2nd (follow-up) shots - Your thoughts?

[Art Eatman]

Seems to me that the gist of all this is that you need to be ready and able to take a second shot if necessary.

I guess that if you're a bit twitchy about how good the first shot was, keep Bambi on the ground with a second shot and save a bunch of trailing.

[RaySendero]

Art Eatman wrote:

Seems to me that the gist of all this is that you need to be ready and able to take a second shot if necessary.

Yep that's what I was taught. Never needed a second shot on deer, but have nailed a couple of nice bucks after shooting a doe! So... be prepared.

[Gunplummer]

May be only rumors, but I have read or heard more than once about deer taking off with a tag on it. You hear some weird stuff when hunters get together.

[NHSHOOTER]

I hope I never have a deer run off after tagging it since I dont usually tag till after its field dressed..

[Art Eatman]

I've told this before, either here or at THR. My father told me of an event from sixty years back. A woman shot a nice buck. Set her rifle down, tagged the deer. As she was getting her knife out to field dress it, the buck jumped up, ran off, and jumped the fence onto a neighboring ranch. She had grazed the base of an antler, cold-cocking the buck.

As she was running to try to catch up, she heard a shot. Crossed the fence. Approached two hunter standing over "her" buck.

"That's my deer! That's my deer!"

"You're nuts, lady; I just shot it."

"It has my tag on it!"

They look. Sure enough, there's the tag.

"Oh, okay, lady. Anybody who can run that fast deserves a deer."

[reynolds357]

I remember reading in one of the magazines years ago about a bull elk running off with the rifle that shot it. For some reason, I guess to get the rifle in a picture, the hunter lashed his rifle inside the Elk rack. The Elk got up and ran off with his rifle. He never found elk or rifle. Wish I could remember which magazine it was in. I read it when I was a kid. I remember the article had cartoon type pictures. It was probably one of those funny stories Outdoor Life used to run.

[lefteye]

I've been hunting four legged critters (coyote, pronghorn, whitetail, mule deer, elk and black bear) for about 40 years with a rifle, shotgun, handgun and bow. A few have required a second shot and I do not hesitate to shoot the animal a second time for two simple reasons: (1) to end suffering and (2) to avoid a long search and drag. Nevertheless, I've had a couple of two to three day searches for whitetails taken with a bow. Where legal, I will carry a handgun for that final, if necessary, shot.

[Kreyzhorse]

I hate to shoot an animal a second (or third) time but, if there is any doubt that the animal isn't hit well, a second shot is required.

Most of the time, but not always, you can tell the how well an animal is hit and if a follow up is required. I've personally only had one that needed a coup de grace but have been around a handful of others.

In Wyoming, my buddy shot a nice buck well, but after giving it a few minutes, it was obvious that a follow up was required. After a second well place lung shot from 15 feet didn't dispatch him, a third shot was required to finally put him down. All three shots hit him well and while antelope aren't particularly tough animals, this old boy simply didn't want to give up.

My buddy and I strive to make clean kills and if a shot strays, to dispatch the animal as quick as possible. That day was a pretty tough day.

In the end, we did the right thing but felt terrible about the suffering we caused.

[Kreyzhorse]

I guess that if you're a bit twitchy about how good the first shot was, keep Bambi on the ground with a second shot and save a bunch of trailing.

And Art makes a great point again, always be ready for a quick follow up to anchor the animal.

Losing an animal is thankfully something I've never had happen although last year I though we were going to lose my buddy's first buck. It took some serious tracking but thankfully we found him.

[Mobuck]

For those who state "they've NEVER had to shoot a deer twice", I can only say temper that statement with YET. I would call it outright BS but I don't think that's appropriate since there are some very ethical shooters who simply won't take anything but a chip shot. I've shot a LOT of deer and several have been shot twice(or more) even though the first shot was fatal.
Regarding the carrying of a handgun: I've done so but usually with intent to shoot an "easy" deer with the handgun OR to test bullet performance on a freshly killed or not quite dead animal. I had a Great Uncle who loved his 45 ACP. I think he shot every deer he killed after it was dead with that 45 just for satisfaction.
I'll firmly say that sooner or later, you WILL need a follow up shot so be ready with it. Stuff happens: wind shift, stick gets in the way, errant moonbeam causes bullet to veer off course, cosmic disturbance affects trajectory.

[Doyle]

Here we are talking about followup shots when we are totally bypassing the fact that the OP broke one of the basic rules of hunting big game.

