oldsmellhound

Sylvan, I agree that more often than not, a deer that is alive 30 minutes or 1 hour after being shot was hit poorly. I would say that 95% of non-recovered deer or deer recovered after a long tracking process were not hit ideally (i.e. 1-lung hit, liver, gut etc.). I agree that as hunters we need to be very proficient with whatever weapon we use in order to kill deer quickly and humanely. But, from my experience and from talking to many other hunters, there are always exceptions. Sometimes the arrow looks like it hit perfectly, but for some unknown reason, misses vital organs. I think we need to keep this in mind and not automatically assign blame to the hunter that doesn't recover a deer for being a poor shot. I think most of us have been there- losing or almost losing a deer, and I think if we are honest with ourselves, we can say whether it was our fault or not. I personally have lost 2 deer, and I can honestly say that both were my fault- poor shot placement which I have no excuse for. It makes me want to practice as much as possible to become a better shot, and then not take shots that are out of my comfort zone.