Mercy killing: What would you have done?

I would shoot it. If the road hunters came for it I would let them tag it if not I probably would. I have no problem killing anything that I have a reason and right to kill, but I can't stand seeing things suffer.
 
Shoot it and carry on.When people shoot at animals with high powered rifles and pointy sticks any thing could happen and usually will.Its just an animal,if you cant stand to see one wounded quit hunting.
 
Kill it first and then figure out what to do next. See if the other shooter shows up in 10 minutes to "Claim it". If not you probably are gonna be using your tag. The MNR probably won't be fussy about the putting it out of misery thing but it's still the right thing to do.
 
Shoot it, tag it, and call it a day. Nice to shoot big ones, but the small ones are better eating, and its already wounded.
 
.17 said:
Shoot it and carry on.When people shoot at animals with high powered rifles and pointy sticks any thing could happen and usually will.Its just an animal,if you cant stand to see one wounded quit hunting.
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I have to agree, wounding an animal while hunting is gonna happen sooner or later. Anyone who says every shot they've ever taken has resulted in a clean on the spot kill either hasn't hunted for long or is full of shlitz.

Finish it off, give it to the guys who wounded it or take it home. I don't understand the dilemma.
 
You have to think about that!? :rolleyes:


glang1 said:
Thought I would share this story with the group & get your opinions. I was hunting at my Uncle's farm last week, & while walking out to one of my stands near the front of the property I heard hounds working the neighbors property across the road. Along the road, my Uncle's property is mostly dense bush with some trails. I was walking along one of these trails about 100M into the bush parallel to the road. As I stopped & stood still listening to the hound, I heard 3 shots in quick succession from the road. I thought "Oh boy another road hunter". As I was getting ready to continue to my stand, I heard branches snapping behind me. I quickly dropped to one knee & watched the trail behind me. About 30M behind me a deer slowly walked into the trail & started to walk towards me. It was a small spike buck. I already had my rifle up & ready for a shot, but this deer looked funny to me. It's tongue was hanging too far out of it's mouth & it looked dazed. Upon closer inspection through my scope I noticed that it's entire lower jaw had been shot away. At this point I had a quick decision to make, did I shoot this small wounded deer that was certain to die a horrible death by thirst, or did I just let it walk & keep my tag for the big buck I had been watching for the last month. I knew that in a couple of seconds it would probably see or scent me, & I would miss my chance.

What would you have done in this situation?

George
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No moral hazard here for me, the clear answer is to put it down. All the rest (notifying the MNR, letting the others track it) is irrelevant to the decision to shoot.
 
The first responsibility is to the deer, and next I'd give some consideration to the possibility that the original shooter may be tracking it, and ask him to tag it if possible. If that didn't work, I'd tag it and eat it. Been there before, and that's what I did.
 
Hmm this has me thinking what would you do if you only had an atlerless tag left would you still shoot the wounded buck? If you did could you be charged?This is my first year hunting so I would appreciate peoples opinions.
 
Just to wrap this thread up, yes I did shoot the wounded buck & put my tag on it. After my shot I waited to see if the road hunter would come in to collect his deer. After a couple of minutes I heard doors slam & the vehicle drove away. My Uncle's property is clearly posted "No Trespassing" along the road. I considered walking out to talk to them, & have them tag the deer, but they left too quickly. After examining the deer I noticed that it was hardly bleeding at all. I consider myself a competent tracker, & I don't think I would have been able to track this deer by a blood trail. IMHO if I hadn't been there to take the shot, this deer would have been wasted. I am a bit disappointed that I didn't get to hunt the big buck I had my heart set on, but I am glad I was able to prevent an animal from suffering unnecessarily. Hopefully the big guy will still be around for next season. 1000 curses on unscrupulous road hunters! :mad:

George
 
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