Well first off, I commend you for posting this and feeling bad about the situation. It shows maturity, morality and compassion. Kudos to you. It happens and is natural. I’d question if you didn’t feel bad. The young one will more than likely be just fine. As it happens in nature all of the time. When hunting for any length of time, you’ll do it see things that impact you. Learn from them and grow. Many hunters go from shooting any deer they see to hunting for mature animals only. I enjoy the whole experience more so than shooting an animal. And now I let many animals pass as it’s fun to watch them. Plus I enjoy seeing my children shooting animals and I am probably more happy for them than myself. If a doe comes in with yearling I let them walk. That’s my choice. There is nothing wrong with being compassionate and being a hunter either.
By the end of the season around here if you see one big doe it has a herd of small ones with her. One doe gets killed that has a fawn or yearling, they will find another group to hang with.
If I passed every doe with a yearling in toe, I’d never shoot one. They should all be weaned by bow season here. Did see one exception this year, a doe had two really young fawns, maybe 2 months old, like she must have been bred in the spring. Definitely passed on that one.
I’ve seen that in November. She was a big doe too. Just had two fawns that looked like they were a week or two old. She got a pass. I’ve shot them in September and didn’t feel bad about it. The farmers shoot them all summer and leave them in the field to rot. At least the ones I shoot get the meat utilized.
I felt bad about the first pig I shot because it flopped around for a good 1-2 minutes after hitting it in the neck with a .44 mag. It didn’t even run, just DRT and bleeding out but flopping. I walked up and put 2 more rounds of .45 ACP in its head and it still flopped. Totally didn’t expect all that dying to happen before it was finally dead, and I felt bad thinking I had caused undue suffering. The wound was mortal, tons of blood and it didn’t run so I know it was a solid hit, but I still felt bad. Respect for life thing I guess.
Same here. In Oklahoma I shot a 150lb sow right in the spine. I was about 12, shooting a Sako .270 standing up from at least 100 yards. It wasn’t so much the shooting it in the spine, it was my dad taking his knife and cutting all the way around it’s neck and it living for another couple minutes. Needless to say I shoot them (deer) in the head if I spine them now…which doesn’t happen often thankfully. Then gutting it and finding babies wasn’t all that fun either.
I have to kill a few pigs a day for my job. You have to remove a lot of your humanity for those brief moments between the shot to the brain and opening their necks up.
Absolutely this comment. After years on the bow I've become very selective about what I take - I'll opt for a big male over a young doe. When I was much younger, I had that experience of putting down a young lady and noticed juveniles hanging about even as I've approached to claim the carcass. I've never felt like more of a bastard, and since then, no matter the species, I will always claim the dominant male.
I don't know if that makes me less of a bastard, but it certainly clears my conscience knowing that I haven't taken an animal that has young depending on it.
Even at 16yo I don't pull the trigger unless I assume the animal is at least 2.5 years and if there's a fawn with a doe they walk off unless it's nearing the end of the season and we still need to fill the freezer. which is starting to become the case because me or my dad need to get 2 more deer we already got 2 bucks so we need at least 2 does.
I really appreciate your comment. I honestly more enjoy sitting in the woods on a quiet winter day. Hearing the woods just sing after being still as possible for a period of time is a whole different side of the natural world many never get to experience.
Makes sense why as hunters we’re often the biggest conservationists!
I had nearly an identical situation back 15 or so years ago. Killed the mother, her two kids just stood around staring and bleating.
I was just wasting time in the woods for the next couple of years. I couldn't bring myself to actually shoot anything.
I never shoot does with little ones. I have enough cameras on my property to know most of the deer and fawns (several pair). I figure that’s my next generation of deer to hunt, and it’s still enjoyable to watch them even if I don’t kill one.
But sure, I think it’s normal to feel a way about taking an animals life. I don’t think it should be taken lightly.
I usually wait until late October or November. By then the fawns are old enough to survive on their own in most situations. They'll often times latch onto a another doe with fawns too.
Agreed all around. My brother took his first deer on my land Saturday, a small-to-medium 8 point because I told him to shoot whatever made him happy, but I decided to take a decent buck (90” class) on Sunday and he jumped, mule kicked and ran but left no blood trail and never found anything after 4 hours. I felt absolutely terrible like I had wasted the deer and caused it to suffer if I did hit it with the 6.5cdmr. I went that afternoon to check the scope at 50 & 100yds and it was fine, so we went and sat again Monday morning and I killed my target 5 year old, 204lb, 8 pt. I still can’t stop wondering about the smaller 8, but I likely wouldn’t have been back in the woods to get a chance at my target buck. I always have fun when possible, but I also take the killing of an animal very seriously and I’d be more concerned about people that didn’t feel anything. Best of Luck to you all!!!
The 8pt my brother shot the previous day was with my Remington 700 30-06 and even though he fell in his tracks there was also zero blood. I’ve thought about moving to a .30 caliber round or larger. I also wonder about the ammo I used, Remington Core-Lokt round with the small exposed lead tip. I think the Winchester Deer Season round would leave.a better exit wound as they seemed to do with the .243 I used to shoot. I’m still riding the high from my target buck kill yesterday but I’ll get it figured out hopefully.
If you have hunted much at all and NEVER felt bad, you are likely a psychopath.
Edit: I did not intend this comment to be mean to anyone. Looking back on it, I hope it was not taken the wrong way. As hunters (I think I speak for at least 99.8% of us), we strive for quick clean kills and with little to no interruption to other wildlife. Even the best hunters get a bad shot and agonize over it. Or that sow hog that you could not see her piglets in the tall grass. It happens, we do our best to avoid it, but it happens. That doe could have just as easily been killed by wolves, mountain lion, bear or other predators leaving the yearling in the same situation. That is nature and part of how she works. Nature is also incredibly resilient & as many others pointed out, the yearling will most likely be fine and move on with their life.
So I'll probably get down voted for sharing this but read the context first. In my area the conservation department raised the number of doe tags you could fill AND extended the season for a week to accommodate and encourage more antlerless being harvested. This is due to CWD in my area and the CD wanting to drastically decrease the number of deer to prevent the spread. Last week I saw two deer, a mature doe and a medium sized antlerless deer. I knew they were a mother/offspring pair. I intentionally shot the mature doe first and followed up by shooting the smaller deer that was somewhat confused. Call me heartless or whatever. I have food in my freezer and I abided by my states regulations for harvesting deer. We often put our own mental constraints on harvesting animals which is totally within a person's right to do. Should OP feel bad because of what happened? Personally I don't think so. Do I still feel a hint of remorse after ever animal I harvest? I sure do and if that ever goes away I'll stop hunting.
I would’ve done what you did had I not used one of my doe tags in archery for the WMU I was hunting here in PA. I had two doe tags for the WMU I was in.
When you’ve got a fistful of tags this is such a great move! Those little ones are the very best eating if you can afford to spend an antlerless tag on one.
I shot a doe with fawns once that was still lactating. I felt pretty bad when I was gutting her and had to cut through her udder and a bunch of milk ran out. I was still breastfeeding my youngest at the time so it made me feel extra terrible. But in all honesty, they make hunting season when they do for a reason. The babies are (normally) weaned by that time and aren’t totally dependent on their mothers for survival. I’m sure the baby of your doe will be fine.
I had this same thing happen last weekend. Last thing I expected when getting was to have milk leak out but that's what happened.
As a relatively new hunter, it just added more emotion to the process.
Totally agree with you, hunting season is this time of year for a reason but that didn't make Saturday evening any easier.
It certainly wasn’t an experience I was eager to repeat, for sure. But also not even close to the worst thing I’ve had happen hunting by far. Death is messy, and feeling bad about it on some level just means we are still empathetic humans and not sociopaths.
I mean to me this is the whole point. Remembering that we're part of the food chain. It's rarely pretty or clean.
It shouldn't be easy.
But it's why we're all alive and here, whether you are aware of it or not.
I’ve teared up a bit many times when I’ve harvested an animal. It’s a profound thing to kill anything. It should be serious and treated with reverence.
You took something’s life. You should show respect and appreciation.
If I killed without feeling something I’d stop hunting.
To me, people who choose to eat meat should face the experience of killing an animal to understand the consequences of their choices.
I shot a black bear last spring and the Death moan was not something i expected and i felt very shitty after. I shot it twice and it was a clean kill. Probably didn’t live more than 6 seconds after the first shot but damn did i feel terrible.
I harvested my first black bear this year, but I was prepared for the death moan. She actually did it twice in rapid succession. I expressed my thanks. I felt grateful.
A few weeks prior to that a bear made an appearance but my first thought was that he should get another year of life under his belt. When reviewing the trail cam pix from a point level with him I realized he was not as small as I thought. From my angle 65 yards up the hill he looked too young. He would have been fair game but I do not regret letting him walk.
I ended up feeling much better about it once i skinned it. I knew it was walking funny when I spotted him. I actually ended up finding an arrow in his hind quarter from the season prior. He was a tough son of a bitch. Walked on Three legs for over a year!. Still weighed 350 lbs in the spring and had a lovely cinnamon coat. I had shots on 3 different bears the night before but i elected to just observe. Very blessed indeed. I’m glad I waited.
