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Why we shoot deer in the wild #6641862
10/17/19 10:45 AM
10/17/19 10:45 AM
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 6,637
Wabash, IN USA
Flipper 56 Online content OP
trapper
Flipper 56  Online Content OP
trapper

Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 6,637
Wabash, IN USA
Why we shoot deer in the wild:
(A letter from someone who wants to remain anonymous, who farms, writes well and actually tried this)

I had this idea that I could rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home.

I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it. After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up-- 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold.

The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards it, it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope, and then received an education. The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope.

That deer EXPLODED. The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. A deer-- no Chance. That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined. The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals.

A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope.

I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in. I didn't want the deer to have to suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set before hand...kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back.

Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when ..... I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and slide off to then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head--almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts.

The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective.

It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now), tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the tendons out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.

That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.

Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp... I learned a long time ago that, when an animal -like a horse --strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape.

This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run. The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head. Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.

Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head.

I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away. So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope......to sort of even the odds!!

All these events are true so help me God...An Educated Farmer


"Where Can A Man Find Bear Beaver And Other Critters Worth Cash Money When Skinned?"

Re: Why we shoot deer in the wild [Re: Flipper 56] #6641865
10/17/19 10:53 AM
10/17/19 10:53 AM
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 4,167
Eau Claire Wi
Trap Setter Offline
trapper
Trap Setter  Offline
trapper

Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 4,167
Eau Claire Wi
Good one Flipper. how are the gashes healing?


Life sure is tough when you don't learn from the mistakes of others.
Re: Why we shoot deer in the wild [Re: Flipper 56] #6641882
10/17/19 11:13 AM
10/17/19 11:13 AM
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 6,683
Newark, Ohio 83 years
Actor Offline
trapper
Actor  Offline
trapper

Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 6,683
Newark, Ohio 83 years
That is wonderful … As a once upon a time Game Warden, I have seen some of the action he described, while trying to wrangle penned deer, to relocate them, it was truly an education.

Garry-

Last edited by Actor; 10/17/19 11:14 AM.

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

Have been trapping 77 years…
Re: Why we shoot deer in the wild [Re: Flipper 56] #6641891
10/17/19 11:32 AM
10/17/19 11:32 AM
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 18,392
Green County Wisconsin
G
GREENCOUNTYPETE Online content
trapper
GREENCOUNTYPETE  Online Content
trapper
G

Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 18,392
Green County Wisconsin
i think that cowboy done forgot his side arm. kinda funny.

I will explain this from the other direction , my friend has a beef operation , they graze and a single wire is all that is needed to keep them in contained on grass for 2 days till the wire is moved and they move to new grass , a single wire even works to make the runs back to the sorting area , all good until you start sorting them then woven wire , cattle panel or gate panels are needed

he sells direct market , to restaurants and other customers , he takes all his beef in basically as they sell 5-10 at a time

Tuesday he needed to take 5 head for butcher , he had to move 80 head a half mile into his pens where he has sorting capabilities there he can decide who is fattened up the best and sort them out and then into the trailer with a series of gates.

as he is explaining this multi hour process of moving and sorting, I am thinking I could measure them up with the reticle on my scope tell you who is the largest back to brisket then put a hole in it's head from 200 yards and we could just drive the tractor out there and set 5 on the trailer and drive it to the butcher and we could be done in under an hour.

that is apparently not how you get meat certified for public sale , but it sure sounds easier than 4 people moving 80 head a half mile and then 75 back again.

however is almost exactly what we do with deer choose big one shoot it haul it back to the house hang it till cold then cut it up, deer do weigh a lot less.


America only has one issue, we have a Responsibility crisis and everything else stems from it.
Re: Why we shoot deer in the wild [Re: Flipper 56] #6641903
10/17/19 11:52 AM
10/17/19 11:52 AM
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,426
Missouri
ol' dad Offline
trapper
ol' dad  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,426
Missouri
either a fake story, or an educated farmer that lacks common sense.

ol'dad


"I season my food with hunger"
Re: Why we shoot deer in the wild [Re: Flipper 56] #6641912
10/17/19 11:58 AM
10/17/19 11:58 AM
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,807
Greene County,Virginia
R
run Offline
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run  Offline
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R

Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,807
Greene County,Virginia
Thanks for sharing. Now I know not to mess with live deer.


wanna be goat farmer.
Re: Why we shoot deer in the wild [Re: Flipper 56] #6641934
10/17/19 12:21 PM
10/17/19 12:21 PM
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,870
Mn
N
nightlife Offline
trapper
nightlife  Offline
trapper
N

Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,870
Mn
Have read that story before and it always reminds me of an incident that happened when I was a kid and a friend of mine tried to rope a deer from horseback

I really really wish I would have had a video camera along when he tried, the have no doubt it would have gone viral

That was a good experienced rope horse and he had a lot of experience roping calf’s and steers but that deer made them both look like fools

That horse was never the same again as a roping horse either



�Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks.�
― Robert A. Heinlein
Re: Why we shoot deer in the wild [Re: Flipper 56] #6641950
10/17/19 12:38 PM
10/17/19 12:38 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 8,717
Nebraska, Dawson County
chas3457 Offline
trapper
chas3457  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 8,717
Nebraska, Dawson County
My Father-in-law and his four brothers roped a deer from a pickup, ONCE, just for something to do. crazy

Father-in-law said they had a hard time getting the rope back. eek

They used to rope coyotes, castrate them, bob their tails and turn them loose. One horse couldn't get it done, so they did it in relays. grin


Not many entertainment opportunities for working cowboys in the Nebraska Sandhills in those days. laugh



Charlie


Old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm.

NRA Life Member ~ GOA Member ~ NFOA Member ~ UNMLA Member
Re: Why we shoot deer in the wild [Re: Flipper 56] #6641951
10/17/19 12:45 PM
10/17/19 12:45 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 20,966
St. Louis Co, Mo
B
BigBob Offline
trapper
BigBob  Offline
trapper
B

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 20,966
St. Louis Co, Mo
A very long standing joke.


Every kid needs a Dog and a Curmudgeon.

Remember Bowe Bergdahl, the traitor.

Beware! Jill Pudlewski, Ron Oates and Keven Begesse are liars and thiefs!
Re: Why we shoot deer in the wild [Re: Flipper 56] #6642112
10/17/19 04:44 PM
10/17/19 04:44 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 8,243
NWWA/AZ
Vinke Offline
trapper
Vinke  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 8,243
NWWA/AZ
Can I buy the original post on audio book ......to long for this add brain


Slightly used Shoes 4 sale……………
Re: Why we shoot deer in the wild [Re: Flipper 56] #6642137
10/17/19 05:48 PM
10/17/19 05:48 PM
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 16,150
Tennessee
Scuba1 Offline
"color blind Kraut"
Scuba1  Offline
"color blind Kraut"

Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 16,150
Tennessee
^^^ laugh


Let's go Brandon

"Shall not comply" with morons who don't understand "shall not infringe."
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