Mercy

[Hookeye]

Deer inflict damage/pain to each other.
Saw a little 6 pt shatter the front leg of a bigger buck.

At times it doesn't take much to kill one, or make it so a dog/yote can chew on it and bring it down.
Other times it's like nothing can kill them.

Ya just never know with peripheral damage.

Broken jaw or gutshot..............that IMHO is a one way ticket (one train faster than the other though).

BTW, where I used to hunt cars dinged a bunch of deer. And locals blasted holes in quite a few (in the wrong places). I've had to burn my tags on previously ventilated critters a few times. Went so far as to drive to neighboring farms, or go to fences where I knew stands were nearby.............nobody ever laid claim to wounding those deer.

I also shot one little buck with a fused back leg, lost a lot of weight............late season. Appeared to be a car injury healed, but it was taking its toll on him. I passed on bigger bucks in trying to get a booker earlier in the year, and had to use my tag on gimpy.

Oh well.

 

[treeman22]

Deer inflict damage/pain to each other.
Saw a little 6 pt shatter the front leg of a bigger buck.

At times it doesn't take much to kill one, or make it so a dog/yote can chew on it and bring it down.
Other times it's like nothing can kill them.

Ya just never know with peripheral damage.

Broken jaw or gutshot..............that IMHO is a one way ticket (one train faster than the other though).

BTW, where I used to hunt cars dinged a bunch of deer. And locals blasted holes in quite a few (in the wrong places). I've had to burn my tags on previously ventilated critters a few times. Went so far as to drive to neighboring farms, or go to fences where I knew stands were nearby.............nobody ever laid claim to wounding those deer.

I also shot one little buck with a fused back leg, lost a lot of weight............late season. Appeared to be a car injury healed, but it was taking its toll on him. I passed on bigger bucks in trying to get a booker earlier in the year, and had to use my tag on gimpy.

Oh well.

Good man. It's hard to pass on a bigger buck to get one that's injured/hurt, but its the right thing to do.

 

[Hookeye]

I was after a 145", but there was no question when I saw this little guy hobbling in, his hip bones sticking out made him look like a Wildebeast.
Who knows how many fights he'd been in against yotes/dogs up to then..............but he was the meanest little SOB I ever met.
The smile is one of relief (I hate cameras-and smiling).
Took some work to get another Snuffer in (straight down first shot- spined).

BTW, bucked out, I didn't hunt after that.
And never saw the 145 in following years (he had a slightly malformed rack).

I'd never finished off a deer with a knife and after this arrow deal, there's no damn way I would even attempt it. He looked down and out and put up one hell of a fight when I got ready to admin a coup de grace.