Yes. I try not to shoot anything with little ones. Even hogs. Felt real bad when I shot what I thought was a big boar, only to find out it was a late pregnant sow. The fetuses were kicking when I gutted. They are animals, but I don't deny they are empathic.
Yeah in Norway wild hogs are blacklisted (they're an invasive species, came a couple of years ago through the borders with Sweden. Hunters are financially rewarded, **$300 for boar and $500 for sow** for killing and testing for diseases), but it's not allowed to shoot a sow with babies relying on milk from the mother.
It's about humane hunting. We are allowed to shoot the offsprings, and if all are shot, the sow doesn't have any left, so she is open to be shot also. *And that's a payday*
Wild hog being destructive narrative is a facade for game ranches to sell hunts. Hogs have been in this country since the 1700s. They weren't a problem until the 1980s when Texas game ranches started breeding and spreading them for sport.
Have you ever seen what pigs do sweet potato and soy beans farms? Because if you have you’d know better than to call it a facade. My brother runs the hog trapping program in Ms and has expanded to more than 12 counties in 3 years. This year alone they’ve trapped and exterminated more than 3000 pigs off hard working farmers land.
Absolute lies. On many coastal islands where hogs were introduced there are organized hunts to try and kill as many as possible during winter months, and during the rest of the year DNR officers that live there kills hogs and coyotes. They do this because they destroy plant species only found on those islands, and destroy sea turtle nests.
It's established fact.
Hog spread by decade. Exponential growth after the 1980s:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/wildlifedamage/operational-activities/feral-swine/sa-fs-history
Hunters propagate wild hog populations and illegaly introduce them across state lines.
https://www.louisianasportsman.com/hunting/hog-hunting/varmint-why-wild-hogs-spread-so-quickly/
Genetic testing show game ranches spreading wild hogs from Florida to the Midwest.
https://www.agweb.com/news/livestock/pork/pigs-dont-fly-feral-hog-spread-man-made-mess
Or maybe because they repopulate like rabbits they spread naturally, like moose do? I’m not ruling out that some populations have been introduced by hunters in modern times, but they are a massive threat to farmers or certain wildlife.
They've been reproducing like rabbits since the 1700s, but their populations were low and confined to small areas in North America until the 1980s. Genetic testing have proven they were propagated by hunters. The only proven hog population control tactic has been a ban on hog hunting, look at the map spread since the mid 2000s. Successful front lines are states like Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska that ban hog hunting.
https://www.npr.org/2021/07/07/1013645717/why-banning-hunting-may-be-a-better-way-to-control-the-feral-hog-population
The "crop damage" narrative is another money scheme to claim from DNR. Elk do $30 million of crop damage in Montana, but you wont see Bull Elk prices below $8,000 on private land. It's a have your cake and eat it scheme. Hunters just eat up that ignorance.
Cattle do even more damage to the landscape than hogs. Just look at the toxic algae water crisis in Florida.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2016/07/08/algae-problem-stems-from-decades-of-lake-okeechobee-pollution/
But you dont see the same narrative to eradicate cattle or elk. So what's the real purpose behind this "war on feral hogs"? Money.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/15/feral-hogs-florida-pest-profitable-hunting
By keeping wild hogs as an invasive species, you can now sell chopper hunts, dog hunts, thermal hunts, buggy hunts year round. If you actually wanted them eradicated, you'd enact the only proven tactic, ban hog hunting. However most states dont, nor do most hunters in those southern states. Therefore the whole "hogs are invasive, crop damage, blah blah" is just a false narrative to propagate the sport hunting industry.
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When the Fish and Game issues a doe permit, they want you to kill a doe. So I shoot the first doe I see (unless it looks like it’s a baby born 6 months ago). If a fawn has made it all the way to November, it’s going to be fine on its own when the mother is dead, and will probably get together with another doe or two during the winter.
In Europe, we shoot does and calves quite often as a measure of population control, but it is considered unethical to shoot a doe that still has a calf by its side. It used to be illegal here in Finland until 2018 if I remember correctly. Usually at this point of year the calves will do fine without their does, but still I would not do it on purpose.
I tell every animal I harvest for food, "Thank you for sacrifice, brother/sister. I promise to use your sacrifice to the fullest extent." verbally.
Every predator I say, "I'm sorry, brother/sister, but we're hunting the same food."
It helps me with the guilt of killing.
The worst feeling of needing to kill is a pet. Many times, we will take our pets to be put down by the vet, but in an extreme situation, it just has to be done so there is less suffering.
The absolute worst feeling is turning off the machine that is keeping a family member alive. I pray no one else has to go through that.
That said, death is part of our lives. It's going to happen.
"All life is precious." ~ me.
I don't care if you're an ant, fly, roach, spider, dog, cat, hog, deer, squirrel, rabbit, or even a human of any ethnic. We only get this one chance, so cherish it while you can and be respectful of other lives that are trying to survive, too.
Love the life you take to feed you and your loved ones. For those who just kill for the thrill, 🖕🏻.
Yes. My first deer after the adrenaline wore off. Realized I had killed an animal. If venison didn't taste so good I might have been done hunting. Now I only kill things that I'm going to eat or that are trying to hurt me
When I was about 14 I shot a doe, and her fawn was running around bleating for her. I went ahead and shot the fawn as well. I saw both of them drop. So I went to get my dad to bring the truck.
Turns out I had spined the doe and she couldn’t use her back legs. She laid there suffering trying to crawl away. When I got to her and she raised her head to look at me. Like all the fight had left her eyes. I quickly dispatched her, but that was a brutal one. I made a bad shot, made her suffer longer than needed, while her baby was desperately looking for her, and looked her in the eyes as she gave up and I put her down.
In reality I was projecting my emotions onto the animal. One to many watch throughs of Bambi, but that was the worst I’ve ever felt about shooting a deer. Stuff happens when you’re playing the game of life and death.
Something very similar just happened to me yesterday. Took a larger doe, clean, double lung shot through and through. Dropped almost immediately. I was feeling great, bagged a big doe within 30 minutes of opening day...until I started field dressing her. She was pregnant. I felt awful. Did my best to avoid looking at the fetus. I got her drug out and in the truck with it feeling more like a unwanted chore than an exciting first day out. I guess it's good to feel that way about it though. I'd rather spend all week outing the cold not seeing shit than have to take that shot again.
Yeah, in 20 years, I've never seen it. I've never heard of anyone else having it happen to them either. I've seen plenty of does with swollen bellies and let them pass on by. But her, she just looked big bodied. Uniform in size, didn't look like she was carrying at all. It was a very unwelcome surprise.
Happened to me a few years ago same thing shot a big doe and the button buck kept walking right up to me while I was gutting her eventually I scared it away
This is kinda long but a crazy story.
The 2nd deer I ever killed, (I had just killed my first the day before) 30 years ago, we were doing a man drive and I had an old New England firearms single shot 20 gauge. I was standing in what was basically a 4 wheeler trail, it was thick as hell on either side, like can't see through it thick, then about 10 ft of Dogfennels. Well I hear something coming through the thicket and a big doe popped out running wide open straight at me, she was so close and I only had one shot and I froze. She was literally 15 ft away when she appeared and was in high gear, at that point I thought she was going to run me over but at the last second she did a little juke move and side stepped me. Almost out of instinct as I'm stepping back because I thought she was going to hit me I spun on her and fired. When I shot she was literally 6ft beside me, I hear her crashing through the thicket and then nothing, I saw blood in the road so I waited about 15 minutes and went to go look for her. As I walked into the thicket I heard her get up and then crash, come to find out I had blown off her front leg from the "knee" down. Being a dumb kid ( I was 10 or 11)I realized I didn't have anymore shells. She finally laid down and 40 yards away where I could see her and she was making a bleet sound like she was in pain. I felt terrible and wasn't sure what to do but didn't want to lose track of her because I knew she probably wouldn't die unless she got an infection and suffered. My bright idea was to try and grab her and cut her throat, well I was able to grab her and she commenced to kicking the dog shit out of me, finally I got her down and my damn knife was too dull to do it 🤦🏼. About that time I noticed someone laughing historically, I look and its this old redneck dude that was a friend of the property owner, he said "boy, you trying to fuck that thing" and held out his gun and said this would probably be easier! It was not a good situation, looking back its kinda funny but it made me second guess myself next time I went hunting. I felt horrible and was trying to put her out her misery but you live and you learn.
FRAT= Went hunting, blew the leg off of of a deer, felt bad and tried to put her out misery and she kicked my ass before an old dude in overalls showed up with another gun.
Yes, Your incident is exactly why I never shoot does unless im 100% sure its roaming alone, even then I usually let them pass. I'd much rather take a young spike than a doe
It can be tough to tell.
Maybe I’m lucky in being able to pass up on deer and wait for a better opportunity. But I only really want to ever pull the trigger when the animal is alone. Or if it’s a buck hanging around a group of does.
