Using your tag on a wounded deer, buck s
Wisconsin
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Personally I will always use my tag to put a wounded buck out of his misery, just because that's how much I love these animals. My brother had this happen to him this year with a small four point that had a broken leg, and he said he never thought twice about it, it was what he had to do.
My muzzle loader buck this year was a previously shot deer. Always take a cripple. Done it several times.
Did that many years ago on a small buck during gun season. The thing had been gut shot days earlier and stunk terribly. I taged it and got it registered but we tossed it back in the woods for the critters.
I had almost zero loss on my deer Thursday. It was shot just above the front leg above the elbow without hitting the deer's body. Gun season hit I'm sure.
It is the right thing to do,,,,, The friend that mentored me, on "serious big buck hunting" in the late 70's, showed me that. He now resides in Crawford County, but at the time, had killed some of the best bucks, ever to come out of the Bibon Swamp in Bayfield County......
One day he killed a spike, and came out with it,,,, I said "what"?,,,, Gary said it came thru wounded, so I put it down,,,,, the hunter never came thru so he put his tag on it,,, he said to me" its the right thing to do",,,,,,,,,,,,,
Unfortunately our neighbors to the south do a lot of driving. Let me clarify, driving moves a lot of deer which is great BUT, it is a rare year that we don't shoot at least 1 that is crippled coming out of that drive. One year we shot 3 that were crippled. 5 years ago in the Spring we found 2 10 point and 1 doe that was dead. I assume hit during gun season but I don't know for sure.
The grey area for me occurs when a wounded doe comes dragging herself by. Without a doe tag, it's illegal for me to put her down. The right thing to do is the wrong thing to do. I know if approached, I'd be told that the animals need to eat too, so my ticket would become my reminder for next time. Or be told that many deer survive wounds and it's not certain that it would have died. I would hope that the warden would understand my position in putting it down, even if I couldn't tag it and take it.
I tagged a small buck one year during bow season that was hit by a vehicle that made it's way by my stand. I've also tagged a doe that had it's guts hanging out during gun season that came through. No one came after these deer, so I tagged them.
I agree it's the right thing to do. However when you are cleaning up for the neighbors year after year. It gets old fast.
Yes, it's the right thing to do. I don't think I'd have the guts to shoot a deer I don't have a tag for though. That would have to be a decision I'd make at that moment.
My neighbor shot a small buck on his land, morning of first day of gun season last year. The lower jaw was just dangling by skin. There were several rapid shots off to the west just before that and blood was trackable plus they had to have heard his shot so whomever shot it plainly did not care to put out any effort to recover the deer. Makes you sick. He is mostly a meat hunter so he didn't care that he had to tag that buck at the end of the day.
I have burned a couple tags on wounded animals. First one was on a calf elk in CO. It got stuck in a fence as the herd moved on, unfortunately, it had broken a leg while struggling to get free. I used my either sex archery tag on her and never thought any more about it.
A few years later, on that same ranch, we happened on a young 2X2 mulie, again stuck in a cattle fence and with a broken leg. On that one I used my muzzle loader tag. Didn't really want to but there really was no choice for me.
Another time on this same ranch, I and a buddy watched a coyote after a fawn mulie. The mother tried in vain to keep that coyote away but the fawn was just too injured to walk, even when mom would get the coyote to back off. We watched this from a higher vantage point on the mountain and by the time we got closer, the coyote ran off. The fawn could not walk and I really thought about putting it out of its misery but did not have a deer tag. Knowing how much the outfitter was a stickler for following the law, I chose to walk away and leave it, as much as that bothered me. (Yes, I would have been breaking the law had I killed it but the only reason I did not is that I know the outfitter would have turned me in if he ever found it. Cannot really blame him either, the law is the law)
Lastly, A few years ago I killed a 2 1/2 yr old buck on opening morning of WI gun deer. It came by a short while after an 8 shot barrage by the neighbors. Part of the lower jaw shot off, and shot in two different places on it's left front leg. This was a deer I had passed 3 different times during the archery season, then I have to kill him with a rifle! Even before I can get out of my stand, here come two of the neighbors, following it. No permission and a fair way onto my land, I kicked them off and would not give them the deer. Had they came and asked, I would have gladly helped them find it and would have given it to them.
It's been a few years since I have had to kill a deer because it was wounded. I remember shooting deer with no lower jaw, legs shot off, guts hanging out, you name it. I recall one year when a neighbor wounded a doe, it crossed the property line and he quit tracking it. No call, no nothing. I called him late that afternoon and asked why he quit tracking and he told me that it was "just" a doe and the coyotes have to eat to. I called the warden, who came over and took the deer and delivered it to him. Some people just rub me the wrong way...
Did it on a cow elk that got hammed a while back. Right after I affixed the tag two guys came running down the mountain screaming "That's our elk that's out elk!"
I'd do it again; I hate seeing an animal suffer and die slowly.
Done it twice without hesitation. 1st time was a small buck that I finished during gun season. The 2nd was a nice 8 pt. that was paralyzed in the rear end. I walked up to it during bow season during the rut and finished it with an arrow at 5 yds. It didn't feel sporting at all, but I felt it was something I had to do in order to end the bucks misery and to prevent feeding the coyotes.
Personally, if your moral compass is intact, and you dispatch of a severely wounded animal, I have no problem if you don't tag it. The important thing is ending the misery of the animal in my opinion.
Definitely dispatch a wounded deer. I've always bought doe tags when available for this reason. I've dispatched one buck and numerous does that were wounded and no follow up by any hunter.
I did it with a bear - 160 lbs. I had passed on a bear that was close or over 3. Pretty hard to do - ya don't get a bear tag every year!
Bowmania