- Joined
- Nov 25, 2005
- Messages
- 412
One year, I decided to take the wild taste out of venison, so instead of hunting I decided to rope a deer, put it in a stall and feed it corn for a couple of weeks, then slaughter it and have tasty venison for the rest of the year.
The following is my account of this effort: The first step was to get a deer. I figured since they gather at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me, it would be easy to capture one alive. I filled the cattle feeder, then hid down at the end with my rope. In about 20 minutes several deer showed up. I stepped out and lassoed one of the deer, it just stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted and twisted it so I could get a good hold on the deer. The deer remained still, but I could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step toward the deer, it took a step back. I put a little tension on the rope, thats when my education began.
LESSON #1
While a deer may just stand there when you rope it, it will be spurred into action when you actually start pulling on the rope. In other words, that deer exploded.
LESSON #2
Pound for pound a deer is much stronger than a cow or a colt. I had no chance with that deer, there was no controlling and certainly no getting close to it. It jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground. Thats when I learned that roping a deer was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined.
LESSON #3
Deer do not have as much stamina as other animals do. After 10 minutes it was tired. I managed to get up, although I didnt realize it at first, I had blood flowing out of a big gash in my forehead that was blinding me. I also had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. All I wanted to do was get that devil creature off the end of that rope. If I let the deer go with the rope hanging from its neck it would probably die a slow and painful death. It may have been my fault for getting myself into this fix but at that moment I hated that deer and I bet it hated me too. In addition to the gash in my head I had several large knots where I had arrested the deers momentum by my head banging against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground. I managed to get the animal lined back up in between my truck and the feeder and I prepared to remove the rope.
LESSON #4
Deer bite. Its not like being bite by a horse. A horse bites down and lets go. A deer bites and hangs on, shaking its head. IT HURTS. I probably should have tried a slow withdrawal, but instead I tried screaming and shaking. My method was ineffective. Being smarter than a deer (stop laughing) I decided to trick the deer. While it kept busy tearing the stuffing out of my right arm, I reached up with my left and pulled the rope loose.
LESSON #5
Deer strike with there hooves. They rear up on their back legs and whack away at the offending target with sharp instruments of destruction. When a horse strikes with its hooves and there is no ready escape, its best to avoid any loud noises and aggressive moves. Livestock will usually back down enough to allow an escape. Since this was not a horse a different strategy occurred to me. So I screamed hysterically like a toddler while trying to run away.
LESSON #6
Never turn your back on an enraged deer. Theyre twice as strong and three times as evil than a horse. When my back was turned it kicked me in the back of my head knocking me to the ground and then it didnt leave! Perhaps it didnt recognize danger had passed or maybe it was having fun jumping up and down on my back while I wailed like an infant and cowered in the dirt. After what seemed like hours, I managed to crawl under the truck. The devil creature ambled back into the woods. So now I know why deer hunters go into the woods with rifle and scope. Its so they can be somewhat equal to their prey.
The following is my account of this effort: The first step was to get a deer. I figured since they gather at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me, it would be easy to capture one alive. I filled the cattle feeder, then hid down at the end with my rope. In about 20 minutes several deer showed up. I stepped out and lassoed one of the deer, it just stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted and twisted it so I could get a good hold on the deer. The deer remained still, but I could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step toward the deer, it took a step back. I put a little tension on the rope, thats when my education began.
LESSON #1
While a deer may just stand there when you rope it, it will be spurred into action when you actually start pulling on the rope. In other words, that deer exploded.
LESSON #2
Pound for pound a deer is much stronger than a cow or a colt. I had no chance with that deer, there was no controlling and certainly no getting close to it. It jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground. Thats when I learned that roping a deer was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined.
LESSON #3
Deer do not have as much stamina as other animals do. After 10 minutes it was tired. I managed to get up, although I didnt realize it at first, I had blood flowing out of a big gash in my forehead that was blinding me. I also had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. All I wanted to do was get that devil creature off the end of that rope. If I let the deer go with the rope hanging from its neck it would probably die a slow and painful death. It may have been my fault for getting myself into this fix but at that moment I hated that deer and I bet it hated me too. In addition to the gash in my head I had several large knots where I had arrested the deers momentum by my head banging against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground. I managed to get the animal lined back up in between my truck and the feeder and I prepared to remove the rope.
LESSON #4
Deer bite. Its not like being bite by a horse. A horse bites down and lets go. A deer bites and hangs on, shaking its head. IT HURTS. I probably should have tried a slow withdrawal, but instead I tried screaming and shaking. My method was ineffective. Being smarter than a deer (stop laughing) I decided to trick the deer. While it kept busy tearing the stuffing out of my right arm, I reached up with my left and pulled the rope loose.
LESSON #5
Deer strike with there hooves. They rear up on their back legs and whack away at the offending target with sharp instruments of destruction. When a horse strikes with its hooves and there is no ready escape, its best to avoid any loud noises and aggressive moves. Livestock will usually back down enough to allow an escape. Since this was not a horse a different strategy occurred to me. So I screamed hysterically like a toddler while trying to run away.
LESSON #6
Never turn your back on an enraged deer. Theyre twice as strong and three times as evil than a horse. When my back was turned it kicked me in the back of my head knocking me to the ground and then it didnt leave! Perhaps it didnt recognize danger had passed or maybe it was having fun jumping up and down on my back while I wailed like an infant and cowered in the dirt. After what seemed like hours, I managed to crawl under the truck. The devil creature ambled back into the woods. So now I know why deer hunters go into the woods with rifle and scope. Its so they can be somewhat equal to their prey.