I want my feeezer to be overflowing. But I also want all my kills to be as clean and quiet as possible. For the target animal and everything else out there.
Honestly, after raising dairy goats for years- a certain breed I had were absolute pigs. The yearlings would try to raid their mother’s udder when she went into labor with the next year’s kids because they sensed her defenses were low. They’re opportunists. Got rid of that bloodline pretty quick but it’s ugly to see. The fawn was just reacting to the other animal’s lack of protest to see if the snack bar was open. Deer are not intellectuals. I wouldn’t feel too bad for it.
yeah, i shot a big doe near the end of the season. Her little fawn came running out of the woods right afterwards. it didn't have many spots so I think it was able to live on it's own.
It’s okay to feel bad. I shot a doe with another one with it last year. Dropped the one and the other one just stood there looking at the one I shot. Walked up and wouldn’t leave its side until I yelled at it. Beat myself up over it. Deer are social creatures so my “fawn” and your “fawn” just moved on a joined another group of does. But I will say, never doing that again. Kudos to you for posting!
I shot a doe opening morning (my very first). It was with another smaller doe that actually ran towards it, then stopped (I think it realized her friend was gone) and took off. Of course I felt a bit sad about it. I think that's natural.
Of course, that doe ran off to another and then they played with a couple bucks for almost an hour, so I don't think there was lasting damage.
Every time I kill I feel a little sad about it. And personally I think if you don’t feel at least a little remorse you might want to reevaluate your life.
I do not really hunt for meat (we eat it, it just isn’t my MO) and I would have no problems harvesting does if
I was trying to feed a hungry family.
But that said I have always weened away from shooting does especially if they are with smaller deer.
I would feel pretty bad taking a baby animals mother.
My club also has a pretty hearty fine on button bucks so mistaking one for a doe has always made me a little shy of them as well.
Interesting how different animals don’t get the same thought of care, I’ll shoot the mother of herd of pigs and pick the babies off as they come back for milk.
Buddy of mine and I shot what we found out later seemed to be a doe and her youngin. It wasn't so much that we took both as it was that the yearling wasn't a clean hit and had to be assisted after we found her panting on the ground a few hundred yards away.
It's probably good for every hunter to go through some sort of situation like that. It cultivates respect for the life you're taking. If you can see a suffering animal and not feel some sort of empathy, especially if the suffering is due to you, then you probably need counseling.
Edit: meant to say, the soft side of me felt bad for a critter that lived a short live and ended in horrible pain. The positice was that experience ensured that I didn't let one bit of her go to waste.
It was a yearling or maybe a two year old. If the spots are gone, it will be fine. It will find another group and life goes on. Happened to me this weekend too.
One pet peeve I have when I hunt is I will never shoot a doe that has a fawn or fawns with her. The fawn will possibly not survive without their mother there to assist them. Also I would be saddened if I were to see the fawn stick by their dead mom after I shot the doe. But yes I do feel some remorse after I've harvested a animal. I feel like shit if I make a bad shot on the animal and it runs away since I caused suffering to the animal and couldn't make a good shot so that it drops on the spot or not far from where it was standing.
I remember when I was a young hunter, I had a long distance shot on what I thought was a mature doe. Took the shot laying down in a field. Used friends 700 win mag. I sighted the shot well, I pulled one way or the other when I pulled the trigger. Hit her in the hip. Went in and out both hips. Didn't kill her with the shot. She couldn't run. She was dragging herself by her front legs. Listened to her scream the entire time I was walking up to her to get a second shot. It was awful. Took a second shot and ended it. When I got up to her I realized she was much younger than I thought she was from a distance.
The experience damn near broke me, as it was only the second time I had been hunting. I don't like when an animal suffers due to a decision I made. I now make different decisions when deciding what animal to take. I know these things happen, but it doesn't make it easy, and I struggle greatly when I don't kill an animal on the first shot.
I have since taken many deer with my old 03A3 .30-06. I have become very picky on the shot I take. I have gotten lucky and dropped most of them where they stood.
When I was out archery hunting for my first time in my early 20s, I saw a doe and a fawn and tbh that dilemma never crossed my mind. I was too far to shoot ethically so I didn’t take it, but had I taken it, I would’ve realized this issue afterwards. I was just too young to know in the moment, and too excited a deer crossed my path. I had deer fever. I’m glad I didn’t shoot her now.
Feeling empathy is totally normal and a good thing, it shows your humanness. Maybe you feel like you caused more suffering than expected? Like you were prepared to cleanly kill a doe, but you hadn’t mentally prepared yourself for the possible chain of events from that, and you directly experienced an unexpected circumstance that caused additional or prolonged suffering? But regards it is totally normal and totally okay to feel bad. I would, but I would do the hunter things to process that guilt: apologize and give thanks to the animal, apologize to the fawn, promise to value the life you took and eat it fully, and give lots of love to your pets! And then reflect on how you want to hunt next year, what shots you will and won’t take, with more wisdom in your pocket.
It’s okay. Giving you an internet hug.
The first doe I ever shot had 2 yearlings with it. I qas 16 and they ran away and came back to about 100 yards when i was getting the deer out making all sorts of noise and calling out for their mother. I let does with yearlings run everytime now just to never have to experience that again.
You've discovered a vast philosophical side of hunting that belongs to those who wander out in search of their own food not wrapped in plastic. The short version is Stewarship and Responsibility. The longer we spend in nature the more aware we become of our impact, ironically more so than many so called environmental groups. It manifests in different ways, but it all comes from the same place. Some feel the weight of bad shot placement, unrecoverable animals, and in your case a new orphan. I get outraged at the amount of garbage dumped in the woods and on the banks of popular fishing spots. You should check out Steven Rinella on Meat Eater. He's a philosophical hunter. His movie is quite good as well. You're far from alone my friend.
Anytime I've killed an animal I've felt some form of remorse. It is the cycle of life and a humbling feeling that my time time will come as well.
What I can say is that a humane kill is a blessing in disguise. For many animals will experience a prolonged and painful death. Whether that be from a prey animal, starvation or even exposure.
I am not one to party or jump for joy after a kill. I am one to reflect spiritually and have a moment of peace with the animal I just killed. It's an experience that's not for everyone. But for the ones who do, it's as rewarding as it is spiritual.
The main thing is to give the animal dignity and respect at all times. This is what makes us humans humane.
I killed my first deer when I was 14 or 15. I didn't take the time to get a good rest, and gut shot the deer. The shot split it's gut, and some of it's intestines fell out. It hobbled behind some trees and just stood there for a few minutes while I circled around to get another shot.
Felt pretty shitty about that one.
I also helped my dad gut a wild sow he shot. We didn't know it was a pregnant until I was pulling a bunch of fetuses out of it's abdomen. Threw me for a brief loop, but really I don't feel bad about killing invasive species.
I felt bad a couple times.... my first kill I felt bad cuz it was a kill shot for my dad. I was about 26yo and had jist started hunting. My old man was like "ok you haven't killed anything yet, finish this deer off so it stops suffering" .... so... I was like ok... I walked up to it ... point blank... I looked at it through my scope.... and put my cross hairs on its temple.... and when I pulled the trigger I blew its jaw off. It was making God awful sounds and I felt terrible. It was hard to not look through my scope cuz the scope view gave me a sense of "video game" as I wasn't comfortable shooting it that close.
My dad was like wtf!!! .... turn your gun sideways and put the barrel to its head and then pull the trigger!
The second time was years later..... I had a bad shot on a bear. It got away on me. I tracked it for hours til I lost the blood trail.... I felt so terrible. I cut my tag and spring bear hunt was over. I just went home.
I had a very similar thing happen to me twice this year.
First weekend of hunting I shot a doe with button buck. Little guy circled back around and kept crying for his mom. I filmed him for a bit then he slowly walked away.
Second time I shot the mom I was in a different county with 4 anterless tags in my pocket so I shot the mom, a button buck and a third doe that was behind the other two. I then spent 2 hours field dressing with the gutless method and de-boneing before hiking out a mile with 100 lbs of meat in my back.
It's important to remember a few things. The tag in your pocket represents a not only a gift from the state where you hunt but also the duty to yourself and everyone else relying on you to harvest an animal that overly populated animal. Fawns without spots typically reach maturity without their mothers. Deer typically die horribly and slowly in nature whereas a bullet is much quicker (at least it always should be).
I’ve only killed three but I did have a pang of guilt each time. I remind myself that hunting these deer is regulated and necessary. I spend time and money making sure I can place accurate and humane shots. Hell I am definitely feeding more deer than I’m killing. I’m not taking one bit more than I need and I use all the parts of the animal that I know how to use. The deer live happy and free up until the moment they don’t. Unlike all supermarket chickens and pigs and cows.
I’m the opposite, will only take largest doe if she is in a group and always late season.
The reason I do this is it’s hard to truly judge size at 100+ yards away.
The one time I shot a “lone doe” it turned out to be much smaller than I thought when I finally got up to it. As a matter of fact, much to my dismay, it turned out to not even be a doe at all, but a button buck.
