buck460XVR
New member
The spirit of this thread is to limit the deer's suffering or for that matter, any animal.
I was under the impression from the question asked in the OP, that the thread was about the legality of using a .22 RF to Finish a deer, i.e.......
Our big game regulations forbid any rimfire use for deer, antelope, etc. I couldn't find anything in the regs whether using a 22lr to finish off a deer, for instance would be kosher.
Is there anyone here whose state's game regulations spell this out?
Any legitimate hunter/sportsman or any human with healthy moral values is not going to want a animal to suffer. In the case of the OP and many of us other deer hunters we already have a legal way to do that...our primary hunting weapon. The idea to use a .22 comes from saving a few cents on the ammo, or just for the kick of shooting something with it. While many claim the former, I think the majority do it for the latter. I am impressed with the responses to this thread, because most of the time, whenever this question comes up, there is always one or two that boast about using the .22RF regardless of it's legality. Kudos to the responses so far for not going there.
BTW...I too am one with the mindset if I can get up behind a deer's ear to shoot it in the head with a .22, I can also cut it's throat with a good knife just as quickly, humanely and safely. My grandpa taught me half a century ago. As for legal, it has been explained to me by the local warden as just a process of field dressing the deer, AKA, bleeding it out. Where-as finishing it off with a weapon not legal for the season is still poaching. Same goes for using a firearm to finish a wounded animal off outside of legal hunting hours or one injured by a car/deer collision. While it may seem to be the obvious ethical and humane thing to do, unless instructed to do so by a LEO or warden, it is still illegal and punishable by law.