Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

I was on stand all day today and had to see something twice that I hope I never have to see again. I noticed 2 bucks moving behind me around noon. I happened to see that one of them seemed to be limping. He was a young 8 pt, but definetly had some great potential. When he stepped out of the brush, my heart sank. Someone had just about blown his front left leg off. I' m assuming it was a rifle hunter since I don' t think an arrow could do damage like that. He was not moving very well at all. It was not a pretty sight to say the least. I checked for blood after I left my stand but did not see any. I don' t think he will make it through the winter though.

A little later I saw a doe behind me and noticed she too was limping. My heart sank again when I saw that her back left leg was barely attached thanks to an awful rifle shot. I could see both her back legs were bloody. She layed down for about 5 minutes and then got up and took off running past me. As she came by, I could see where another awful rifle shot had grazed her back taking fur off down to the skin. She was in real rough shape and made a sickening sound when she layed down. About 15 minutes later, 3 people came by tracking her. I told them that they blew her back leg off and the one kid kind of laughed about it. About a half hour and 4 shots later, I believe they finally finished her off after tracking her for about 3/4 mile. I will put any amount of money on it that she was hit when she was booking it across a clearing.

I would have liked to take both deer out of their misery but neither presented a clean shot. Stuff like that makes me sick and I hope I never have to see it again.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

Yeah I agree that SUCKS!!!!!

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

I see this all of the time. And people have the nerve to say archery hunters wound deer. BS!!!!!!

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

Thats really to bad. I wish gun hunters thought as much about maximum shooting distance and quick clean ethical shots like most of the bowhunters do.

Good Luck!

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

I agree Cloud 9. It seems when many gun hunters see a deer, they just start shooting hoping to hit anything...no matter what kind of shot it is. I was glad to see the doe was at least being tracked. Many people that hunt where I do wouldn' t track the thing for 30 yds, let alone 3/4 mile.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

if i see a deer that is real bad off i woudn' t wait for the good shot far as i am concerned all bets are off and will let an arrow fly

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

I' ve heard that a lot of gun hunters close their eyes at the instant they pull the trigger and end up pulling the gun downward from the vitals and onto the front leg by accident. I' m not taking up for them, but that' s why you see a lot of front leg injuries.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

It is a shame to see what some unethical hunters (I don' t care if they are bow or rifle...unethical is unethical!!!) will do.

As bad as the situation was though, if neither one gave you a clean shot, than you did the right thing. IF they had, I would hope you would have done the right thing. Since they didn' t, you can' t beat yourself up for what other people do. There was no sense in injuring the animal more unless you KNEW it would put them down.

Hopefully the rest of your season turns out better!!! Good luck!

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

That is really sad. I recently got my first kill ever. It was with a rifle and I think she ran about 100 yards. One of the guys on our lease has his 16 yr old hunting with him and he seems like a good kid. He got a doe last sunday and as we were helping him out of the field with her, I noticd that she was swollen up enough that she might have been nursing. I asked if she had a kid with her and he never answered me. That night, I hunted in his stand since he and his father had gone home. Sure enough, there was a very small kid that showed up at my feeder and then bedded down just 10 feet from it. When more deer showed up , it ran up to every adult it saw and smelled them to see if they were mommy. Then it bedded down right in the middle of the field and just waited for mommy. It was eating corn from the feeder and grazing in the field so it may be able to make it on it' s own and since deer are social animals, it may find a surrogate family.

It just really burns me up that he took a doe that clearly must have had a kid with it. When I took my doe, I had to settle for a smaller one because out of the 15 or so deer I had a shot at, she was the biggest one that did not have a kid with her. I may want to harvest deer and really enjoy the thrill of the kill, but I am not out there indiscrimanently killing. I wish all " hunters" were as mindful of the bigger picture.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

I HUNT WITH BOW, MUZZLELOADER, RIFLE, AND SHOTGUN. A FEW YEARS AGO DURING THE NEW JERSEY SHOTGUN SEASON (bucks only), I SEE 15 DEER COMING TO ME ALL DOES, THE LAST ONE HAD ITS RIGHT HIND LEG HANG FROM WHAT I THINK WAS SKIN/FUR. I WAS GOIN TO TAKE HER, BUT SHE WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT NEVER CAME OUT OF THIS THICK BRIARS. 1/2 HR. GOES BY, SOME HUNTERS ARE WALKING & TALKING HOW THEY SHOT A DOE AND THEY HAVE MEAT, ALSO THEY HAVE NO IDEA I' M 25 FEET ABOVE THEM, THEY WALK OFF FIRE A FEW ROUNDS, COME BACK DRAGGING THE DOE. I QUIETLY CLIMB DOWN, WALK UP TO THEM IDENTIFY MYSELF, TAKE THERE FIREARMS, CALL THE LOCAL GAME WARDENS, THEY GOT FIND EACH $1000, AND LOST THE RIGHT TO HUNT IN NEW JERSEY FOR 5 YEARS. THEY SHOT THAT POOR DOE ON PURPOSE, TO ME THEY ARE A**HOLES!!!! THE DOE WENT TO A FAMILY WHO NEEDED THE MEAT

