I screwed up big

[preacherman76]

Hello everyone. Not sure if this belongs in this section, but, Well here goes. 
 

So yesterday was the last day of deer hunting for my area. I don’t much like going anymore. Probably wouldn’t at all but my youngest son got his license last year, so I took him out a few times. Made sure he understood the rules, and most importantly how to be safe. 
 

So yesterday he asks me to go out with him. I think about it for a second, and am all like he has been out a few times now. He’s learned a lot. There was no reason he couldn’t go out by himself. I was at his age. 
 

So I tell him he can go by himself. He was really excited. So I tell him if he gets one to call me, I’d meet him up there. Now he’s never shot a deer before. And as luck would have it, has never even seen a deer get shot before. 
 

About an hour and a half later he calls me. If you have ever been deer hunting before, you know that the first one you get is no small thing. The adrenaline rush that starts the moment you see the deer is crazy. You can hear your heart pounding in your ears. Takes a lot of focus to aim and fire. 
 

So when he called me his voice was shaking hard, and was on the verge of crying. He tells me he shot not one but two deer. They both ran off, so he knows to not track them down for 20 minutes to a half hour, so they don’t run further than you’d want them to. 
 

So I get up there, and we go back to the spot where he took his first shot. Then he tells me this story that I just can’t make any sense of. He says the deer was right off the main trail to his left. The deer stood maybe 20 yards from where he shot. Then he said he walked up the trail about 20 feet, and there just to the left of him was another deer, much closer than the first deer he shot. Said he lined up and shot that deer as well. by now he is crying. 
 

Thing is if you know anything about deer, there is no way in hell there was another one just standing there just 20 feet from where you just took a shot. Soon as that first shot goes off, any other deer in the surrounding area is out. 
 

So I don’t say this to him at first. We go back to where he took his first shot. He shows me exactly where the deer was standing. I walk over and there is nothing. No blood, no hair, nothing. Took a few minutes to really search for any signs a deer had been shot. Only thing there was spot where you can see the deer hauled ass out of there. 

So I tell him he must have missed the first one. So we go over to where he says he shot the second one, and there was no sign a deer had been there at all. 
 

Then he tells me after the first shot his heart was pumping so hard, that he felt like he was in a dream state. Was feeling almost like a fainting feeling. I believe the second deer he saw was never there at all. I think his adrenaline was pumping so hard That he hallucinated it. Scariest part is he took a shot at it. Shot at a deer that wasn’t there at all. 
 

I shouldn’t have let him go by himself. I should have kept going with him till he actually got his first one. It was just to much for him to handle emotionally by himself.
 

Can an adrenaline rush actually cause someone to hallucinate? Should I be considering not letting him hunt at all, ever? That could have been an extremely dangerous situation. I just thank God no one was hurt. 
 

He even said to me that night at home, now that he was calm and reflecting what had happened that maybe he didn’t really see that second deer at all. 
 

 

Edited December 9, 2024 by preacherman76

[Ell]

I did not read your tale beyond the first few lines.

It is my opinion that it is a lie from alpha to omega.

Edited December 9, 2024 by Ell

[eight bits]

Greetings, preacherman.

I don't hunt, but I believe what I've read about hunters having both physical and cognitive alterations at the crucial moment. I think it is reasonable to conclude that there was no second deer, and your son's description of his feelings sounds like he was predisposed to seeing a deer who wasn't there.

In my state, a hunter couldn't take that second deer by the same weapon type (bow, muzzle loader, regular firearms). I have always thought of that as a game management rule, but your story illustrates that there is a safety aspect, too. The 20-minute pause before tracking a wounded deer + no second target = 20 minutes to "cool down."

I know I could be wrong here, but I'd take this a teachable moment and a lesson to be learned. Beyond learning that lesson (find out what happened to a deer you've shot before shooting at another), I don;t think you have to supervise him every time or prevent him from going out at all.

Yes, this episode could have turned out very badly, but it didn't. Be glad of it, learn from it, and carry on. All IMO of course.

