My cousin and I were out two years ago, he got a pretty decent weighted 8pt buck, we walked up he kicked it even, nothing...he drug it up against this bank and kind of sat it up on it's hind end to let the entrails fall out while he dressed it, he bent down and started to cut open the hide running down the sternum, dang thing "WOKE UP", he was standing between the buck's back legs and it beat the heck out of him trying to get away, I reacted quick enough and picked it up at about 15yrds with my revolver so it didn't get away, but he had to get a dozen stitches over his left eye where it kicked him in the face!!!!

I guess he should have checked to see if it were still breathing!

Sometimes, it's a good idea to poke them anyway, if you've never been kicked by a dead deer, give it more time, it's a nervous thing I guess, kicking them is supposed to get "all the juice out".