Robin1
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How to rope a deer....
By an anonymous Gentleman Rancher
I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall,
feed It up on corn for a several weeks, then kill it and eat it. The
First step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that since they
Congregated at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of
Me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff
At the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away)
That it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a
Bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it
home.
I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope.
The cattle, who had seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They
Were not having any of it. After about 20 minutes my deer showed
up...3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the
Feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at
Me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I
Would have a good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was
Mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards it.
It took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope and received
An education.
The first thing that I learned is that while a deer may just stand
There looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action
When you start pulling on the rope. That deer EXPLODED!
The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT
Stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range
I could fight down with a rope with some dignity. A deer, no chance.
That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no
Controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me
Off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to
Me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I
Originally imagined. The only up side is that they do not have as
Much stamina as some animals. A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and
not nearly as quick to Jerk me off my feet and drag me. It took me a few
minutes to realize This, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out
of the big gash In my head, but I then managed to get up.
Right at that point I had lost my taste for corn fed venison. I just
Wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope. I
Figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would
Likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no
Love at all between me and that evil deer. At that moment, I hated the
Thing and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. Despite the
Gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested
the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it
dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize
that there was a small chance that I shared some
Tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in, so I Didn't
Want the deer to have to suffer a slow death.
I managed to get it lined up to back in between my truck and the
Feeder...a little trap I had set beforehand. Kind of like a squeeze
Chute. I got it to back in there and started moving up so I could get my
Rope back.
Did you know that deer bite? THEY DO! I never in a million years
Would have thought that a deer would bite somebody so I was very surprised
When I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold
Of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where
They just bite you and then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its
Head...almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts. The
Proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back
Slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective. It
seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely
only several seconds.
I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that
Claim by now) tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the bejesus out of
My right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.
That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.
Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on
Their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and
Their hooves are surprisingly sharp. I learned a long time ago that
When an animal like a horse strikes at you with their hooves and you
Can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud
Noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually
Cause them to back down a bit so you can escape. This was not a horse.
This was a deer, so such trickery did not work. In the course of a
Millisecond I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried
to turn and run. The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run
from a horse that paws at You is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of
The head.
Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being
Twice as strong and three times as evil, because the second I turned to
run,it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.
Now when a deer paws at you and knocks you down it does not
Immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed.
What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you
While you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your
Head. I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went
away.
Now for the local legend. I was pretty beat up. My scalp was split
Open, I had several large goose eggs, my wrist was bleeding pretty
Good and felt broken (it turned out to be just badly bruised) and my back
Was bleeding in a few places, though my insulated canvas jacket had
Protected me from most of the worst of it. I drove to the nearest
Place, which was the co-op. I got out of the truck, covered in blood
And dust and looking like heck. The guy who ran the place saw me
Through the window and came running out yelling "Oh my God, What
happened ?"
Now, I have never seen any law in the state of Texas that would
Prohibit an individual from roping a deer. I suspect that this is an area
That they have overlooked entirely. Probably because they didn't think anyone
would be stupid enough to try. And knowing, as I do, the lengths to which law
enforcement personnel will go to exercise their power, I was concerned that they
may find a way to twist some existing laws to Paint my actions as criminal.
I swear....not wanting to admit that I had done something
Monumentally stupid played no part in my response. I told him "I was attacked by
A deer." I did not mention that at the time It had my rope on it. The
Evidence was all over my body. Deer prints on the back of my jacket
Where it had stomped all over me and a large deer print on my face
Where it had struck me. I asked him to call somebody to come get me...I
Didn't think I could make it home on my own. So he did. Later that
Afternoon, a game warden showed up at my house and wanted to know
About the deer attack.
Surprisingly, deer attacks are a rare thing and Parks & Wildlife was
Interested in the event. I tried to describe the attack as completely
And accurately as I could ...... "Well, I was just filling the grain hopper and
this deer came out of nowhere and started kicking the heck out of me and BIT me!
It was obviously rabid or insane or something!"
EVERYBODY for miles around now knows about the deer attack (the guy
At the co-op has a big mouth). For several weeks people dragged their
Kids into the house when they saw deer around and the local ranchers
Carried rifles when they filled their feeders. I have told several people
The story, but NEVER anybody around here. I have to see these people
Everyday and as a relative outsider ( "gentleman rancher/city folk" some
Say)...I have enough trouble fitting in without them snickering behind
My back and whispering "There's the dumb-a** that tried to rope the
deer !!".
