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Old October 6, 2011, 12:16 AM   #26
kep150
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I'm not sure what the laws are on Oklahoma... but it's NOT legal in Texas to kill a deer with a knife.

of course, I've finished off deer with a knife on the throat. I'm not going to sit there and watch an animal suffer needlesly. There was actually a case of a game warden confiscating a deer that was shot on an army base in texas, because it was "killed" i.e "finished" with a knife. Total BS in my opinion, but you have some of these game wardens with a corncob buried deep, and just look for a reason to jack with people.
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Old October 6, 2011, 12:28 AM   #27
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All states cover "method of take" as well as legal weapons in the hunting regulations. Good reading, BTW.

It would be a lot easier to believe a knife to dispatch a wounded deer than a firearm during bow season, otherwise every Bubba in the state would carry a handgun to "finish off" his deer. And a spotlight, too, because they were looking for him at night, Mr Warden.
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Old October 6, 2011, 01:59 AM   #28
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spear

I belonged to a bow hunt only club for a few years and we had a spear (I kid you not) for following deer at night. The logic was, you could not shoot it again w/ your bow after hours, and approaching and doing the deed w/ a knife could get tricky, so you stuck the animal from a slight distance w/ the spear. It got carried a bunch, but I never was with a tracking job on that lease, that didn't find a dead deer already, at the end.

"course Alabama now declares a spear season for deer, so.........I dunno.
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Old October 6, 2011, 05:23 AM   #29
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Ethical? in my humble opinion anything that ends the animals suffering ASAP is pure ethical treatment.
I agree.
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Old October 6, 2011, 05:25 AM   #30
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You have an ethical responsibility to end that animals life ASAP. Finding the animal when it is not legal to discharge a weapon leaves one with very little choice. The VAST majority of the time, I believe that we have an ethical duty to follow all laws. However, in this case, the ethical responsibility to the animal that you have grievously wounded overrides any legal issues of killing it with a knife.

I have done it twice. Once when I spined a deer with my bow because it was (unknown to me) damaged and a follow up shot was not possible and once when my only other option was a 12ga slug on an animal that was unconscious but still alive.

It's disgusting, to say the least, but you make your bed, you lie in it. It's part of hunting, if you can't/won't, don't hunt.

And yes, you have to be very, very careful. Even a doe could hurt you bad. A buck, well, those horns can do nasty things.
Good post
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Old October 6, 2011, 05:28 AM   #31
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Ever since I learned to "stick" a pig, I no longer need to waste a round on a kill shot for the most part...Just a quick tussle and the critter is handled clean and humane...
That would also protect your dogs and fellow hunters that might be struck by a bullet. I don't know if it's strictly legal but it seems like an ethical approach.
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Old October 6, 2011, 05:30 AM   #32
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I know this question comes from an earlier, ill advised post about an archery kill poorly, and illegally completed.
I don't think a law was broken.

Quote:
WHY NOT ANOTHER ARCHERY SHOT?
Didn't have a bow at the time. Would you have been ok if a knife was used?
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Old October 6, 2011, 05:33 AM   #33
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I'm not sure what the laws are on Oklahoma... but it's NOT legal in Texas to kill a deer with a knife.

of course, I've finished off deer with a knife on the throat. I'm not going to sit there and watch an animal suffer needlesly. There was actually a case of a game warden confiscating a deer that was shot on an army base in texas, because it was "killed" i.e "finished" with a knife. Total BS in my opinion, but you have some of these game wardens with a corncob buried deep, and just look for a reason to jack with people.
That's interesting. I think your choice to end the animal's suffering as quickly as possible is the way to go even if it could result in a confiscated deer.
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Old October 6, 2011, 06:31 AM   #34
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Originally Posted by bamaranger
I belonged to a bow hunt only club for a few years and we had a spear (I kid you not) for following deer at night. The logic was, you could not shoot it again w/ your bow after hours, and approaching and doing the deed w/ a knife could get tricky, so you stuck the animal from a slight distance w/ the spear. It got carried a bunch, but I never was with a tracking job on that lease, that didn't find a dead deer already, at the end.

