The stalk was flawless. For once, the wind was right, the sun was at my back and I didn’t break a single twig or flush a nuisance pheasant.
The buck never knew I was there, never knew I was watching him through my scope for 10 minutes inside of 100 yards. Finally, I pushed off the safety and slipped a bullet just behind his elbow. He kicked once, then slumped over and lay still.
The buck’s death wasn’t the highlight of the hunt. The stalk was. But I also took a great deal of satisfaction in my ability to kill an animal that never knew I was there, dealing death only a baseball throw away.
I shot that buck in his bed. To me, that’s the best measure of a humane kill, to take a wild animal without ever causing anxiety. The buck never got to his feet, never pumped adrenalin-laced blood through his nerve-tingled body. Never fired his hair-trigger instinct to run in terror.
But to the world of televised hunting, I just committed an unforgiveable sin. Video producers have two unbendable commandments: Thou shall not kill an animal before the videographer grants permission, and thou shall not shoot an animal in its bed.
I don’t get it, but as I’ve roamed the country this year, I’ve talked to other hunters—regular folks who don’t hunt with an entourage of videographers and sound technicians—who also have this self-imposed refusal to shoot an animal in its bed. They claim it’s unethical, because the critter is in a compromised position. Their reasoning, I guess, is that the animal can’t immediately sprint away. And also that it can be harder to deliver a killing shot, because a bedding animal’s vitals are more obscured than a broadside presentation.
Still, I’m confused. Is it ethical, or not, to kill an animal in its bed? Chime in with your perspective.
Photo: glaciernps
Comments (27)
Absolutely! I've been fortunate enought to harvest several deer in their beds. It's of one of the best feelings you can get when you've outdone a buck or a smart old doe.
Have done it and would do it again if the shot was offered to me
I feel it is 100% ethical. i would rather make a kill shot on an animal that is completly comfortable and happy than one who is scared and tense.
from jhorton "I do not rely on the hunting shows to tell me what is ethical or moral." Agreed...
in fact i cannot wait for the day i sneak up on a big ol' buck in the rain/snow and make a hell of a shot on him.....will be the biggest hunting accomplishment ever
i dont even know why this is being debated...
your telling me that if i have the skill to stalk up on something so skillfully that its not alerted at all and remains bedded that its unethical to shoot it?
that is 100% ridiculous...
Dead is dead, just as long as it is a quick death...
I want my game to be as still as possible when I squeeze the trigger. I don't think they can get more immobile than laying down.
in a boxing match do i have to wait for an opponent to get in a defensive position before the upper cut ?
Ethical!
I would put this in the same category as insisting on "flushing" a turkey in order to call it fair chase. Considering the amount of effort it takes to get the opportunity I think it's just as humane to shoot a deer in its bed as any other location and I'm sure the meat will feed you just as well. I'd prefer to do that than try to "jump shoot" the deer and take a chance of injuring instead of killing it.
Many years ago I was looking for a doe during the gun season for the freezer, so I walked some standing corn on a windy day. I ended up spotting one several rows ahead of me with its head down. I was able to walk right up to it as it slept. I could of touched it with my barrel but I couldn't pull the trigger on it.
if I had a clear shot at the vitals, definitely.
I do not rely on the hunting shows to tell me what is ethical or moral. That is between me and my conscience. If it was a free ranging animal during a designated season and I put in all of the "leg work" to get to the point of pulling the trigger I would shoot an animal standing on it's head if I felt it was a good shot.
I only wish that I was good enough to sneak up on a deer to shoot it bedded down. That is the ultimate in being a GREAT HUNTER. I hunt for the meat, so like was said I want a clean kill shot. What is the difference than sitting in a blind or stand to deliver the shot. We have still concealed the way that we got the deer within range to place the kill shot.
Does it make it more ethical simply because the deer is standing? I think not. If your meat hunting it doesn't matter if the deer is sitting on your sofa drinking your favorite beer. If you're a trophy hunter "horns are horns" so who cares if it was jumping a fence or taking a crap.
