Feeling sick about a deer :(

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rebel
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Re: Feeling sick about a deer :(

Post by rebel »

Blackbird, I'm not sure how many years hunting experience you have under your belt, internet conversations don't do a good job of painting the whole picture.
A quartering toward shot is difficult. Get the angle wrong and you only get one lung maybe some liver. The deer is just as dead, it just runs till it can't.

I you had been using a bigger caliber than a Grendel, you may have knocked it off it's feet but it probably would have still run. A head shot may have resulted in a blown off jaw, as that target is constantly moving. I have no doubt you used enough rifle, just that your shot placement was off. This can happen with a sub minute rifle of any caliber.
The fact that you are sickened by it shows me what type of hunter and man you are. I hope that never happens to you again.

As you can derive from tikkablks post ( probably the most prolific killer of critters here ) it does happen. I have had several experiences like yours over the last 35 years of deer hunting. I felt exactly as you did. Good luck to you and climb back in the saddle.
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blackbird
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Re: Feeling sick about a deer :(

Post by blackbird »

rebel wrote:Blackbird, I'm not sure how many years hunting experience you have under your belt, internet conversations don't do a good job of painting the whole picture.
A quartering toward shot is difficult. Get the angle wrong and you only get one lung maybe some liver. The deer is just as dead, it just runs till it can't.

I you had been using a bigger caliber than a Grendel, you may have knocked it off it's feet but it probably would have still run. A head shot may have resulted in a blown off jaw, as that target is constantly moving. I have no doubt you used enough rifle, just that your shot placement was off. This can happen with a sub minute rifle of any caliber.
The fact that you are sickened by it shows me what type of hunter and man you are. I hope that never happens to you again.

As you can derive from tikkablks post ( probably the most prolific killer of critters here ) it does happen. I have had several experiences like yours over the last 35 years of deer hunting. I felt exactly as you did. Good luck to you and climb back in the saddle.
Thank you for the kind words Rebel. I value your opinion as I was a long time lurker before I actually started posting and you have helped answer a lot of the questions I had getting into the blackout. I've been caught between a love for hunting and "compassion" for animals since I started hunting a few years ago. I'm still green and learning and I make plenty of mistakes, as I did in this case. And you are right the only thing to do is climb back up on that horse and do my best not to make the same mistake again. Thanks for the great replies everyone!
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dellet
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Re: Feeling sick about a deer :(

Post by dellet »

Image

Not exactly sure of what your shot looked like, but there's not a lot of vitals behind that shoulder from this angle.
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blackbird
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Re: Feeling sick about a deer :(

Post by blackbird »

dellet wrote:Image

Not exactly sure of what your shot looked like, but there's not a lot of vitals behind that shoulder from this angle.
It might have been just a little bit more quartering than this, but not by much. Being honest, it may have been more towards mid-chest plate where I took the shot. That's one thing that got me was, after the shot is taken how details get muddled (where the deer was standing, exact angle of the deer, etc.). On top of that, it's been a week since then.
"Less isn't always more but, sometimes, it is enough."

"If you need a tool and don't buy it, you'll ultimately find that you have paid for it and don't have it."
blackbird
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Re: Feeling sick about a deer :(

Post by blackbird »

https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/hunter ... _65pcd.png

Looked pretty close to this. I tried to take the shot about 1"-1.5" to the right of the front right shoulder.
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"If you need a tool and don't buy it, you'll ultimately find that you have paid for it and don't have it."
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dellet
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Re: Feeling sick about a deer :(

Post by dellet »

You can probably argue the shot six days to Sunday and it will never be the same thing again in your life.

What caused the failure was pre and post shot preparation/execution.

You have to remember what it looked like before and take the time after to burn in that image and hopefully the impact of the bullet and exit of the animal from the area.

Panic when it doesn't go as planned is pretty common and as you found out really plays with the memory.

My worst case of panic.

Shot a buck from about 8 yards, arrow through the heart without question. He flinched, went back to eating, took two bites, walked about 10 yards to the tree line and laid down. I watched him lay his head down and die. I waited about 15 minutes then I retrieved my arrow, stuck it in the ground next to him, walked about 1/4 mile to camp dropped off my stuff and went back to claim my trophy.

Only problem was, was that it was gone. Worse, was by the arrow, where you could clearly see the bed he died in, there was no blood, not a drop.

Took maybe a minute, seemed like an hour, to sit down on my pack and think it through. Went back to where I took the shot from and could actually see the dead deer. Walked back to my pack and sure enough he was still right there plain as day. At some point my dead trophy had got up, walked about 3 steps and flopped over.

That was probably my 2nd or 3rd arrow kill and what I remember most and learned the most from it, was the absolute panic I felt at losing the deer and how that panic did not let me see it laying not 10 feet away. If I had started an immediate search in the wrong, but most likely direction it could have had a different or at least much longer ending.

Remember it, learn from it, but move on. Don't let the last shot get in the way of the next one.
300 Blackout, not just for sub-sonics.
blackbird
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Re: Feeling sick about a deer :(

Post by blackbird »

dellet wrote:You can probably argue the shot six days to Sunday and it will never be the same thing again in your life.

