers. Got AVB and BOAL Barron.

 

[KenLee]

Anyone else had to do a mercy kill? I'm up to 4 now. 2 does, a spike, and a button buck. 3 broken legs and 1 had her neck torn open.

I even remember the date of the 1st, as it happened to be the same day my son killed his 1st buck. He shot it in the morning and we almost didn't go out that afternoon. I would have kicked myself in the ass if we hadn't. Seeing the trail cam pics after, it was clear she had a broken leg. Of course, it was clear when she hobbled out in front of us, too.

So, who else?

I've probably finished off more than 150 whitetails hit by vehicles in the last 40 years. I'm the local roadkill scooper that everyone calls when they see a fresh hit. It's alot easier to let those "next year" bucks walk when you have multiple chest freezers full.