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

Good job BHC:D I can' t tell you how many times I' ve been out there and wished I was a cop for one reason or another. Keep up the good work.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

My hats off to you also. Guess they were surprised. If they needed meat that bad there is always fresh meat on the highway, and they' d still have their license' s.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

:) I was sitting on a wood pile this A.M. and let a nice doe and an 8 ptr. pass at 10 yds. My son Joe called last night and said he could not hunt today:( I was thinking of him when I let the pair pass. There will be another day and when hunting alone most of the thrill just comes from the hunt itself. You true blue dads know what I mean. Hope some young ones read this and learn a bit. Have fun fellow ethical hunters.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

Scar955, it is not unethical to miss. For all you know a perfectly clean shot went bad for some reason other than a lack of ethics. Deer are wounded as part of hunting - that is just a fact. Bow or rifle - it happens with both so I would be careful of throwing stones if I were you.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

MAN THAT SUCKS.BAD HUNTERS DOING BAD THINGS[:@]

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

Too many guys I know that will shoot a deer running away from them at full speed. That' s when shots like these happen. It sucks that the deer have to suffer because of stupid hunters.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

SuperX, I know there are variations of ethical based on each person' s perception. You are right, since I wasn' t there I don' t KNOW the other hunters were unethical. I was taught that unless you are 100% sure you have a clean shot, you don' t take it. I probably could have taken more deer in my life because I PROBABLY could have made the shot. Luckily for me, I have taken 4 deer with 4 bullets.

I' m not trying to sound high and mighty, but those are the standards I live by. I hope I never have to feel that awful feeling in my stomach when I know I' ve injured but not killed a deer.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

I' ve been taught the same thing. If you don' t have a good clean shot at a deer, don' t take it. It always burns me up when I hear someone shooting 5 or 6 times in a row, like they are spraying the woods with bullets trying to hit a deer. If you can' t take down a deer in one shot, let it go...if you shoot once, let it go unless the deer runs and stops and presents another clean shot. That' s just my opinion, but that' s what I' ve always done.

Thunder

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

Rangerstud,
You can bowhunt during gun season? Around here the season closes. Don' t know if I' d want to be dressed in full camo walking to or from my blind during gun season. Too many fools just shoot at the noise.[>:]

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

That is tough to see man. If you go out in the woods of Pennsylvania on opening day of gun season you will hear many guys empty their guns on a deer. That is asinine for sure. It' s a rifle people. If/when the deer shows up it really should only take one shot. Just like bowhunting, you don' t plan for follow up shots. I' m also pretty certain that a lot of these wounded critters are shot by people that went to the range and fired one shot, hit the paper and probably announced, " I' m ready to go. Good ol Bessy is always on the mark." Heck, I' m a bowhunter first and foremost but I have made the time to shoot at least four boxes of shells through my .308 over the last month so I know I' m ready for certain. Also, a lot of guys here in PA will go out once a year for the opener and that' s it. Nothing like being in tune with the woods huh? Jim

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

one of my pet peves in hunting is hunters that take irresponsible shots, like unloading a clip on a moving deer, went out sat. morning and the neighbor guy must have unloaded like 2-3 clips of about 15 bullets of .22, about 30sec-1min later here come 4 does, as soon as the does passed i got down, and went to go chew the *$&( outta my cuzin b/c i thought it was him, luckily it wasnt, the neighbor guy was the one, and he' s a head sheriff! if it happens again i' ll turn him in doesnt matter to me, its irresponsible

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

I know all of you mean very well, but please keep in mind that EVERYONE has the potential to make mistakes, and sometimes things happen. I say this because I adhear to the principles of hunting being touted here, and yet 2 weeks ago I had an incident I would just rather forget.

Of course I see in some of your stories your speaking specifically about instances were people (not calling them hunters) don' t use brains or ethics.

Despite all my preporations, practice, checking and rechecking, I had an equipment failure that caused my bow to shoot about 6in low and off. Yes... I had just shot it that week...and it was right on. My two prong rest spring that returns it to full upright position failed, causing my arrow to impact low. I feel bad I hadn' t noticed it wasn' t in the right position but at a glance you couldnt tell and I had no reason to suspect failure.

I will spare you the details, but the important thing is that I did the right thing by
A) Taking a good percentage shot that would have been slam dunk if my rest had not failed.
B) successfully stalking the deer to finish the harvest (no i wasn' t pushing it, another deer walked right towards and past me at 10 yards and i used cover to get there.)

I just don' t wish to have good ethical hunters lumped in with all the idiots, because it may happen to you.... it did me. I seriuosly hope none of you have to have that awful awful experience.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

Did you want to put the deer out ofg their misery or the jackasses that were blowing their legs off?

Sunday night a small doe crossed the road in front of me with a noticeable limp. I felt for her. She was in an area where a doe has been seen for the last three year with only three legs. She is missing her right front below the knee. She labors to walk but can run with all the other deer. She is in an area where little hunting is permitted and the foks in the neighborhood care for her in heavy snows. She seems to be doing okay.