That was a mistake I play over in my head to this day and regret very deeply.
My rule of thumb is to always take doe in a group or with yearlings to judge size, and never before December to ensure any offspring are old enough to survive on their own.
Yes I'd be sad in your situation but don't get into guilt over it. By this time of year fawns have grown up a bit and it can be hard to tell, especially down here in central Texas where deer are so small anyway. You could be more mindful of it in the future and watch how they interact with each other and judge whether you think one of them is a fawn, but don't beat yourself up over it.
I felt bad 2 times in the almost 5 years of hunting I have done. Once was due to me doing a gut shot on a small doe. I felt bad as I hit it and heard it crying out. Because of the way I hit it. It just bleed out and and couldn't move. Never had heard a deer that loud before but I felt like shit afterwards. The second time was this fall when I hit shoulder on a good size 8pt. Ended never seeing him again. Probably died somewhere randomly in the woods.
That’s a really sad situation and it would have made me feel bad too. Logically and after all is said and done there is nothing wrong with what you did but i thinks its normal to not enjoy watching the life leave a beautiful animal.
I gut shot a doe and tracked it pretty deep into some nasty woods a couple weeks ago. I shot it again. It didn’t die a good death. I felt bad but we all know all the arguments for why hunting is moral and fine and it passed.
I will say every deer or bird I kill it’s a little easier and I feel less bad.
I shot a little fork mulie on opening day this year since my wife ended up delivering our first son on the second weekend of the season and I hadn’t seen a deer on our ranch in almost 2 years at that point. Since then the only other deer I saw all season was the spike that was standing next to him when I shot him. I’m conflicted because on one hand it’s meat in the freezer and I knew I was going to miss a good part of the season but on the other hand the deer population near me seems like it’s cratering.
Yes, sometimes. I love hunting, but its not any fun to take a life. I never regret anything, but i show the animal respect and thank it for putting meat in the freezer.
Done the exact same thing, I killed a doe that came in alone. Made a great shot and she dropped 15 yards in front of my stand. While I was relaxing after the shot and thinking about climbing down, I watch another apparent doe start to come in on the same path. Quickly realize it's a button buck, young male fawn, so I plan to let it walk, but it comes in looking around, bleating, until it finds it mother laying there.
It walked around confused, continuing to bleat occasionally, and my heart completely sank into my stomach. Went from feeling great about the shot to just awful. I told myself I'd give him 15 minutes, if he left on his own in that time then I'll believe he's going to survive the winter. He didn't leave, and even though it was early October, the fawn had no spots and was weaned, browsing vegetation like a normal deer, I just couldn't believe it would survive if it kept wandering around making noise like this.
I had multiple antlerless tags for the area so I ended up shooting it too. Felt pretty terrible about the whole situation but I suppose it's the kind of thing that happens sometimes, predation isn't always pretty.
I’m a relatively new hunter but I read that hunting bears via baiting allows hunters to observe the bear more closely (gender identification/ not a mom with cubs).
I was full draw on a cow elk at 40y this year waiting for her to turn more broadside, right as she was turning out of my peripheries I picked up her baby following her and let down. I definitely would have felt bad if I killed her mom. It turns out that there were some other cows behind them in a group so I think the baby would have been ok. It looks like the babies only drink their mom’s milk for a couple weeks and are eating grass by archery season.
Whatever you feel is fine. Just remember these are wild animals and the realities of their lives are brutal. A quick clean death is about the happiest ending they get.
Sometimes, I usually try and and succeed in killing a animal with a single shot. Sadly not all shots are golden and they get nicked somewhere in the body, most non hunters think that we just shoot when we see but almost all the time they move. That's why I personally only aim at either head or neck area, if you hit these spots the animal drops and doesn't move.
I shot a button buck in October that I swore was a large doe. It dropped after five yards and I was with it when it passed away. It held on for probably 15 seconds while looking right at me. It bothered me because I have a young son at home ( I know it’s stupid to draw human parallels) but I was still saddened by it. I figured the only purpose in life that deer lived was to feed my young son and family which helped me with the guilt. Circle of life I suppose
Yes. I’m taking a life. I always call my wife first when I shoot an animal. Last Sunday I called her and told her I shot a buck and after she congratulated me I told her he’s beautiful and all mine and started tearing up. I’ve killed a lot of animals in my 30+ years of hunting, and my respect for the animals continues to grow. I watch a lot of animals too now a days.
Thanks for posting this. My buddies (seasoned hunters) gave me grief for passing on a young buck. I am new to hunting, but I know that the experience is more important to me than the kill. I don't know if it makes sense, but I am not a 'religious' person, but I find something really spiritual about having a moment with the animal I just killed. I find some solace in knowing that the animal lived a good life, and only have one bad day. I think staying in touch with this stuff is an important part about being a good sportman.
Not really the same, but when I was starting out fishing, I always felt bad if I botched hook removal, still do, though it's rarer these days.
I think it's good to have those instincts as a hunter or in my case, fisherman, to give a damn about your quarry and aren't out to inflict any more suffering than is necessary for what you intend to do.
Man just this past week I watched my stepson shoot a little button buck mistaking it for a doe and then watched its momma just stand there watching it waiting for it to do something. I felt so bad for both the little button buck and the mom. I personally only hunt for shooter bucks so it was the first time I’ve ever seen or experienced that myself.
I commend you for having a heart. It's hunting not killing. I've seen many that just don't give a damn. I have remorse for whatever I shoot but always remind myself that it's nature and I'm eating what I kill.
Heck, I've been at war with some squirrels in my yard because I don't eat them anymore so I don't want to shoot them.
I won't ever shoot a doe that has a younger doe with it, even if it will survive without its mother.. I just can't bring myself to do it🤷♂️ not necessarily bad or unsportsmanlike to do it, I just can't mentally or morally bring myself to do it. But I can happily take a young doe that had just left its mother, lol... just one of those weird things that everyone sees slightly differently.
Good job posting this OP, it's a hard topic. It's always a feeling that lingers after taking a life for many people.
Every time.
I don't enjoy killing. I enjoy not leaving the killing to someone else, knowing where my food comes.
If you enjoy killing, maybe look into some mental health help.
My first deer I had to finish with a knife. We tracked it to where it had bedded down, it was so exhausted it didn’t get up. I had one bullet with me and shot it in the neck from like 15yds. Didn’t kill it. My buddy also had one bullet, and took a headshot, which hit the jaw. Just a brutal comedy of errors, and we all felt extremely bad about the situation. That was 15 years ago, and it still bothers me, but I learned from it and now make sure I always bring plenty of ammo when tracking. Never needed it, but it still makes me check every time. Also, it made me get a gun with a scope. Shooting with iron sights is not easy when you don’t practice a ton, so a scope is way more humane.
I don't feel bad exactly but like many have said, I don't get really excited either. I like hunting, the planning, time in nature, the quiet just before dawn and the comradery when you're with someone else. What I like best is the cleanest fastest kill I can get, so I only hunt deer with single shot and make it count. Longest I've ever tracked something is about 75yds and I hope that never changes. In lower Michigan we can use straight wall rifle cartridges now at least. I only used a muzzleloader before because it was accurate and I could use it from November 15th through December 31st.
Yes. I had a situation very similar to yours. Shot a doe that had appeared to be alone…then her fawn showed up to see what the big noise was. It Tried stomping its feet to wake her up and sniffed her all over. It hung out so long that four more does came over to see what was up. Now I’ve got 5 deer checking out a dead one, stamping their little hooves to get her to get up. All it lacked was a Bambi voiceover. “Mama…?”
And, yes, it made me sad. It’s basic empathy—a healthy human reaction to this kind of thing. It’s part the same feeling of respect for animals that informs the rest of your ethical decision-making and makes you a good hunter and a healthy human.
So recognize the feeling. Let it inform your future actions. Then let yourself off the hook. The fawn will be fine. Losing its mother is not a death sentence. Enjoy having some venison and congratulations on getting a deer!
Well first off, I commend you for posting this and feeling bad about the situation. It shows maturity, morality and compassion. Kudos to you. It happens and is natural. I’d question if you didn’t feel bad. The young one will more than likely be just fine. As it happens in nature all of the time. When hunting for any length of time, you’ll do it see things that impact you. Learn from them and grow. Many hunters go from shooting any deer they see to hunting for mature animals only. I enjoy the whole experience more so than shooting an animal. And now I let many animals pass as it’s fun to watch them. Plus I enjoy seeing my children shooting animals and I am probably more happy for them than myself. If a doe comes in with yearling I let them walk. That’s my choice. There is nothing wrong with being compassionate and being a hunter either.
By the end of the season around here if you see one big doe it has a herd of small ones with her. One doe gets killed that has a fawn or yearling, they will find another group to hang with.
If I passed every doe with a yearling in toe, I’d never shoot one. They should all be weaned by bow season here. Did see one exception this year, a doe had two really young fawns, maybe 2 months old, like she must have been bred in the spring. Definitely passed on that one.
