A question about finishing a deer after dark!!

[Big Bill]

With all the questions about the 278 deer being killed I have my own question about a wounded deer. Say you shoot a deer and he jumps or its just a bad shot and he is hit a little far back...He runs but you track him in the dark and find him still alive after dark.

A. Do you let him suffer and possibly get eaten by coyotes.

B. Shoot him again even though it is after dark.

I get that that guy with the 278 followed it on another persons land and broke several laws, but shooting a deer after dark is illegal...however leaving it to suffer is immoral.

I am guessing calling the game warden is the proper thing to do but where I hunt its an hour and a half to cell service making it 3 hours for the deer to suffer before I can call and get back.

[bossbowman]

Use common sense

[BitBackShot]

The deer is probably suffering and that is a personal choice you'd have to make.

Obviously it's black and white as far as the law goes or we'd have all kinds of "suffering deer" in East Texas all the time.

[Razorback01]

JMO, I'll do the right thing and sleep well, may not be legal in the eyes of the law, but I will be ethical.

[Buff]

I am not sure how it works if the guy who shot it is the one that finishes it off but there is a defense to prosecution that covers the humane dispatch of a wounded animal that protects dog handlers.
Hopefully Sika will see this and comment

[miket]

JMO, I'll do the right thing and sleep well, may not be legal in the eyes of the law, but I will be ethical.

Yep

[mikerosa]

The deer is probably suffering and that is a personal choice you'd have to make.

Obviously it's black and white as far as the law goes or we'd have all kinds of "suffering deer" in East Texas all the time.

I disagree to a point.

A deer shot during daylight and wounded, then followed up with a shot while dark has 2 shots in it.

A deer shot @ nite circumventing the laws, will have 1 shot, or the sound of two shots,3 shots all after dark. Illegal !

Plus, deer shot during day will have blood trail leading to the final kill shot.

Law enforcement if they did their job properly can piece the puzzle together to expose the fraudulent attempt or the honest ethical hunter.

Problem we have is unethical game life enforcement wanting to too quickly pass a ticket instead of gathering info.

I know I just curled the neck hair of our very great ethical wild life management people, but their are good cops and bad cops,,,,, unfortunately.


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[Stykbow]

JMO, I'll do the right thing and sleep well, may not be legal in the eyes of the law, but I will be ethical.

This^^^

[Big Bill]

I get the common sense response. But say you finish the deer at 11pm and the game warden hears the shot and you get a fine and it is found out here on our green screen. Based on comments I have seen from some perfect people on other threads,...do I then become an outlaw who should be banned from hunting for 5 years to life? I guess the question is WHAT DO YOU DO. My bet is most would finish off the deer, to me that would be the ethical thing to do. But based on other comment you could become a pariah or be branded an OUTLAW on here because you got caught. So is it the act of ending the suffering or getting caught that is so hated by those quick to judge? And for the record I have not had any run ins with the game warden since I was a kid hunting doves with a bb gun. I just want to know the thoughts here on a situation we could all find ourselves in.

[BitBackShot]

I disagree to a point.

A deer shot during daylight and wounded, then followed up with a shot while dark has 2 shots in it.

A deer shot @ nite circumventing the laws, will have 1 shot, or the sound of two shots,3 shots all after dark. Illegal !

Plus, deer shot during day will have blood trail leading to the final kill shot.

Law enforcement if they did their job properly can piece the puzzle together to expose the fraudulent attempt or the honest ethical hunter.

Problem we have is unethical game life enforcement wanting to too quickly pass a ticket instead of gathering info.

I know I just curled the neck hair of our very great ethical wild life management people, but their are good cops and bad cops,,,,, unfortunately.


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I've shot plenty of deer lethally that left no or almost no blood trail.

And how on earth are you gonna assume that the LEs would even be close enough by to hear 2 shots? And how are you gonna prove that the 1st night shot didn't miss, forcing a 2nd? Etc, etc.

I think the only way it could be accomplished would be to first call the GW, have them show up to accompany the finishing effort.

Otherwise, too many loopholes and reasonable ways around the stuff you've discussed.

[cehorn]

When all of this first started, I started a thread similar. There is a wide range of replies but here is the link

https://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=667150

[lovemylegacy]

I would finish the deer and not even think twice about it.

[Big pig]

I would finish the deer and not even think twice about it.

Yep. And I don’t break any rules normally.
We hunt and shoot pigs raccoons and yotes every night possible.
Unfortunately, we never seen a GW in the 34 years we have owned the property.

[BrandonA]

How about call the game warden and have him come out or at least ask his opinion.

[Jtrisler]

I would finish the deer and not even think twice about it.

absolutely! I shot a nice 8 point with my bow about 10 years ago. He stepped forward about the time I shot and well.......I got him straight in the double grass bags. I was sick! I watched him hunch up and WALK into the head high palmettos and saw him lay down not far from my stand. I eased down and walked back to camp to wait on my buddies to finish hunting, have a couple beer and wait for him to die. We came back a couple hours later and he hadn't moved.....he was sick.....could barely pick his head up. As my buddy held the light I quickly put another arrow in him and he never stood up. It was the right thing to do. Why make him suffer anymore or wait for the coyotes to find him?