Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: osage outlaw on December 01, 2013, 10:24:43 pm

Title: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: osage outlaw on December 01, 2013, 10:24:43 pm
On the way home from work tonight I came upon a deer flopping in the road a few miles from my house.  I pulled over and checked it out.  It was a button buck that was hit pretty bad.  Both front legs were broken and there was damage to its head.  Another car pulled over and a woman gets out and asks if I'm OK.  I explained that I wasn't the one that hit it but I wanted to put it out of its misery and get it out of the road.  She asked if I had a gun and I didn't because I let my concealed carry license expire.  I got out my pocket knife and told her she might not want to stick around to see what was about to happen.  She said she was an EMT and it wouldn't bother her.  I grabbed the button buck by the ear to steady it and it didn't move.  I made the cut and the deer flipped out.  It kicked me hard in the hand that was holding the knife.  The EMT lady saw what happens and sees my hand has blood all over it and thinks that I had cut my hand open.  Luckily I didn't.  We stood there a while until we thought the deer was dead.  I tapped it a few times and it didn't move.  I started dragging it off the road and it came to and kicked me across the shoulder and chest.  We backed off and waited until we were sure it was done.  I drug it off the road and looked it over.  I was going to take it home for the meat but it was hit pretty hard.  I decided to just leave it.  When I got home and into the light I saw that I had blood all over my legs, shoes, and hand.  I started cleaning up and realized my pocket knife had been broke when the deer kicked my hand.  The handle had cracked in two places near the slot.  Man was I ticked off.  I've carried that knife for 12 years.  Its a Gerber EZ out.  I traded a switch blade to a coworker for it.  I'm going to try and super glue it back together.  Maybe I can get a little more use out of it.

(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/Snapbucket/D8F2A1B7.jpg)
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: RyanR on December 01, 2013, 10:36:05 pm
That sucks. If you ever have to finish one off again try to just poke it in the ribs. Works really good..just like a broad head to the lungs and you dont have to get near the neck. They let you do this easier. I have done this several times and it works really good. Actually had to run one down before >:D.
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: DQ on December 01, 2013, 10:45:10 pm
Yep, you know where the heart is. Easy and clean with a pocket knife.  I feel that cutting the throat is messy and disrespectful of one of God's best creatures.
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: osage outlaw on December 01, 2013, 10:56:47 pm
I wasn't sure if I could reach the heart with the length of the blade.  I thought the throat would be a quicker end than hitting a single lung. 
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: Pat B on December 01, 2013, 11:36:18 pm
I hope you are OK Clint. I've see someone get beat up by a spike and it wasn't pretty.
 Call Gerber. They might replace or repair your knife.
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: TRACY on December 02, 2013, 06:51:02 am
Good humane act! And the antis say we don't care about the animals we hunt???

Glad you didn't get tore up. Deer can slice you up with their hooves in a second.


Tracy
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: Pappy on December 02, 2013, 08:02:05 am
Good deed to do,I would get the carry permit renewed. ;)  :) Never liked trying to finish them with a knife. :) 1 bullet between the ears and it's a done deal.  :)
  Pappy
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: Greenman1867 on December 02, 2013, 08:02:26 am
I have had to do the same before with wounded animals. Good job and I am glad you didnt get hurt too badly. Those hooves can be deadly.

IMO Throat cutting is the most humane way to dispatch if you can be sure to get it done quickly and completely. I can see how a pocket knife might make it a little tough, but you got it done.
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: bowtarist on December 02, 2013, 09:08:04 am
I've been there Clint, done the same thing, but didn't get kicked.  :o Against the law in Indiana though. another  :o dp
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: Eric Krewson on December 02, 2013, 09:22:41 am
I stick them in the chest, it collapses their lungs and they go quickly, one quick jab is all it takes.
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: Buffalogobbler on December 02, 2013, 10:38:35 am
Good job Clint, I would have done the same.Glad to hear your OK, hope you can get your knife replaced.

Kevin
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: Marks on December 02, 2013, 12:27:31 pm
Good job. Do what you gotta do.  I bet the backstraps wouldn't have been damaged ;)

My dog caught a pig once and I dispatched him with a .380 pocket pistol I carry. I put it right against his cranium. Blood splattered all in my face :o. Wasn't a pleasant experience but it got the job done. Next time I'll stand back a few feet. I've done several pigs in the heart with a bowie knife and it is pretty quick.