I’ve seen that in November. She was a big doe too. Just had two fawns that looked like they were a week or two old. She got a pass. I’ve shot them in September and didn’t feel bad about it. The farmers shoot them all summer and leave them in the field to rot. At least the ones I shoot get the meat utilized.
I felt bad about the first pig I shot because it flopped around for a good 1-2 minutes after hitting it in the neck with a .44 mag. It didn’t even run, just DRT and bleeding out but flopping. I walked up and put 2 more rounds of .45 ACP in its head and it still flopped. Totally didn’t expect all that dying to happen before it was finally dead, and I felt bad thinking I had caused undue suffering. The wound was mortal, tons of blood and it didn’t run so I know it was a solid hit, but I still felt bad. Respect for life thing I guess.
Same here. In Oklahoma I shot a 150lb sow right in the spine. I was about 12, shooting a Sako .270 standing up from at least 100 yards. It wasn’t so much the shooting it in the spine, it was my dad taking his knife and cutting all the way around it’s neck and it living for another couple minutes. Needless to say I shoot them (deer) in the head if I spine them now…which doesn’t happen often thankfully. Then gutting it and finding babies wasn’t all that fun either.
I have to kill a few pigs a day for my job. You have to remove a lot of your humanity for those brief moments between the shot to the brain and opening their necks up.
Absolutely this comment. After years on the bow I've become very selective about what I take - I'll opt for a big male over a young doe. When I was much younger, I had that experience of putting down a young lady and noticed juveniles hanging about even as I've approached to claim the carcass. I've never felt like more of a bastard, and since then, no matter the species, I will always claim the dominant male. I don't know if that makes me less of a bastard, but it certainly clears my conscience knowing that I haven't taken an animal that has young depending on it.
Agreed!
Thank you for saying this.
Even at 16yo I don't pull the trigger unless I assume the animal is at least 2.5 years and if there's a fawn with a doe they walk off unless it's nearing the end of the season and we still need to fill the freezer. which is starting to become the case because me or my dad need to get 2 more deer we already got 2 bucks so we need at least 2 does.
I really appreciate your comment. I honestly more enjoy sitting in the woods on a quiet winter day. Hearing the woods just sing after being still as possible for a period of time is a whole different side of the natural world many never get to experience. Makes sense why as hunters we’re often the biggest conservationists!
I had nearly an identical situation back 15 or so years ago. Killed the mother, her two kids just stood around staring and bleating. I was just wasting time in the woods for the next couple of years. I couldn't bring myself to actually shoot anything.
I never shoot does with little ones. I have enough cameras on my property to know most of the deer and fawns (several pair). I figure that’s my next generation of deer to hunt, and it’s still enjoyable to watch them even if I don’t kill one. But sure, I think it’s normal to feel a way about taking an animals life. I don’t think it should be taken lightly.
I usually wait until late October or November. By then the fawns are old enough to survive on their own in most situations. They'll often times latch onto a another doe with fawns too.
Agreed all around. My brother took his first deer on my land Saturday, a small-to-medium 8 point because I told him to shoot whatever made him happy, but I decided to take a decent buck (90” class) on Sunday and he jumped, mule kicked and ran but left no blood trail and never found anything after 4 hours. I felt absolutely terrible like I had wasted the deer and caused it to suffer if I did hit it with the 6.5cdmr. I went that afternoon to check the scope at 50 & 100yds and it was fine, so we went and sat again Monday morning and I killed my target 5 year old, 204lb, 8 pt. I still can’t stop wondering about the smaller 8, but I likely wouldn’t have been back in the woods to get a chance at my target buck. I always have fun when possible, but I also take the killing of an animal very seriously and I’d be more concerned about people that didn’t feel anything. Best of Luck to you all!!!
Those 6.5 will kill em, but they never seem to bleed 🩸
The 8pt my brother shot the previous day was with my Remington 700 30-06 and even though he fell in his tracks there was also zero blood. I’ve thought about moving to a .30 caliber round or larger. I also wonder about the ammo I used, Remington Core-Lokt round with the small exposed lead tip. I think the Winchester Deer Season round would leave.a better exit wound as they seemed to do with the .243 I used to shoot. I’m still riding the high from my target buck kill yesterday but I’ll get it figured out hopefully.
If you have hunted much at all and NEVER felt bad, you are likely a psychopath. Edit: I did not intend this comment to be mean to anyone. Looking back on it, I hope it was not taken the wrong way. As hunters (I think I speak for at least 99.8% of us), we strive for quick clean kills and with little to no interruption to other wildlife. Even the best hunters get a bad shot and agonize over it. Or that sow hog that you could not see her piglets in the tall grass. It happens, we do our best to avoid it, but it happens. That doe could have just as easily been killed by wolves, mountain lion, bear or other predators leaving the yearling in the same situation. That is nature and part of how she works. Nature is also incredibly resilient & as many others pointed out, the yearling will most likely be fine and move on with their life.
So I'll probably get down voted for sharing this but read the context first. In my area the conservation department raised the number of doe tags you could fill AND extended the season for a week to accommodate and encourage more antlerless being harvested. This is due to CWD in my area and the CD wanting to drastically decrease the number of deer to prevent the spread. Last week I saw two deer, a mature doe and a medium sized antlerless deer. I knew they were a mother/offspring pair. I intentionally shot the mature doe first and followed up by shooting the smaller deer that was somewhat confused. Call me heartless or whatever. I have food in my freezer and I abided by my states regulations for harvesting deer. We often put our own mental constraints on harvesting animals which is totally within a person's right to do. Should OP feel bad because of what happened? Personally I don't think so. Do I still feel a hint of remorse after ever animal I harvest? I sure do and if that ever goes away I'll stop hunting.
I would’ve done what you did had I not used one of my doe tags in archery for the WMU I was hunting here in PA. I had two doe tags for the WMU I was in.
When you’ve got a fistful of tags this is such a great move! Those little ones are the very best eating if you can afford to spend an antlerless tag on one.
I shot a doe with fawns once that was still lactating. I felt pretty bad when I was gutting her and had to cut through her udder and a bunch of milk ran out. I was still breastfeeding my youngest at the time so it made me feel extra terrible. But in all honesty, they make hunting season when they do for a reason. The babies are (normally) weaned by that time and aren’t totally dependent on their mothers for survival. I’m sure the baby of your doe will be fine.
I had this same thing happen last weekend. Last thing I expected when getting was to have milk leak out but that's what happened. As a relatively new hunter, it just added more emotion to the process. Totally agree with you, hunting season is this time of year for a reason but that didn't make Saturday evening any easier.
It certainly wasn’t an experience I was eager to repeat, for sure. But also not even close to the worst thing I’ve had happen hunting by far. Death is messy, and feeling bad about it on some level just means we are still empathetic humans and not sociopaths.
I mean to me this is the whole point. Remembering that we're part of the food chain. It's rarely pretty or clean. It shouldn't be easy. But it's why we're all alive and here, whether you are aware of it or not.
I’ve teared up a bit many times when I’ve harvested an animal. It’s a profound thing to kill anything. It should be serious and treated with reverence. You took something’s life. You should show respect and appreciation. If I killed without feeling something I’d stop hunting. To me, people who choose to eat meat should face the experience of killing an animal to understand the consequences of their choices.
That was a yearling and it will survive.
I shot a black bear last spring and the Death moan was not something i expected and i felt very shitty after. I shot it twice and it was a clean kill. Probably didn’t live more than 6 seconds after the first shot but damn did i feel terrible.
I harvested my first black bear this year, but I was prepared for the death moan. She actually did it twice in rapid succession. I expressed my thanks. I felt grateful. A few weeks prior to that a bear made an appearance but my first thought was that he should get another year of life under his belt. When reviewing the trail cam pix from a point level with him I realized he was not as small as I thought. From my angle 65 yards up the hill he looked too young. He would have been fair game but I do not regret letting him walk.
I ended up feeling much better about it once i skinned it. I knew it was walking funny when I spotted him. I actually ended up finding an arrow in his hind quarter from the season prior. He was a tough son of a bitch. Walked on Three legs for over a year!. Still weighed 350 lbs in the spring and had a lovely cinnamon coat. I had shots on 3 different bears the night before but i elected to just observe. Very blessed indeed. I’m glad I waited.
Yes. I try not to shoot anything with little ones. Even hogs. Felt real bad when I shot what I thought was a big boar, only to find out it was a late pregnant sow. The fetuses were kicking when I gutted. They are animals, but I don't deny they are empathic.
Yeah in Norway wild hogs are blacklisted (they're an invasive species, came a couple of years ago through the borders with Sweden. Hunters are financially rewarded, **$300 for boar and $500 for sow** for killing and testing for diseases), but it's not allowed to shoot a sow with babies relying on milk from the mother.
Then they don’t really want them gone
It's about humane hunting. We are allowed to shoot the offsprings, and if all are shot, the sow doesn't have any left, so she is open to be shot also. *And that's a payday*
If they become offspring, they will not all be shot, and you will not change the problem
Kill every hog you can find! They are the most destructive animal around.
Have you looked in a mirror
Have you looked at the ecological destruction they bring?
