A wounded deer delima

[Fine Figure of a Man]

Quite a number of years ago when I was young and dumb(er), I reported an injured deer in a road ditch. A friends mother was worried about the deer and the possibility it would cause a traffic accident. It was dark when the deputy arrived. I showed him where the deer was and held a light on it. He completely missed the deer several times from maybe ten feet. I talked him into getting closer and shooting it in the head, apparently he was scared of the deer. The part the struck me most was he wasn't the least bit embarrassed about missing.
Since then I just shoot injured deer when I see them. It happens fairly often where I live.
Right - wrong and legal - illegal, don't always match up as they should.

 

[buck460XVR]

And, I'll tell ya this, I'll let the coyotes feast and the danged deer suffer before I'll spend a dime on a lawyer.

In the end, the right thing was done I think.

I too would not spend a dime on lawyers, risk a $1800 fine, loss of my gun and hunting and fishing privileges for 3 years. This is what shooting any deer outta season or without a tag will cost you here. You claim in the OP that there were several "by the book" folks that witnessed the event. To me that would have meant at least making the attempt to call a warden, or walking away. While putting the deer down was the right thing to do, those other folks may have felt reporting the illegal harvest as the right thing to do. Don't know the laws and regs in your state MC, so I am just going by what they are around here.

With the rate of car/deer collisions in my area, wardens and LEOs are very familiar with the routine and in many instances will tell you to put the animal down(if it can be done safely) and will deliver the tag either to the location or to your home if you want the carcass. They are not jerks about it, but also are not going to make it a major priority if they are involve at something else, more important at the time. How many folks, if the deer was a huge buck, would shoot the deer while still hung up, just for the rack? Even before they knew it was permanently injured? For every responsible hunter, there is another that is only concerned with a set of horns and some meat. This is why we have regs and rules, even when they make no sense. Tell folks anyone can at anytime put down a deer when they deem it necessary and someone will take advantage.

I too, believe in the end, the ethical thing was done.

 

[hdwhit]

horsey 300 wrote:
Guess it depends on where you live, thanks to this being such a sparsely populated area, most times, a call to LE or a game warden results in a quick verbal permission to do what needs done and waiting til the gw shows up for confirmation.

That's been my experience.

 

[Panfisher]

Having had this happen several times, between caught in a fence and hit by deer. My response is always the same if alone, quick bullet followed by a phone call to the Cons. Agent, helps that I know them well. If they have someone on their list I will happily deliver and even field dress. Being one of the guys who has to repair fences if I am gonna shoot them I do so first then remove from the fence without cutting the wire, if it's obvious the hip is dislocated, otherwise a short piece of pipe to twist the wire enough let the leg out is very handy, but sometimes cutting the fence is about all you can do.