 

 

[+Desertrat56]

Weird things can  happen.  My grandson killed his first elk.  The first shot dropped the mother elk, but they were too far away to know that because the bullet went through the mother and hit the 2 year old, who ran off.   Everyone thought he had missed so he took another shot and killed the young one.  That is the one they claimed and only found out later from blowing up the video that the first shot was a kill.  Either way, the coyotes would have gotten one of them because the young one was wounded and would not have survived.   

My grandson was 13 and it was upsetting to him to kill the elk, but he also wants to go again next year.   

Edited December 9, 2024 by Desertrat56

[Guyver]

Thank goodness the “deer” wasn’t a person.  I know that buck fever is a real thing, but that generally causes a person so become so shaky they miss a shot.  I’ve never heard of it causing someone to hallucinate.  Since he was crying, he was obviously upset….but Preacherman you didn’t make a mistake.  He was old enough to go by himself and had the license.  But yes, the story is concerning.  Was he using an open sight 30/30?

[Guyver]

And let us remember the golden rule of hunting….one shot one kill.  If you don’t have a solid kill shot, don’t take the shot. The animal lives and you reposition.

[Guyver]

6 hours ago, preacherman76 said:

 

Hello everyone. Not sure if this belongs in this section, but, Well here goes. 
 

So yesterday was the last day of deer hunting for my area. I don’t much like going anymore. Probably wouldn’t at all but my youngest son got his license last year, so I took him out a few times. Made sure he understood the rules, and most importantly how to be safe. 

 

Thinking more about this….since your son was so emotionally upset by this event….I’m not sure he’s ready to be hunting by himself.

[preacherman76]

6 hours ago, eight bits said:

Greetings, preacherman.

I don't hunt, but I believe what I've read about hunters having both physical and cognitive alterations at the crucial moment. I think it is reasonable to conclude that there was no second deer, and your son's description of his feelings sounds like he was predisposed to seeing a deer who wasn't there.

In my state, a hunter couldn't take that second deer by the same weapon type (bow, muzzle loader, regular firearms). I have always thought of that as a game management rule, but your story illustrates that there is a safety aspect, too. The 20-minute pause before tracking a wounded deer + no second target = 20 minutes to "cool down."

I know I could be wrong here, but I'd take this a teachable moment and a lesson to be learned. Beyond learning that lesson (find out what happened to a deer you've shot before shooting at another), I don;t think you have to supervise him every time or prevent him from going out at all.

Yes, this episode could have turned out very badly, but it didn't. Be glad of it, learn from it, and carry on. All IMO of course.

 

 

Yeah I’m doing my best to not over react. Combine this with what happened a couple weeks ago at my house, I gotta say I’m paying close attention. The odds that they are related I think are slim though. 

[preacherman76]

7 hours ago, Ell said:

I did not read your tale beyond the first few lines.

It is my opinion that it is a lie from alpha to omega.

You find it hard to believe I have a son who went hunting? I mmm, ok. 

[Ell]

Just now, preacherman76 said:

You find it hard to believe I have a son who went hunting? I mmm, ok. 

I am incredulous that you let him go unaccompanied  on his first hunt. Who does that? Nobody.

[preacherman76]

3 hours ago, Guyver said:

Thank goodness the “deer” wasn’t a person.  I know that buck fever is a real thing, but that generally causes a person so become so shaky they miss a shot.  I’ve never heard of it causing someone to hallucinate.  Since he was crying, he was obviously upset….but Preacherman you didn’t make a mistake.  He was old enough to go by himself and had the license.  But yes, the story is concerning.  Was he using an open sight 30/30?

No he was using a mossberg 500 pump shotgun. Yeah I’m trying to not over react best I can. 

[preacherman76]

Just now, Ell said:

I am incredulous that you let him go unaccompanied  on his first hunt. Who does that? Nobody.

It wasn’t his first hunt. 