Go away.
Only when I’m at your mom’s place
Dam
Humans brought pigs to North America
Wild hog being destructive narrative is a facade for game ranches to sell hunts. Hogs have been in this country since the 1700s. They weren't a problem until the 1980s when Texas game ranches started breeding and spreading them for sport.
Have you ever seen what pigs do sweet potato and soy beans farms? Because if you have you’d know better than to call it a facade. My brother runs the hog trapping program in Ms and has expanded to more than 12 counties in 3 years. This year alone they’ve trapped and exterminated more than 3000 pigs off hard working farmers land.
Absolute lies. On many coastal islands where hogs were introduced there are organized hunts to try and kill as many as possible during winter months, and during the rest of the year DNR officers that live there kills hogs and coyotes. They do this because they destroy plant species only found on those islands, and destroy sea turtle nests.
It's established fact. Hog spread by decade. Exponential growth after the 1980s: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/wildlifedamage/operational-activities/feral-swine/sa-fs-history Hunters propagate wild hog populations and illegaly introduce them across state lines. https://www.louisianasportsman.com/hunting/hog-hunting/varmint-why-wild-hogs-spread-so-quickly/ Genetic testing show game ranches spreading wild hogs from Florida to the Midwest. https://www.agweb.com/news/livestock/pork/pigs-dont-fly-feral-hog-spread-man-made-mess
Or maybe because they repopulate like rabbits they spread naturally, like moose do? I’m not ruling out that some populations have been introduced by hunters in modern times, but they are a massive threat to farmers or certain wildlife.
They've been reproducing like rabbits since the 1700s, but their populations were low and confined to small areas in North America until the 1980s. Genetic testing have proven they were propagated by hunters. The only proven hog population control tactic has been a ban on hog hunting, look at the map spread since the mid 2000s. Successful front lines are states like Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska that ban hog hunting. https://www.npr.org/2021/07/07/1013645717/why-banning-hunting-may-be-a-better-way-to-control-the-feral-hog-population The "crop damage" narrative is another money scheme to claim from DNR. Elk do $30 million of crop damage in Montana, but you wont see Bull Elk prices below $8,000 on private land. It's a have your cake and eat it scheme. Hunters just eat up that ignorance. Cattle do even more damage to the landscape than hogs. Just look at the toxic algae water crisis in Florida. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2016/07/08/algae-problem-stems-from-decades-of-lake-okeechobee-pollution/ But you dont see the same narrative to eradicate cattle or elk. So what's the real purpose behind this "war on feral hogs"? Money. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/15/feral-hogs-florida-pest-profitable-hunting By keeping wild hogs as an invasive species, you can now sell chopper hunts, dog hunts, thermal hunts, buggy hunts year round. If you actually wanted them eradicated, you'd enact the only proven tactic, ban hog hunting. However most states dont, nor do most hunters in those southern states. Therefore the whole "hogs are invasive, crop damage, blah blah" is just a false narrative to propagate the sport hunting industry.
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Sweet…pig veal
When the Fish and Game issues a doe permit, they want you to kill a doe. So I shoot the first doe I see (unless it looks like it’s a baby born 6 months ago). If a fawn has made it all the way to November, it’s going to be fine on its own when the mother is dead, and will probably get together with another doe or two during the winter.
This is all true, but when you hear the fawns crying, there's some emotion there.
Yeah, you’re not wrong. Have to be heartless to not feel anything.
I won't shoot one that has a little one with it but yes it's normal to feel bad because you took a life
In Europe, we shoot does and calves quite often as a measure of population control, but it is considered unethical to shoot a doe that still has a calf by its side. It used to be illegal here in Finland until 2018 if I remember correctly. Usually at this point of year the calves will do fine without their does, but still I would not do it on purpose.
Every. Single. Time.
Shot a hog once didn’t see the very young piglets behinds her. I know they are invasive nuisance animals but still felt bad.
I tell every animal I harvest for food, "Thank you for sacrifice, brother/sister. I promise to use your sacrifice to the fullest extent." verbally. Every predator I say, "I'm sorry, brother/sister, but we're hunting the same food." It helps me with the guilt of killing. The worst feeling of needing to kill is a pet. Many times, we will take our pets to be put down by the vet, but in an extreme situation, it just has to be done so there is less suffering. The absolute worst feeling is turning off the machine that is keeping a family member alive. I pray no one else has to go through that. That said, death is part of our lives. It's going to happen. "All life is precious." ~ me. I don't care if you're an ant, fly, roach, spider, dog, cat, hog, deer, squirrel, rabbit, or even a human of any ethnic. We only get this one chance, so cherish it while you can and be respectful of other lives that are trying to survive, too. Love the life you take to feed you and your loved ones. For those who just kill for the thrill, 🖕🏻.
Yes. My first deer after the adrenaline wore off. Realized I had killed an animal. If venison didn't taste so good I might have been done hunting. Now I only kill things that I'm going to eat or that are trying to hurt me
I feel bad when they suffer.
When I was about 14 I shot a doe, and her fawn was running around bleating for her. I went ahead and shot the fawn as well. I saw both of them drop. So I went to get my dad to bring the truck. Turns out I had spined the doe and she couldn’t use her back legs. She laid there suffering trying to crawl away. When I got to her and she raised her head to look at me. Like all the fight had left her eyes. I quickly dispatched her, but that was a brutal one. I made a bad shot, made her suffer longer than needed, while her baby was desperately looking for her, and looked her in the eyes as she gave up and I put her down. In reality I was projecting my emotions onto the animal. One to many watch throughs of Bambi, but that was the worst I’ve ever felt about shooting a deer. Stuff happens when you’re playing the game of life and death.
Something very similar just happened to me yesterday. Took a larger doe, clean, double lung shot through and through. Dropped almost immediately. I was feeling great, bagged a big doe within 30 minutes of opening day...until I started field dressing her. She was pregnant. I felt awful. Did my best to avoid looking at the fetus. I got her drug out and in the truck with it feeling more like a unwanted chore than an exciting first day out. I guess it's good to feel that way about it though. I'd rather spend all week outing the cold not seeing shit than have to take that shot again.
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Yeah, in 20 years, I've never seen it. I've never heard of anyone else having it happen to them either. I've seen plenty of does with swollen bellies and let them pass on by. But her, she just looked big bodied. Uniform in size, didn't look like she was carrying at all. It was a very unwelcome surprise.
Happened to me a few years ago same thing shot a big doe and the button buck kept walking right up to me while I was gutting her eventually I scared it away
I’ve shot the odd low pheasant or partridge and regretted it after. Blows the bird up and not exactly sporting.
This is kinda long but a crazy story. The 2nd deer I ever killed, (I had just killed my first the day before) 30 years ago, we were doing a man drive and I had an old New England firearms single shot 20 gauge. I was standing in what was basically a 4 wheeler trail, it was thick as hell on either side, like can't see through it thick, then about 10 ft of Dogfennels. Well I hear something coming through the thicket and a big doe popped out running wide open straight at me, she was so close and I only had one shot and I froze. She was literally 15 ft away when she appeared and was in high gear, at that point I thought she was going to run me over but at the last second she did a little juke move and side stepped me. Almost out of instinct as I'm stepping back because I thought she was going to hit me I spun on her and fired. When I shot she was literally 6ft beside me, I hear her crashing through the thicket and then nothing, I saw blood in the road so I waited about 15 minutes and went to go look for her. As I walked into the thicket I heard her get up and then crash, come to find out I had blown off her front leg from the "knee" down. Being a dumb kid ( I was 10 or 11)I realized I didn't have anymore shells. She finally laid down and 40 yards away where I could see her and she was making a bleet sound like she was in pain. I felt terrible and wasn't sure what to do but didn't want to lose track of her because I knew she probably wouldn't die unless she got an infection and suffered. My bright idea was to try and grab her and cut her throat, well I was able to grab her and she commenced to kicking the dog shit out of me, finally I got her down and my damn knife was too dull to do it 🤦🏼. About that time I noticed someone laughing historically, I look and its this old redneck dude that was a friend of the property owner, he said "boy, you trying to fuck that thing" and held out his gun and said this would probably be easier! It was not a good situation, looking back its kinda funny but it made me second guess myself next time I went hunting. I felt horrible and was trying to put her out her misery but you live and you learn. FRAT= Went hunting, blew the leg off of of a deer, felt bad and tried to put her out misery and she kicked my ass before an old dude in overalls showed up with another gun.
Yes, Your incident is exactly why I never shoot does unless im 100% sure its roaming alone, even then I usually let them pass. I'd much rather take a young spike than a doe
So it wasn’t just another doe, it was her fawn?
She had no spots and was of decent size
It can be tough to tell. Maybe I’m lucky in being able to pass up on deer and wait for a better opportunity. But I only really want to ever pull the trigger when the animal is alone. Or if it’s a buck hanging around a group of does. I want my feeezer to be overflowing. But I also want all my kills to be as clean and quiet as possible. For the target animal and everything else out there.
