by Ben Sobieck, online editor
An Indiana hunter died of liver lacerations after fighting hand-to-hoof with a buck he had shot, according to JournalGazette.net.
Paul J. Smith, of Fort Wayne, told his son via cell phone he killed the buck with a knife after seeing it was still alive following his shot. The tangle damaged his liver, according to an autopsy. Wildlife officials and first responders found Smith dead against a tree. He appeared to have bruises from the melee, but no punctures, according to the article.
When acute liver failure occurs in a rapid way, such as in Smith’s case, it can be swift and deadly. The Mayo Clinic associates symptoms of sleepiness and confusion with liver failure. That Smith was found seated against a tree suggests he experienced some measure of both before dying.
Incidents like this one are rare, yet reinforce how important it is to make sure a deer is dead before approaching it.
He probably had watched too many sportsmen shows where they don’t take precautions !
curse on the two capcha inventors !
I live in Indiana, so this article hit home with me. I’ve never known a hunter killed by a deer, but I have known two who made the same mistake the unfortunate man did. One wasn’t injured at all, but the other was knocked off his feet, and had a nasty bruise on his thigh from a kick.
A cautionary tale, indeed, and my thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Smith’s family.
Last year I had to kill a spike
Horn that got hit by a car and broke
His leg that was the hardest fight I
Have ever had it took 20minutes for him to die after. Cutting his throught
I seriously doubt this hunter died from liver failure, which typically is a chronic disease process that occurs over several weeks to months as a result of damage or toxins interfering with the cellular function of most or all of the liver. A laceration can only occur from trauma and the cause of death from a laceration would always be due to hemorrhage and shock from exsanguination (just like a deer shot in the liver). If there were no signs of trauma, it is curious as to how the lacerations occurred, but if the cause of death is liver failure, the deer didn’t cause it. (At least that’s my humble medical opinion…)
My sympathies go out to the family of Mr Smith. It is very unfortunate that this tragic event took place. There surely aren’t words to even begin to compare to the grief that is felt when a loved one tragically passes away, but please know that there is a family in Iowa praying for your family. God bless you.
Liver failure is NOT the same as liver lacerations. A liver laceration, or cut, is going to cause death by bleeding. Liver failure will cause a much slower death by buildup of body toxins that the liver normally neutralizes and eliminate. They are not the same. It sounds as if Paul bled to death, rather than had liver failure.
while I am sorry for the lose for the family . knowing we all die, as no one gets out alive. how lucky would you be to go out of life doing what you love! we never know when or how it will end. but if I have a choice the woods in the fall is good too me.think about it. its way better than getting hit by a bus
in most cases the buck was probably a pet at one time, and had lost the fear of humans, i have read and done some resurch on other type cases, check in the area where the man was killed, and you will probably find someone who had a deer pet, escape.
I am a former New York Stae Hunter Safety instructer. Even when I watch some of the so called professional hunting programs I see hunters approach their prey from the wrong direction. First, a hunter should wait a while before approaching a downed animal. Secondly, never approach a downed animal from the leg side. Always approach from the back side after poking the animal with a fairly large branch.
Old Pete Capstick used to say it’s the dead ones that will kill you. Sometimes people are to hung up on the "one shot kill". If the animal is suffering or the shot is marginal, shoot again
You’ve probably heard about the practice of slitting a deer’s throat in order to "finish it off." Tragedy can happen if you do that. If a deer isn’t dead, shoot it again.
Iam sorry for Mr Smith death and for his family but it shows us we all should be careful when walk on a dead deer after shot them.To make sure they are dead. My thought and preyers gos with his family.
So sorry to hear we have lost a brother hunter.
A 2nd shot from 10 feet will always be a safer bet than hand to hoof any day. Let us learn from a brother hunters mistake.
JTL
Seattle, Washington
shootthatdeerdon"tplaywithawildthingtheyfightback.pleasebecarefulinthewIld.
No matter what we think : We are not "Grizzly Adams " or " Jerimah Johnson" Be careful we lose too many good people to preventable accidents.
Let us keep his family in our thoughts and prayers. So sad and near the Holidays increases the sadness of losing a family member. God bless to a fellow hunter down.
Our prayers for the family.I have yet to shot my 1st whitetail but I will be extra careful when I do, a heads up to all the hunters out there.
i have had the same experiance with deer shot in the neck it breaks it but does not kill it. i go around the deer towards his back and stab it in the lungs with a knife. myself and alot of other friends do the same thing. but i always keep the rifle or 44mag in hand just incase.
I would say a knife against a buck, wounded or not is not an even fight. So sorry for Mr. Smith…
It’s tragic to be sure, but one more slug only costs pennies. It’s almost happened to two friends of mine, they thought it was dead but it was only stunned, they both had tried to knife them. (Deer won both times) I just can’t understand why you would approach a downed deer without carrying your weapon. If it’s breathing… Bang! One more to the neck, chest, head… wherever, problem solved.