By an anonymous Gentleman Rancher
I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall,
feed It up on corn for a several weeks, then kill it and eat it. The
First step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that since they
Congregated at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of
Me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff
At the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away)
That it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a
Bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it
home.
I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope.
The cattle, who had seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They
Were not having any of it. After about 20 minutes my deer showed
up...3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the
Feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at
Me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I
Would have a good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was
Mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards it.
It took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope and received
An education.
The first thing that I learned is that while a deer may just stand
There looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action
When you start pulling on the rope. That deer EXPLODED!
The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT
Stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range
I could fight down with a rope with some dignity. A deer, no chance.
That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no
Controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me
Off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to
Me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I
Originally imagined. The only up side is that they do not have as
Much stamina as some animals. A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and
not nearly as quick to Jerk me off my feet and drag me. It took me a few
minutes to realize This, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out
of the big gash In my head, but I then managed to get up.
Right at that point I had lost my taste for corn fed venison. I just
Wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope. I
Figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would
Likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no
Love at all between me and that evil deer. At that moment, I hated the
Thing and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. Despite the
Gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested
the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it
dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize
that there was a small chance that I shared some
Tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in, so I Didn't
Want the deer to have to suffer a slow death.
I managed to get it lined up to back in between my truck and the
Feeder...a little trap I had set beforehand. Kind of like a squeeze
Chute. I got it to back in there and started moving up so I could get my
Rope back.
Did you know that deer bite? THEY DO! I never in a million years
Would have thought that a deer would bite somebody so I was very surprised
When I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold
Of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where
They just bite you and then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its
Head...almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts. The
Proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back
Slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective. It
seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely
only several seconds.
I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that
Claim by now) tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the bejesus out of
My right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.
That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.
Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on
Their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and
Their hooves are surprisingly sharp. I learned a long time ago that
When an animal like a horse strikes at you with their hooves and you
Can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud
Noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually
Cause them to back down a bit so you can escape. This was not a horse.
This was a deer, so such trickery did not work. In the course of a
Millisecond I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried
to turn and run. The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run
from a horse that paws at You is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of
The head.
Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being
Twice as strong and three times as evil, because the second I turned to
run,it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.
Now when a deer paws at you and knocks you down it does not
Immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed.
What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you
While you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your
Head. I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went
away.
Now for the local legend. I was pretty beat up. My scalp was split
Open, I had several large goose eggs, my wrist was bleeding pretty
Good and felt broken (it turned out to be just badly bruised) and my back
Was bleeding in a few places, though my insulated canvas jacket had
Protected me from most of the worst of it. I drove to the nearest
Place, which was the co-op. I got out of the truck, covered in blood
And dust and looking like heck. The guy who ran the place saw me
Through the window and came running out yelling "Oh my God, What
happened ?"
Now, I have never seen any law in the state of Texas that would
Prohibit an individual from roping a deer. I suspect that this is an area
That they have overlooked entirely. Probably because they didn't think anyone
would be stupid enough to try. And knowing, as I do, the lengths to which law
enforcement personnel will go to exercise their power, I was concerned that they
may find a way to twist some existing laws to Paint my actions as criminal.
I swear....not wanting to admit that I had done something
Monumentally stupid played no part in my response. I told him "I was attacked by
A deer." I did not mention that at the time It had my rope on it. The
Evidence was all over my body. Deer prints on the back of my jacket
Where it had stomped all over me and a large deer print on my face
Where it had struck me. I asked him to call somebody to come get me...I
Didn't think I could make it home on my own. So he did. Later that
Afternoon, a game warden showed up at my house and wanted to know
About the deer attack.
Surprisingly, deer attacks are a rare thing and Parks & Wildlife was
Interested in the event. I tried to describe the attack as completely
And accurately as I could ...... "Well, I was just filling the grain hopper and
this deer came out of nowhere and started kicking the heck out of me and BIT me!
It was obviously rabid or insane or something!"
EVERYBODY for miles around now knows about the deer attack (the guy
At the co-op has a big mouth). For several weeks people dragged their
Kids into the house when they saw deer around and the local ranchers
Carried rifles when they filled their feeders. I have told several people
The story, but NEVER anybody around here. I have to see these people
Everyday and as a relative outsider ( "gentleman rancher/city folk" some
Say)...I have enough trouble fitting in without them snickering behind
My back and whispering "There's the dumb-a** that tried to rope the
deer !!".
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