Unfortunately, not all deer are so lucky. And, not all people are so nice (or smart).

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

Horrable, This story actually made my stomac hturn a little. I love and am well trained in firearms, between military training private schools I' ve attended and years of shooting I can say I' m a very good and safe shot. Most AND I say again MOST gun hunters are barely able to hit a deer at 50 yards with a shot gun and 100 yards with a scoped rifle. And trust me they WILL take the shot. I' ve seen gun hunters empty shotguns from the hip at running targets!!
I haven' t gun hunted since. Jim Bow

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

i hate hearing these stories

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

:(Its to bad we have to have stupid/unetheical hunters (heck, the term hunters shouldn' t even apply to those guys)

Just because you carry a scope doesn' t mean instant success. I making a big assumpion for all of us when I say we enjoy seeing our Game Wardens out there doing their job!!! To bad they can' t be around to see that crap.:(

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

I am not on the side of the unethical hunter and yes, they' re out there. BUT, way too many of you are assuming and coming down on rifle hunters it seems. How do you know that this deer wasn' t hit by a CAR, rather than the assumed bullet of a beer drinking shoot-em' up idiot with a rifle? Even ethical hunters, bow or gun, can make bad shots on a perfectly still and broadside deer with nothing between them - equipment failure for just one example. My dad years ago shot a really nice big 8pt opening morning of gun. Just like every year, we shot the rifles to check the scopes. They were on. In transit, the crosshairs on my dad' s scope were whacked out causing the rifle to hit way behind and over the deer. He didn' t know this before he pulled the trigger. Just to make sure it wasn' t him, he took two more shots at the deer and same thing, (for whatever reason it stood there 100 yards away with bullets whizzing over his back). Being an accomplished rifle shooter, my dad compinsated and put the next bullet through his heart.

I don' t like unethical hunters, but to assume every one out there with a rifle is a looney, well, you' re barking up the wrong tree my friend.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

rcd, we can bowhunt during rifle season as long as we wear the required blaze orange. This is the first year that I' ve been nervous walking in and out of the woods. You never know what kind of idiots are going to start shooting at any movement they see.

As for the wounded deer, I' m 99.9% sure that the doe was hit as she was running full speed across a big clearing. There were people pushing the trees that border the clearing she was most likely shot in. I heard 10+ shots from the area that she came from too. The wound on the back of her neck made it that much more obvious she was running. One shot hit her high and too far forward and the other hit her low and too far back.

I' m only 20 yrs old but I know my limitations with any weapon, gun or bow(thanks to my dad). I passed up a 150 class with my rifle last year at 35 yds because there was just too much brush in the way. I passed up a 165 class with my bow a couple weeks ago because I was 99% sure I would hit a single branch that was between me and him. Seeing wounded deer like that just makes me that much more sure of my decision to pass up those iffy shots.

It' s scary to think that some " hunters" start zingin bullets at any deer. I' d guess that most of them don' t ever check to see what' s beyond their target.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

its ppl like these that give hunters bad names. the main goal of an ethical hunter is to make a clean shot. some dont have any respect for the game that we try to harvest. should shoot them like that once see how they feel.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

Boy, you guys are biased!
Far more deer are wounded by Bowhunters than Rifle hunters in my experience.
...And yes, I' m a Bowhunter and love it.
But I hear all the time how some Bowhunter stuck a big one and lost him.
I know one guy who has wounded over a dozen deer with arrows and just keeps hunting them.
He claims he always hits them in the kill zone but they just run off.
Several were Pope & Young bucks according to him.
He once claimed he stuck a 10 and 12 point on the same weekend and lost both of them.
Said he felt bad that they had to suffer and die a long death.
Is this any better than a slob rifle hunter ?
My uncle, cousin, and I, together, have taken over 50 deer with rifles over the years.
Not one has been wounded by us and gotten away!
Sure, there are some pi$$ poor rifle shots out there that do wound game but there are a hell of a lot of pi$$ poor archers out there too.
Let' s be fair, guys!


Sag.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

Hang around the pro shop long enough and you' ll probably meet a few of those bozo' s yourself.

It never fails, every year in late summer to early fall, there is always one guy who comes in wanting to buy a new bow so he can hunt in a couple of days/weeks. Makes me sick.

Lots of rifle hunters are the same. They put little or no prep time in before heading out to hunt. The rifle stays in its case all year and they go shoot one or two bullets at camp and say they' re ready. It' s a wonder more animals aren' t injured.

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RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

You saw more wounded deer in one day than I' ve seen in 51 years. I did blow a front leg off a buck about 1980. A guy in the same hunting club shot him opening day in 1981.

RE: Hope I never have to see that in the woods again
 

SuperX, you should PROBABLY read the story again. Rangerstud told the people " they blew her back leg off and the one kid kind of laughed about it." You' re right, it very well could have been a good shot gone bad, but there is nothing funny about blowing off the hind leg of an animal.