What Do You Do After Making The Shot?

[red1973]

I was reading about a guy who shot a deer and it fell and he immediately started climbing down from his stand when the animal got up and ran off and he never found it. Made me think of what one should do immediately after the shot was made. If he had stayed in his stand and loaded another round and the deer got up he could have shot it again and would have probably gotten his deer.

When I'm hunting deer with a gun and I have shot one, I stay in the stand and load another round into the chamber and I just watch the area where I saw the deer go down. I probably wait five or maybe ten minutes. I then gather all my gear together, while checking the spot where I saw the deer go down. I then lower my gun from the stand and get down, with my back pack of gear. I take the gun and slowly walk to the area where I saw the deer fall--watching for any movement as I'm going. When I find the deer, I poke it with the bore of the rifle to make sure it's dead. I admire it awhile and then begin the field dressing.

If I'm bow hunting, I wait for at least 30 minutes before leaving the stand to search for the deer--that's if I made what I thought was a good shot. If I doubted the quality of the shot, I will stay in the stand 45 minutes to an hour before beginning to look for them. If they aren't disturbed, the shot animal will lay down quickly and bleed to death, but if they are spooked, they can run who knows how far.

 

[BCCL]

Wait what seems like forever, then ad 15 minutes more.

 

[buck460XVR]

What Do You Do After Making The Shot?

Successful or not, I thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity......... If the animal goes down and stays down, I give it the space and time it needs to die with respect and without being harassed. Then the work begins.

 

[41]

Unless it is a DRT shot. I wait at least 20 to 30 minutes before going after it.

 

[waterhouse]

When I was younger my uncle had us bring a book so we'd have something to do after the shot. I haven't been deer hunting in years, but we always did the "wait 30 minutes and see if it gets back up" deal.

 

[smoothmetal]

Bring a book with you. I once read part of a Stephen King novel (yes, i'm serious). I usually wait 30 minutes. My father always told me that's the rule of thumb.

 

[CoRoMo]

I've mostly had one shot kills where the animal either dropped right there or made its way for a few yards before finishing. Only one animal, a cow elk, has ever needed a second shot. I pursued her as she stumbled around, falling and getting up, and eventually falling and staying put but just watching me. I put the second one in the back of her head from about 50 feet, to end the suffering. Those two shots were just a few seconds apart. I couldn't just let her flail about with a broken shoulder and whatnot. I guess I'll go after 'em immediately after my first shot to end it as quick as possible.

 

[mudbrik]

I know this thread has turned into a big debate about how long before going after your deer. But I am a rabbit hunter. I was taught as a young boy to immediately pull off the head to let the blood drain out, but I am at the point where I will be taking my 10 year old out this winter and I think that might freak him out, as it did me. Is this practice really necessary?

 

[avs11054]

Unless it is a DRT shot. I wait at least 20 to 30 minutes before going after it.

^ what he said

 

[rondog]

I know this thread has turned into a big debate about how long before going after your deer. But I am a rabbit hunter. I was taught as a young boy to immediately pull off the head to let the blood drain out, but I am at the point where I will be taking my 10 year old out this winter and I think that might freak him out, as it did me. Is this practice really necessary?

Probably a good idea to get the blood out asap, but I'd use a knife to cut the head off rather than the rather barbaric method of just tearing it off. You know, the whole "respect the animal" concept.

 

[CoRoMo]

I'm missing the "big debate". Maybe I need to reboot my computer?

 

[Mr_Pale_Horse]

Stop, look and listen.

If the animal is no longer visible, mentally mark its location at the shot, how it moved and where it moved, and where it was last seen. Mentally mark trees or other landmarks for your line of sight to these locations, so you can reverse recreate them from the ground.

Metally call your shot. Unless you completely new to shooting or hunting, you know how the trigger broke and how well you followed through, and where the bullet struck. If it passed through the upper thoracic cavity, the animal will expire in a matter minutes or less. If you think you shot went elsewhere, you might as well stay put for at least 30 minutes. The deer's type of movement at being hit will further confirm your analysis.

