Nobody wants to see an animal suffer but sometimes it happens. I think you just have to be as proficient with your equipment as possible to humanely kill an animal. I like to think that when an animal is hit well, its already dead, its muscles are just reacting.

+1 to these two. Very well said.

Absolutely. I think with all the time we put into the sport, when we finally connect it can be overwhelming. Since we put so much time into it, and we respect the animals so much, I think its normal to have some sort of a "sad" feeling after the kill. I love hunting and I get that feeling each time because you have just taken a deers life. But obviously, he will be used for meat and food and my "sadness" leaves very quickly.

Also, like someone has said, watching them die is the worst. I much rather like to walk up on a dead deer and not have to see it lay there gasping for air.

Sorry, but that is a little ignorant. The first vertebrae behind the head of the deer is the weakest. When deer encounter snares, as I have seen and heard much more elsewhere, they die almost instantly. That vertebrae breaks very easily. There are thousands of trappers out there. Some use snares. In my lifetime I've only seen 2 deer snared and their neck broke so fast, there was absolutely NO disturbance at all at the location. Looks like the intended quarry were fox and coyote. Most snares break when a deer gets caught by the leg/hoof.

When an animal(furbearer) gets neck caught in a snare, he dies not from strangulation, but first goes unconscious because there is no blood flow to the brain, then the system is shut down and subsequently dies. Some info to digest.

As for feeling guilty in the mentioned scenario... I sure do. I want one shot kills with fast death. I don't hesitate at all to put finishing shots on downed game that aren't expired yet.

iSnipe

thats true sometimes youl feel guilt but if you do everything your supposed to and everything goes right, and you put one right in the boiler room, the deer is "runnin on empty" its runnin dead it jusr doesnt know it yet. heck sumtimes it doesnt even run

I use to feel bad when the deer was flopping around when I was younger and inexperienced, but I think it's just part of being human and watching an animal suffer. I do have great respect for the deer I have taken and try to end their suffering ASAP.

I don't think it is wrong to feel a bit unnerved...guilt isn't the word I am look for, but just an odd feeling

My Dad (of course he is tough, right?) and I hunted one afternoon together and he shot a large doe, she immediately dropped in her tracks, when we went up to tag her, she balled something awful out, and later he said he felt a bit "guilty" about the whole thing. I know I got the hair on the back of my neck to stand up on that one.

I agree with an earlier poster, you are human, we all are, it is natural to have some type of "feeling"

If you do your part the suffering should be minimal if at all. I do feel bad when one does not die in its tracks.. But I have to remember that if that deer runs 50 yards before dieing then it died in less than a minute. Then I have to compare that to what would happen if that deer was not shot. If it got hit by a car, got sick or died of old age. Deer don't have hospitals or health care, if they get hurt or sick they are destined for an long drawn out death. 99% of the time a gun is a much more humane way to die for a deer.

Very well put

The way I see it is if you don't feel a little remorse, you probably shouldn't be hunting. You are taking a life. It's part of the responsibility of being a hunter.