When you shoot an animal and you are reasonably sure that you have made a fatal shot (even though it may not be immediately fatal) - STAY PUT AND DON'T SPOOK THE ANIMAL. If he had just sat down and waited for half an hour that deer would have probably stayed right where he was and bleed out. When you spook a wounded animal, he'll run. They can sometimes run a long way even when mortally wounded if they think something is after them.

[Vt.birdhunter]

A lot of the "deer getting up and running off" could be avoided if hunters would wait 15 minutes before getting down from their stand.

Doyle and some others are dead on IMO.
Time to go into shock and bleed is essential. Ive tracked a buck for hours that was well hit with a 7mm mag. If you dont wait, youll just push them.

I wait an hour with a bow. Ive found deer that were POORLY hit during bow season that simply lay down 50 yards from where they were hit; as long as you stay quiet.

Some may say "inhumane", but "time" is the best second shot Ive ever taken.

[buck460XVR]

Originally posted by NHSHOOTER:

I hope I never have a deer run off after tagging it since I dont usually tag till after its field dressed.

In Wisconsin, by law, you are required to tag the animal before field dressing or moving it. Altho, I have heard the same rumors of tagged animals running off with a tag on them, I've yet to know anyone personally that has done it.

[buck460XVR]

Some may say "inhumane", but "time" is the best second shot Ive ever taken.

Depends on the shot. Gut shot deer yes. Deer shot in the boiler room, makes no difference. Deer wounded in the legs or other muscle tissue, not so much. Then laying down decreases blood flow and allows the wound to close. Pushing that animal increases the heartbeat and the blood flow allowing you to continue to bloodtrail them and to weaken them so you can get that second shot. Knowing how deer react to different types of wounds, knowing the sign, both the body language and the type of blood on the ground, from the hit, and knowing what to do in those different scenarios, can be just as important as any second shot. If the deer goes down within sight, one can generally keep an eye on it and watch for movement or struggle as they walk up on it or as they watch it expire. If the animal runs off outta sight, one can usually go to where the animal was hit after a short amount of time and find the sign from the hit. There is no generic response after shooting a deer. One needs to know the difference between lung blood, stomach blood and brisket blood. One also needs to know what color hair is on different parts of the body. In any case, any time there is doubt, a second, finishing shot should be taken.

[603Country]

Back when i was host hunting, I carried a handgun to finish off deer for poor shooting customers. Started out with a 357, but quickly switched to a 22.

Over the decades, I guess I've had to reshoot a few deer, but not many.

Did shoot a big 10 point once that went down hard. Even though I could see the deer, it was very dead. Decided to have my coffee. About 10 minutes or so of me enjoying coffee and a fine morning, the very dead deer twitched. What the...and thn he jumped up and was gone. I'm sure I hit him high, above the spine, and had knocked him unconscious. Coulda shot him a dozen times, but I knew he was dead...or so I thought.

[WV_gunner]

2 years ago hunting with my dad, he shot a doe at close range with a .30-06 shooting 150 grain Super X, he shot the deer in the head. It fell, about a few seconds later it got up and ran a good distance. He shot it again, in the head, it still lived for a couple more minutes.

I'm no deer slayer but only 2 have the ones I've killed have required a 2nd shot.

[reynolds357]

MoBuck, I have never shot a deer two times. (With the exception of two deer that I had complete bullet failure on, I actually shot them the "second" time weeks later. With those two exceptions,I have not lost one since I was a kid. There have been quite a few running like scalded dogs that I would have shot a second time if it were possible. My dogs have tracked some deer over 400 yards that were lung shot. It is pretty safe to say that without dogs, I would have lost a few.

[doofus47]

I guess there's a reason for the saying "your first shot is the most important."

I once scuffed a 200+ yard downhill shot on a mulie buck by not considering the angle of the shot. Mr. Springfield 30-06 saved my butt by plowing through the whole body and breaking the opposite side hip. It took me 45 mins to find him and finish him.
If I could have taken a second shot faster I would have; no animal deserves to suffer a broken hip. Probably my worst moment, but we're all fallible and these things happen.

[gunrunner1]

My hunting experience , and that of almost everyone I talk to about hunting, mirrors that of MoBuck. Very, very few people have every deer they shoot simply drop dead on the spot. Almost everyone has deer that run. Some run a few yards, some run hundreds of yards. I've had deer die after one shot, and I've had many that needed two shots. I had to shoot one buck seven times, it simply would not go down.

I believe that if you lined five deer up (all the same size and sex) and shot all of them from the same distance with the same gun, the same load, in the exact same spot, you would get five completely different reactions.

