Spine hit
 

I dont want to turn this thread into some cheesy, achy breaky confession, but I have a question. I spined a cull buck Saturday Morning, as some of you already know, this kind of hit usually drops em in thier tracks...but it doesnt kill them. I finished him off with a second arrow.

I wont get into the details of the kill but I have to admitt though, that wasnt pleasant or even rewarding for me to say the least.

Up until now, I have enjoyed quick clean kills

I was wondering to those that have expierienced that "kind" of Kill what your thoughts were if any?

RE: Spine hit
 

I have spined a couple of deer over the years - quickly dispatch the animal and i was fine - the deer was dead in seconds

RE: Spine hit
 

i'll admit (so that others can learn from my mistakes) that i "spined" a buck (in the base of the neck)last year, which was my first year bowhunting, and that was my first buck. well due to lack of experiance i thought he was dead/dying. well he wasnt and through a series of stand ups and fall downs he finally ran off before i could shoot him again. im about 75% sure he lived though, because a few hrs. later we spooked him and he had a big hemotoma on his neck, and he ran off like nothing was wrong. so....my advice to everone else that doesnt want to feel completly horrible - take your time, and dont rush your shot!!!

p.s. i leave the bloody arrow in my bowcase to remind me to take my time everytime i open my case

RE: Spine hit
 

Same here, it's happened afew times through the years. Just finish the animal off as quickly as possible with a second arrow.

Spining can happen from many dirrerent "wrong" scenarios. Although in my case I've tried to lower my tree stands to about20-25 ft. I used to hunt at 30ft. in some trees when I was younger and I think it presented alot of bad angles which led to this at times.

RE: Spine hit
 

not to be mean or be rude. but i would feel so bad if i were to ever do that. i sure hope that it never happens to a deer i shoot or people im with. i can't stand to see things suffer

RE: Spine hit
 

It can happen with guns too even on a well placed shot. I saw a buddy of mine shoot at a deer with a 35 Rem and hit it perfect. The bullet ricochet off a rib headed straight up and broke the spine. This very large doe (biggest I ever saw) was still alive when we walked up on her.

The rest is gory and not one of my favorite stories.

Another similar story that can speak to the "food" nature of farmers is, my uncle shot a running deer but hit it in the spine. The deer was still alive when we walked up to it. We were accompanied by a farmer buddy of ours who over sees the land when we aren't there. Before we could do or say anthing the farmer was already gutting it. Pretty damn viscious those farmers are.

Tom

RE: Spine hit
 

Point is to kill the deer, you did that, sometimes it goes nice and sometimes not.

Don't sweat it.

RE: Spine hit
 

i spined the first buck i ever shot wit the bow.

hit a branch and it deflected high. dipatched him with another arrow.

horrible feeling, but you gotta put it behind you and just concentrate on every shot.

RE: Spine hit
 

Everytime I shoot a deer and watch it die, (if I see it fall in my view) I feel for it, and hate that it suffers. But then I think about what God told us. They are there for us to eat.

Even a well placed double lung, it takes a while for them to completely die. At least a spine shot, you have the opportunity to cut its throat put another arrow in quickly.

RE: Spine hit
 

Watch a video of a wolf killing something like a moose. Watching the brutality of nature makes me realize just how humane hunting is, even when little things go wrong like you talk about here. At least your deer was dead in a few seconds.

RE: Spine hit
 

Man i spined a doe last year (misjudged distance) I felt awful.

RE: Spine hit
 

ricoace, it happens. Deer drop to preload their legs to run. I spined the buck I shot last year, well actually I entered high in the shoulder and hit the far one which knocked him off his feet, he wasn't technically "spined" because he had control of his hind legs and was flaring them. I quickly nocked a second arrow, lunging/heart him and quickely expired him.

We can do no more or less than a quick follow up shot for a quick finish. You did right and good.

RE: Spine hit
 

Good Point Backwoods.

RE: Spine hit
 

I'm apparently heartless cause i don't feel remorse. I obviously don't try to spine shoot anything but if it happens a 2nd shot is in order and thats it.Aren'twe all when entering the woods hoping to harvest a deer. Granted a successful hunt doesn't always end with a kill. However as mentioned things happen we are not machines, and we are all wired a bit differently so some people feel different thats what makes the human race unique. Please by my statements dont' think that I have no respect for my quarry cause that is surely not the case I've been told i'm wired a bit different!!!!!

RE: Spine hit
 

I spine shot my buck this season, still don't know why I hit high, but he dropped in his tracks. I was lucky though as my arrow passed through and into one lung, when he fell the arrow broke and as he was laying on the ground he sliced the other lung and the heart. He was dead before I could get another arrow nocked and draw back. It isn't plesant but it is much better than loosing the deer.

RE: Spine hit
 

I've spined more deer than I should have or care to admit. You just finish the job when it happens. Saves a track job.

RE: Spine hit
 

I spined one with an arrow several years back. The sound of the arrow hitting wasn't unlike the sound of a homerun off a wood bat. I was expecting a quartering away passthrough - and for some reason that day the arrow "flew" on me - and hit where the neck meets the shoulder.

Not a drop of blood and the deer never twitched when it hit the ground. It was quite shocking really. I could see the deer's chest rise and fall still from the tree - so I put another one right in the center of the lungs before I got down - he never twitched at the shot either- but bled and bled. No doubt he wascompletly paralysed from the shot - and the second arrow killed him be hemmoraging.