"course Alabama now declares a spear season for deer, so.........I dunno.
spear season? got a link for that? I'm in
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Old October 6, 2011, 06:43 AM   #35
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Spear season does sound exciting. I wonder if that means that Bamaranger's former club won't be able to use the spear to dispatch wounded animals after dark anymore.
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Old October 6, 2011, 08:12 AM   #36
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Interesting question.
As stated, it is a state by state thing.
Where it would be illegal does illustrate the absurdity of many of our laws and regulations.
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Old October 6, 2011, 01:10 PM   #37
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spear season? got a link for that? I'm in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlatl
Here is a very interesting article, including video!
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/st...egal-missouri/
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Old October 6, 2011, 03:17 PM   #38
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Where's FINISHING a deer with a knife illegal?
Every state I've ever hunted in had/has regulations that limit legal weapons to those specifically defined by the state. If the weapon isn't listed, it is illegal to be used on the (live) game animal, in any way. The coup de grâce is no exception.

The only place I've lived, that allowed knives in any form, was Florida -- and that was limited to feral hogs.



Quote:
Quote:
spear season? got a link for that? I'm in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlatl
Here is a very interesting article, including video!
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/st...egal-missouri/
I've wanted to hunt with my Altatl for quite some time. But, of course, it isn't a defined weapon in the states I hunt.

If you know how to use it, it's a better weapon than a bow. (More energy, more range, more internal damage if it doesn't pass clean through.)

But, I am a cheater. I have Eaton Aluminum shafts for my Atlatl darts.
......
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Old October 6, 2011, 04:33 PM   #39
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Some states have specific law addressing dispatching wounded game and some don't seem to address it directly. For example, in North Carolina an archer can use a handgun to dispatch wounded game but it must be a .22 rimfire:

SECTION 1. G.S. 113-291.1 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(k) If a hunter kills or wounds a big game animal during the hunting hours authorized by subsection (a) of this section, the hunter may use a portable light source and a single dog on a leash to assist the hunter in retrieving the dead or wounded big game animal, and may dispatch a wounded big game animal using only a .22-caliber rimfire pistol, archery equipment, or a handgun otherwise legal for that hunting season. Pursuit and retrieval under this subsection may occur between the hours of one-half hour after sunset and 11:00 p.m. if necessary, but such pursuit and retrieval may not be accomplished using a motorized vehicle.

It doesn't look like a hunter can use a knife in North Carolina to dispatch a big game animal.
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Old October 6, 2011, 05:08 PM   #40
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Quote:
WHY NOT ANOTHER ARCHERY SHOT?
Didn't have a bow at the time. Would you have been ok if a knife was used?

Quote:
A friend of mine stuck a whitetail doe around 8:45 Saturday morning and his expanding broad head didn't open. He tried for an hour to find the deer and then backed out for lunch. After lunch we went back to look for the deer and around 2:00, he found her. She stood up near him and he got a shot off with his .22lr revolver before she ran off.
Sounds like your poacher friend chose NOT to have a bow with him!!!
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Old October 6, 2011, 10:31 PM   #41
2damnold4this
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Sounds like your poacher friend chose NOT to have a bow with him!!!
Let's see, using legal archery tackle he legally inflicted a fatal wound on a deer but the deer was taking its time to die. He later tried to put down the suffering animal with a handgun but was unsuccessful. How exactly did he poach the deer?

Perhaps you meant that he cooks by slowly simmering food in a liquid. I don't know if he cooks using that method or not.
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Old October 6, 2011, 10:39 PM   #42
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Perhaps you meant that he cooks by slowly simmering food in a liquid. I don't know if he cooks using that method or not.
Fish is good poached in liquid. Deer benefits more from braising.
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Old October 6, 2011, 11:02 PM   #43
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How exactly did he poach the deer?
From Georgia Fish and game regulations book.
Quote:
Deer & Bear Firearms
• Modern Rifles and Handguns: Centerfire
Only, .22-cal. or larger with expanding
bullets.
Quote:
he got a shot off with his .22lr revolver before she ran off.
Illegal firearm for deer!

Also, your states game regulations are difficult, at best to find information in, but I think if you ask an agent he will tell you that it illegal to use a firearm to finish off a deer wounded by an arrow.


