I would shoot the buck that was still alive. Like others say, chances are he' s going to die so why not peacefully finish him off rather that let stress and starvation take their toll.

In Va he could have shot both of them.

Just because one chooses to not do something does not make it the law, or unethical for another to do the oppisite.


We mount heads sometimes based on the story behind the hunt, not the size of the head, Not always are only yhe biggest bucks mounted,and what a story this man will have. God Bless him.

I would have shoot the deer also. Trying to free it could be dangerous, and would put a lot of stress on the deer. But as Lenny said, it could be done.

Lenny
I am 19 and give your bro much credit also.

man all i got to add is turn off that D@MN caps lock....its hurtin my ears![:@]

I seen a home video on TV a while back that had 2 live bucks locked up fighting in the snow. They got hung up on a fence, and some guys used a chainsaw to cut their antlers to free them.
I seen a picture of a mount of 3 bucks locked up. Some hunters came across them and shot them. 1 was dead already, I think. They barely left enough cape for the taxidermists to work with. They said the 3-way mount is worth alot of money because it is the only one, if I remember right.
I would probably shoot the live buck in a 1-dead situation, or if I had 2 buck tags left, I would shoot both in situation with both alive.

I would not shoot the live one. I hunt for the sport of it and would not feel to fulfilled shooting some deer thats stuck and cant move. I would feel better setting him back to the wild for me to hunt another day! Now i' m not saying its unethical - to each his own. this is just my take on the whole deal.

As far as the deer probably dying anyways, why would he. I dont get this whole stress theory. If thats the case why arent people dropping off like flies all over the world from stress? It doesnt make sense. You see marathon runners collapsing from exhaustion just to get some water and rest some and they are ok. Why would the deer die if he is able to walk away and rest up. Maybe if the animal has been there for a few days i could see em being too far gone but in thast case you could free him and at least see if he runs away.

the way i see it, if he can walk away he will survive. i dont buy into the theory that 99% of these cases result in the deer dying later after being freed. Man, i have seen deer that were hit by cars getting by.

What if they were both alive and you had one buck tag?? They may die eventually but you can only legally shoot 1. Now what? I personally would have a tough time shooting one that' s locked up. Just doesn' t seem right. I' m not saying that' s what should or shouldn' t be done because frankly I don' t have a clue. I' m glad this was posted. I will have something to go on if I ever come across this. Ultimately I' d say let nature take it' s course on that one.

I would have to say that I would try to get the live one loose.I figure if he won that battle than he deservse another shot at life. Besides ther is not much sport in walking up to a deer and shooting it.I think I speek for alot of us bowhunters, thats why we chose bowhunting, for the chalenge! Good huntin

QUIT SHOUTING!!!!

Let it go.....LOL

I would stick the live one - then shoot the other just to make sure[&:]

One hell of a drag though