Driving past a lake a few years ago I spotted a doe stuck in the ice on the far side, about 400 yards away from me. It was early November and there was only about an inch of ice with a lot of open water in spots, so I wasn’t about to walk out there. I don’t know how she got into that predicament, but from what I could see through the binos it appeared her front legs had gone through the ice and she was stuck, I could see her head bobbing up and down and her back legs kicking like she was struggling to free herself.
I called the TIP line and they put me through to a local game warden. He was unable to come deal with it himself so he gave me permission to put her down. The shot had to be taken from the shore right next to a resort village, the nearest cabin was only 100 yards from me. With my 243 I put one in her vitals and an insurance shot in her head. I can’t stand to see an animal suffer.