Why would you want to give your freezer full of meat a chance to run away? We are lucky enuff to have the freedom of choice & choices
lol I THINK we are being played here,it's also ethical to take a deer if he runs to hide in a thicket or a cave.
Without a shadow of a doubt I think it is ethical to shoot any animal out of its bed. It takes a skilled hunter to not alarm a wild animal or any sentinels or smaller game, be it rabbits grouse or even coyotes, that in turn give away your position. The only time I wait for the animal to rise is when stalking mulies on the prairie with my bow.
Last year I was blessed to have the opportunity to harvest a Booner Bighorn Sheep. Prior to th harvest my hunting partners and I experienced a physically grueling stalk and quite frankly at 295 years we were as close as we were going to get. This Ram was one of the smartest old warriors I had ever encountered and I chased him off and on for two days just trying to get a shot. Was it ethical to shoot him in his bed with a singular well placed shot to the lungs....certainly more ethical than wounding him because I waited for him to stand up would have been. For me, it's always about Fair Chase and the opportunity to harvest an animal anywhere in his natural habitat, be it bed, standing, or running....as long as it is a clean ethical kill.
I agree with you whole heartedly. That seems like the perfect stalk.
Considering how often vidoed hunts are over bait, or whatever else the deer are all nibbling on in the middle of a dry as dust dirt road, who cares what producers think? They don't exactly have the moral high ground.
My sincerest thanks and well wishes to Tred Barta for showing us something different for years.
I think the biggest problem with TV hunts is that there's no money to be had from companies whose deer lure you don't use. Of course I'm getting old and crotchety. I'll also sometimes put out a sent lure if I'm to be honest, but haven't yet this year and the late season is getting shorter.
This is the first time in nearly a half century of deer hunting I have ever heard of anyone questioning the taking of a deer in its bed. I came of age in an era of deer hunting where stalking and killing an un-alarmed animal was the mark of an incredibly skillful hunter.
Perhaps those who claim it unethical do not possess the skill required to find a deer in its bed and in order hide that lack of skill claim it to be against their ethics.
later,
charlie
As long as there is a clear shot I will shoot them in their bed, but if I need to wait for them to stand up to get a lethal shot I will do that as well.
Yes, without a second of hesitation (as long as I had a clear shot).
i have no qualms with taking a bedded animal.
which is more ethical? shooting over a feeder (or a road filled with corn) or taking a bedded animal? walking, running, standing, bedded, every game animal has the distinct advantage of us mere humans in its natural environment.
Andrew, I thought the point of still hunting was an encounter as you just described. My hopes in every situation is that the deer doesn't know I'm there. Count mine as a vote for this being ethical. And, kudos to you for being able to pull it off!
Still hunting or stalking, I think you can ethically shoot a deer in his bed. You have overcome his instincts and his senses and you deserve to take the shot.
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This is the first time in nearly a half century of deer hunting I have ever heard of anyone questioning the taking of a deer in its bed. I came of age in an era of deer hunting where stalking and killing an un-alarmed animal was the mark of an incredibly skillful hunter.
Perhaps those who claim it unethical do not possess the skill required to find a deer in its bed and in order hide that lack of skill claim it to be against their ethics.
later,
charlie
I agree with you whole heartedly. That seems like the perfect stalk.
Considering how often vidoed hunts are over bait, or whatever else the deer are all nibbling on in the middle of a dry as dust dirt road, who cares what producers think? They don't exactly have the moral high ground.
My sincerest thanks and well wishes to Tred Barta for showing us something different for years.
I think the biggest problem with TV hunts is that there's no money to be had from companies whose deer lure you don't use. Of course I'm getting old and crotchety. I'll also sometimes put out a sent lure if I'm to be honest, but haven't yet this year and the late season is getting shorter.
