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Finishing it off

Old 10-21-2011, 06:01 PM
  #1  
Spike
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Default Finishing it off

Hey all, my first post here.

I recently moved to North Carolina and am finishing up my hunters education training and will be getting my hunting license this fall for the season which starts on Nov. 19th in my county.

I bought a Mossberg 4X4 .30-06 bolt action rifle and am ready to hunt!

My question is this:

Say I make a sloppy shot and the deer isn't dead when I come up on it. How do I finish it off? I have no sidearm, only my great-grandfathers Bowie knife and the rifle. In the training course it said (along with what I've researched) to simply shoot it again in the vital area. I refuse to discharge a .30-06 rifle at point blank range into the dirt I'm terrified it will bounce back and kill me.

I understand that waiting it out seems to be the only option but I don't really want to wait if it could take hours for the animal to die.

Any suggestions? I'm new to this.


Thanks!

Mike
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Old 10-21-2011, 06:34 PM
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Fork Horn
 
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Im sorry but unless you shoot the thing in the butt it will not just lay still for you to walk up on it and die hours later. The other possibilities of it not being dead in a couple of minutes will let that dear run and when you find it it will be hours later because you should back out and let it die so you can recover it. Now if you do shoot one in the butt you seriously need to shoot it again because it will take hours for that animal to die if you dont and you do not want to get within kicking distance of it because it will lay a hurt on you. And if you are in a stand and shoot a deer you should give it 30 minutes to die before you get down anyways because if you did gut shoot it and walk up on it to quick and it aint dead it is gonna run and you might never find your deer. But on the odd chance that it is still alive when you walk up on it you can a) cut its throat or b) shoot it like your instuctor told you the bullet will imbed into the dirt on the other side of the animal and will not bounce straight back and kill you. Also I am pretty sure he meant to shoot it from a little ways back not walk up and touch the barrel to the animal. And honestly if you walk up on animal still alive I would lay money on it running off or just give it a couple minutes and it will be dead with out you having to go and ruin meat by blowing it away from half an inch. but in my experience unless you want to keep the head just shoot it there you will ruin no meat and the animal is dead instantly. So that is the way I would go if I were to shoot the animal. Also you say you have the equipment but have you practiced with it? If you have not you need to hit the range and practice practice practice. You can not just buy the rifle and then go shoot something. You have sighted the rifle in right? If you do your part and hit the deer in the brisket you will not have to worry about having to finish it off. It will be dead before you can work the bolt or soon after. And one of the ways to keep this from happening is to go out and go for a doe first. Dont have a buck be your first deer harvested. You will get buck fever. You will probably get it with a doe to but once you have broken the ice it will be easier after that and will settle your nerves. Also wait and be patient for a good shot do not get over excited and shoot when there is not a good shot present. Wait for a good broadside shot calm yourself down think of it like paper and squeeze the trigger. Sorry for the long rant but it sounds like you need all the help you can get. And good luck on your first hunt.
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Old 10-21-2011, 06:52 PM
  #3  
Spike
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hi west, thanks for the reply. to answer your doubts i'm a pretty experienced shooter with the caliber of rifle that i bought its just that I've never hunted before. I appreciate your thoughts and was speaking hypothetically about the sloppy shot. In your experience it looks like I wouldn't have to wait long regardless. This I didn't know but thanks again for the comment!
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Old 10-21-2011, 07:24 PM
  #4  
dpv
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A few years ago, I was hunting with my buddy when he shot a doe. I walked over to the area he was hunting and he was getting ready to gut it. I headed back to my stand when he called out to me. It kicked when he started to cut. Not sure why, but he handed the knife to me.....maybe it had freaked him out a bit...I stabbed the blade into the deer's throat and cut outward. Quickly bled out. no fuss. Be careful of the legs though...the hooves could hurt you.
maybe 7 years ago we had a deer get hit in front of our house and break it's back. I used my bow to put an arrow thru the lungs. Again it died quickly. If you don't want to get close to it or you don't want to dispatch it up close and personal, then step back 10 feet so you shoot at an angle and your bullet will not come back your way.
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Old 10-21-2011, 08:01 PM
  #5  
Fork Horn
 
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No problem and it is good to know that you know how to shoot. And yes in my experiences even on a deer I did shoot a little farther back than I wanted still died within 4 to 5 minutes of the shot. And all of the ones that I have hit in the bread basket were dead on impact or within 2 minutes so I would not worry about having to put one out of its misery. Again good luck on your first hunt and have fun being in the woods.
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Old 10-22-2011, 07:56 AM
  #6  
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Take a step back if it's on the ground and not dead. Shoot it in the head/neck from an angle and you will be fine.

With the older standard lead nose rounds it used to be more common to come up on a deer that was mortally wounded, but not dead yet. They all took a finishing shot, or cut the deers throat, and then claimed their kill. Do what is easier for you. Most guys made another shot because a wounded deer can hurt you seriously if you get too close.

When I shot my first deer it was still alive when I got to it. I had taken out a lung, and it was down for the count. I used the rifle my father had me using, a .44 mag, and fired a close range shot to finish it off.

If you are worried about something that is so unlikey to hurt you, then carry a smaller caliber sidearm.
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Old 10-22-2011, 10:14 AM
  #7  
Spike
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thanks for the replies! a sidearm isnt in my budget right now but it looks like the general consensus is to use a knife on its throat if it isnt already dead, i will keep that in mind!
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Old 10-22-2011, 01:31 PM
  #8  
Giant Nontypical
 
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Ain't no way I'm going at a deer with my knife...

Do the deer and yourself a favor, shoot it again in the neck, problem solved...
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Old 10-22-2011, 04:31 PM
  #9  
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The few times ive gave a coup de grace for my deer or those of others ive used handgun to the head or knife. When you use the knife walk up to its back stand behind its head grab either rack or ear twist its head back and cut it to the bone all the way across. Wait a couple of mins and gut. I made the mistake of going up to one. And got to close to its legs and got the crap kicked outa me. So ALWAYS walk up to its back but the knife will work. Dont worry about your rifle round ricochetingback ive never seen or herd of dirt causing that.
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Old 10-22-2011, 04:43 PM
  #10  
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If you are using a partitioned round, or a hollow point round, and make a good shot chances are the deer will be dead before you get out of your stand.

The quality of hunting ammunition has improved so much in my short time shooting it's unbelievable (20 years now). When I was kid there weren't too many calibers that had hollow point rounds available. Partitioned rounds were pretty much non-existent for hunting.

I think you are worrying about nothing. Chances are, you'll get hit by buck fever and miss anyways.

I don't mean that to be mean, it's just something that happens to a lot newer hunters. Myself included back in the day.
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