Ruling on hunting with a rifle

If I shoot a deer by a bullet fired from a rifle, and the deer dies is it Halal? if not what is the method to hunt by a rifle so that the animal is Halal?.

Praise be to Allaah.

If you shoot the deer with the rifle and mention the name of Allaah, and hit the deer, and it dies from that shot, then it is halaal and it is permissible to eat it. If you catch up with it when it is still alive, it is essential that you slaughter it properly. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Are the birds that we shoot with rifles and they died halaal or not? We find that some birds that we shoot have died before we can say the name of Allaah over them. 

He replied: 

Yes, if you shoot a rifle when hunting birds or rabbits or deer, and you say the name of Allaah when pulling the trigger, then it will be halaal, even if you find it already dead, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whatever causes the blood to flow and the name of Allaah has been mentioned over it, then eat.” And he said: “If you release your (hunting) dog and mention the name of Allaah over it, then eat.” But if it is still alive and able to move then you must slaughter it properly and mention the name of Allaah over it when slaughtering it. If you do not do that and it dies, then it becomes haraam for you. But attention must be paid to mentioning the name of Allaah when pulling the trigger, because if you do not mention the name of Allaah then it is haraam to eat it, even if you forget, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whatever causes the blood to flow and the name of Allaah has been mentioned over it, then eat.” And he said: “Do not eat of that over which the name of Allaah has not been mentioned.” End quote from Fataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb. 

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Is it sufficient for me to say Bismillaah wa Allaahu akbar when inserting bullets into the rifle when hunting, or must I mention the name of Allaah when pulling the trigger of the rifle? 

He replied:

What you must do is mention the name of Allaah when shooting, and it is not sufficient to mention the name of Allaah when putting the bullets into the rifle, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When you shoot your arrow, then mention the name of Allaah” (saheeh – agreed upon, from the hadeeth of ‘Adiyy ibn Haatim (may Allaah be pleased with him); this version was narrated by Muslim). End quote from Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz (23/91). 

And Allaah knows best.