Hunting advice.

[trumperman]

I was at the bar recently with some ol friends and then the the following discussion arose:
you wound a deer and dont find it until after legal shooting hours. the deer is not dead but laying there bleeding but it's obvious it will be awhile before it dies. it's illegal here in illinois to carry any other weapon other than whats legal to hunt with, a shotgun muzzleloader etc. its now after legal shooting hours, so what do you do? stand there til it dies, come back in morning and hope its still there, or shoot it? the most humane thing to do, put it out its misery.

 

[Rick Richard]

Yeah, but you better contact DNR before taking any action. Based on the circumstance, they may allow you to dispatch the animal.

 

[slas]

Throat cut?

 

[nmbarta]

If it's a 100lb whitetail doe, I'd probably just slit her throat (not fun, but ends the situation pretty quickly)
If it's a 300lb muley with giant antlers that's been hit in the spine, I'm NOT going to slit his throat, but I'm not going to leave him to suffer either.

 

[J E Custom]

Sounds like a good place for a pistol. If it did come up you could prove that the deer/game was shot legal with the rifle. Still in the stand or cabin out of reach and you have a blood trail back to where you shot him.

It would take a pretty sorry game warden to give you trouble for doing the humane thing and getting him out of his misery. If you made a close head shot with the pistol it could be forensically proven that it was the dispatching shot.

Just my opinion

J E CUSTOM

 

[RT2506]

The 380 acp comes out of the pocket and pop in the top of the head. If the DNR guys want to get picky, go to court and demand a jury trial. Also tell the DNR guys you did not want to be charged for wanton waist by leaving the animal.

 

[Elkeater]

this is one of those laws vs. ethics things. I can tell you that I would do the ethical thing first. I can live with a minor fine if the game warden wants to get picky. I couldn't sleep very well knowing I saved myself a few dollars at the expense of an animals suffering. that being said I personally know a couple game wardens and they would side on the side of ethics as well.

 

[trumperman]

I know I can always count on you guys, guess doing the right thing and paying the fine after explaining the situation is the best thing to do.

 

[Plinker147]

Do the right thing. Call first if possible, if not report right after. The one problem you can have if you use a pistol during bow season. Use the right weapon type for the season. Shooting hours is explainable, firearm during archery season is harder for GW to believe.

 

[Waynzee]

Chances are if you're back in the woods far enough nobody is going to hear a pistol shot anyway. So I would do the right thing and put the animal down. We have similar laws here in Pa. but never had a problem like you mentioned.

 

[J E Custom]

I know I can always count on you guys, guess doing the right thing and paying the fine after explaining the situation is the best thing to do.

Doing the right thing is always best and telling the truth will help.

While bow hunting in Colorado, I had a similar incident with a bull elk.
First I went two far from camp and in tough terrain. After the shot the bull increased the distance and fell in the worst possible place for recovery.

After flagging my way back to camp (Over 5 miles) I knew I was in for a rough recovery of the meat. I knew where a old logging road was so I flagged all the way to it. after walking the better part if 5 miles, I knew that I could not recover it by my self before the meat spoiled, so when I got back to camp I put together my pack frame and decided to get on my 3 wheeler and shorten the distance to the kill site. (It is illegal to ride 3 wheelers of the trails in national parks) but I was more worried about the spoilage than a fine.

I managed to get within 3/4 of a mile from the Elk with the 3 wheeler and walked the rest. After quartering and butchering the Elk an started the arduous task of packing it back to the 3 wheeler by myself. after many trips I loaded the 3 wheeler with as much as it would hold and started for camp (Three trips later it was done) My hunting buddies had not returned from a overnight spike camp hunt so I was on my on.

While icing down the Elk, A warden showed up and said looks like you had some success. Then he ask me where I killed the Elk, So I told him.
He ask how I got him out by my self, and to his surprise I told him !
He then told me that that was not allowed and I would get a fine for using the 3 wheeler off trail. I told him that recovering the Elk was more important than the fine and I was ok with that. After a lecture, he also stated that he had found the Elk remains left behind and that I had recovered everything eatable, and that he was not going to fine me for telling the truth and doing such a good job of saving everything that was usable. (He also said never to do it again).

So the lesson I learned was, Never shoot anything that would be hard or impossible to recover. And that not all game wardens are horses asses if you tell them the truth up front.

J E CUSTOM

 

[trumperman]

J E Custom, that's a really great story and thanks for the write up but I can't help but wonder why is it illegal to ride 3 wheelers of the trails in national parks ? Some of these laws makes no sense to me.

 

[J E Custom]

J E Custom, that's a really great story and thanks for the write up but I can't help but wonder why is it illegal to ride 3 wheelers of the trails in national parks ? Some of these laws makes no sense to me.

Most trails are good for 44" vehicles to prevent trucks and cars from driving on them. The original intent was they were for horses and foot traffic. Then along came the 3 wheelers, so to minimize the disturbance to the park and hunters trails were marked that you could not go beyond 30 feet of the marked trails with any motor vehicle.

It was just one of the rules for the national parks, and I have no problem with it, But I knew there were no one that I would disturb (No one was in the section we were in) and the fact that I was alone and knew that Packing an animal the size of an Elk by my self, I had no choice but to do what I did.

I have also dispatched animals after hunting hours that had been tracked for hours and used a bow or firearm if appropriate and not had a problem with anyone because of the effort to retrieve the game.

Doing the right thing is always best.

J E CUSTOM

 

[ctw]

I have been in that situation before and never gave it a second thought. A blood trail to the animal and initial hit speaks volumes for your actions. Its the right and ethical thing to. Animal out of it's misery and game recovered. ctw