Last year I was blessed to have the opportunity to harvest a Booner Bighorn Sheep. Prior to th harvest my hunting partners and I experienced a physically grueling stalk and quite frankly at 295 years we were as close as we were going to get. This Ram was one of the smartest old warriors I had ever encountered and I chased him off and on for two days just trying to get a shot. Was it ethical to shoot him in his bed with a singular well placed shot to the lungs....certainly more ethical than wounding him because I waited for him to stand up would have been. For me, it's always about Fair Chase and the opportunity to harvest an animal anywhere in his natural habitat, be it bed, standing, or running....as long as it is a clean ethical kill.
Why would you want to give your freezer full of meat a chance to run away? We are lucky enuff to have the freedom of choice & choices
Still hunting or stalking, I think you can ethically shoot a deer in his bed. You have overcome his instincts and his senses and you deserve to take the shot.
Without a shadow of a doubt I think it is ethical to shoot any animal out of its bed. It takes a skilled hunter to not alarm a wild animal or any sentinels or smaller game, be it rabbits grouse or even coyotes, that in turn give away your position. The only time I wait for the animal to rise is when stalking mulies on the prairie with my bow.
I only wish that I was good enough to sneak up on a deer to shoot it bedded down. That is the ultimate in being a GREAT HUNTER. I hunt for the meat, so like was said I want a clean kill shot. What is the difference than sitting in a blind or stand to deliver the shot. We have still concealed the way that we got the deer within range to place the kill shot.
I do not rely on the hunting shows to tell me what is ethical or moral. That is between me and my conscience. If it was a free ranging animal during a designated season and I put in all of the "leg work" to get to the point of pulling the trigger I would shoot an animal standing on it's head if I felt it was a good shot.
I want my game to be as still as possible when I squeeze the trigger. I don't think they can get more immobile than laying down.
i dont even know why this is being debated...
your telling me that if i have the skill to stalk up on something so skillfully that its not alerted at all and remains bedded that its unethical to shoot it?
that is 100% ridiculous...
Andrew, I thought the point of still hunting was an encounter as you just described. My hopes in every situation is that the deer doesn't know I'm there. Count mine as a vote for this being ethical. And, kudos to you for being able to pull it off!
i have no qualms with taking a bedded animal.
which is more ethical? shooting over a feeder (or a road filled with corn) or taking a bedded animal? walking, running, standing, bedded, every game animal has the distinct advantage of us mere humans in its natural environment.
As long as there is a clear shot I will shoot them in their bed, but if I need to wait for them to stand up to get a lethal shot I will do that as well.
lol I THINK we are being played here,it's also ethical to take a deer if he runs to hide in a thicket or a cave.
Does it make it more ethical simply because the deer is standing? I think not. If your meat hunting it doesn't matter if the deer is sitting on your sofa drinking your favorite beer. If you're a trophy hunter "horns are horns" so who cares if it was jumping a fence or taking a crap.
if I had a clear shot at the vitals, definitely.
Ethical!
in a boxing match do i have to wait for an opponent to get in a defensive position before the upper cut ?
in fact i cannot wait for the day i sneak up on a big ol' buck in the rain/snow and make a hell of a shot on him.....will be the biggest hunting accomplishment ever
from jhorton "I do not rely on the hunting shows to tell me what is ethical or moral." Agreed...
I feel it is 100% ethical. i would rather make a kill shot on an animal that is completly comfortable and happy than one who is scared and tense.
Yes, without a second of hesitation (as long as I had a clear shot).
I would put this in the same category as insisting on "flushing" a turkey in order to call it fair chase. Considering the amount of effort it takes to get the opportunity I think it's just as humane to shoot a deer in its bed as any other location and I'm sure the meat will feed you just as well. I'd prefer to do that than try to "jump shoot" the deer and take a chance of injuring instead of killing it.
Have done it and would do it again if the shot was offered to me
Many years ago I was looking for a doe during the gun season for the freezer, so I walked some standing corn on a windy day. I ended up spotting one several rows ahead of me with its head down. I was able to walk right up to it as it slept. I could of touched it with my barrel but I couldn't pull the trigger on it.
Dead is dead, just as long as it is a quick death...
Absolutely! I've been fortunate enought to harvest several deer in their beds. It's of one of the best feelings you can get when you've outdone a buck or a smart old doe.
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