I would have gone and got my knife and reloads and come back and dispacthed him the best way possible. The shock of the shot will mean that the deer is probably not in excrutiating pain for the time being and you have time to go get what you need.

Not a problem. I said I didn't have a shot yet. Once she continued on, I had the shot.

That's right, the sun was beaming on me (i.e. which is why the deer saw me to begin with). I never said the sun was causing glare on my scope lens, obstructing my view, etc, etc. As far as the rocks go, maybe it will be easier for you to understand it this way: when she (he) was standing, I could see the entire body, but when she fell (i.e. laying down), gosh darn, I couldn't see her any more!!

Wrong again; you are taking this WAY in the wrong direction. First of all, my target was a deer, NO question about it. I was not shooting at a sound or a movement, so don't even BEGIN to infer that crap with me. Whatever it was that caused me to think it was a larger doe is irrelevant. I think it was the perspective of me lying down on the ground and looking up the mountain that caused me not to realize I was looking at a fawn. It was an either sex day and, regardless, button bucks are considered anterless deer in Virginia, so even if it were a "doe only" day, the kill would have been legal.

I'm not sure if you need lesson in reading comprehension or I need a lesson in story telling. It's probably a bit of both. But don't tell me what to post and not to post, especially out of fear of giving the antis ammo. That's the coward's way of protecting what they love, and I happen to love both my freedom of SPEECH and the right to keep and bear arms. This is a hunting forum and things don't always go as neatly or as cleanly as you want them to in the field. If I want to relate a tough situation I learned from to see how others would have done it so that I can learn more, I will!

I was going to wait awhile to see what others would have done, but since you posted this and Semi posted what he did, I'll go ahead and relate the rest of the story. And, I felt exactly as you did and do now, and I imagine that I will for some time to come. This has been haunting me since it happened. I am only glad that this lesson happened early in my hunting career, as I only started hunting two years ago.

Anyway, as I got down to the deer, I was perplexed by only seeing a neck shot and no wound on the body. The deer was breathing and blood was oozing out of his neck, with some slight movements out of his legs. I was agonizing over what to do, "Should I go down and get my knife to finish him? But that could take awhile to get down and back, and I don't want him to suffer any longer. Should I break his neck? No, I can't do that. I couldn't do that, I don't have it in me. I should probably suffocate him; that will be fastest. No, I don't want to do that. But it will be quickest. Getting the knife will take too long."

So I knelt down beside the deer, and it is my utmost displeasure to say that this deer had a full understanding of why they fear humans. I grabbed his snout to hold his jaw closed, and put my hand over his nose. He began kicking all fours (not violently though...probably due to lack of strength, but I am not sure why the neck shot put him down since he obviously wasn't paralyzed), and the blood was really gushing from his neck. It seemed like it was taking forever for him to pass on (I thought it would be quick since he has lost so much blood anyway), and it seemed like he wasn't going to die quickly. So I grabbed him around the neck and broke it. He shuddered and that was the end.

I just sat there for awhile next to him, feeling sick and numb. Numb like I had just been smacked with a hand as large as my body. It was one of the worst feelings I had ever had.

If I had to go back to that moment again without knife and load, I don't know what I would have done, but it wouldn't have been that. I was wrong about how long it would have taken him to pass, and, regardless, he definitely died in fear. Leaving him to die would have been better than that, and I'm sure it wouldn't have taken much longer than 5 minutes. I think I would have crept quietly back down to my stuff, gotten another load and, if upon returning discovered another shot was needed, I would have put the muzzle right up to the back of the head or neck.

That will NEVER happen again. I'll always keep a spare knife clipped to my inside most pocket along with a spare load that never gets touched unless it's a last resort.

Nato, you did the right thing. Like I said before, its nothing to be proud of and it doesn't make you feel good. Its something that i will never do that way again. But when faced with a situation like that, you have to act and act quick so the animal doesn't suffer any more than it has to. Without a follow-up shot or a knife, I think breaking the neck is the quickest, but also the hardest on a deer that is older than 6 months or a year. The muscle mass gained in the neck after year one, can and did present a problem to me on the doe in the ravine.

7.62NATO,

It was an unfortunate situation for sure. You did what you thought was the best at that particular time. Thanks for taking the time to post your hunting issue/problem.

Man, it was not easy to break the neck at all, even though he was just born this spring. I thought it would be easy. I think Hollywood can put retarded notions in your mind about things you're not educated about or haven't experienced firsthand, which explains why there are so many anti's out there. Anyway, his whole body wanted to turn, so I had to sit on it so that it wouldn't. Man it was just brutal, and absolutely nothing to feel manly about. Skinning him down and quartering him was difficult, because I could see what had been done. [shudder]

Yea, there is no "good" way to do it. Your right it is a brutal thing to do, but when left with no other options, ya have to. The way I see it though, I will be going back after my knife if/when this happens again. As you stated earlier though I now always have a knife in my pack and one that stays on my person at all times.

7.62NATO

First off - let me assure you that you are not the only one that has aimed a spot and hit another spot. It happens, but I would consider your missed spot to the hit spot a fortunate one. In my mind it would have been much worse if it had been a gut shot or even a broken leg shot shot.

Second - I know you loaded for the second time and I no and understand why you took your second shot when and where you did... but I will tell you I always have another load in my pocket along with the other extra loads in the pack. At the time you chose to leave your equipment and go in pursuit - i would have taken another load. But, knowing me - I would have taken the time to grab my equipment, thinking if he is moving I might not get back to this spot for awhile.

Third - I have a folding Gerber knife that goes with me where ever I go independent of my pack. A knife is just a handy thing to have in the woods on your person - always

Fourth - hindsight is always easier than forsight.

The best thing about your story - you got other folks thinking even if we have all the answers....

Oh! and just for drill - you are not the only one that dropped a nice looking doe and then found out it was a very young buck.

That's for dang sure. In fact, I suspect there are darn few people who have taken a lot of deer who haven't done that.

You guys are right, thats a very common mistake even a veteran deer hunter can make.