Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Approaching a downed animal

I've always made it a point to approach a downed animal at the opposite end from the teeth and horns. When I approached a mountain goat that I had shot, he slowly started to raise his head. There was instantly a powder burn on his chest.

Oh, and I didn't go fishing that day because at -15* F that morning I thought it was too cold to fish, so I climbed 2,000 feet up a mountain in crotch deep snow, by myself, and shot a goat.

I once had a pheasant come back to life in the back of a Chevy Blazer. A friend and I laid several across the top of a dog kennel and headed for home. The dogs started raising hell and we looked back to see a rooster perched on the top of the kennel looking back at us. I was tasked with crawling back there and trying to finish him off but it was touch and go for a minute what with the feathers and spurs. I came out of it seriously injured with several scratches that may have required Band-Aids for a lesser man.

Since that day I carry a pocket full of turkey loads and all pheasants get a finisher on the ground no matter how dead they look. A man can't be too careful with dangerous game.

That will teach you! Next time you shoot a pheasant, I bet you poke him in the butt with with your shotgun barrel. Can't be too safe these days.

I've never had a "dead" pheasant wake up on me in the truck, but I've had it happen with a "dead" mallard. Scary schitt!!

Glad ta hear you ain't one of them "lesser men".

I've had a "dead" pheasant come to life in my game vest. It started scratching and biting. LOL.

The second-to-last buck that my oldest son shot "came back to life" when we kicked it in the butt.

I was pretty sure it was still alive, but it scared the daylights out of my son--and taught him a valuable lesson in the process.

We always approach from behind toward the top of the back, on every animal. Including pheasants, but especially GEESE!

Knew a guy who shot a grey squirrel and picked it up by its tail.
It came back to life and latched on to his thumb.

About 20 years ago I was on my way to go cut some firewood. On the way, I shot a coyote with a .22 LR. I hit it in the face. I retrieved said coyote, threw it over my shoulder and carried it to my pickup where I tossed it in the back. I drove about 5 miles farther up the mountain to my wood cutting spot. At my wood cutting spot, I went to turn around. When I looked in the rear view mirror I could see the coyote sitting up shaking his head.

It was very much not dead. I pushed it out of the back of the pickup and preceded to make it very dead.

That picture screams "pop a brown paper bag and watch Pat jump!"

No, I wouldn't really do it, but I thought it!

Muddy - you are under gunned. Once with me was with an '06. 180 gr. The other was with a .338WM (210 NP - never used it again!). Both times were front approaches. I quit doing that!

Then (third) there was the time with a "yearling" bull moose, whacked .338WM, 250 gr. running, thru the spine ( pulverizing about 6 inches), exit thru base of neck, entrance high shoulder at 150 yards. Momentum carried him into 16 inches of water/mud. Put another into base of skull (just for luck) from behind before parking gun on handy willow 10 feet up bank, then wading out to turn him around and drag him up on shore for dressing out. That created a bit of a sore back about 2 days later, tho.

On my grabbing his antlers he blinked. Only time I have ever achieved levitation directly to firearm- or anywhere else.

Moose ain't hard to kill, tho often stubborn about it.

When I was in High School, a buddy and I were pheasant hunting. A rooster got up, and we both obviously hit it, nearly simultaneously. Threw it in the back of the pickup, only, driving a short time later, it was sitting up on the tailgate, kinda woobely. We jumped out, with guns, and it flew. Larry busted it again. When it came off the ground again, I busted it.

We gave that one away....

The coyote story reminds me of another one from just a few years ago. I was with my dad and a close friend working on the friend's property in a machine shed. The friend lets another guy do some trapping and he drove up to show us a nice coyote he had snared. It was in the back of a pickup with a topper. He opened the back of the truck and we leaned in to look. As the trapper reached in to drag the coyote out (which was laying on its side)for a split second I remember thinking its eyes looked awfully bright for a dead animal...
He grabbed the coyote by the scruff of the neck and the back and swung it out of the truck to drop it on the ground. The coyote hit the ground, popped up and glared at us, then jogged away. Nobody said a word for a minute and then the trapper said "Well that's never happened before". We had a good laugh over that one.
The trapper had snared this guy, pulled him out of the snare limp and threw him over his shoulder and walked a hundred yards across the field with the 'dead' coyote over his shoulder. That could have gotten interesting...

Been walking up to them with one in the chamber , safety off, finger on the trigger and poke them in the eye for years now. Then I stick a wad of ferns in their mouth.

Got my knuckle about decapitated two years ago by a "dead" muskrat while trapping! Thought I was going to bleed to death right on the ice.

I throw a stick at them from a distance if there is any doubt. I had a black bear jump up and take off once when I did that. It was nice to be 20 feet away when that happened! I have had two mule deer Sumo me to the ground when I grabbed their antlers knowing they were alive but thinking I was stronger. Bad program is all I can say.

I had a coyote in the back of my truck one time that I thought was dead. I went to a drive through on my way home. When I got up to the window the gal went to take my money and shied away. She came back with another lady- manager I presumed, who called me an a$$hole and slammed the window. I looked behind me and the coyote was standing up on my toolbox-all bloody. My dog woke up and saw him about the same time and shook it like a ragdoll getting blood all over the drive-through window. I never did get my cheeseburger!

that's because you are a, wait for it, a$$hole.......grin

SLAM!.....

That's freaking awesome Dennis.

I've had a 190"+ muley run off and had a couple of fox wake up in the truck bed while we were calling the next stand. That was a bit sporty....

What Pat said...


If it can bite, claw or stomp you, I throw rocks at it first.


For the other stuff I just don't pay much attention I guess. Been lucky so far...

Some great stories, especially the drive thru coyote!

I learned a valuable lesson myself about turkeys about 15 years ago. I had just bought a Mossberg 835 and had shot a nice gobbler with a 3 1/2" load of 6's. He dropped like a rock and never twitched. It was my second turkey ever and I thought the new shotgun was a death ray to have dropped the bird with no flopping.

I walked up to the turkey and grabbed it by a leg to pick it up, at which point it went berserk, flapping and flopping like you would imagine a 20 lb bird can do. I held on for dear life, not wanting my trophy gobbler to get away. Dust and leaf litter were flying around and getting in my eyes.

Nearly blind and pretty scared, I finally tackled the turkey and held it down until I could wring its neck.

The valuable lesson I learned that day is if the turkey's eyes are closed, he ain't dead! Same goes for furry critters too.