Whiskey Wish
09-26-2010, 09:10 PM
I'm in my 50's and have been around hunting and fishing my entire life. I have heard some great stories, some tall tales and a couple of jaw droppers over the years. This is a new one to me...
Bumped into my neighbour that lives a couple of miles down the road from me. He is just beginning to get his 16 year old lad started into hunting. Now I need to set the stage a bit here so his story makes sense so bear with me.
Picture a quarter section of land, open field that generally slopes down from the south towards the north. The south side is a large expanse of bush that all kinds of game call home and they like to come out into the field to eat. The north side bottom of the slope is a ordinary gravel road. My neighbours residence is at the western edge of this field.
So my neighbour tells me he and his boy are set up out in his field facing towards the south where the deer usually come from and it is safe to shoot in that direction. A group of whitetail deer come out into the field and he takes his time coaching his boy and waiting for a good shot. When the opportunity is right the lad takes his shot and the deer take a couple of jumps and goes down. As Dad is coaching his lad about reloading and being ready "just in case", the deer staggers back to it's feet and takes off running. Now Dad has seen a few deer shot in this field over the years and they ALWAYS head back south for the tree line but much to his surprise THIS deer heads north towards the road. As he is coaching his lad to swing on the deer and take his shot he can see the shot will be towards the road and another neighbours house in the distance so he calls off the shot. The deer proceeds to move in a gradual circle and ends up going into their own yard a bit downslope and into some tall grass where it lays down. Now Dad is a bit non-plussed but decides to head back to home where he advises his wife of what is happening and then tells his boy they are going to watch and wait for a while. He is beginning to suspect that his boy pulled his shot a bit and the deer is gut shot so figures to just let the deer lay there and bleed out as pushing him up and trying to get a running shot is difficult due to now facing the road and potentially some neighbours homes. They wait an hour then, not wanting to lose the light, they begin to move carefully on the deer. Just as they are crossing the fence leaving their own yard the deer scrambles up to it's feet and takes off in a wobbling drunken-like run that takes it directly towards the road. As my neighbour and his son are watching the deer managed to get up the ditch on to the road. Coming down the road is a semi-trailer truck and he sees the deer and begins to jake. The deer hears and sees the truck and moves off into the opposite ditch where it flops down. As my neighbour and his son watch the truck move past the deer they are surprised to see the deer get back to it's feet and stagger back up onto the road where it collapses. Now Mr Truck Driver comes to a complete stop and, while my neighbour and his son watch dumbfounded, the trucker throws it into reverse and proceeds to back his truck over the deer completely squashing it with a few sets of dual tires. He then shifts back into gear and drives over the deer again as he drives off down the road. Now the boy is HOT and ready to shed some blood but Dad is cooler headed and tells the lad the trucker must have assumed that the deer had been struck on the road and was suffering so he did the best he could for a "mercy killing" and drove away. My neighbour told me they walked over to the deer and looked it over but he said they couldn't even find a place to attach a tag even if they wanted to...which they no longer did of course.
My neighbour felt bad when he was telling me the story and asked me what I would have done. I told him pretty much the same as you did and no guilt. It is just one of those wierd things that happen in life every now and then and it is no ones fault. I told him I would just take the lad hunting again and let him get his deer like any other normal hunter would do and not worry about one of life's crazy moments.
Keep Your Powder Dry,
Dave.
Bumped into my neighbour that lives a couple of miles down the road from me. He is just beginning to get his 16 year old lad started into hunting. Now I need to set the stage a bit here so his story makes sense so bear with me.
Picture a quarter section of land, open field that generally slopes down from the south towards the north. The south side is a large expanse of bush that all kinds of game call home and they like to come out into the field to eat. The north side bottom of the slope is a ordinary gravel road. My neighbours residence is at the western edge of this field.
So my neighbour tells me he and his boy are set up out in his field facing towards the south where the deer usually come from and it is safe to shoot in that direction. A group of whitetail deer come out into the field and he takes his time coaching his boy and waiting for a good shot. When the opportunity is right the lad takes his shot and the deer take a couple of jumps and goes down. As Dad is coaching his lad about reloading and being ready "just in case", the deer staggers back to it's feet and takes off running. Now Dad has seen a few deer shot in this field over the years and they ALWAYS head back south for the tree line but much to his surprise THIS deer heads north towards the road. As he is coaching his lad to swing on the deer and take his shot he can see the shot will be towards the road and another neighbours house in the distance so he calls off the shot. The deer proceeds to move in a gradual circle and ends up going into their own yard a bit downslope and into some tall grass where it lays down. Now Dad is a bit non-plussed but decides to head back to home where he advises his wife of what is happening and then tells his boy they are going to watch and wait for a while. He is beginning to suspect that his boy pulled his shot a bit and the deer is gut shot so figures to just let the deer lay there and bleed out as pushing him up and trying to get a running shot is difficult due to now facing the road and potentially some neighbours homes. They wait an hour then, not wanting to lose the light, they begin to move carefully on the deer. Just as they are crossing the fence leaving their own yard the deer scrambles up to it's feet and takes off in a wobbling drunken-like run that takes it directly towards the road. As my neighbour and his son are watching the deer managed to get up the ditch on to the road. Coming down the road is a semi-trailer truck and he sees the deer and begins to jake. The deer hears and sees the truck and moves off into the opposite ditch where it flops down. As my neighbour and his son watch the truck move past the deer they are surprised to see the deer get back to it's feet and stagger back up onto the road where it collapses. Now Mr Truck Driver comes to a complete stop and, while my neighbour and his son watch dumbfounded, the trucker throws it into reverse and proceeds to back his truck over the deer completely squashing it with a few sets of dual tires. He then shifts back into gear and drives over the deer again as he drives off down the road. Now the boy is HOT and ready to shed some blood but Dad is cooler headed and tells the lad the trucker must have assumed that the deer had been struck on the road and was suffering so he did the best he could for a "mercy killing" and drove away. My neighbour told me they walked over to the deer and looked it over but he said they couldn't even find a place to attach a tag even if they wanted to...which they no longer did of course.
My neighbour felt bad when he was telling me the story and asked me what I would have done. I told him pretty much the same as you did and no guilt. It is just one of those wierd things that happen in life every now and then and it is no ones fault. I told him I would just take the lad hunting again and let him get his deer like any other normal hunter would do and not worry about one of life's crazy moments.
Keep Your Powder Dry,
Dave.