My dad had a moose come awake on him. He didnt poke it, and him and the guide were standing at its feet when it picked its head up. Luckily my dad had his 300 wetherby mag locked and cocked. He put another round in the heart, and was real lucky the nerves didnt cause the legs to start kicking or they'd both been screwed. I always approach a downed animal with caution because of that story. Knife, rifle, bow or hand gun, im ready to fight back. I drop my guard after the poke. With deer its not much of a problem and i dont usually poke, but w/ anything that could really harm me, im careful.