Tire iron or a baseball bat would have done that the job.I've had to do it.

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I think you did the right thing considering it was a populated area. If it were out in the country and no one was around I would have went for it. I know it sucks to see an animal suffer, but sometimes you have to think about what's best for you and your family. With that many people around, I am sure some tree hugging bunny lovin' mom would have threw a fit. Then you would have been screwed. Like the officer said, he may not have had a problem with it, but if someone complains or wants to press charges he does not have a choice. That is his job. Among the various things they could site you with, like edangering the public, and illegally discharging a fire arm. You would have most likely lost you concealed carry permit, and possibly had to forfit your weapon. Not worth the risk in my opinion. It sucks that the world has come to this, but it has. So I guess we just have to learn to deal with and move on.

Paul

Hi again,

Hmm, had I been there, and had my weapon, I would have had to think hard on it. Probably I would not have shot it, not because I think it the right thing to do. I believe it should have been put down right then, but I fear the consequences too much in my old age ( ok so I am not old ) and even if I was sure I could shoot it safely, I would not for fear of being reported. However, I usually ahve a knife with me, and in that situation I would definately have cut the poor critters throat, thus ending its suffering almost as fast as a bullet. It seems too bad that we have to fear the law so much that we dont do the right thing, but as I believe another post indicated in this day, we do.
Just my uneducated opinion

I would have hit it with the car.

You made the right choice by not doing the deed considering the surroundings.Phoning the police would have had the animal dispatched quicker.(I've probably put down more deer with my service firearm than most have hunting).It"s funny how slow conservation officers can be sometimes.

You did the correct thing.
Don't lose any sleep over it.

Many of you mention that phoning the police, or sherif would have been quicker. Yes, probably in your area, it would have been, but not here in this area of PA. There are no local police in the township where I live, and at that early hour in the morning, there was only one State Police crusier for the whole county! We do now have a bit more coverage by the state police, however they avoid the "game issue".

In Pa the sheriff, would not have been an option either, as here they are mostly figuerheads! They do court work, and prisioner transport, and very little else. Its only in the last year that they are permitted to do traffic stops, and they must have special training to do that!

Always carry a sharp knife.

I understand the comments about using a knife, but a deer with a spinal injury usually still has use of it's front legs. I have had the displeasure of cutting the throats of 2 injured deer, and they both started kicking like crazy. Hooves are darn sharp, and a deer is very strong. Just a thought if anyone gets in that situation, be careful.