Yesterday, I passed up a shot on a beautiful 8 pointer. Got off of work at 5am and headed straight for my spot. No de-scenting or anything. I just wanted to hang my stand and be ready before light. Everything was perfect - the wind, the weather, and it was Saturday - the busiest day in the woods around here in PA. About 7:30, I hear something coming at about 80 yds. It' s a big buck and he' s coming straight for me. I didn' t know how straight until only moments later when he passed directly under my stand. He never veered off his course once. When he was at about 10 yds, I was sure he' d see me, but he didn' t. (I was up 18 feet). I mean, he passed within one foot of the tree I was in and walked straight away from me. He never turned once for a broad side - or even slightly broadside shot. I tried getting his attention with a bleat, but he didn' t even look back - just kept his head down, tail tucked, and kept going.

Now I know that people have taken deer with a straight down shot, but I read some stories about a void between the lungs where you can miss all vitals and lose the deer. I' ve learned the hard way about taking iffy shots. And besides I don' t know exactly where to aim in this situation. If I hit the spine, it would definitely take him down, but the spine is not a very wide target on a moving deer. If I miss the spine and hit one lung, I' d have a chance of recovering it, but I' m sure you' d agree there' s nothing more devastating than a double lung hit that drops a deer in less than 10 seconds.

Anyway, what I' m wondering is weather it would have been ethical to try this shot, or would I more than likely have wounded the deer and ended my season on a bad note trailing a bleeding deer into the next county?

Just wondering what other bowhunters think.....