On the various hunting shows on African subjects, after the animal is "down," it seems traditional for the PH to take the muzzle of his rifle (at least on dangerous game) and poke the animal in its eye. I've not taken what is called "dangerous game" but have taken animals that could be dangerous if offended such as wildebeest and my PH never poked any of my animals in the eye.

It would also seem to me that:

1. If the animal is laying there and not breathing and apparently dead, why poke it in the eye? If you're not really sure it's dead, why not just shoot it again?

2. If the animal appears to be dead and is not dead and is dangerous, might not said animal be a little irritable if awakened by being poked in the eye?

3. If the animal woke up while being poked in the eye with a rifle barrel, would the poker have time to run away before being killed by the pokee?

I would like to know:

1. Do you or has your PH poked an apparently dead animal in the eye with the muzzle of a rifle? Have you done it with a handgun? Have you done it with your finger?

2. Are you aware of any case in which poking an apparently dead animal in the eye has saved anyone from being mauled or trampled?

If I'm not mistaken, any mammal, if its central nervous system is functioning (ie. it's alive) will blink reflexively if the eye is touched. Touching the eye is an easier way to verify that it's dead than going up and using a stethoscope to listen to heart!

Pete

corneal reflex in humans. Assume it is the same in most mammals since it is a lower brain function.

Talked to a hunter in Colorado one time who was taking a photograph of his brother-in-law and his trophy elk when the animal jumped up hooking the rifle sling on his antlers and ran off. Rifle and elk were never seen again. I've had apparently dead deer blink when poked in the eye. For the past 50 years I have always approached all down game from behind and poked their rear end with my foot, then poked their ribs, then touched the barrel to their eye. Always ready for a fast shot if an animal reacts. I have had to shoot several again. One bison turned his head and tried to get up when poked in the ribs, he was promptly shot in the neck. I always put in a coup de gras shot on dangerous game from close range before going any closer. Remember your betting your life that he's dead.

As posted by others above, if the brain is still working at all the eye will blink if the eye ball is touched, and the reason for touching the eye with the muzzle of the rifle is so the rifle can be fired if the animal reacts enough to start up!

Any animal that is wounded is dangerous to some degree, so caution is reccomended!

..........And that's the rest of the story!

knew a guy that had shot a buff. didn't check cause he knew it was dead. put his o/u 458 accross the horns and sat back for pictures. the buff got up all of a sudden and started off. he was able to grab the rifle and shoot it at 6" or so away

Even "non-dangerous" game can be dangerous--
a hunter in E. Texas was killed a couple of years back when the "dead" whitetail arose and gored him in the femoral and popliteal arteries.

Keep pokin' em in the eyes---

It costs nothing, takes less than 10 seconds and might save your nut sack or your life, I tend to value both (admittedly I'm trying to sell into a declining market ), so I do it if there is any doubt whatsoever.

You touch the eye, and if (when) it blinks you pull the trigger, thus guaranteeing that it won't blink again, while guaranteeing that you will not be the object of its wrath.

My kids poke me in the eye when I'm asleep all the time. It seldom wakes me up.

quote:

I've had apparently dead deer blink when poked in the eye. For the past 50 years I have always approached all down game from behind and poked their rear end with my foot, then poked their ribs, then touched the barrel to their eye.

The poke from the rear would seem to make more sense than a poke from the front where the horns or teeth are.

I also was 'taught to be cautious' and always approach all downed animals from behind. With dangerous game, I use the added precaution of having the tracker hit the animal a couple of times in the arse with stones from a catapult (singshot to you Americans). Then it's a toe in the ribs folowed by a toe in the neck before finally the touch in the eye from my rifle barrel. In all cases, if the animal so much as farts, it gets another bullet.

