T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
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63.1 | One way... | LILAC::MKPROJ | REAGAN::ZORE | Fri Oct 23 1987 13:44 | 2 |
| In one book I read the author suggested approaching from behind
and above the animal and pricking it with a knife.
|
63.2 | Poke'em | BPOV09::JAMBERSON | | Fri Oct 23 1987 13:53 | 7 |
| I poke the animal around it's eyes with either a stick or the barrel
of my gun. If there is any sign of life, I give'em another one
in the neck. Also aproach any "dead" animal from behind so if it
does "reincarnate" it doesn't do a job on you with its hooves.
Jeff
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63.3 | | BAXTA::DANFORTH_DAN | | Fri Oct 23 1987 13:54 | 17 |
| ANOTHER WAY
Check the eyes.......
If they are closed, shoot it again..
If they are open, the deer is usually dead.
I live in Maine and have hunted here all my life, so far this method
has never let me down.
|
63.4 | a few pointers | ELMO::HOLLEN | | Fri Oct 23 1987 13:55 | 32 |
|
re .0
Like a previous note stated, the best indication is to "poke at"
the deer's eye with a gun barrel, stick, etc. If the deer still
has any senses to it it'll blink, or shut it's eye. If a deer's
eye/s are closed PROCEED WITH CAUTION!
Another indication that I've seen in colder weather is that the
deer will start to "steam from the mouth", almost like a constant
exhale. They are definitely dead when you see that. Another indication
(boy I hope there's no squeemish readers out there :-) is that the
deer's tongue will "become lifeless" and droop out of the mouth.
From what I've seen, if it's not thrashing around trying to get
up, and the only movement you see is involuntary in nature (like
the legs kicking but the head flat on the ground) then you can be
rest assured that the animal isn't suffering and that the best thing
to do is wait till the movement dies down in a minute or two.
When that involuntary twitching stops (and you know it's dead)
start making out the tag. This should take about 5 minutes or so
and gives you ample time to know that if you start the field dressing
chore after tagging that it isn't going to get up and run away...
Boy, that first field dressing chore will be burned in your memory
for life!
joe
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63.5 | Never Too Cautious | MERLAN::GOGUEN | | Fri Oct 23 1987 14:41 | 22 |
| You can never be too cautious when approaching a downed animal,
deer or bear. One of the first things i look for is if the animals
eyes are open or closed. I have never seen a dead deer or bear with
it's eyes closed. Closed eyes could mean that the animal is in shock
or badly hurt, a hasty approach could revive the animal. We all
know what could happen if the animal was a bear. But a deer ! Well
let me tell ya , a deer's hooves can and will do a lot of damage
not to mention the damage his massive rack that he's bound to have
will do.
I tkink the best way to approach a downed animal is from the rear.
You can start by just tossing a couple of small stones or sticks,
this will usually get the animal ( if still alive ) to flinch or
get up and run off, so be ready. If you can see that the animals
eyes are open and the stones didn't cause a reaction it should be
safe to slowly approach your quarry. A long stick, your gun barrel
or something can be used to poke the animal. I usually kick them
in the ass while keeping my weapon pointed toward the animal.
I hope you find this helpfull and with a little luck you can try
it out. Muzzleloader season starts tomorrow here in N.H. and maybe
I'll get a chance to use it again.
Good Luck,
Bruce
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63.6 | | LILAC::MKPROJ | REAGAN::ZORE | Fri Oct 23 1987 14:55 | 6 |
| And on the eve of muzzleloader season comes this piece of advice
from a first time BP hunter...
Don't forget to reload BEFORE approaching your trophy.
Rich
|
63.7 | | TWOBOS::LAFOSSE | | Fri Oct 23 1987 15:45 | 10 |
| RE:.0 is it obvious? depends, if you came up on the deer and it happened
to be facing you and its tongue was hanging out, eyes glazed...that
would be a pretty good indication.
Obviously if it was moving, that would answer your question. one
good way to check if a deer is dead is to pick up a stick and carefully
approach the deer and poke him inthe eye, if he don't blink hes
dead...
Fra
|
63.8 | A Small point.... | SHOOTR::AHO | Uncle Mike | Mon Oct 26 1987 11:59 | 16 |
|
Another point was brought up in .7 that can make your
trophy a little more "appealing". Once you've assessed that
the animal is dead and you've done the necessary gutting, etc.
Take a few more seconds and open the mouth and shove the
tongue back in the mouth... This may sound kinda stupid, but
if you think about it, your trophy looks kinda "Gross" with
the tongue hanging out.
Don't get the "wrong" impression from this, as I'm just
trying to make the trophy look as "impressive" as it was/is.
~Mike~
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63.9 | ooops | DV780::WITCHEY | SHOOT'EM WHERE THEY'S BIGGEST | Tue Oct 27 1987 19:21 | 5 |
| Another little point. I was as proud as I could be when I dropped
my first head of big game and one of my friends took a picture.
The little point is that if you do that, MAKE SURE the gut bag
isn't in the frame. One good pic down the terlet.
Bill
|
63.10 | A gut channel isn't gross | ELMO::HOLLEN | | Mon Nov 02 1987 09:47 | 22 |
| re .9
I disagree. I've taken many pictures of deer hanging with the
field dressing split showing. Doesn't gross me out in the least.
In fact I like to see pictures like that so I can see how well the
job was done...
Last year we took a deer through North Conway. Heck, one lady
that came out of one of the tourist trap shops up there screamed
"Oh my Goddddd!" Made me wonder if she's ever eaten a steak or ham-
burger before. If so, all the dirty work had been done by someone
else, and she's nothing more than a hippacrit for feeling that way...
I agree about the tongue. Poke that sucker back in there before
transporting it home. Two years ago I got a deer straight in the
nose. It made an absolute mess of the deer's head. When I transported
it I covered the head with a large "dark green" plastic bag. That
was definitely a case where you'd want to hide some of the "gore"
from the general public....
Joe
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