I've seen a limping deer in the yard a few times recently. Finally on Friday after work it was struggling to walk and the neighbors dog was chewing on its tail. It was in bad shape. We figured it had been hit by a car. I shot it and was going to gut it and practice butchering. I found an arrow lodged in it, just below the spine but above the vitals. There was a knot of infection around the broad head the size of a cantaloupe. I think the arrow shaft was rubbing against the spinal cord and finally the rear legs gave out. Also, turns out it was a buck, but it's antlers were gone. That confused me. Why did his antlers fall off? Does infection do that? How long do you think a deer can survive with an arrow in it like that. Archery season ended a week ago, so it was at least that long. Judging from the amount of infection, maybe quite a bit longer. The shot was only inches from being in the lungs. It was quite the reminder to practice a lot, be selective, and only take good shots.
"Stress" is what determines antler cast off. Ever notice that very warm winter deer carry antlers longer.....even until March?
You did the right thing...n PA you could probably get a new tag if meat was bad...... Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
Yep did the right thing Simon. As one mentioned above, you might be able to get another tag if you contact you local officials. With the infection as you mentioned, I don't think I could bring myself to eating the meat and don't think most folks probably would.
That looks like the Aluminum Easton GameGetters with a ThunderHead. I shot that setup back in the 90's.
As a hunter that loves the game we chase I personally think you made the right call also. Don't like to see an animal suffer.Good JOB.
It was after the season ended. Wouldn’t it be illegal to even use a tag? Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
He doesn’t say how he shot it. He says the shot was inches from the lungs... his shot or the arrow he found inside it? I understood that as it was (possibly) hit by a car and messed up and the neighbors dog was chewing its tail that he went up and put a bullet in it.
No matter how it was killed good job a CO may have a different opinion of your mercy kill but you ended the suffering. People are not aware of how prolonged death can be, a wolf kill of a deer is brutal dogs and coyotes and even fox as well they will start eating before the deer is dead.
He said it was after archery season....I assume rifle, which he used to shoot it was in...maybe he can clarify.... Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
one thing I loved about aluminum was the arrow clinking through the brush after you shot a deer. somedays I wonder if aluminum was a better choice over carbon. I shot xx75 for a while then started shooting the x7. man those arrows flew awesome.
I like them because you don't have to worry about them exploding and having to pick fibers out of your hand while you decide which ER you're going to.
Wow. So, to clarify. The deer had lost the use of it's rear legs and the neighbor's dog was harassing it and literally eating it's butt open. All of this was taking place on my property. I chased the dog off and shot the deer with a handgun. Hunting season is closed and hunting with a handgun is illegal in PA. That never even crossed my mind when I saw the situation. It was clear something needed done. Thinking it had been hit by a car, I went out the next morning to gut it with the intention of butchering it myself. That's when I realized it was a buck without antlers. That's also when I saw the aluminum shaft sticking out of it's side. I cut out the arrow and found the gigantic ball of infection. That's when I decided not to eat the deer and just left it in the woods for nature to consume. I didn't use any tags. The reason I posted all this was to learn why his antlers fell off. If antlers shed due to stress, that makes perfect sense. I'm guessing that deer was shot by an archer at least two or three weeks ago, maybe up to a month. The arrow shaft didn't cut the spinal cord, but it was rubbing against it. Sounds pretty stressful to me. I suppose technically what I did was illegal .... and maybe I should have called a CO and let him deal with it ..... but, if the same thing happened again tonight, I'd handle it the same way. Sometimes you just do the right thing, regardless of technicalities.