The only time this practice has (momentariy) failed for me was about 15 years ago when a cient shot a Lion in the Selous. I did all the usual things and got absolutely no response. I congratulated the client and then bent down and lifted one of the cat's eyeids to show the client how the membrane and eyelid worked and just for a second, the Lion's eye burned red with rage and regognition and I felt his whole body go tense before the final remnant of life left him for good.......... just for a moment there, I thought I'd had my chips.

just goes to show you to leave sleeping lions lie

I think the eye poke is a little overdone particularly on the videos and I for one can not figure out why they are doing it except for looks. The angle the eye poke is done from in most cases would not facilitate a quick coup de gras and in fact if the animal jumped up the eye poker might not be in a possition to finsh the animals at all. Personally I like to keep shooting until the animal surely is dead, then approach from the rear, poke the animals rear quarter and if the animals moves continue to apply bullets as necessary. Then try just touching the eye. In most cases this may not be necessary but mostly just part of the routine.

Mark

Just remember to poke dead aninals only in the eye, as live ones are apt to get pissed off.

Short of a stetescope and EKG, poking the eye is the only surefire way to know the animal is dead. Yes, kick the hidquarters, ribs etc., on your way toward the head, and if it still shows signs of life shoot it again immediately. I have seen a few animlas that did not respond to any amount of poking elsewhere, that were still capable of blinking. All were only seconds from expiring, but I have no need to pose with the animal or start skinning before he is truly dead. If non-dangerous and truly all but dead, I might even back off a few feet and let it expire peacefully, with my finger on the trigger just in case. It is a matter of respect, at least for me.

It is very good practice to poke the eye to confirm mortality.
It is worth remembering the famous quote, which if memory serves is from Ruark, "It is the Dead ones that kill you!"

Bill

1) So you don't put another hole in the hide or waste a $20 nitro express cartridge

2) Yes

3)No need. You just pull the trigger. Barrel is well positioned at this point.

1) Yes, no, only with small game

2) No

A poke in the eye is cheap (free) insurance, not to utilize it seems a bit dumb. If your ego can't allow you to do it well that's one method God can use to cull the gene pool.

I've done this with every big game I've ever shot, and will continue to do so. Like others have said, it's cheap insurance. It makes a lot more sense to err on the side of caution than to react like so many TV show hunters do, i.e. shooting once, watching the animal fall (which often takes long enough that a second shot could and should have been made) then turning away and starting the backslapping and congratulating, all the while shilling whatever gun/scope/bullet did the deed. I often wonder how many of them have returned their attention to the fallen animal only to find that it has disappeared!

No African experience at all....yet...

John

Always.

There is a video of a famous African PH (he's still active) and his client who has downed a bull Ele. The client and PH are busy glad handing each other a few feet away from the Ele head when a tracker touches the Ele eye with a stick and immediately gets a response. As the tracker yells a warning, the PH and client become nothing but ass and elbows trying to back away and get a rifle into play to deliver a coup de grace to the Ele head.

Always, because it ain't funny when it happens to you.

quote:

Originally posted by LionHunter:
Always.

There is a video of a famous African PH (he's still active) and his client who has downed a bull Ele. The client and PH are busy glad handing each other a few feet away from the Ele head when a tracker touches the Ele eye with a stick and immediately gets a response. As the tracker yells a warning, the PH and client become nothing but ass and elbows trying to back away and get a rifle into play to deliver a coup de grace to the Ele head.

Always, because it ain't funny when it happens to you.

I thought that was Gordan Cundell and PHC. Am I mistaken?

The one I refer to is active, so I will not identify him. May have happened to others as well.

Col. Negussie (PH in Ethiopia) has a picture of himself with a elephant he shot that he took with the self timing function with his camera propped in a tree. When he went back to collect the tusks the elephant was gone. Guess he should have poked it in the eye!

Rich Elliott

quote:

Originally posted by LionHunter:
Always.

There is a video of a famous African PH (he's still active) and his client who has downed a bull Ele. The client and PH are busy glad handing each other a few feet away from the Ele head when a tracker touches the Ele eye with a stick and immediately gets a response. As the tracker yells a warning, the PH and client become nothing but ass and elbows trying to back away and get a rifle into play to deliver a coup de grace to the Ele head.

Always, because it ain't funny when it happens to you.

There was a PH in the Capstick film Hunting The African Elephant in Namibia guiding a California hunter, that was in the process of measureing the exposed portion of the the tusks, when the tracker touched the eye of the ele, and when it blinked it was vacated very quickly, and the hunter then applied another round into the heart area of the chest of the ele, settleing thigs so the measurement could continue!