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

A supposedly "dead" mourning dove that comes back to life can be a formidable adversary in close quarters.

Blam! Blam! Blam!

I had a buddy see a deer hit along the Interstate, cut a back flip and keel over dead on the side of the road. Pulled over and put her in the trunk. Got home, opened the trunk and got jumped by one pee'd off doe!!!!

I've had critters come back to life. Mostly birds, but my wife once shot a deer with a slug in a river bottom. I went to check when I heard the shot and found her gloating over a small buck. It was in a bushy swale, laying back in the bottom with legs slightly elevated. There was a little blood in the snow by its head and no visible wound. Taking my knife, I went to the task but felt something was off. I put the knife in my left hand just as the buck's eye popped open. We made eye contact and he went nuts. I was behind him but only about a foot away. I used the occasion to practice my quick-draw. When I rolled the dead deer over, I found that my wife had shot off one antler right at the base of the skull, where there was some slight bleeding. Otherwise, the deer was entirely uninjured. I saved the shot-off antler and still have a lot of fun ribbing her over the event.

My grandpa had a story about that happening to him when he was a kid only he said he'd tied the tail to a belt loop right before it woke up

I had the same thing happen here in WY when I shot a bull moose with my bow, I knew there was another bull there and they were approaching each other but not sparring when I shot the bull. The bad news was it was getting dark when my wife and I got to the downed bull and the other bull just kept circling and huffing. It was a little nerve racking until he finally left.

I'm usually pretty careful and have never had a rodeo like some of the guys here, but I did finish an all-but-finished black bear with a knife to the base of the skull a couple of years ago. No earplugs in my pack and I was tired of my ears ringing after a couple of shots..but as I've said before, I should probably quit [bleep] with black bears.

^^ This^^

And it can get interesting anyway. A couple of weeks ago I approached a down lynx, very dead apparently, so put my rifle down and used both hands to position it better for a photo. It woke up, looked at me, bared its teeth and started to stand. For information purpose only, photos of its teeth and a claw below...

With turkey, I make sure my boot is firmly planted on the neck before trying to grab the legs. I usually do a bit of a grind on it if the gobbler is still active. After that, it's just a matter of "lift and separate." I put it back down while I pick up my stuff.

With deer, the first thing I do is check the legs. If the legs are drawn up under the deer, it's still alive and it gets a round to the chest. If the legs are all out to one side, chances are it's expired. Either way, I stay loaded. I approach from the back of the animal, and I make sure I'm not blocking the path for escape. I used to touch the eye with the barrel of the rifle. Recently, I've switched to kicking the top of the head. If I am delivering a finisher, I get back at least 10 feet, and more if practical.

If memory serves, my last one that required a finisher was a decade ago. A big 6 point buck fell took one a little too far back, and bedded less than 50 yards from where I hit him. I was just approaching to touch the eyeball when he reared up and tried to trot off. He got another round of .308 at less than 10 yards that took out his heart, lungs, and guts. Yuck. Lesson learned.

Squirrels? We've had a few re-animate. I kick 'em around a little bit, before attempting to pick them up. Then they usually go into a plastic grocery bag before going in the game bag.

Lotsa good tips on how to make sure it is dead and to get your mind ready if it is not. Adapt as necessary.

Re approaching: one size does not fit all terrain, vegetation, nor the offensive tools of the critter. Many of us have seen elk, deer, bear etc. on ground so steep that any twitch of the critter or touch of it by hunter will send it sliding, rolling downhill. A black bear almost rolled over my son as he dived out of its way, and I dodged a buck caroming down past me.

Quick steps in a swamp aren't.

Heavy brush can restrict approach, restrict my movement and particularly the free swing of my rifle.

Hey, approaching a down animal is a GOOD problem! I've posted about my rodeo with a wounded 4x5 mule deer buck. My advice is to make sure that you rassle a buck with antlers wide enough to pass on each side of your body when you grab the bases. I dropped my knife, bull dogged him down, jumped away to my rifle and shot him again. Retold only in the interest of being a good example of what not to do!

I hear there's a nice stone cabin up there for rent.

LOL! Reminds me of a friend that ended up riding a bull Nilgai through the brush. Shredded the shirt off his back and cut him up pretty good.