Hunting & Fishing Crazy hunting experience

[BrettSass844]

So my 7 year old daughter has been asking to go hunting with me for a while. A guy I hunt with and I came up with a decent spot when it would be safe with her but a good spot to see a few deer. 95 acre nursery we hunt that has been closed down for 4 years. Up front by the old office is 3 oak trees about 30 yards from the out. So me and my little girl set up in there just really wanting to see a few deer so she could watch them for a few. Not 20 min into it a 200lb 6 point walks up and starts eating at the acorns. After watching him for 15 or so min she was begging me to shoot him. Finally gave in and decided to let the Mathews loose on him. In the heat of the moment and trying to keep her still and quiet I grabbed a bad arrow I have been meaning to get out of my quiver and missed him badly. He jumped up and ran a 10 ft circle stopping in the same place. So I figured what the hell and put a 90 grain 4 blade muzzy right in his shoulder. who would have thought that sitting in a bag chair explaining why hunting is a good thing to my daughter, wearing shorts and a cutoff because it was so hot something would actually happen. Go figure. We had to start tracking early because it was getting dark fast. And after not finding a lot of blood and jumping him up 2 different times we decided to back off until about 7am. So back on his trail we find a nice blood trail through the woods and track him for 40 min or so. Out of nowhere he jumps up and takes off like a bat out of hell with my arrow still hanging out of his drivers side. I actually hit him right in the middle of the shoulder and the arrow took a funny angle straight towards his neck missing any vitals. We backed off again and went back a few hours later with our bows. The second time we jumped him up my buddy got another arrow in him through one lung. 45 min later we put another in him because he was close to the property line. He bedded down in some tall grass and we waited 30 min or so before closing in to field dress him and get him out of there. Sure as shit he puts his head up but doesn't move when we approached him. So a 4th arrow finally finished him off. In all the years I have hunted and the 2 guys I was tracking with who were 42 and 68 years old. We have never seen anything like that. 3 out of the 4 shots were right in the boiler room. I wish I would have put my first shot a few inches back and saved the deer from a drawn out death. I felt awful all day today but I am glad we finally got it done. No trophy by any means but this is the first time I have hunted with any of my kids and that part of it was a awesome experience. I left her at home the second morning because I was up so early and I'm glad I did. Not sure she would have liked to see him there looking like a pin cushion. I got my Missouri tag to get a big boy hopefully, but that sure made a hell of a story for the first deer of the year.

Any similar experiences with a deer that just refused to give in like this? Or what's you craziest hunting experience?

 

[Jig Stick]

Re: Crazy hunting experience

take a head shot next time.

 

[High Binder]

Re: Crazy hunting experience

Damn! Hopefully the meat won't be too funky...

 

[BrettSass844]

Re: Crazy hunting experience

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Shot In The Dark</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Damn! Hopefully the meat won't be too funky... </div></div>

I have heard that when a deer runs that long on adrenaline there is a excessive amount of enzymes released to their muscles which has a effect on the meat. The guys I were hunting with recommended just a few steaks and mostly ground for that reason. Any truth behind that?

 

[168BTHPM]

Re: Crazy hunting experience

Sorry this is a long one.

