I know this may get graphic and most people dont want to talk about it but it is a very real part of the sport that people should know. So I have wondered this for some time now and fortunately I have never run into the issue but it seems to happen to every hunter at some point. What is the best way to put a deer down once you have recovered it but it is still alive? Obviously with a gun there it isn't an issue but with a bow it's different. I have always had the impression that a knife across the throat would work. Is this the best method though? Would you step back a few feet and shoot with your bow again?
Weve tried it all. Knife on the throat. Knife to the heart. Broken neck. I prefer to give deer at least an hour to sit. Usually that will do it. Sometimes there are exceptions though, like deer hit in the road, and wounded shotgun kills. None of them work "quick". Usually takes a minute or two.
I spined deer twice over the years, and both times I backed up a bit and put one where it should have gone. They died quickly.
If my bow is in hand and I have a shot I will always pick another well placed arrow over anything I could do with a knife... not only would a well placed arrow bring a quicker, cleaner kill, it also keeps me out of harms way, worse case scenario attempting a knife dispatch. In my dog tracking book, in certain states where carrying a weapon is illegal, ie after hours and Sundays, the author as well as my dog's breeder tell examples when they've had to lasso bucks by the antlers, short tie them to trees to get in tight to knife dispatch them... First and foremost, another well placed shot, secondary... a knifed dispatch...
As my bro said, we've tried it all. Knife to the heart seems to be the best. Specifacly on non-mortally wounded deer whether in a gun drive in December or a miss placed shot another shot is needed.
I’ve always just snapped their necks Ninja style. This is the quickest and quietest way to dispatch a worthy opponent. However, one must spend years of training with the Iga and Koga Clans, in the mountains of Japan to master such covert skills.
I give the Knife to my worthy opponent, He must end his life to keep his Honor, it is the way of the Samurai!