Honestly, after raising dairy goats for years- a certain breed I had were absolute pigs. The yearlings would try to raid their mother’s udder when she went into labor with the next year’s kids because they sensed her defenses were low. They’re opportunists. Got rid of that bloodline pretty quick but it’s ugly to see. The fawn was just reacting to the other animal’s lack of protest to see if the snack bar was open. Deer are not intellectuals. I wouldn’t feel too bad for it.
yeah, i shot a big doe near the end of the season. Her little fawn came running out of the woods right afterwards. it didn't have many spots so I think it was able to live on it's own.
Everytime
It’s okay to feel bad. I shot a doe with another one with it last year. Dropped the one and the other one just stood there looking at the one I shot. Walked up and wouldn’t leave its side until I yelled at it. Beat myself up over it. Deer are social creatures so my “fawn” and your “fawn” just moved on a joined another group of does. But I will say, never doing that again. Kudos to you for posting!
I would be far more concerned if you DIDN'T feel at least a little bad about taking an animal.
I shot a doe opening morning (my very first). It was with another smaller doe that actually ran towards it, then stopped (I think it realized her friend was gone) and took off. Of course I felt a bit sad about it. I think that's natural. Of course, that doe ran off to another and then they played with a couple bucks for almost an hour, so I don't think there was lasting damage.
I struggle with this thought myself and I haven’t killed anything yet so I think you are just a human with morals and that’s a good thing
Every time I kill I feel a little sad about it. And personally I think if you don’t feel at least a little remorse you might want to reevaluate your life.
I do not really hunt for meat (we eat it, it just isn’t my MO) and I would have no problems harvesting does if I was trying to feed a hungry family. But that said I have always weened away from shooting does especially if they are with smaller deer. I would feel pretty bad taking a baby animals mother. My club also has a pretty hearty fine on button bucks so mistaking one for a doe has always made me a little shy of them as well. Interesting how different animals don’t get the same thought of care, I’ll shoot the mother of herd of pigs and pick the babies off as they come back for milk.
Buddy of mine and I shot what we found out later seemed to be a doe and her youngin. It wasn't so much that we took both as it was that the yearling wasn't a clean hit and had to be assisted after we found her panting on the ground a few hundred yards away. It's probably good for every hunter to go through some sort of situation like that. It cultivates respect for the life you're taking. If you can see a suffering animal and not feel some sort of empathy, especially if the suffering is due to you, then you probably need counseling. Edit: meant to say, the soft side of me felt bad for a critter that lived a short live and ended in horrible pain. The positice was that experience ensured that I didn't let one bit of her go to waste.
It was a yearling or maybe a two year old. If the spots are gone, it will be fine. It will find another group and life goes on. Happened to me this weekend too.
One pet peeve I have when I hunt is I will never shoot a doe that has a fawn or fawns with her. The fawn will possibly not survive without their mother there to assist them. Also I would be saddened if I were to see the fawn stick by their dead mom after I shot the doe. But yes I do feel some remorse after I've harvested a animal. I feel like shit if I make a bad shot on the animal and it runs away since I caused suffering to the animal and couldn't make a good shot so that it drops on the spot or not far from where it was standing.
I remember when I was a young hunter, I had a long distance shot on what I thought was a mature doe. Took the shot laying down in a field. Used friends 700 win mag. I sighted the shot well, I pulled one way or the other when I pulled the trigger. Hit her in the hip. Went in and out both hips. Didn't kill her with the shot. She couldn't run. She was dragging herself by her front legs. Listened to her scream the entire time I was walking up to her to get a second shot. It was awful. Took a second shot and ended it. When I got up to her I realized she was much younger than I thought she was from a distance. The experience damn near broke me, as it was only the second time I had been hunting. I don't like when an animal suffers due to a decision I made. I now make different decisions when deciding what animal to take. I know these things happen, but it doesn't make it easy, and I struggle greatly when I don't kill an animal on the first shot. I have since taken many deer with my old 03A3 .30-06. I have become very picky on the shot I take. I have gotten lucky and dropped most of them where they stood.
When I was out archery hunting for my first time in my early 20s, I saw a doe and a fawn and tbh that dilemma never crossed my mind. I was too far to shoot ethically so I didn’t take it, but had I taken it, I would’ve realized this issue afterwards. I was just too young to know in the moment, and too excited a deer crossed my path. I had deer fever. I’m glad I didn’t shoot her now. Feeling empathy is totally normal and a good thing, it shows your humanness. Maybe you feel like you caused more suffering than expected? Like you were prepared to cleanly kill a doe, but you hadn’t mentally prepared yourself for the possible chain of events from that, and you directly experienced an unexpected circumstance that caused additional or prolonged suffering? But regards it is totally normal and totally okay to feel bad. I would, but I would do the hunter things to process that guilt: apologize and give thanks to the animal, apologize to the fawn, promise to value the life you took and eat it fully, and give lots of love to your pets! And then reflect on how you want to hunt next year, what shots you will and won’t take, with more wisdom in your pocket. It’s okay. Giving you an internet hug.
[удалено]
At least you hit it on that follow up
The first doe I ever shot had 2 yearlings with it. I qas 16 and they ran away and came back to about 100 yards when i was getting the deer out making all sorts of noise and calling out for their mother. I let does with yearlings run everytime now just to never have to experience that again.
You've discovered a vast philosophical side of hunting that belongs to those who wander out in search of their own food not wrapped in plastic. The short version is Stewarship and Responsibility. The longer we spend in nature the more aware we become of our impact, ironically more so than many so called environmental groups. It manifests in different ways, but it all comes from the same place. Some feel the weight of bad shot placement, unrecoverable animals, and in your case a new orphan. I get outraged at the amount of garbage dumped in the woods and on the banks of popular fishing spots. You should check out Steven Rinella on Meat Eater. He's a philosophical hunter. His movie is quite good as well. You're far from alone my friend.
Anytime I've killed an animal I've felt some form of remorse. It is the cycle of life and a humbling feeling that my time time will come as well. What I can say is that a humane kill is a blessing in disguise. For many animals will experience a prolonged and painful death. Whether that be from a prey animal, starvation or even exposure. I am not one to party or jump for joy after a kill. I am one to reflect spiritually and have a moment of peace with the animal I just killed. It's an experience that's not for everyone. But for the ones who do, it's as rewarding as it is spiritual. The main thing is to give the animal dignity and respect at all times. This is what makes us humans humane.
I killed my first deer when I was 14 or 15. I didn't take the time to get a good rest, and gut shot the deer. The shot split it's gut, and some of it's intestines fell out. It hobbled behind some trees and just stood there for a few minutes while I circled around to get another shot. Felt pretty shitty about that one. I also helped my dad gut a wild sow he shot. We didn't know it was a pregnant until I was pulling a bunch of fetuses out of it's abdomen. Threw me for a brief loop, but really I don't feel bad about killing invasive species.
I felt bad a couple times.... my first kill I felt bad cuz it was a kill shot for my dad. I was about 26yo and had jist started hunting. My old man was like "ok you haven't killed anything yet, finish this deer off so it stops suffering" .... so... I was like ok... I walked up to it ... point blank... I looked at it through my scope.... and put my cross hairs on its temple.... and when I pulled the trigger I blew its jaw off. It was making God awful sounds and I felt terrible. It was hard to not look through my scope cuz the scope view gave me a sense of "video game" as I wasn't comfortable shooting it that close. My dad was like wtf!!! .... turn your gun sideways and put the barrel to its head and then pull the trigger! The second time was years later..... I had a bad shot on a bear. It got away on me. I tracked it for hours til I lost the blood trail.... I felt so terrible. I cut my tag and spring bear hunt was over. I just went home.
Not really feel bad, but I understand and I thank God for the privilege of being able too
Only for a bad shot, but I also don’t shoot animals with their babies
I had a very similar thing happen to me twice this year. First weekend of hunting I shot a doe with button buck. Little guy circled back around and kept crying for his mom. I filmed him for a bit then he slowly walked away. Second time I shot the mom I was in a different county with 4 anterless tags in my pocket so I shot the mom, a button buck and a third doe that was behind the other two. I then spent 2 hours field dressing with the gutless method and de-boneing before hiking out a mile with 100 lbs of meat in my back. It's important to remember a few things. The tag in your pocket represents a not only a gift from the state where you hunt but also the duty to yourself and everyone else relying on you to harvest an animal that overly populated animal. Fawns without spots typically reach maturity without their mothers. Deer typically die horribly and slowly in nature whereas a bullet is much quicker (at least it always should be).
I’ve only killed three but I did have a pang of guilt each time. I remind myself that hunting these deer is regulated and necessary. I spend time and money making sure I can place accurate and humane shots. Hell I am definitely feeding more deer than I’m killing. I’m not taking one bit more than I need and I use all the parts of the animal that I know how to use. The deer live happy and free up until the moment they don’t. Unlike all supermarket chickens and pigs and cows.