[preacherman76]

2 hours ago, Guyver said:

Thinking more about this….since your son was so emotionally upset by this event….I’m not sure he’s ready to be hunting by himself.

Yeah I will probably end up taking him till I know he can handle it. Won’t be till next year. Season is over now. 

[XenoFish]

3 hours ago, Guyver said:

And let us remember the golden rule of hunting….one shot one kill.  If you don’t have a solid kill shot, don’t take the shot. The animal lives and you reposition.

Shots? Bullets? Here I was using landmines.

[XenoFish]

9 minutes ago, preacherman76 said:

No he was using a mossberg 500 pump shotgun. Yeah I’m trying to not over react best I can. 

Why are you using a shotgun? Are you wanting to ruin the meat? 

[Guyver]

35 minutes ago, preacherman76 said:

No he was using a mossberg 500 pump shotgun. Yeah I’m trying to not over react best I can. 

Shotgun with slugs or 00 buck shot?

[Guyver]

27 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Why are you using a shotgun? Are you wanting to ruin the meat? 

Many people use shotguns on deer when the brush is really thick and a stand is not used.  If you’re walking through the bush and a deer bolts, you can get a shot off with the shotgun.  But I’m with you, I’m with one shot, one kill, save the meat.

[XenoFish]

16 minutes ago, Guyver said:

Many people use shotguns on deer when the brush is really thick and a stand is not used.  If you’re walking through the bush and a deer bolts, you can get a shot off with the shotgun.  But I’m with you, I’m with one shot, one kill, save the meat.

I know hunting. You hit the deer in an opening. Because if you're shooting through brush, you might shoot another hunter or a bear. Shotguns are for ducks, rifle for deer, hand grenades and rocket launchers for bear. 

Edited December 9, 2024 by XenoFish

[Buzz_Light_Year]

50 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Why are you using a shotgun? Are you wanting to ruin the meat? 

Illinois doesn't allow center fire rifles for deer hunting. So it's shotgun, muzzleloader, bow or pistol. Of course many are taken with the front end of your vehicle. 

[Guyver]

7 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

I know hunting. You hit the deer in an opening. Because if you're shooting through brush, you might shoot another hunter or a bear. Shotguns are for ducks, rifle for deer, hand grenades and rocket launchers for bear. 

I’d feel confident against a bear with a 12 gauge with slugs.  Outside of that yeah….mortars, grenade launchers lol. Grizzly I mean.  Black bear….yeah much less intimidating.

Edited December 9, 2024 by Guyver

[preacherman76]

2 hours ago, Guyver said:

Shotgun with slugs or 00 buck shot?

Slugs.

[preacherman76]

3 hours ago, XenoFish said:

Why are you using a shotgun? Are you wanting to ruin the meat? 

I’m a 3006 guy myself, but also grew up using shotgun. I gave him the choice, that’s what he picked. 

[Ell]

4 hours ago, preacherman76 said:

It wasn’t his first hunt. 

I apologize. I was too quick to dismiss your post.

[Tatetopa]

9 hours ago, XenoFish said:

Shots? Bullets? Here I was using landmines.

When you use explosives for fishing, the proper term is DuPont spinners.

[Tatetopa]

9 hours ago, preacherman76 said:

Yeah I will probably end up taking him till I know he can handle it. Won’t be till next year. Season is over now. 

Lucky maybe.  You probably already know how dangerous it is to shoot if you are not  certain what you see.  I think you did OK though.  Take him next time, but he will get over it and become a safe hunter in a season or two.    

A bunch of years ago, I was waiting for a buck and doe next to a game path.  The buck saw something (me, sitting on the ground) and stood up on his hind legs to get a better view with the doe by his side.  First time I had seen that in the woods.  I didn't shoot, just looked back. Never really wanted to shoot a deer or elk  afterwards, just because.  Sounds silly probably, I would if I were hungry, I never forgot that buck standing there, almost like he was ready to ask, "Who the hell are you? I have gone out since, even carried a gun a time or two, but I knew I was just there to look.