[Unlicensed Dremel]

"When in doubt, shoot again" Absolutely yes, if for no other reason than humane-ness.

However, if the animal is clearly down and not getting back up, but kicking, given the cost of rifle ammo, I'd rather deliver the coup de grace with a .22lr kit gun revolver if I have it with me. Even in bow season (it's illegal to do so, but I choose humane-ness over a law aimed at stopping someone *other than me* - poachers). Never had to shoot a second arrow (though I certainly would if had the chance initially, or if needed a coup de grace and no kit gun on me). I guess because I wait a long time after bow shots (at least one hour, and 8-12 hours at least if "too far back" shot (like an idiot) - and so you either find it dead a ways off or never find it. Large game doesn't DRT with archery shots unless you hit spine - at least for me they don't.

[Unlicensed Dremel]

I've told this before, either here or at THR. My father told me of an event from sixty years back. A woman shot a nice buck. Set her rifle down, tagged the deer. As she was getting her knife out to field dress it, the buck jumped up, ran off, and jumped the fence onto a neighboring ranch. She had grazed the base of an antler, cold-cocking the buck.

As she was running to try to catch up, she heard a shot. Crossed the fence. Approached two hunter standing over "her" buck.

"That's my deer! That's my deer!"

"You're nuts, lady; I just shot it."

"It has my tag on it!"

They look. Sure enough, there's the tag.

"Oh, okay, lady. Anybody who can run that fast deserves a deer."

That's great. Now, although that's a (possibly) true story, of course it reminds me of the old tale.....

Ol' boy takes his wife elk hunting; puts her in a tree stand with a rifle and says "OK, now I'm gonna go over there to hunt, but if you see an elk, shoot it". Hour or so later, the guy hears a shot, and walks over to see her arguing with a stranger on the ground and pointing her rifle at him ... she says to her husband "Honey, I shot one, but this yardbird is trying to steal it from me". The guy says.... "Look lady - you can have your elk - I just wanna get my saddle off of it, OK?"

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Absolutely without hesitation. All it took was a one time learning experience for me to come to that shooting decision. And my Father's corporal punishment. That most assuredly helped change my mind and behavior and without doubt was instrumental in my decision making policy.
What do I care about another broken rib and some more bloodshot chest or even a bony shoulder. I'm after those loins and back legs. Be~~cause. "I don't like long night-time or day-time for that matter walks thru the woods concentrating on hoof marks." My ideal hunt. Shoot, rope the animal up to the ATV, drag it home, have a beer (?maybe?). Than get busy cleaning the animal up & quartering. If I miss supper time because of such behavior. No big deal I can afford to miss a supper's sitting occasionally. That's what micro-wave ovens are for. i.e. Johnny come to the table lately's.

Frankly the way I see this subject: Just because someone bought a license doesn't mean they have the Right to let a animal escape (wounded) that surely needed a second bump and its hunter had time to take that second shot but didn't. It's a dis-service to the land owner and to the animal being humanely harvested most of all. Being a hunting land owner. I have encounter on a couple occasions other hunters who have done just that. (purposely let or observed their animal get up and walk or run away without a second or third shot being fired.) I help find their animal. {honestly I have better things to do then having to track another's wounded deer for retrieval}_Then that hunter is told what he or she did wrong. I patiently listen to their excuse/s. But usually a stern decisive comment from me follows: Don't bother to ask for permission anymore. And I walk away.
A peaceful ending to a disappointing day for the two of us I'd say.

[Barnacle Brad]

I think that most experienced hunters make that decision instinctively without any concious thought process whatsoever, while young or inexperienced hunters must be prompted to "shoot again". In time that young hunter will come to make that call automatically in most cases - in some cases the hunter is just inept and will need his butt powdered for him at all times.

In my book, a follow up shot is different than a finishing shot and are not used interchangeably.

A follow up shot is required for ambulatory non mortally wounded game, with the goal of acheiving the DRT status the first shot was supposed to acheive.

A finishing shot is required for non ambulatory mortally wounded game, with the goal of allowing me to field dress the critter in a timely manner without getting my face kicked off.

The only thing hair on the ground ever provided me was a sense of dissatisfaction at missing an opportunity and relief that a wounded critter need not be tracked. That deer is safe for a long time. In my neck of the woods we would call him "educated".

[reynolds357]

I shoot most of the large/medium game I kill in the lungs. I think the meat tastes better when they run a couple hundred yards and get rid of a lot of the blood in the system.

[Art Eatman]

What? Let 'em bleed out and lose all the vitamins from red blood corpsuckles?