spryo, id have taken that shot at the caribou. without a doubt.

i about got shot a couple years back, me and a buddy were sneaking up on a nice whitetail buck. anyway, we were close, and he was about to jump a fence and be on the property we could hunt. these out of staters who were hunting with a local "guide" (and i use that term loosly) drove up, got out of their vehicle, got off the road to be legal and started shooting. their first bullet went directly over my left shoulder, nearly killing me. my buddy thought i was hit. nearly a tragic day.

now, what did the out of stater do wrong?

in this case nothing.

my buddy and i were sneaking through an irrigation ditch in the middle of this field to get at this buck. when we walked in it, it was about chest deep, and it was not plowed and planted like everything around it. there were weeds 3 feet high all along it. we had to sorta part the bushes to look out and see where we were at in coorelation to the buck. we were both wearing our blaze orange, but honestly there was no way in hell that guy could have seen us. i got lucky, plain and simple. after the first shot, we both hit the deck, where we were totally safe in the ditch. after the fact we even caught up with the other hunter and gave him a ride, and told him where we were when he shot. he was devastated, even though we both told him over and over it wasnt his fault. i have been to the spot where he shot from, and there was NO way he could have seen us there. this wasnt a skyline shot, or even a cant see my backstop shot, just nearly tragically bad luck.

i of course would never take a sky line shot here. i alway check my background before i shoot. but like spyro was saying, are we always DEAD sure of what is behind what were shooting at. i have shot deer in the trees. i could see what looked like my background, but what was really there? looking back, maybe that isnt always right either. i have heard my bullets ricochet. i believe we all need to do what we can to be safe,
and maybe that means holding off on some no brainer shots once in a while.

practice what i preach? i try, but again, im not infalable.