I was hunting in central Montana near the town of Belt in the Little Belt Mountains with a friend a few years ago (who will remain nameless unless he wants to chime in). We spotted three nice mulie bucks laying down across a canyon so my buddy put a stalk on them. I sat on the opposite side about 600 yards away, in the warm truck and watched. He got really close, maybe 50 yards, and was trying to get a shot on the big buck when a bunch of guys came out way below me in the bottom and started shooting at a different buck that was half way to Wyoming (not really but it was at least 800 or 900 yards) near the head of the canyon, they must have fired 10 or 12 rounds. They weren't getting close enough to the buck to even make him run, he just turned and walked away. The deer close to my buddy stood up, but the two medium bucks stayed between him and the big buck, they had no idea my buddy was there because they were watching the knotheads at the bottom of the canyon. My buddy decided to shoot the nicer of the two medium bucks and made a bad shot, he grazed the liver and knicked the back of one lung. The deer ran about 75 yards and laid down on a wide open hill side in about 18 inches of snow, my buddy worked around and above him and waited, after about 10 minutes the deer went face down in the snow. We thought game over until the knotheads below started yelling about something then the deer my buddy shot jumped up and ran about 75 yards and laid down again. He worked over and above the deer and waited. Then the knotheads started in yelling again (turns out they were yelling "he's down") then the deer got up and ran another 75 yards. My buddy couldn't get a shot because the knotheads were downhill from him. After the third time this happened it occurred to me at the head of this canyon was a narrow pass with a huge drainage on the other side, if this deer got through that pass we may never get him. I grabbed my pack and rifle and started towards the pass as fast as my short legs would carry me, I passed the knotheads on their way out and exchanged some pleasantries in passing, like "Nice fV@&ing shooting" and "If you guys would shut the fV@& up that deer would be dead by now". My buddy kept tabs on his deer and tried several times so get into position to get another shot but the deer would get up and run 50 to 75 yards. I managed to get to the top of the canyon and sit on the pass before the deer got there. My buddy then tried to push the deer out into the open where either one of us might have a shot but it ran into a small batch of new growth pine trees. I picked a spot where I could see all the way down the canyon and all the way up to the pass, my buddy went around the trees and tried to push the deer out so I could get a shot. The deer broke out of the trees at a dead run right at me, it turned about 30 feet from me and headed down the hill. For some unknown reason it stopped about 50 yards away dead broadside and looked back at me, boom down he went, then he tried to get back up, boom game over. Once the deer was down we looked back to where my buddy originally shot it and where I came from, it's amazing how much ground a person (and an animal) can cover in the heat of the moment. It was an easy drag out, all down hill and fluffy new snow. I felt bad for the deer while it was going on and we were both glad it was over.

 

[cavscout1983]

Re: Crazy hunting experience

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BrettSass844</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Shot In The Dark</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Damn! Hopefully the meat won't be too funky... </div></div>

I have heard that when a deer runs that long on adrenaline there is a excessive amount of enzymes released to their muscles which has a effect on the meat. The guys I were hunting with recommended just a few steaks and mostly ground for that reason. Any truth behind that?</div></div>

A little science from the guys that know something about slaughtering:

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Kosher slaughtering

The mammals and birds that may be eaten must be slaughtered in accordance with Jewish law. (Deut. 12:21). We may not eat animals that died of natural causes (Deut. 14:21) or that were killed by other animals. In addition, the animal must have no disease or flaws in the organs at the time of slaughter. These restrictions do not apply to fish; only to the flocks and herds (Num. 11:22).

Ritual slaughter is known as shechitah, and the person who performs the slaughter is called a shochet, both from the Hebrew root Shin-Cheit-Teit. The method of slaughter is a quick, deep stroke across the throat with a perfectly sharp blade with no nicks or unevenness. This method is painless, causes unconsciousness within two seconds, and is widely recognized as the most humane method of slaughter possible.

Another advantage of shechitah is that it ensures rapid, complete draining of the blood, which is also necessary to render the meat kosher.

The shochet is not simply a butcher; he must be a pious man, well-trained in Jewish law, particularly as it relates to kashrut. In smaller, more remote communities, the rabbi and the shochet were often the same person. </div></div><<< taken from: this page (link).
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My own thoughts:

The dying process, if drawn out, can certainly taint the meat. Chemicals get released because of adrenalin. Hunting is certainly a more humane way of meat gathering than most "accepted" methods, provided the animal is taken cleanly.

Sorry you had to experience that, it sucks. I do not like the moment of death and always wish it to be quick, no matter the target. The last doe I saw taken looked up at me with dying eyes, as the hunter looked for his arrow. She snorted bloody bubbles and gave her last breath to the world. It was a somber moment, but a joyous one as her flesh would not go to waste. No, a family in Missouri would be sustained, if only for a little while. While the entire experience leading to her demise was one of indescribable primitiveness, the primal emotions welled in the recognition of the purpose which brought us to those woods. Elation at victory once again, and the promise of full bellies, we set about on the ancient practice of preparing the kill for transport.

It sounds to me like in the process of teaching, you were faced with learning. If you can draw the meaning of the lesson in this experience, then that deer's suffering is not wasted.