Quote:
Archers may not possess any centerfire, rimfire, or muzzleloading firearm while hunting
during the archery deer season
, except that
any person possessing a license to carry a
concealed firearm that is valid in this state
pursuant to OCGA §§ 16-11-126(f) or
16-11-129 may carry such firearm subject to
the limitations of OCGA §§ 16-11-126 and
16-11-127 except where prohibited by federal law.
I think this paragraph may be the root of some misunderstanding. It is intended to allow holders of a CCW permit to have their concealed firearm on them, but it is not intended to allow it use on an animal.

I'll give your pall the benefit of the doubt, and say that he misunderstood the law, and made a mistake not going back after the deer with a legal method.
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Old October 6, 2011, 11:35 PM   #44
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Also, your states game regulations are difficult, at best to find information in, but I think if you ask an agent he will tell you that it illegal to use a firearm to finish off a deer wounded by an arrow.
Georgia game regulations are somewhat nebulous. Is it legal to use a flashlight to get to a stand before daylight or to get out of a stand at dark? Is it even legal to go to a stand before daylight or is that "hunting at night." Is it legal to track a wounded deer after dark? Can I use a flashlight to track a wounded deer after dark or must I use a light mounted to my head? Can I use a knife, Bamaranger's spear or other method not listed as an approved hunting weapon to dispatch wounded game?

With all the confusion Tuesday, I did call the conservation officer's office for the county where I had been and told them my name and that I had used a handgun to put down a deer that had been wounded by an arrow. They said "You're fine. That isn't hunting, it's dispatching a wounded animal." I don't know if that means that it is legal but that CO thought it was ok. If someone had shot an unwounded animal with a firearm during bow season, I suspect the answer would have been different.
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Old October 6, 2011, 11:37 PM   #45
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Deer benefits more from braising.
Sounds like you owe us a post on the recipe thread.
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Old October 7, 2011, 05:45 AM   #46
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I wouldn't dispatch any large animal with a knife. My friend found himself in deep doo-doo when he tried this with a mule deer. But...He thought that animal was dead though. When he told us about this I was laughing so hard I couldn't take it anylonger.

He just knocked the deer out with the shot - grazed the head. Then when he sat down by the animal, it awakened

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Old October 7, 2011, 06:39 AM   #47
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I wouldn't dispatch any large animal with a knife. My friend found himself in deep doo-doo when he tried this with a mule deer. But...He thought that animal was dead though. When he told us about this I was laughing so hard I couldn't take it anylonger.
A couple of my friends got in to that when they were kids. I'm not sure of the details, but one ended up trying to hold the buck while the other was trying to stab it with a pocket knife. I think he beat them both up pretty good. Funny to here them tell about it.
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Old October 7, 2011, 08:13 AM   #48
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To add to the confusion, many state and national forests prohibit the carrying of an "cutting instrument". No pocket, skinning knives, camp axes, nothing.
BTW, what is the broadhead on an arrow if not a "cutting instrument". Regs. can be stupid.
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Old October 7, 2011, 08:31 AM   #49
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Is it legal or ethical to dispatch wounded game with a knife?
Unless a game warden is there to observe you, it is a moot question whether it is legal or not. Ethical? Yes, ends suffering faster.
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Old October 7, 2011, 08:42 AM   #50
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The COs are often on the side of practicality, and spirit of the law, rather than letter of the law.

I was once privy to a conversation between a person who had hit and grievously wounded a nice buck and the CO on the 24hr number. The guy was calling to get a CO sent out to dispatch the very alive but unable to get up and run animal, this was near midnight.
Anyway, the CO made it VERY, ABUNDANTLY clear what he was getting at when he said, "If I had an officer out that way I'd send him to help, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY OFFICERS ANYWHERE NEAR YOU, if I had any officers ANYWHERE NEAR YOU, I'd send them BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY OFFICERS ANYWHERE NEAR YOU... Do you understand what I mean?"

It was a very clear wink and nod to do what you have to do, without actually giving permission to do it.

Most everyone understands that even laws against such things are there to prevent INTENT not to prevent dispatching of wounded animals and allow them to suffer.

Some states, Texas is one, now have specific rules about tracking and killing of legally wounded animals. They all should.
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