I've shot feral hogs with my crossbow, tracked them down, and then finished them off with a side arm if necessary. I'm thinking of trying deer hunting with my crossbow this year so I wanted to know how you handle a situation where you mortally wound a deer, track it down, and discover that is not dead; maybe nowhere close to dying. Do you stand around and let it expire, no matter how long it takes? Is it legal and/or ethical to finish it off with a gun shot to the head?

Archery season is Archery only for deer including finishing shots. Do not stand around waiting on the deer to die, during archery season put another arrow in it in the vitals.

Got it, kmon1! Thanks for the response. I dug around in the Regulations but never was able to come up with anything definitive like "archery only for deer including finishing shots."

Not sure you will see it there but that is a question you get at times, including in teaching hunters ed. As a game warden put it at the hunters ed instructor training class how does the warden know which came first the arrow or the bullet?

During archery season for game it is archery only for say deer and turkey in Texas and at one time there were strict regulations about guns in camp and in the field during archery season. With the feral hog population explosion a lot of rules have been written but for the game animals as far as I know the legal shooting devices for the season are the ones listed for that game animal durig that time an finishing shots are counted in that legal means as well.

Yep. Even if its located while still alive 31minutes after sunset, you HAVE to watch it suffer until it dies.

Just to chime in most of the time you can't get close enough to watch one die after being arrowed. If you get close enough to watch it die it will more than likely run off until it crashes and dies. Kevin was right, it your close enough to watch it die, put an arrow through his head!

I finish off deer with a knife, thats if its alive when I get to it.

If you hit it in the pump house like you should have
at the appropriate range for an archery shot, and the
bolt or arrow went completely through and through
like it will at the appropriate range, your deer shouldn't
be 40 yards away, and the spot where it was standing
should look like Camp Crystal Lake after Jason went
through.
I've only had to " finish one off " before, and it was
gun shot

Is it legal to finish off a deer with a knife in archery season?

Yes, you are allowed to field dress game animsls.

This is kind of a grey area that you need to talk to your local Game Warden about. We had a incident on our lease a few years ago where a hunter shot a buck and it got up and ran away right at dark. Based on his description of what happened we knew we were looking at a very alive deer needing at least one more shot past legal shooting time. I called our GW and he called me back explaining that he recognizes the difference between "hunting" and "trailing" after legal shooting time has expired. He basically said do what you have to do to recover the animal (within legal methods) but its best to tip him off first before you proceed to avoid any confusion and be sure the deer is leaving a blood trail so its clear what your intentions are. We now have another GW so I need to get his take on that same scenario.

And NO you can not finish a deer off with a side arm if its archery only season.

I like that answer.

I carry a "Rambo" Knife just to "Field Dress" deer from time to time.

During Archery Season you better NOT put a bullet in a deer. A game warden knows the difference between a gunshot and an arrow.

If you have to slice the deers throat with a knife, its not a big deal. Its got an arrow wound already and no "wild" deer is going to let you want up to it and cut its throat. Game Warden will not question you on how the deer died if it has a arrow wound and its field dressed. He will ask you for your license...

LOL

My understanding at least for tracking someone elses deer with my dog is, if you are tracking a fatally wounded deer it can be dispatched by the tracker (preferably someone different than the hunter to eliminate confusion) but you need to call the GW ahead of time and give him a heads up.

I think that is a great question and I have a similar concern. The thing that I am reading is the hog part not deer. I intend to go out archery hunting too. I intend to shoot a deer BUT I have a bunch of hogs on the place too and might arrow one if the opportunity presents itself or shoot a hog if they get a little too close for comfort.

I have no intention of using a firearm anyway on a deer, however, can I possess a firearm or even shoot a pig - a non game animal - with a firearm or to protect myself if I come into the wrong end of one during archery season? I hunt on the ground with few options of shimmying up a tree if I come sidewise of a hog.

Thanks a bunch and successful & safe hunting!

In my life I've killed more deer with a ball peen hammer to the head then I have with a rifle or a bow. I went to school in Michigan and vehicle strikes on deer are extremely common in upper Michigan. Most state troopers carry a hammer in their car to finish off deer that are hit by vehicles. It's also legal to keep an animal that was struck by a vehicle even outside of season. Here in Texas I would probably just use a knife.

You are allowed to hunt hogs with a gun during archery deer season. But you need to have a hunting license, i believe. When it isn't a big game season you can hunt hogs on your own property or on someone else's property without a license, but during a season you need to have the license.

Regarding finishing a deer, if you can get close enough to a struggling deer to watch it die, why wouldn't you put another arrow into it to speed the process up? Seems sometimes people get a little paralyzed in the moment of whats going on to think what needs to be done.

No you do not need a hunting license to hunt hogs any time of the year on private property with the landowners permission You can hunt hogs during archery season with a firearm and you do not need a license if you're on private property with the owners permission.