What caused the failure was pre and post shot preparation/execution.

You have to remember what it looked like before and take the time after to burn in that image and hopefully the impact of the bullet and exit of the animal from the area.

Panic when it doesn't go as planned is pretty common and as you found out really plays with the memory.

My worst case of panic.

Shot a buck from about 8 yards, arrow through the heart without question. He flinched, went back to eating, took two bites, walked about 10 yards to the tree line and laid down. I watched him lay his head down and die. I waited about 15 minutes then I retrieved my arrow, stuck it in the ground next to him, walked about 1/4 mile to camp dropped off my stuff and went back to claim my trophy.

Only problem was, was that it was gone. Worse, was by the arrow, where you could clearly see the bed he died in, there was no blood, not a drop.

Took maybe a minute, seemed like an hour, to sit down on my pack and think it through. Went back to where I took the shot from and could actually see the dead deer. Walked back to my pack and sure enough he was still right there plain as day. At some point my dead trophy had got up, walked about 3 steps and flopped over.

That was probably my 2nd or 3rd arrow kill and what I remember most and learned the most from it, was the absolute panic I felt at losing the deer and how that panic did not let me see it laying not 10 feet away. If I had started an immediate search in the wrong, but most likely direction it could have had a different or at least much longer ending.

Remember it, learn from it, but move on. Don't let the last shot get in the way of the next one.
Exactly! And I remember exactly when the shock hit me. When I got down and walked over to the spot she was at and there was no hair or blood...then you start second guessing whether you walked to the right spot or not. Then you start replaying everything in your head and it's a little different everytime so you start to panic even more. Another thing to add to my list of "things to work on".
"Less isn't always more but, sometimes, it is enough."

"If you need a tool and don't buy it, you'll ultimately find that you have paid for it and don't have it."
BlogSarge
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Re: Feeling sick about a deer :(

Post by BlogSarge »

I'll echo Rebel. The fact that it bothers you speaks volumes.

And you are not alone in being caught between a love of animals and drive to hunt. I, and many others, feel the same way. I often find myself quietly weeping next to a deer I have just killed; it is a bitter-sweet moment and it does us credit to feel what we feel. After all, we have just taken the sacred life from an animal and to feel a hint of sadness is right and shows respect for the game.

My ritual post-kill is to offer a prayer of tearful thanks for everything that has brought me to that moment, and for the meat that will sustain my family. To do so honors my quarry as well as He who has granted me the sacred honor of the hunt.



On another note. Are you sure the deer parts that the neighbor's pup left for you was the same deer? Maybe I missed it, but the parts could be just a coincidence.
blackbird
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Re: Feeling sick about a deer :(

Post by blackbird »

BlogSarge wrote:I'll echo Rebel. The fact that it bothers you speaks volumes.

And you are not alone in being caught between a love of animals and drive to hunt. I, and many others, feel the same way. I often find myself quietly weeping next to a deer I have just killed; it is a bitter-sweet moment and it does us credit to feel what we feel. After all, we have just taken the sacred life from an animal and to feel a hint of sadness is right and shows respect for the game.

My ritual post-kill is to offer a prayer of tearful thanks for everything that has brought me to that moment, and for the meat that will sustain my family. To do so honors my quarry as well as He who has granted me the sacred honor of the hunt.



On another note. Are you sure the deer parts that the neighbor's pup left for you was the same deer? Maybe I missed it, but the parts could be just a coincidence.
I'm glad I found some like minded people! You won't believe the amount of times after I've killed a deer, the adrenaline wears off, I'm sitting on the couch and google "is it strange to feel remorse after killing a deer?" You hit the nail on the head as it is something's life we're taking. Add on top of that if you don't find it, but you know you made contact, and it's even worse. And the phrase "coyotes have got to eat too." Doesn't help.

On to your question, and this was something I left out of the original post. The land owner behind us started leasing his land to about a half dozen hunters this year. Said land owner talked to my father at the beginning of the season about a blonde lab (neighbor's dog) being all over on his trail cameras. And a few weeks ago (opening day), there was A LOT of shooting going on. Unfortunately without the actual carcass and location, it's probably one of those questions that we'll never know the answer. The doe could very well be alive right now and me take her tomorrow, but unless she has some said mark that distinguishes her as the one, I'll never know. Whether she's dead or alive, I'm using it as a learning experience to try to not make the same mistake again.

P.S. I like the prayer idea and I think I'll start doing it myself. Thank you!
"Less isn't always more but, sometimes, it is enough."

"If you need a tool and don't buy it, you'll ultimately find that you have paid for it and don't have it."
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Walkers Bay
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Re: Feeling sick about a deer :(

Post by Walkers Bay »

This roar just been 2 friends and I stalked a sweede paddock on my father's farm. My 2 friends shot a clean kill on a stag at about 30 yards and as the smoke cleared another stag jumped I to the open behind us.
1 of my friends got 2 shots away and we all thought that's a good hit.
But this stag ran and 2 hours of tracking we couldn't find blood or hair just nothing.
Fast forward 6 months. My father was tracking a deer into the trees and stumbled across a skeleton of a red stag about 200m away from where we shot.
It was a good 10 point stag
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