Crippled with companion

[Anser anser]

I was sat out a few nights back with a few potential bucks sighted but not coming my way just yet when I spied a mature doe with a good sized buck at her side,but the buck was seriously lame trying to navigate the clear felled area ,branches and clutter everywhere. The poor bugger could barely walk let along leap across this terrain. The doe was loyal, and i do mean acting devoted to this buck. She sat patiently waiting for him to try a few more steps ,but he lay down in such pain i can only imagine. I hoped he could make it just another hundred yards and id take him. A long shot at 180 yards for my .243 perhaps, but a steady platform and no wind gave me confidence to know it would be a solid shot .Unfortunately he did not rise again before darkness started to fall. The doe came back looking for him after grazing off some 30 yards or so towards the wood and i reckon she found him as i saw her tentatively smelling an area of tussocks and tree branch before she slowly walked into the wood clearly showing signs of being stressed out.Such an obvious bond between them both. I had a nice buck come in to me whilst watching this sad situation unfold further out but i left him to roam away as i wanted the poor cripple put down. Work commitments mean i can only get back tomorrow but im certain if he's still alive he wont be far from the same area. It was grand to watch the kids out with their mums and the bucks drifting about in the gloom but the thoughts of this one poor fella tainted the evening for me. I posted this simply to share ,but also to perhaps remind fellow stalkers that these deer we hunt with such passion are not quite as solitary nor as void of emotion as some may perhaps portray them to be. I hope at least one reader may enhance his belief system up by a notch or two when out stalking to show the roe a greater degree of respect.

 

[Mike1979]

Interesting and thanks for sharing and good on you passing up another opportunity to try and get him dealt with

 

[User00056]

I hope you manage to put him out of his misery. I'm sure it'll prey on your mind until you do. I know it would affect me the same way. Best of luck

 

[Heym SR20]

Good post, deer stalking is not all about killing deer. It’s much more about knowing your deer and choosing the right time to take them.

And wild animals have an amazing ability to recover from injuries. If he is basically a good buck holding a territory keep an eye oh him. But only you can be the judge.

A good deer manager means that you should actually know the deer on your land, and the territory’s they hold etc. You can only do this by spending time just being amongst them.

I have known deer with bad wounds recover and then thrive. Several years ago on one piece of ground the horsey ladies found a buck trapped by his hind leg in a fence. He was released and lived for many years quite happily with one back leg effectively useless. He was a good buck otherwise and fathered plenty of youngsters.

On the flip side if he is not a good breeding buck he is probably a good cull.

 

[Heym SR20]

Good post, deer stalking is not all about killing deer. It’s much more about knowing your deer and choosing the right time to take them.

And wild animals have an amazing ability to recover from injuries. If he is basically a good buck holding a territory keep an eye oh him. But only you can be the judge.

A good deer manager means that you should actually know the deer on your land, and the territory’s they hold etc. You can only do this by spending time just being amongst them.

I have known deer with bad wounds recover and then thrive. Several years ago on one piece of ground the horsey ladies found a buck trapped by his hind leg in a fence. He was released and lived for many years quite happily with one back leg effectively useless. He was a good buck otherwise and fathered plenty of youngsters.

On the flip side if he is not a good breeding buck he is probably a good cull.

Or put it another way, if you had twisted your knee, or cut your thumb and had 14 stitches put in, you would be in pretty sorry state for a few days or weeks. But you would soon recover.

 

[Anser anser]

Ill perhaps get a closer look see if/when i see him again tomorrow. Time will tell, probably a fence injury id say .

 

[Keith Edmunds]

Nice post. It's easy to get anthropomorphic and imagine their feelings towards one another but in the same token, it is easy to be too hard-hearted and class them as dumb animals. They are social creatures and I have often been amazed by their interactions. We have a very responsible job on so many levels - may it never be simple 'pest control', may deer never be 'just targets' and let's ensure that we always treat them with respect.

 

[Mr. Gain]

I'm sitting here watching a doe with a wonky foreleg. I was aware of her soon after she broke it, but decided to see how she got on. It has healed well: she is fully mobile on it, and has a good strong male follower in tow. I'm glad I gave her the benefit of the doubt.
A decade ago, I almost shot a fine buck before his time on account of his having recently lost the lower part of a hind leg, but a branch intercepted the bullet and he got to live not just another day, but another 4 years, during which time he served many a doe.
Not all injuries heal, of course, but I'm always impressed by the survivors.
Also, I'm in no doubt that deer have individual and social relationships. One sees it most in roe deer, because they are so territorial. I have been saddened in the past, for example, on shooting the doe of twins in the winter, to see its male sibling linger with it until moved on, so I think twice about repeating that scenario, even though I expect the buck will soon adjust to a more solitary life or find new companions.

