Deer in Freezer - Day 7 - Sunday 13 OCT - We Cheated!
Got a call to come to a deer stuck in a fence about 9 o'clock this morning. I arrived just about one mile N of the house to a State Trooper, a County Deputy, and the Mulberry Town Marshall all staring at a young doe with her back right leg caught in a fence. Not just any fence, mind you. This was a steel rod cattle gate fence. As the doe tried to jump the 5' mark, her back leg came down into the top row and twisted, catching her back joint in the next square over. With her weight on the ground, she was solidly trapped.
I asked if the police wanted me to shoot her right there - I mean really, it wasn't 3 feet from the road, on our side of the fence - all I would have to do is pick her up and put her in the truck. Well, this perfect plan was not to be. "No," they said, "we're going to set her free." What? I drove over here so you could have me set her free?
Turns out that the Marshall had already tried to free her by banging on the fence with his flashlight. He thought that if he could break it, she would run off. Okay, good luck with that on two points. First, no way you're going to break that fence. Second, you're risking getting kicked or bit by a wild animal. Well, they didn't want to see the poor thing suffer.
Fair enough. I climbed the fence and worked from behind the doe. I figured there was no way she could bite me through the fence and a very low probability she could kick me. Besides, this way when I set her free, she would charge THEM and not me on the other side of the fence. Good plan.
I picked up her back leg and pressed down. This pushed the fence down and the rest of her body up. That gave me enough leverage to untangle her leg. As I let her go, I saw three police officers backing up! They didn't have to go far, as she dropped straight to the ground and rolled UNDER the fence and down into the creek. Neither of her back legs would work. I figured the right one was possibly broken, but on three good legs she at least stood a chance. It was not to be.
It took them about one minute to figure out she would not survive - no duh - I had that figured out before I set her free. The Deputy asked if I brought a shotgun. No, said I, a pistol - I figure she's trapped, so I can get close and shoot her in the head - why do you need a shotgun for that? So Deputy takes out his service shotgun and fires a slug from the fence at about 50 yards - open sights. She drops, but is still dragging herself N through the creek on her front legs.
I holler for my pistol that's still in the truck, across the fence. I walk at least 100 yards N to where she's resting and put her out of her misery with one shot to the head. Then, I have to wade into the creek up to my knees to pull her out and drag her back to the road. And then I have to lift her over the fence. As I got to the fence, I had some less than nice names to call them. We all laughed.
The Deputy's shot had grazed her right shoulder and punched through her neck, but otherwise did little damage to the meat. Good thing he didn't gut shoot her or he would have had to clean her by himself.
In the end, we did the right thing. We gave her a chance to live, but it was not to be. So I had to walk a little and drag a little. Small price to pay to respect the deer's life.
I took her back to Dad's and gutted her. Since she was so small (less than 100#) I asked Dad if he wanted salami or if we should process her ourselves. He suggested salami as the meat might be a bit gamey with all the adrenaline and stress caused by being caught. Good call.
We drove her up to Simpson's in Young America. We stopped by to visit with uncle DC. Char and Stacey were there as well. Then we hit Treece's in Rossville for a late lunch before returning home.
Of note, I had to mark the deer as a "Road Kill" and she did not get a State Tag. I did have to get paperwork from the police stating that I had legal permission to possess her.
She is going to be a "gift" for Dad and DC. I took the loins for my efforts, but they will get all the salami. Good eating all around.
I asked if the police wanted me to shoot her right there - I mean really, it wasn't 3 feet from the road, on our side of the fence - all I would have to do is pick her up and put her in the truck. Well, this perfect plan was not to be. "No," they said, "we're going to set her free." What? I drove over here so you could have me set her free?
Turns out that the Marshall had already tried to free her by banging on the fence with his flashlight. He thought that if he could break it, she would run off. Okay, good luck with that on two points. First, no way you're going to break that fence. Second, you're risking getting kicked or bit by a wild animal. Well, they didn't want to see the poor thing suffer.
Fair enough. I climbed the fence and worked from behind the doe. I figured there was no way she could bite me through the fence and a very low probability she could kick me. Besides, this way when I set her free, she would charge THEM and not me on the other side of the fence. Good plan.
I picked up her back leg and pressed down. This pushed the fence down and the rest of her body up. That gave me enough leverage to untangle her leg. As I let her go, I saw three police officers backing up! They didn't have to go far, as she dropped straight to the ground and rolled UNDER the fence and down into the creek. Neither of her back legs would work. I figured the right one was possibly broken, but on three good legs she at least stood a chance. It was not to be.
It took them about one minute to figure out she would not survive - no duh - I had that figured out before I set her free. The Deputy asked if I brought a shotgun. No, said I, a pistol - I figure she's trapped, so I can get close and shoot her in the head - why do you need a shotgun for that? So Deputy takes out his service shotgun and fires a slug from the fence at about 50 yards - open sights. She drops, but is still dragging herself N through the creek on her front legs.
I holler for my pistol that's still in the truck, across the fence. I walk at least 100 yards N to where she's resting and put her out of her misery with one shot to the head. Then, I have to wade into the creek up to my knees to pull her out and drag her back to the road. And then I have to lift her over the fence. As I got to the fence, I had some less than nice names to call them. We all laughed.
The Deputy's shot had grazed her right shoulder and punched through her neck, but otherwise did little damage to the meat. Good thing he didn't gut shoot her or he would have had to clean her by himself.
In the end, we did the right thing. We gave her a chance to live, but it was not to be. So I had to walk a little and drag a little. Small price to pay to respect the deer's life.
I took her back to Dad's and gutted her. Since she was so small (less than 100#) I asked Dad if he wanted salami or if we should process her ourselves. He suggested salami as the meat might be a bit gamey with all the adrenaline and stress caused by being caught. Good call.
We drove her up to Simpson's in Young America. We stopped by to visit with uncle DC. Char and Stacey were there as well. Then we hit Treece's in Rossville for a late lunch before returning home.
Of note, I had to mark the deer as a "Road Kill" and she did not get a State Tag. I did have to get paperwork from the police stating that I had legal permission to possess her.
She is going to be a "gift" for Dad and DC. I took the loins for my efforts, but they will get all the salami. Good eating all around.
Paperwork from IN DNR giving possession permission
Blood on the tailgate - Always a Good Sign
Shout out to Ford Motor Company who sponsors all our hunts!
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