Bad end to a good season.

[First-light]

So I shot a nice buck at bow season and we took 4 buck and two doe on opening day. I came up this weekend to get the meat and pretty much just walk around and enjoy the outdoors. I did have a doe permit left. Had a couple of chances but didn't shoot. I left the woods thanking for the harvest. I left this morning around 9:10 and as a drove by my neighbor he was just heading down to woods. We talked for a while I left. Timing is everything. Just before exit 39 Bath I see a guy in the right lane waving me down. Blood on his face. I pulled over and saw his car windshield crushed.  There was Mom Dad and two toddlers and a baby. I immediately called 911. They spoke broken english. Dad was pretty cut up and everyone else had blood on them. Two other people stoped and I think one was an Off duty police officer. We aided the family and got them out of the car and into a warm truck. Not much english spoken and I held the 4 year old boy for 15 minutes. He kept on telling me get the yukies off of me. That was the blood from deer and dad. I took him to my truck and had wipes when he saw my dog he was happy. Sherif was grateful and I left. Hope they are ok. 

Life can change in a second!

. . 

[mlammerhirt]

Wow....did the deer go through the windshield? That had to be a hell of a wakeup for the little ones if they were dozed off.

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[First-light]

13 hours ago, mlammerhirt said:

Wow....did the deer go through the windshield? That had to be a hell of a wakeup for the little ones if they were dozed off.

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Parts of the windshield were broken through but most of it stayed intact. They were all cut by flying glass. 

[Bigfoot 327]

I had a non hunting boss for many years who made little effort to hide his dislike for hunters. Each year I would put in vacation and he would politely make his feelings known. Then came the year he destroyed two vehicles in three months running into deer. That year when I put in for vacation, he told me to "kill 'em all"!  Glad you were in the right spot at the right time to help!       

 

[steve863]

One of my biggest fears is slamming into a deer at high speed.  I drive a good ways on route 17 and the deer are often at the edge of the highway especially at night.  I often think it would be like payback for all the deer I've shot over the years.  Hope it never happens!

[BowmanMike]

1 hour ago, steve863 said:

One of my biggest fears is slamming into a deer at high speed.  I drive a good ways on route 17 and the deer are often at the edge of the highway especially at night.  I often think it would be like payback for all the deer I've shot over the years.  Hope it never happens!

if you drive a truck it won't be too bad. I hit one last year going 55 and never saw it until after I hit it. No brakes. The doe was drt and my truck needed 7k in repairs.  I didn't swerve or anything. Worst thing is trying to avoid one. I hit one last night and tried to dodge it,almost went off the road,I was all the way in the left lane. By the time I hit it I had slowed down a lot,just bent my bumper a tiny little bit.

[wolc123]

This is a great example of why it is very selfish of us hunters, not to try to kill all of the deer that we legally can, every season.   Deer numbers are higher than they should be in many areas.  If you can’t use the meat, many processors will take it, at no cost to you, and donate it to the needy.

I am no saint myself, and I usually let up a bit, after I have enough meat in my own freezer.  Thanks for posting this, as it will make me try a little harder, to fill the last (4) of (7) tags, that I was issued this year.  
 

Unfortunatly, I used up most of my vacation days, but I am really looking forward to the Holiday ML season this year.  It will be great to be able to hunt deer on paid Holidays.  
 

As far as not wanting to shoot does because “there is not enough around” etc., those decisions ought to be left to the professionals (DEC).  If they don’t think there is enough in an area, then they will issue fewer tags the following season.  
 

The Christmas season should be a time to put the needs of others ahead of your own.  Please do your part.   

Edited December 2, 2021 by wolc123

[nyslowhand]

Not to derail this topic, but just as a side note, since most large deer processors are no longer accepting whole deer I have to assume their participation in the venison donation program is also nil for past couple of years. I've generally tried to harvest a doe to be donated over the past 12-14yrs, but with no where to drop it off currently, I haven't for last 2 years.

As far as the DEC guess-timating deer populations and specific zone densities, it leaves a lot to be desired. I hunt an area that is supposedly over populated, but when I hunt and see few deer I just have to laugh at the DEC's methods of tallying deer numbers. It's possible for me to get 7X deer tags, so if I filled all of them within a couple of years there'd be very few deer around where I hunt. Precisely why it's necessary to micro-manage the herd within your specific hunting locations.

There is an ethical difference in simply killing deer to fill tags and actually hunting them for the sport. At least in my simple brain...

Edited December 2, 2021 by nyslowhand

[wolc123]

3 hours ago, nyslowhand said:

Not to derail this topic, but just as a side note, since most large deer processors are no longer accepting whole deer I have to assume their participation in the venison donation program is also nil for past couple of years. I've generally tried to harvest a doe to be donated over the past 12-14yrs, but with no where to drop it off currently, I haven't for last 2 years.

As far as the DEC guess-timating deer populations and specific zone densities, it leaves a lot to be desired. I hunt an area that is supposedly over populated, but when I hunt and see few deer I just have to laugh at the DEC's methods of tallying deer numbers. It's possible for me to get 7X deer tags, so if I filled all of them within a couple of years there'd be very few deer around where I hunt. Precisely why it's necessary to micro-manage the herd within your specific hunting locations.

There is an ethical difference in simply killing deer to fill tags and actually hunting them for the sport. At least in my simple brain...

I wonder if there is a way to find local processors who take deer carcass donations using the internet ?

That seems like the type of thing a smart phone or computer might be good for. 
 

How would you feel if you ended your season with unfilled tags, passed on multiple good opportunities, and ended up hitting one with your car on your last trip home from camp ?  Or worse yet, someone you love does, right by your hunting location ?

I only passed on one good opportunity this year, and that was only because that little antlered buck didn’t look like it had enough meat on its bones to feed my family for a year.  I have a heck of a time filling dmp’s, so I need to be somewhat careful with my buck tag.   That said, I definitely would have felt some regret at the end of the season, had not a much larger bodied buck showed up 6 days later.   
 

At times like that there is an excuse for passing bucks but I don’t see any for antlerless deer and dmp tags.  Those are passed out for a reason and that is population reduction.

 

[Cabin Fever]

34 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

I wonder if there is a way to find local processors who take deer carcass donations using the internet ?

That seems like the type of thing a smart phone or computer might be good for. 

 

Find a Processor – Venison Donation Coalition, Inc.