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I think I shot a deer

whacko said:
No debate with me. I split the pelvis....its easier. And I split the ribs open to cut the windpipe. I have fat hands and the beginnings of arthritis......it just makes the task easier. Once dressed it goes in my truck and straight to the butcher. Done.
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Sounds like a plan. My guys always hope that Little Jack will tag out first so that he can be put to work. His dad has a dedicated temp. controlled room with floor drain, running water and a st st topped table for Jack to do his thing. Next to it is a wood stove and frying pans. If we let him, he would probably consume all the backstrap while cutting up the deer. Jack.
 
one-eyed Jack said:
Well, Mark, Maybe at least a half hour. The hunters in my family have taken many deer with bow and have never lost one. (Knock on wood). In NH they keep the contact #s of the guys with the "Tracker dogs" on them and have actually had to call one who's dog found the deer in a bog where they never would have recovered it. The deer was down but alive. The dog hollered like hell till they arrived, and meanwhile held the deer down with a grip on it's neck. I don't know if there are trackers in Mass, but it's a good thing to know for hunting NH. Jack.
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The idea is not to have to call tracker dogs. Ive gut or liver shot more than one deer in my lifetime.
And my many of my hunting friends have as well.

Ive found 100 percent of those poorly hit deer within 100 yards of the stand. Because if I question a hit, I get down and quietly leave the area for a minimum of 8 hours.
My hunting friends do the same as well.

If you start tracking a gut or liver hit deer after an hour you will likely kick it up with no blood trail and never find it. 99 percent of the time those deer will bed within 100 yards of the shot. Why push it further away and make it harder to find?

When in doubt back out. Dont even go look for the arrow.
 
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I didn't start hunting until my late 40's. Dad was an upland bird hunter - he went to Kansas every year for a week to escape his wife and kids. He never taught me anything about hunting. So I must have watched 200 Youtube videos so that I knew what to do in the unlikely event that I killed something. I found a scrape and the next night just before sunset I had about a 10yard shot with my muzzle loader. Of course I hit too high- who practices at 10 yards? And with no experience, I figured I'd hit point of aim. Well I spined a spike buck and it was after sunset when I figured out I had to finish him off. After an internal debate about whether it was legal to finish him after sunset, I decided the humane thing to do was to shoot him and if it was illegal, so be it; I'd take my punishment. The field dressing in the dark was nothing after all that youtube training, but i could have used more help with the whole killing thing!
 
Mark from MA said:
The idea is not to have to call tracker dogs. Ive gut or liver shot more than one deer in my lifetime.
And my many of my hunting friends have as well.

Ive found 100 percent of those poorly hit deer within 100 yards of the stand. Because if I question a hit, I get down and quietly leave the area for a minimum of 8 hours.
My hunting friends do the same as well.

If you start tracking a gut or liver hit deer after an hour you will likely kick it up with no blood trail and never find it. 99 percent of the time those deer will bed within 100 yards of the shot. Why push it further away and make it harder to find?

When in doubt back out. Dont even go look for the arrow.
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I know, Mark. In this case all other options were explored and the tracker was called and the deer was recovered before nite time and 'yote time. Jack.
 
one-eyed Jack said:
He's an OK guy, I know him. He just did no pre-planning and wasn't prepared for what could happen. No mentor or hunting buddies. Hope won't let the buck spoil. I would have gone (same town) with my truck and helped him right away, but not with my back issue. If it were not for that, my son would have called me to help him. Jack.
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...WHY do you NEED a truck? ;) ...2 bucks fit in my trunk! [rockon]
 

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Should have just told him he's all alone in the woods and that deer is gonna be warm for a while. Whatever happens happens.
Then hung up.
 
Guy should've done more research, sure, but I kinda get it - I don't have anyone in my family to show me what to do either so I get my meat at the grocery store.
 
Realtor MA said:
How did he know what a deer looks like?
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hobbies-leisure-deer-sign-hunter-know-tractor-rsun24_low.jpg
 
one-eyed Jack said:
He was in Acton, only about 100 yds from his car. That helped. In my 70 yrs of hunting, I've seen a LOT of dumb stuff. One time in NH we had a newbie hunter with us. He was on leave from the army, new to the area, so we told him to stay on the logging trail so as to not get lost. He saw a deer, did a low crawl with the rifle across his arms, just like he was taught and took a rest on a stone wall. Held his breath, squeezed and dumped a goat that was tied to the corner of a shed. We heard the shot and went to check it out. When we got there, the lady who owned the goat had taken his rifle from him and was trying to beat him to death with it. We resolved the situation by giving the lady a bunch of cash to buy two new goats to save his life. And we sent him home. Then there was the guy who tipped over a domestic pig with his '06 and took it to the check-in station. That's another story. Jack.
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Who could blame him with the price of bacon and all.
 
rscalzo said:
Not as hunter but a friend is a very accomplished Hunter Safety instructor. Usually those areas are covered during the course.
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The problem is that the course is BASIC, and not hands-on.

Many of the students have never seen the insides of a deer on the outside, much less jammed that huge bowie knife in....wait.....you don't need a 10" Hunting/Survival knife?

I tell ALL students that are not already shooters, to find a shooter to mentor them.

I tell ALL students that finding an experienced hunter to learn from is important.

This is why joining a Club is important - experienced people abound.

Yes it's covered, but so is a lot of other stuff, and it's ALL important. Not all of it can be, or is retained.
 
one-eyed Jack said:
RIFLEMAN1000 said:
Just a tip for you hunters. I carry a pen and a pencil when I’m out. I’ve seen it cold enough for a pen to not work. You can always sharpen a pencil.
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You can also shove the pen up the deer's bung hole for 10 minutes. Jack.
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We need a new megathread: "one-eyed Jack's Pro-Tips".

ETA: The Bride's reaction: "Only elbow-bumps for you".
 

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