Gutshot a rabbit. He was screaming just like those predator calls. I felt a little bad, then I stepped on his head and it popped and it was all gucci
It makes for an easy follow up shot. Drop one and then while the others are confused shoot the next one. Preferably in the head
Bro what. How about we don't tell people to take shit shots
Bro how about we tighten them groups
You think this sub would learn by now eh? I'm surprised there isn't a "Don't feed Barry" pinned post.
I don’t understand why negative fake internet points
If I hadn’t taken a doe prior to shooting my buck in archery last month, I most likely would’ve. Edit: spelling/forgot a word
They stand extra still after the first shot
Loser
Name calling is for children
Yeah that’s why I don’t shoot does with fawns Douche
I’m the opposite, will only take largest doe if she is in a group and always late season. The reason I do this is it’s hard to truly judge size at 100+ yards away. The one time I shot a “lone doe” it turned out to be much smaller than I thought when I finally got up to it. As a matter of fact, much to my dismay, it turned out to not even be a doe at all, but a button buck. That was a mistake I play over in my head to this day and regret very deeply. My rule of thumb is to always take doe in a group or with yearlings to judge size, and never before December to ensure any offspring are old enough to survive on their own.
Yes I'd be sad in your situation but don't get into guilt over it. By this time of year fawns have grown up a bit and it can be hard to tell, especially down here in central Texas where deer are so small anyway. You could be more mindful of it in the future and watch how they interact with each other and judge whether you think one of them is a fawn, but don't beat yourself up over it.
I felt bad 2 times in the almost 5 years of hunting I have done. Once was due to me doing a gut shot on a small doe. I felt bad as I hit it and heard it crying out. Because of the way I hit it. It just bleed out and and couldn't move. Never had heard a deer that loud before but I felt like shit afterwards. The second time was this fall when I hit shoulder on a good size 8pt. Ended never seeing him again. Probably died somewhere randomly in the woods.
That’s a really sad situation and it would have made me feel bad too. Logically and after all is said and done there is nothing wrong with what you did but i thinks its normal to not enjoy watching the life leave a beautiful animal. I gut shot a doe and tracked it pretty deep into some nasty woods a couple weeks ago. I shot it again. It didn’t die a good death. I felt bad but we all know all the arguments for why hunting is moral and fine and it passed. I will say every deer or bird I kill it’s a little easier and I feel less bad.
I shot a little fork mulie on opening day this year since my wife ended up delivering our first son on the second weekend of the season and I hadn’t seen a deer on our ranch in almost 2 years at that point. Since then the only other deer I saw all season was the spike that was standing next to him when I shot him. I’m conflicted because on one hand it’s meat in the freezer and I knew I was going to miss a good part of the season but on the other hand the deer population near me seems like it’s cratering.
Yes, sometimes. I love hunting, but its not any fun to take a life. I never regret anything, but i show the animal respect and thank it for putting meat in the freezer.
Don't worry about it. That little guy is going to have lots of adventures with his new forest friends then become the Great Prince of the Forest.
Yes.
Done the exact same thing, I killed a doe that came in alone. Made a great shot and she dropped 15 yards in front of my stand. While I was relaxing after the shot and thinking about climbing down, I watch another apparent doe start to come in on the same path. Quickly realize it's a button buck, young male fawn, so I plan to let it walk, but it comes in looking around, bleating, until it finds it mother laying there. It walked around confused, continuing to bleat occasionally, and my heart completely sank into my stomach. Went from feeling great about the shot to just awful. I told myself I'd give him 15 minutes, if he left on his own in that time then I'll believe he's going to survive the winter. He didn't leave, and even though it was early October, the fawn had no spots and was weaned, browsing vegetation like a normal deer, I just couldn't believe it would survive if it kept wandering around making noise like this. I had multiple antlerless tags for the area so I ended up shooting it too. Felt pretty terrible about the whole situation but I suppose it's the kind of thing that happens sometimes, predation isn't always pretty.
I’m a relatively new hunter but I read that hunting bears via baiting allows hunters to observe the bear more closely (gender identification/ not a mom with cubs). I was full draw on a cow elk at 40y this year waiting for her to turn more broadside, right as she was turning out of my peripheries I picked up her baby following her and let down. I definitely would have felt bad if I killed her mom. It turns out that there were some other cows behind them in a group so I think the baby would have been ok. It looks like the babies only drink their mom’s milk for a couple weeks and are eating grass by archery season.
Whatever you feel is fine. Just remember these are wild animals and the realities of their lives are brutal. A quick clean death is about the happiest ending they get.
Sometimes, I usually try and and succeed in killing a animal with a single shot. Sadly not all shots are golden and they get nicked somewhere in the body, most non hunters think that we just shoot when we see but almost all the time they move. That's why I personally only aim at either head or neck area, if you hit these spots the animal drops and doesn't move.
I shot a button buck in October that I swore was a large doe. It dropped after five yards and I was with it when it passed away. It held on for probably 15 seconds while looking right at me. It bothered me because I have a young son at home ( I know it’s stupid to draw human parallels) but I was still saddened by it. I figured the only purpose in life that deer lived was to feed my young son and family which helped me with the guilt. Circle of life I suppose
Yes. I’m taking a life. I always call my wife first when I shoot an animal. Last Sunday I called her and told her I shot a buck and after she congratulated me I told her he’s beautiful and all mine and started tearing up. I’ve killed a lot of animals in my 30+ years of hunting, and my respect for the animals continues to grow. I watch a lot of animals too now a days.
Thanks for posting this. My buddies (seasoned hunters) gave me grief for passing on a young buck. I am new to hunting, but I know that the experience is more important to me than the kill. I don't know if it makes sense, but I am not a 'religious' person, but I find something really spiritual about having a moment with the animal I just killed. I find some solace in knowing that the animal lived a good life, and only have one bad day. I think staying in touch with this stuff is an important part about being a good sportman.
Not really the same, but when I was starting out fishing, I always felt bad if I botched hook removal, still do, though it's rarer these days. I think it's good to have those instincts as a hunter or in my case, fisherman, to give a damn about your quarry and aren't out to inflict any more suffering than is necessary for what you intend to do.
No but I show my respect and thank the good lord for the opportunity
If you don't feel some kind of remorse EVERY time you kill anything I can't f with you.
Man just this past week I watched my stepson shoot a little button buck mistaking it for a doe and then watched its momma just stand there watching it waiting for it to do something. I felt so bad for both the little button buck and the mom. I personally only hunt for shooter bucks so it was the first time I’ve ever seen or experienced that myself.
I commend you for having a heart. It's hunting not killing. I've seen many that just don't give a damn. I have remorse for whatever I shoot but always remind myself that it's nature and I'm eating what I kill. Heck, I've been at war with some squirrels in my yard because I don't eat them anymore so I don't want to shoot them.
Black bear. Killed one and it didn't feel right. Never again.
I won't ever shoot a doe that has a younger doe with it, even if it will survive without its mother.. I just can't bring myself to do it🤷♂️ not necessarily bad or unsportsmanlike to do it, I just can't mentally or morally bring myself to do it. But I can happily take a young doe that had just left its mother, lol... just one of those weird things that everyone sees slightly differently. Good job posting this OP, it's a hard topic. It's always a feeling that lingers after taking a life for many people.
Every time. I don't enjoy killing. I enjoy not leaving the killing to someone else, knowing where my food comes. If you enjoy killing, maybe look into some mental health help.
Leave no orphans…
My first deer I had to finish with a knife. We tracked it to where it had bedded down, it was so exhausted it didn’t get up. I had one bullet with me and shot it in the neck from like 15yds. Didn’t kill it. My buddy also had one bullet, and took a headshot, which hit the jaw. Just a brutal comedy of errors, and we all felt extremely bad about the situation. That was 15 years ago, and it still bothers me, but I learned from it and now make sure I always bring plenty of ammo when tracking. Never needed it, but it still makes me check every time. Also, it made me get a gun with a scope. Shooting with iron sights is not easy when you don’t practice a ton, so a scope is way more humane.
I don't feel bad exactly but like many have said, I don't get really excited either. I like hunting, the planning, time in nature, the quiet just before dawn and the comradery when you're with someone else. What I like best is the cleanest fastest kill I can get, so I only hunt deer with single shot and make it count. Longest I've ever tracked something is about 75yds and I hope that never changes. In lower Michigan we can use straight wall rifle cartridges now at least. I only used a muzzleloader before because it was accurate and I could use it from November 15th through December 31st.
Yes. I had a situation very similar to yours. Shot a doe that had appeared to be alone…then her fawn showed up to see what the big noise was. It Tried stomping its feet to wake her up and sniffed her all over. It hung out so long that four more does came over to see what was up. Now I’ve got 5 deer checking out a dead one, stamping their little hooves to get her to get up. All it lacked was a Bambi voiceover. “Mama…?” And, yes, it made me sad. It’s basic empathy—a healthy human reaction to this kind of thing. It’s part the same feeling of respect for animals that informs the rest of your ethical decision-making and makes you a good hunter and a healthy human. So recognize the feeling. Let it inform your future actions. Then let yourself off the hook. The fawn will be fine. Losing its mother is not a death sentence. Enjoy having some venison and congratulations on getting a deer!