Anybody who believes consistently in one shot kills, for bragging rights or whatever, needs to get clipped by an 18-wheel semi doing 70mph. In any and every case, hunters have the ethical responsibility to dispatch the critter swiftly. If you want something edible, never, ever forget: ammo is still cheap.

Hunters owe it to the game we persue to put them down and out as cleanly as possible. Saving a bullet to brag to your buddies is just stupid. Down is down, but dead is what we are after.
Jim

Good God I'm glad to hear you say that. I was so torqued at a fellow with his suffering deer this past Saturday that I vowed never to hunt around him again. He used to be my friend.

I took a doe in November while hunting in Maine. I was sitting on a powerline cut when 3 does walked out. I picked the biggest one that happened to be standing almost straight on and fired. Once I picked out the one that was limping, I was a split second away from firing again when she just rolled over backwards and fell out of my sight picture. Turns out she was quartering a little more than I though and the bullet angled in across her lungs after hitting the shoulder. I only tell this story because my father told me to keep shooting until the animal hits the ground, and then finish it if you have too. My fathers 1st kill was a doe he shot in full run and the bullet passed through both shoulders leaving her crippled. He said the hardest thing he ever had to do was walk up to that deer and finish her by shooting it in the head. As hunters, we have to take responsibility for ending the life of an animal, and we owe it to the animal to make the kill as quickly as possible.

Anybody who can stand and watch an animal endure suffering for the sake of his own ego is not only not a sportsman, he is a disgusting pervert.

All BS aside, I honestly have a hard time accepting the concept that there are people who won't take a second shot to put an animal down because of "ego". That is so far beyond my comprehension and experience that I almost doubt these situations actually exist. Thank God I hunt with coonasses and rednecks who care only about making damn sure whatever they shoot at dies quickly, if for no other reason than to make sure it doesn't get away so they can eat it. Down here, you will catch endless grief for losing an animal and nothing more than a perfunctary "nice shot" if you do it with one shot.

I have to agree. I never heard anyone speak of "one shot, one kill" until that stupid movie Sniper came out.

Three years ago, I was hunting in less than ideal conditions when I shot a doe. Do to shooter error, the bullet missed its' mark and the poor creature was suffering. Unfortunately ice had built up on the action of my rifle and I couldn't get another round to chamber.

Needless to say, it was the worst day I have ever had hunting.

This fall I was sitting in a stand while drive was going on. Three does came out of the woods about 100 yards away into knee-high brush. I followed one in my scope until I had a clean shot. I thought my first one was clean, but she was still running, so I took another shot. I was sure she would be dead by the time I got down and walked over to her. When I got there, she was laying on the ground, bleating like no tommorow. I had to put a round into her neck at twenty yards, the grizzliest kill I've ever made. The first shot hit and destroyed her left shoulder, the second took out her right hip. I had a horrible feeling of guilt for the next two days after I put that deer through so much suffering. I still think about it today.

Taking an animal's life is a serious thing, and I am in absolute agreement with everything written above on this particular topic. And, honestly, I'm glad to read the words of those who have felt remorse over the instances of lost animals, animals that lingered, etc. Been there - it is horrible for the hunter, but more so for the animal. Even quick, clean, humane kills should cause us to take pause at the ending of a life. Good words, Dave, and everyone else who has added to this discussion.

brian i was handcuffed and placed in a patrol car and on my way to jail for the same thing. a driver hit a small doe and pulled over i saw the whole thing and pulled over also(never pass up free and easy venison) the deer was not dead so i asked them to return to there car and i would finish the deed with a sidearm i always carry. when the police arrived shortly thereafter i was arrested for discharge of a firearm on a state right of way. when the game warden got there he told barney he would have done the same thing, and to let me out of the cruiser and give me back my pistol as long as it was a legal firearm. the deer was in great pain with only one broken leg and shoulder and was causing an unsafe traffic problem trying to get back on the road.

Not committing to a second shot can be agony for the animal but it also can kill a human. My nephew walked up to a supposed kill and was very nearly gored. He learned his lesson. I too came up on a car-deer accident and the deer had multiple injuries and was squealing in pain. I took my registered handgun from my trunk and dispatched the animal. The authorities did not charge me and even asked if I wanted the meat.

Amen to everything said above. We should all remember the rest of the equation. We have a duty as hunters to take ethical shots. Shooting a deer in the hip, gut, etc. is at best suspect, and in my opinion, as bad as not taking the second shot to humanely dispatch a suffering animal.

I was confronted by a PA Game Commission Warden and two deputies for dispatching a fatally struck deer with a 12 gauge alongside of our family's farm. I only got off because the one deputy said, and I'm not making this up, "animals don't suffer". My father and a farm worker were there with me to hear it, and the warden was so dumbstruck with his deputie's ignorance they left me alone. Up until then I was in danger of losing my hunting licences and a couple hundred dollars in fines. I'd do it again in a heartbeat to in order to save that deer from suffering.