Letter of the Law

[mbeeler]

OK... hypothetical discussion... just want some opinions...

Lets say you're driving along this holiday season and out of the darkness a suicidal deer decides to throw itself at your car/truck. You hit the dear, everyone is fine, but the deer is still alive although mortaly wounded. Are you allowed to take out "Ol' Betsey" and put the deer down yourself? would you be accused of poaching for shooting a deer after dark, out of season? Would you report it? Call the police/CO? Do you then dress it out and throw it in the back of the truck? afterall if it caused 2K worth of damange, it might as well put some food on the table too...?

Opinions?

Marc

Marc Beeler
- Redneck Programmer

[RutNBuck]

This very thing just happened to me recently

a friend calls says he just witnessed a deer being hit but is still very much alive (back legs broken)
i called the local CO told him i wished to dispatch the deer...
he says ok and says if you plan on taking it to a processor i can give you a tag to do just that....i told him i would work the deer up myself....end of story..
first thougth -shoot deer put out of misery
realistic thinkn -better inform a CO or Sherriff first...
this is a touchy subject and depending on what kind of day the CO has had...it could turn ugly...

"A wise indian once said,the more you move the less you will see,the less you move the more you will see"

" I live to hunt, but my wife says i may hunting a place to live"

[Wildcat]

I agree with RutNBuck. I never want any animal to suffer at all if I can help it. Always try to call first because if you was to go by the very letter of the law shooting that deer would have been poaching. From what you posted the guy was doing several things that could get him in trouble, shooting after dark, out of season, and too close to a road, anything could happen.

Still I'd do my best for what's right for the deer so he won't suffer any more.

[glenn]

Shoot the deer

call the police for accident report

have the police call the f&w

or have f&w respond to provide documentation about deer if it is to be processed

[bowhunter49]

Call Law enforcement first and have them dispatch a game warden. You need their report for your insurance Co, so we can kill more does.

[raktrakr]

last winter someone hit a doe and the sherriff had dispatch to call around to see if anyone wanted it. well i heard this on the scanner and i called and told them i wanted it. my point is the doe layed there for at least 30 min with 4 broken legs before the sherriff put it down. i say put it down

raktrakr
>>----->

[Boss Gobbler]

I know several cops that would rather a responcible citizen put it down. They have to get the ok to put it down and then theres the paper work. probably good to call first though. It also depends on the roadway, there is a big difference in shooting on a back road and an interstate.

[P. Beyer]

Make the appropiate call, no matter what happens. I can say, I could not let a deer suffer. Be sure to cover all the bases as to not get yourself in trouble.

"It makes no difference whether I got anything; it has to do with how the day was spent"

Fred Bear

[glenn]

I am a cop....and here is my response.

Shoot the deer. It is very easy to articulate that the deer was:

1. suffering
2. posed a danger to other motorists if allowed to be spooked into other on-coming traffic.

I shot a deer a couple of years back while going to work. It was only feet from the road edge and every time a vehicle would go by it would attempt to move. One shot with my .40 caliber GLOCK ended any further danger of the animal causing thousands of dollars worth of property damage, or even injuring a "human being."

As long as no attempt is made to cover the deed, or make it appear as something else, no person (hunter or not) can be faulted for protecting others against a known danger. Simply notify the local police AND the F&W office of the location and action(s) taken and everyone will be happy. The F&W office will even ask for data regarding location of event, sex of deer, appx size, etc......


Happy Hunting
Glenn

[Big58cal]

You guys are thinking too much! Put the deer down and then make the call. Don't let the poor thing suffer!

A couple of years ago, I hit one. Busted the grill out of the car, dented the hood, and bent the antenna. I stopped and went back and looked at the deer. It was still alive. I got my .38 cal pistol out of the car and shot the thing in the head to put it down. Then, I went into town and call the C.O. and reported it to him.

If you shoot the deer in the head at very close range, there's going to be powder burns on the deer. If a cop or a C.O. really wants to get nasty about the whole thing, then let them. With the damage to your vehicle, the debris on the road, and powder burns on a deer's head, I don't know of a C.O. or a cop that would be in their right mind to try to cite you for this. If they do, then great! Take them to court and turn it around on them! That would be just punishment for their stupidity!

[shogan]

its illegal to shoot a deer or discharge a weapon within 100 feet of a public road so first drag it away from road. Shoot it. Then bring it back (after you tag it of course) and don't use your flash light!

It's the law!

[:p][:D][:o)]