 

[User00056]

Also, I'm in no doubt that deer have individual and social relationships. One sees it most in roe deer, because they are so territorial. I have been saddened in the past, for example, on shooting the doe of twins in the winter, to see its male sibling linger with it until moved on, so I think twice about repeating that scenario

This is what a lot of non-shooters don't ever get the chance to understand. The majority of us actually have a deep love for the animals we hunt, and along with that comes compassion. It's a juxtaposition that's very hard to explain, but if you 'get it' you need no explanation.

I had a yearling buck on my ground earlier this year, who seemed to want to latch onto any other deer that appeared. When he was alone he almost appeared bereft. I had twenty opportunities or more to take him, but I decided that he was getting a pass as I wanted to see him get settled.

 

[Anser anser]

This is what a lot of non-shooters don't ever get the chance to understand. The majority of us actually have a deep love for the animals we hunt, and along with that comes compassion. It's a juxtaposition that's very hard to explain, but if you 'get it' you need no explanation.

I had a yearling buck on my ground earlier this year, who seemed to want to latch onto any other deer that appeared. When he was alone he almost appeared bereft. I had twenty opportunities or more to take him, but I decided that he was getting a pass as I wanted to see him get settled.

I have a wee button lad that is glued to an old buck just now,follows him about in some form of hero worship, made me laugh the other week as the older fella was reluctant to move out of the forest edges but this wee chap was all to keen to lead the way --and he did. but the old fella stayed put as he must have caught a wiff of my good self.It is like a a constant game of chess i reckon with the wiser old bucks.

 

[User00056]

I have a wee button lad that is glued to an old buck just now,follows him about in some form of hero worship, made me laugh the other week as the older fella was reluctant to move out of the forest edges but this wee chap was all to keen to lead the way

My wee buck was exactly the same! A few weeks ago he was charging in to the call, without a second thought. No sense whatsoever

U

Thread 'Summer Buck'

Aug 3, 2025

Although the rut is well and truly underway here in Angus, I don't like to shoot a lot at this time of year. The does have their young, and I just like to ease the pressure a bit for a wee while. That's maybe just me getting a bit soft in my old age though. Anyway, I figured I should really venture out to keep the farmer happy that I was actually doing something, and we could certainly use the venison.

I'm lucky enough to have stalking literally on my doorstep, so having kept an eye on a recently combined field over the last week or so, I had a couple of trips out. Both previous attempts...

• User00056
• Replies: 3
• Forum: Write Ups

• 

 

[Rutland lad]

I recently shot a doe that I was on three legs limping very badly.
As the permission is beside a major road I presumed she’d been hit by a vehicle and was struggling. It was last light.
I shot her.

On approach I saw that she was missing her rear lower leg on one side, but it was an old wound, and she was getting around on her stump. I still think I should have left her to carry on - she obviously could manage and had for some time.
My presumption was totally wrong. In a split second decision I’d made a wrong call.

I still regret that.

People who don’t shoot won’t understand the regret. They think all we want to do is shoot.

 

[User00056]

My presumption was totally wrong. In a split second decision I’d made a wrong call.

I still regret that.

People who don’t shoot won’t understand the regret. They think all we want to do is shoot.

I don't agree. I think you did exactly the right thing, for the right reasons. You obviously weighed up the shot, and decided it was the humane decision. I imagine it'd prey on your mind a lot more if you'd let her go

 

[Rutland lad]

She was plump, well fed. Had she been thin and wasted I’d have thought differently.

What’s done is done. But thanks for your reply.

 

[Mike1979]

She was plump, well fed. Had she been thin and wasted I’d have thought differently.

What’s done is done. But thanks for your reply.

You did what you thought was right at the time and it was done for welfare reasons. As mentioned above if you had let her go without knowing condition and never saw her again would you have thought that she died a slow painful death?

 

[User00056]

She was plump, well fed. Had she been thin and wasted I’d have thought differently.

What’s done is done. But thanks for your reply.

Very worst case scenario, you were stalking and ended up up with a fine beast for the larder. I wouldn't give it another thought

 

[Heym SR20]

I was prompted to come back to this thread by a like from @76thirty and have read through it. I think what’s good is that regardless of taking a shot or not, it definitely shows that people are are actually making conscious decisions on which deer to take.

There is far far too much emphasis on just shooting any deer that moves and not giving any consideration to the long future of the species.

 

[76thirty]

I was prompted to come back to this thread by a like from @76thirty and have read through it. I think what’s good is that regardless of taking a shot or not, it definitely shows that people are are actually making conscious decisions on which deer to take.

There is far far too much emphasis on just shooting any deer that moves and not giving any consideration to the long future of the species.

It’s good to see rather than all of the “of it’s brown it’s down” you see so regularly nowadays, granted in some scenarios they need to be hard but there’s far more occasions where more concious planning and decision making needs to be employed at the point of shot