Dispatching an animal by hand is not a pleasant experience but needs to be done from time to time. When I was a kid I shot a dove off the powerline with my BB gun. The BB lodged in the breast but didn't kill the dove. I couldn't bring myself finish it off so I got the BB out and kept it in a crate with corn and water for a while then let him go. Looking back I doubt highly that the bird ever lived and probably suffered greatly from my actions but I didn't know any better at the time. Often times the difficult choice is the right choice. You have to be prepared to carry out that choice.
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: mullet on December 02, 2013, 12:39:27 pm
Good job, Clint. A hammer works good, too. ;)
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: Pat B on December 02, 2013, 12:41:36 pm
...as does a Jeep!   ;D
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: vinemaplebows on December 02, 2013, 04:53:49 pm
Now who would use a jeep.... :laugh:
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: Danzn Bar on December 02, 2013, 07:58:31 pm
I've had the same results as you OO , Glad you didn't get hurt. 
DBar
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: criveraville on December 03, 2013, 01:32:32 am
Sounds like too many really close calls. I've done the same and had the same, but not to that degree. Send it back to gerber.. They will fix it or replace I t.

Cipriano
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: Gsulfridge on December 03, 2013, 08:28:50 am
I found a deer hung up in a fence along the roadway once.  I cut a strand of fence to release it, only to realize that it had fought so hard that it's back was broken.  It lounged away, headed over the hill directly toward the interstate dragging itself with front legs only.  I sure didn't want it to cause a traffic accident, so I ran and circled ahead of it.  I had a pocket knife with me, but chose a stout pole instead.  One swift stroke right behind the ears dispatched it cleanly.
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: Marks on December 03, 2013, 10:17:29 am
...as does a Jeep!   ;D

It may have been a jeep that got him in the predicament to start with.
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: JackCrafty on December 03, 2013, 11:00:11 am
Yeah, difficult situation.  I'm not sure what I would have done.  Dispatching an animal is not as easy as it seems, mentally or physically. Thanks for posting the story.  All of us can learn from it.  :)
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: Hillbilly on December 03, 2013, 12:53:55 pm
As others have said, I've found that sticking in the chest works much better. I discovered this at the same time that I got hoofprint-shaped bruises on my chest for a week. It's amazing how strong a small deer is when you decide to go hand-to-hoof with it.
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: JW_Halverson on December 03, 2013, 09:31:54 pm
I once tried to snap a half grown fawn's neck Tarzan style after it got hit by a car.  Yeah right.  Never go anywhere without a pocket knife now, at the minimum. 

Sorry about your nice folder, OO.  I bet if you had known ahead of time of the outcome your choice would have been the same. 
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: mullet on December 03, 2013, 10:48:58 pm
...as does a Jeep!   ;D

It may have been a jeep that got him in the predicament to start with.
Not a Jeep that had been sited in. ;)
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: seabass on December 04, 2013, 04:23:37 pm
glad you made it out ok Clint.
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: osage outlaw on December 04, 2013, 04:34:56 pm
Not a scratch Steve, just a broken knife.  Gerber has a lifetime warranty.  I'm going to send it back to them and see what they say.  I hope they repair it and not replace it.  The new style has a different blade and I don't like it as much.  I'm carrying my back up pocket knife now.  Its a Buck Goliath. 
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: VicNova on December 05, 2013, 12:05:50 am
Hey this video gos good with that story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQKhH-5Xlf0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQKhH-5Xlf0).
My father finished off a deer he shot in the back with his knife
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: Parnell on December 05, 2013, 02:05:28 pm
Tough situation, Clint.  Good for you for doing what's right.  Glad you are ok, buddy.
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: 4dog on December 05, 2013, 02:21:07 pm
had to do the same thing couple of yrs ago...fawn was struck..broken neck...wasnt fun but in my mind..necassary...did it the same way.
Title: Re: had to finish off a struck deer
Post by: Marc St Louis on December 06, 2013, 01:15:32 pm
It was the right thing to do.

You could fix the knife by taking it apart and making a new handle.  That's what I did with a pocket knife I had once.  Used it for years after till I lost it.