Very strange hunt - I actually felt very lucky, and wasn't upset bythe shot.

FH

RE: Spine hit
 

First (and only) deer I've ever killed I spine shot, and I did it witha bow at about 12yds. It was a spike buck that I'd been seeing on cam for three weeks. I hit him with a second arrow as fast as I could, but it didn't ease my mind. I didn't sit around waiting for him to expire, just got down from the stand and walked home. When I got back with the four wheeler about twenty minutes later he was done. I won't forget the feelings, from high to low, and I think it may have played a part in my allowing a doe to walk last week.

RE: Spine hit
 

Have done it several times and every time while it is playing out I ask myself why I am involved in such a brutal activity. But before this gets all misty eyed, I realize that nature has no conscience and we must stay in touch with this side of us no matter how unpleasant it may be at times. You must also use this experience to try to do better, though accidents will happen, we must always do right by our quarry out of respect.

RE: Spine hit
 

I spine shot my first deer, but it was with a gun. I didnt feel very good about seeing that deer suffer but I know that things happen. It died in about a minute though so it didnt suffer long.

RE: Spine hit
 

Ive never hit the spine, but i have had a shot that hit both lungs, and embeded in the back of the off shoulder blade and the deer go down and spin on the ground for a few min. I tried to put another arrow in him but couldnt get a shot off because of the way the deer was spinning. There is nothing pleasent about it. I do prefer a good heart shot, pass through where the deer runs a little then piles up.

Im just proud you saw something. Its been so hot these last two weeks, Ive seen nothing. I went out in Jayton Texas two weeks ago on my land, and Bowie last weekend on a friends land and it was in the 90s by 9:00am. I hate the heat. I hope it cools down this upcoming weekend, im going to my favorite spot in Brock.

RE: Spine hit
 

I've spined a couple deer too over the years,just finish the kill asap and put it behind you.It does not make you a bad person or hunter I think most who have hunted awile has done this at least once.

RE: Spine hit
 

Well thats what I wanted to hear...Id make a terrible monk anyway ;)

RE: Spine hit
 

I've spined my share, the last one being just yesterday.

RE: Spine hit
 

I can see I'm not alone here. I've spined a number of them over the years and hope I never have another one. I always try to quickly end any suffering with a follow up shot, but sometimes there still moving so much that the shots don't hit exactly as you want. I can still see the last time it happened (years ago) and it stillhurts to think about it.

RE: Spine hit
 

Ty for no cheesy confession, I had this happen once back in 94 and personally it was all good.
You completed the kill and that made it 100%

RE: Spine hit
 

I've never spined one yet, but I have had to finish off a deer that was liver shot but not quite done yet. It's not pleasant and you do feel bad. But that feeling will make you a better hunter. That experience makes me be real selective on the shots I take. I want a double lung or heart hit every time.

Aim low in the chest!

RE: Spine hit
 

Just wanted to chime in here and to the Orignal poster... I know what your feeling. I spined one last year for the first time... the best way i can explaning it is...you see a nice deer come in range draw back then OhNO ...what the hell happened.... It is the best feeling in the world immediately followed by the WORST. when you realize you spine shot him. Mine was due to misjudged distance. The deer made this awful noise and tried to drag himself off with just his front legs working... I couldn't hunt again for a week. It really got to me.

RE: Spine hit
 

SLo - pitch pretty muched nailed it for me. Thank you everyone for your replys. And yes, the expierience has hopefully made me a better hunter.

RE: Spine hit
 

Ive spined a few. Not my prefferred method but at least the animal didnt run off and suffer a long slow death.

I'll tell you whats worse. Ive killed a few deer over the years that Ive found lieing on the side of the road paralyzed or busted up outside and inside and dieing from vehicle collisions. Putting shirt over their eyes and easing a knife into them can be a difficult task, but Id rather do that than drive away leaving them there to suffer any more.

RE: Spine hit
 

I spined one last year. I also shot it three times in record time. if its' still moving and in range.....I keep shooting.

RE: Spine hit
 

I spined a doe when she jumped the string a couple years ago she rolled into a creek which soon turned crimson. She was laying on a rock thrashing about, so I didnt shoot her again. I eased up and put my knife through her heart. I didnt really know what to do. I didnt want to cut her throat. That seems to me to be inhuman. I just couldnt bring myself to do that to an animal. But I didnt want to ruin another arrow either. She died within a matter of seconds after I stabbed her. Im still not proud of it, but I did all that I thought I could do to end it quickly.

RE: Spine hit
 

I've spined critters before and just finish them off with another shot. Whenever I fill my tag, I take a few minutes to reflect and give "Thanks."

Spine shooting a deer doesn't bother me, trailing a wounded animal and not recovering it, THAT bothers me.

RE: Spine hit
 

I finished one with a knife once. Not the simple throat slice either. It was more like a freaky killer primate murdering a deer in the woods with a knife. I'm pretty sure I was even yelling, but can't say for sure. Kind of a blur... He was tough, and put up a good fight. It was a life changing experience for me.
At first I was uneasy about it, later I accepted it. Now I'm looking forward to doing it again.

RE: Spine hit
 

Bad shots are made.I kiilled one Buck with Spine shot.I don't have a problem with it.

Like I say bad shots are made,don't try to but they are.I made two last year.One was gut shot and the othe was the Hams (don't ask) both deer were recoverd.

big rockpile