Otherwise, wait 15 minutes. A deer hit in the upper thoracic cavity will be incapacitated/dead by then. Move like your are 'still' hunting. How you execute 'le petite chasse' (the little hunt) can be more important than what came before.

 

[blitzen]

Red,
You're on the right track as far as being ready to hit em again if they wiggle an ear. Years ago I flattened a little buck with a muzzleloader, got down out of the tree right away to watch it gain it's feet and run off as I dumped powder down the bbl. A mistake I will never make again!

 

[waffentomas]

I don't wait - guess I'm in the minority.

One bad experience and one unexpected one have me going in right away. First, the bad one: Shot a cow elk a few years back and did the whole wait thing, eyed the area she fell over, went in and she's vanished. Wounded her (gut shot I'd imagine), followed the blood trail for 5+ hours until past dark, then 3 hours the next morning...never found her. Three of us were tracking her and the trail just stopped.

The unexpected one was when I shot a bear. I never knew that they moan, loudly, and I mean loudly, when wounded and dying. She was down, but, because of the previous elk wounding a few years back, I'd been going in directly after the shot. Good thing, as she was moaning up a a storm. I couldn't take it and shot her in the head after 3 looooong, loud moans. There is no way I could have waited 1/2 an hour, listening to that. It would have been cruel to let her suffer that long, or at all.

It's straight in for me, and a kill shot if need be. Never had a problem doing it this way. My whole hunting party of 7 people does it this way, too. I reload and slowly walk towards the animal. If it gets up, it dies.

 

[cottswald]

I know this thread has turned into a big debate about how long before going after your deer. But I am a rabbit hunter. I was taught as a young boy to immediately pull off the head to let the blood drain out, but I am at the point where I will be taking my 10 year old out this winter and I think that might freak him out, as it did me. Is this practice really necessary?

Presentation is everything. 10 year old, 8 year old, 4 year old, it doesn't matter. Just do it in a matter of fact way and get on with it. Up until the last generation or two, that's what folks have been doing for eons. Never "traumatized" anyone.

If on the other hand you're up tight about this "gruesome" thing your little one is going to witness, he'll sense it. It's only going to become as big a deal as you make it. Done properly, it's not gruesome, and it's not anything that will traumatize anyone. It's done in one fashion or another to all animals that we consume. Doesn't matter how you do it, just do it as quickly as possible. If you feel guilty about being a carnivore, then become a vegetarian.

Here check out this guy. He's got the right idea (If you don't like the music, go to the 1:00 min. mark).
http://www.youtube.com/user/hunter0055#p/c/03080824528780CF/7/W70328SCgOI

By the way, I like the music. Does anyone know who it is??

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

mudbrick, that practice is extremely barbaric and completely unneeded. I field dress my rabbits right there but that is as far as it needs to go. Ripping the animals head off is both disrespectful and just flat out poor taste. I wouldn't traumatize the 10 year old with that barbaric practice.

As far as the OP, shoot, wait 30 minutes minimum even with a DRT shot. With archery ESPECIALLY. No telling how many deer I have seen get up and run dead. You would be awfully surprised how far a dead dear can run. Shot out the heart on one little doe with an 8mm mauser. It ran towards my stand, stopped about 40 yards away behind this tree (shot was right at 65 yards) and stood there. Didn't shake or anything. It took another step out, I fired, it ran 100 yards then dropped. I got up to it, first shot had blown the top of the heart out the side, the second shot (was quartering away pretty heavily) blew the rest of it out of her chest cavity. I thought I had missed the first shot. She showed absolutely NO sign of even being hit! Hit a 240 pound buck the next week at almost the same distance with an almost identical shot path, it dropped like a sack of taters and didn't hardly even twitch. You just never know.

 

[Yarddog]

The woods I'm hunting has alot to do with the wait, And time of season too. I usually sit up in the tree while rut going on, Have done the Double Slam a
few times Hunting wiyh a bow I'll sit 45 to a hr on a good hit

Now if I'm in my little club & I'm gun hunting I will go get a DRT deer & drag to where I can pick em up with truck. I'm been lucky with the rifle in my hand
the last 15 years sence I made a High or further back hit than I wanted.

