County seeks to reduce deer population

[lizbud]

The yearly deer hunt has already started in Indiana. They close all of
the State Parks for a few days & start shooting. No markmanship test is
required, only a hunting licence. I wonder how many are just wounded and
left to bleed out somewhere in the brush?

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/25682723/detail.html

[aTailOf2Kitties]

I wonder how many are just wounded and
left to bleed out somewhere in the brush?

Do you mean totally abandoned? Or just not killed instantly?

As far as total abandonment..Why would someone sit in a tree in the freezing cold for hours and finally shoot a deer just to let it get away? Animals generally aren't attracted to loud banging noises, so one you've fired your gun, it's not like you've got anything else to do for a little while. Follow the blood trail find your deer and take it home.

Keep in mind the goal of every hunter is to kill an animal as quickly as possible. So yeah some do bleed out in the bushes, but hunters try to avoid having to go track down a wounded deer, and it's still less traumatic than being mauled by predators.

[cassiesmom]

Thank you, fellow PTers for answering my questions.

Driving home from my mom and dad's last night I stopped for a doe crossing Wolf Road. They blend in well with the grass and trees, especially at night. I wish the street lights were either closer together, or brighter. She was walking across the street, not in a hurry, and I was going slowly enough that I could slow down. Sometimes they dash out from someone's yard into the street and keep going. I just don't want to hit one.

[Puckstop31]

Do you mean totally abandoned? Or just not killed instantly?

As far as total abandonment..Why would someone sit in a tree in the freezing cold for hours and finally shoot a deer just to let it get away? Animals generally aren't attracted to loud banging noises, so one you've fired your gun, it's not like you've got anything else to do for a little while. Follow the blood trail find your deer and take it home.

Keep in mind the goal of every hunter is to kill an animal as quickly as possible. So yeah some do bleed out in the bushes, but hunters try to avoid having to go track down a wounded deer, and it's still less traumatic than being mauled by predators.

Trust me... For EVERY hunter I know, not finding a deer they shoot is a VERY bad thing. For instance, I had several "makeable" shot opportunties this year during archery season. But I passed the shot on all of them, because it was not a "for sure" shot. Are there "hunters" who shoot deer and not recover them? Maybe. But they are a EXTREME minority.

The question about sitting in the freeze... If ya gotta ask... You'll never get it. LOL

"Banging" noises.... It all depends on the environment. I watched a group of does this year, browsing at the edge of a corn field, just watch a combine pass not 10 feet away.

"Follow the blood." Not always as easy as it sounds. Depending on the shot angle and the weapon used, there may be very little or no blood from a mortal shot.


What I am getting at... For the non hunters here.... 99% of the sterotypes about us, are wrong. They just are.

[Puckstop31]

The yearly deer hunt has already started in Indiana. They close all of
the State Parks for a few days & start shooting. No markmanship test is
required, only a hunting licence. I wonder how many are just wounded and
left to bleed out somewhere in the brush?

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/25682723/detail.html

There is a LOT more to a humane kill than simple marksmanship. Even an perfect "double lung" shot does not guarantee recovery. Its a sad aspect of hunting. ANY hunter who does not feel horrible for not finding an animal they shoot, is not a true hunter who does it out of respect for the wild.

FWIW, any broadside shot in the torso, using modern hunting rifle ammo, should result in a relativley humane kill.

I don't know about IN, but in PA... When they do these "cull" hunts, they require a marksmanship test. Also, FWIW, I personally would not participate in such a hunt. Yes, it is required to be done. This kind of control is better than starvation or CWD... But its not a "hunt". Big difference between a "cull" and hunting.