Last year, I lost the first deer I ever shot at with a bow, and it was a sickening feeling. Broadside, 20 yds, the shot was high and left, with about 8 inches of penetration. I must have struck the shoulder bone. I bloodtrailed for 3 days and finally lost all sign. I hope it never happens again.

Others have mentioned we shouldn' t talk about this, but as soon as we start acting like we have something to hide, we are betraying our sport. These types of discussions can help others grow in their learning and understanding, including me, a fairly new bowhunter. The antis will be against us and try to destroy hunting no matter what we do, so lets focus on making ourselves better hunters.