Always be prepared when approaching shot game.

[GregLaRoche]

A muzzle loader died after being attacked by a deer he shot. Take the time to reload and approach shot game with caution. Consider carrying a side arm.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/24/us/arkansas-deer-death-trnd/index.htmlX

 

[Rifleman1776]

That happened in a county neighboring where I live. Sad.

 

[tenngun]

Heard it on radio this AM.
Deer are big and can be mean, give em time to die, reload with care. Approach with caution.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Had a red deer stag with large pointy antler come for me many years ago now.
Shot it at 15'!
The one in the top half of the image.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I shot a buck 3 years ago from about 10 yards out of a log blind, he flipped down the hill and came to rest about 20 yards away. I looked at him laying there dead and walked off the hill to look at him, I left my flintlock in the blind. I took a look at the "dead" buck from a few feet away and turned to go back to my blind to shuck my heavy clothes for the drag down the valley. This buck wasn't visibly breathing but as soon as I turned my back on him he jumped up and took off.

I heard him crash just out of sight and thought "OK dummy, you know better than to assume a deer is dead and take the gun off of him, now you might lose this deer."

I went back to my blind to shed some clothes and reloaded my rifle to take up the chase. I went in the direction he ran and saw him lying about 50 yards away looking at me, he stayed still until I put the sights on him and he was up and gone in the blink of an eye. We repeated this scenario over and over until I finally had a clear shot at him on a hillside across the creek and put him down permanently.

As a rookie bowhunter 45 years ago I lost a deer that I had plenty of time to fill full of arrows while she was down on the ground kicking but didn't. I adopted the mantra of if they are still moving I am going to keep putting holes in them, this one fooled me but I knew better.

 

[tenngun]

That’s why god invented pipes. You shoot, wipe reload, load a pipe, smoke said pipe, check prime then go look to your deer.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

That’s why God invented pipes. You shoot, wipe reload, load a pipe, smoke said pipe, check prime then go look to your deer.

Yep
Stay alert during that wait as you sit smoking that pipe, for if you are in a state that lets you take more than one doe during the season..., since there was no sound (yet) of you crashing through the woods after the deer you shot, sometimes a doe or two will wander back, to see what happened to their friend. You might get two for the day, and you have a better chance of not finding the first one still mobile, eh?

LD

 

[tenngun]

Two deer??? That almost sounds like ( hope the mods don’t censor this four letter word) work

 

[Tanglefoot]

Reloading quickly should be your habit before you go into the woods to hunt, for all the reasons others have mentioned and many more. A friend of mine once shot a big male Brown Bear and it went down. He did reload, waited for a time, then walked up cautiously. He prodded the bear with his rifle muzzle and got no reaction. Finally he leaned his rifle against the carcass, drew his knife and leaned over to bleed the critter, grabbing a handful of fur to turn it's head. The bear growled!
The way he told the story was: "You'd think it would not be possible for a man of my age to jump completely over an 900-pound Brown Bear, grab his rifle while in mid-air and turn for a follow up shot before his feet touched down,but that's what I remember!"
He said the second shot did the trick,and he even had time
to rinse out his linen in a nearby stream before his hunting partner arrived....

 

[Sam squanch]

Brit smoothly, nice stag! But I thought repeating rifles were banned in Britain?

 

[Britsmoothy]

Brit smoothly, nice stag! But I thought repeating rifles were banned in Britain?

Can't talk about that here cousin.

 

[Sam squanch]

Sorry, but since your picture showed a modern rifle,I got confused. I thought this was a muzzleloading forum

 

[Brokennock]

Ouch

 

[tenngun]

Reloading quickly should be your habit before you go into the woods to hunt, for all the reasons others have mentioned and many more. A friend of mine once shot a big male Brown Bear and it went down. He did reload, waited for a time, then walked up cautiously. He prodded the bear with his rifle muzzle and got no reaction. Finally he leaned his rifle against the carcass, drew his knife and leaned over to bleed the critter, grabbing a handful of fur to turn it's head. The bear growled!
The way he told the story was: "You'd think it would not be possible for a man of my age to jump completely over an 900-pound Brown Bear, grab his rifle while in mid-air and turn for a follow up shot before his feet touched down,but that's what I remember!"
He said the second shot did the trick,and he even had time
to rinse out his linen in a nearby stream before his hunting partner arrived....

Just be careful when reloading, I’ve been hunting near half a century and still get a bit of buck fever. “Make haste slowly”.

 

[Rifleman1776]

There is a saying among many olde time hunters that 'the most dangerous animal is a dead one'. Of course that means a animal that looks dead can still be presumably dangerous.

 

[hanshi]

Yep
Stay alert during that wait as you sit smoking that pipe, for if you are in a state that lets you take more than one doe during the season..., since there was no sound (yet) of you crashing through the woods after the deer you shot, sometimes a doe or two will wander back, to see what happened to their friend. You might get two for the day, and you have a better chance of not finding the first one still mobile, eh?


Back in Georgia I always stayed in my stand for an hour or more after shooting a deer. And very frequently I'd get an additional one or two more deer. My first step after shooting was to reload and sit tight. And I knew enough to approach any deer carefully. I also always had my rifle in hand every minute of the hunt until I put it aside for the skinning to begin. I don't think I'm paranoid but I virtually never step into the bush without a firearm on my person.

LD

 

[Treestalker]

Been carrying a gun in the woods since I was 10 years old, and just don't see a reason not to. Nowadays even tenderfeet like my esteemed cousin-in-law are wise enough to pack something in the 'sticks'. Incidents like the unfortunate deer hunter's death here in Arkansas should be a reminder to all of us; even the most experienced woodsman can make a mistake, even the best swimmer can drown.

 

[MN284]

Patrick McManus has a hilarious story of his first deer hunt, riding a bicycle up the mountain, shooting a buck, loading it onto his bicycle for the trip home. The deer wakes up and its flailing legs work the pedals amazingly fast.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Two deer??? That almost sounds like ( hope the mods don’t censor this four letter word) work

That's why I try to ensure the local butcher/deer-meat-cutter stays in business. I don't always use his services, but when I do I'm not in a condition to break down my deer..., usually after a difficult drag, or tracking a friend's deer over difficult terrain late at night.

LD

 

[okawbow]

Was taught early to approach a downed deer from the rear, back side and poke him in the eye to see if he’s still alive. If the deers eyes are closed, he is probably still alive.

I’ve had 1 buck get up and run just as I was reaching down to poke him.