Even if atlasman was right, the wayhe is desperatly trying to make his point worthwhile with his three hundred quotes, smart remarks and constant bashing makes it no more credible than a 5 year old which is how he is responding, good lord. The guy made 2 mistakes, he knows what he did wrong, let him use the boards for educational purposes which is part of what its for, not to demeanor the guy, belittle him, etc ... yeah he could have mortally wounded an animal, get over it, its hunting, it happens, the foxes, coyotes, buzzards have to eat and most deer populations are out of control anyhow, so thisbuck wont die starving in the winter, getting mauled alive by wolves or coyotes,or laying in a ditch with a broken back after being plowed by avehicle. Maybe if you help the guy go over what he did wrongthen next timeit wont happen.

You can qoute me here atlasman since you are so good at it and seem to really get a thrill doing it... Its a good thing atlasman hasNEVER made a mistake, thats why he can bash on others that have.

cmcat50 all I can say is we ALL make mistakes (except atlasman obviously), you realized what you did wrong, use it for a learning experience and keep looking, look along creeks nearby, look for turkey buzzards, follow the trail he was using after he was hit or go the direction he was heading for a mile ifyou have to, spend a few afternoons looking, thats the ethical thing to do bud.

Nothing to see here people, move along!!!

Neck shots.....they either,

1. Pile up on the spot (spine)
2. Bleed like hell for less than 100 yds then pile up (jugular/esophagus)
3. Bleed like hell for over 100 yds, never to be seen again (flesh wound)

That's it, no other options.

I stupidly shot a deer in the neck on purpose in my early years of bowhunting. Blood trailed her over 150 yds then nothing. We saw her three days later with a big, crusty scab on her neck, healthy as a horse.

So, what have we learned here?

Stay calm. Don't get buck fever. Don't rush your shot.

After you make the shot give the deer plenty of time to expire before the recovery effort.

After you've given the deer ample time to expire never give up until you find it.

If you don't find it then don't come on this forum and ask for help from more experienced hunters unless you want to be gut shot and burned in he!! from certain people.

A new word. (doltish)

There are some hunters that really do want to help although they don't agree with the bad decisions that were made in the heat of the moment.

They will admit that any advice given won't be as good as the lesson you've learned from this experience.

It takes a lot of guts to admit when you're wrong. If something like this were to happen to me, this board would be the last place I'd come for help. Try to stay positive and keep looking.

atleast he admits his mistakes unlike most people?

Also learned if I ever make a bad shot don't mention it here on this forum. If you bowhunt you will eventually make bad shot. I shot a deer a couple years ago and really thought it was a good shot but it wasn't. Recovered the deer but the angle wasn't like I thought.

atlasman...when I started hunting there where not any hunter education classes. No one in my family deer hunted. Everything I learned has been from personal experience. When I shot the doe in the neck I didn't know that wasn't a good shot. I have since taken 42 deer with my bow. I feel I'm a good hunter now but getting to this point didn't happen overnight. I don't know how long you have hunted or how many deer you've killed but I'm curious if you have made mistakes at anytime since you've deer hunted. Some hunters are better than others but I know guys that have hunted for years that still get so nervous that they can hardly make the shot. It's also not how long you've hunted but how many encounters you have. You can hunt 10 years andkill one deeror hunt one year and kill 10 deer. I think you'll learn more in the one year. I have no sympathy for the guys that pick up their bow for the first time the day season comes in and then makes a bad hit because he has not shot his bow all year. However if a guy is making an effort to do his best and he is lacking experience then I can overlook some things.I guess I would rather try and encourage someone to do better than to talk to him like a child and embarrass him into change.

cmscat50, I believe that you are toa gooddegree, sorry for your lack of judgment. However, defending yourself from atlasman's or anyone'sobservations/comments for that matter only go to counterbalance your remorse. I can't offer you any advice on how to recover your buck since I'm a new bowhunter but I can suggest that you just take everything said here like a man and learn from it. 150 times in the woods makes you no rookie. What you did was extremely unintelligent, especially for a seasoned hunter. It is inexcusable. Just nod your head and continue to offer your apologies, not to us but to the animal and mother nature. I'm sure you agreethat doing so has to be a thousand times easier than what the animal is going or went through.

atlasman, your approach and choice of words was a bit harsh but I do feel as you do. All the "candy coating" and "pats on the back" have to stop in this country. It's bad enough we're teaching our children that failure is ok, now we're reciprocating it with other adults too? I think wemust put a stop to this perpetual motion and quit raising new generations of excuse makers. Doing wrong is only excusable when you don't know any better i.e a child or in this case, rookie hunter.And sorry doesn't make it okay or better.If this were a thread about a guy not being sure of his target and rushed his shotonly tomistakenly hita hiker would we be so forgiving?

A life is a lifeeven if a deer's.So if you're going to take one, try your best to make sure as much of it as possible ends up on dinner plates and not in a swamp somewhere. Be safe everyone, and cmscat50 get a hold ofa tracking dog.

[quote]ORIGINAL: atlasman


Lighten Up Frances!


Really, There is a positive. The guy screwed up, he knows it, we ALL know it now!!! So he takes this experience, remembers it, and does not ever do it again. When he takes his sons and grandsons hunting, he will remind them of his experience, and more will learn from his mistake.

Good luck, I hope you find him. At least next time I think it will be easier to do the right thing. With all the heat you are getting.

cmscat50, I'm really sorry for ya and I'm not trying to single you out.

That being said, I am sick and tired of these kind of posts. I'm all for helping out a hunter, but it upsets me that so many bowhunters exercise such poor judgment. Poor judgment in hunt planing, shot selection, follow-up and tracking, etc. etc. Bottom line, if you can't exercise a little will power and suppress the feelings of excitement, you really shouldn't be hunting period... IMO...