As far as Mudbrick & rabbit hunting,I always make head shots when possible &
slit a cut in along the hamstring and put on belt, NO NEED in Ripping head off ; )
Y/D

 

[dougwx12]

I sit down and wait 10-20 minutes. I had to pack a bull out from deep in the nasty that would've been 50 yards from the truck if we'd just waited.

The exception would be a very warm day. If I know it was a DRT hit, I'll go field dress immediately in that case.

 

[rodensouth]

Is there a special ceremonious way to gut them and skin them too? My word I definitely want to avoid barbarism at all costs.

 

[kyle1974]

if you're rifle hunting, shoot them in the neck, and you don't have to worry about "what to do after the shot"

 

[HOOfan_1]

Killed two deer with shotgun. The first one when I was 12 was running flat out and I shot at him 3 times with 12 gauge 3 inch #1 Buck and he collapsed within 5 seconds. Reloaded the shotgun, waited for my dad to come over from his stand which was probably 5 minutes. Went over and inspected deer with guns at the ready. He was dead.

Second when I was 14 and on a special youth hunt organized by the VA DGIF. My dad was at my side without a gun. Saw a buck with a huge rack walk out onto the road back in the woods that we were on about 60 yards away, take aim with the same gun and load as the previous deer and shoot once, he bolts take another shot. We waited about 10 minutes then got up to go look. Couldn't find him and we aren't supposed to go too far from our stand so we go back and wait to be picked up by the wardens running the hunt. 2 of us go looking and the deer is dead about 10 yards away from the spot I first spotted him.

Shot my 3rd deer with a Win 94 .30-30 with open sights. It was a smallish doe, she might have run about 10 yards after I shot her. I chambered another round, waited maybe 10 minutes then walked over to find her dead.

I've been rabbit hunting, although I have never killed a rabbit and know nothing about the practice of decapitating them. Although I have pulled off the head of many a mourning dove to finish them off. It is a very quick and easy yank and prevents me from putting even more lead into them. (biting down on a 7.5 pellet is not pleasant)

 

[SheepNutz]

I've never really thought about waiting, but I guess I've never had too. I've only hunted 5 deer seasons in my life, and I've harvested 6 deer in that time, and each one was a direct heart shot. The bucks ran about 15 yards before falling dead in their tracks, and all the does dropped right where they were standing. I did make the mistake this year of not reloading my muzzleloader in the stand after I got a doe. As I got up to her, I realized that the other 6 does she was with didn't run that far off and I could have taken a shot at another one.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Eject and RELOAD, if a follow up isn't required or avalible I start taking careful note of the landmarks around the immediate spot the deer was shot to speed up the acquisition of a blood trail if need be.

Then I wait 10 minutes as I have mistakenly pressured mortally wounded deer that only served to make recovery a nightmare.

Also if the deer is still "kickin" and in my sights I shoot again, I've also made the mistake of thinking "oh he's dead and just don't know it yet" that resulted in hard to recover animals and in the last instance a lost one.

 

[GJgo]

Unless you see 4 legs in the air, keep shootin' till it falls over dead. Trust me, it beats the heck out of tracking a "running dead" one over the ridge into the next range..

 

[kyle1974]

I've had deer kick for a few minutes after being shot in the neck. As a matter of fact, I shot one a few days ago that kicked for several minutes. It was a doe, and her spine was completley destroyed about 3 inches below her head, so she had no control over her legs. there is no doubt she was quite dead, but the kicking and such happens. I'd rather see a deer kicking in front of me, than follow a blood trail for 500 yards, thinking that deer had to run for 30-40 minutes before bleeding out.

Nerves can do funny things sometimes. I was looking at a hog a guy was cleaning on our skinning rack and after he had skinned, gutted, and removed the hogs head.... the muscles were still twitching in the hog's hind quarters. I should have video taped it... very weird.