I guess i am an idiot for loosing a deer,but my question is,out of the bowhunters on this site how many that have been bowhunting for awhile have gotten 100% of there deer and never had a bad shot.Remember that even after drivers safety courses and drivers license test there are still accidents,by all parties,i guess maybe some will even push for hunting lawers.

PA.Hunter I agree with you and sometimes I wonder if some of these people are really hunters and if so how many deer they have taken. Hunt long enough and you will loose one,hunt for only hugh bucks and you will not eat a lot of venison.

No you are not an idiot, it happens, I have only bow hunted for 3 seasons, taken 2 shots, one a clean miss and the other a kill, I hope I never lose one, but it could happen and I will never get on someone for losing on unless it was a hail mary shot, I will offer suggestions to either help find the deer or what may prevent it from happening again, but that is it. I have hunted deer for over 35 years with gun, but only 3 with bow, I have a lot to learn yet, as a matter of fact when I feel I can't learn any more is when I will quit. Don't beat yourself up over this, it happens, I have seen some of the best on this board lose one, or finally find it but long after it was good to eat, they shared the story to help others try not to repeat what happened to them.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

Well...I'm still 0-0 with my bow. I haven't shot one with it yet, but with guns, I'm 100%. 4/4 I'm sure most people here probably aren't 100%. Sometimes bad things just happen.

"If a lie is repeated often enough, the gullible public will eventually believe it." -- Paul Joseph Goebbels (Chief Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda for Adolph Hitler)

I feel your pain. Everyone that has been bowhunting has experienced failure such as yours. It's just practice and waiting for the right shot that puts the odds in your favor. Keep your head up and get back out there this weekend. See ya.

Bob

Hunting the wilds of Jersey

Loosing a deer does not make anyone an idiot. It is something that just happens. I would call someone an idiot if they don't make an honest effort to track their wounded deer. The true idiots are the pumpkin heads that shoot at everything that moves. Rifle season opens on Saturday here and I'm ready to duck and cover.
MissouriTrapper

I assume this is in response to the other topic on idiots.

I have hunted deer for 18 years with 6 being bow. I have not lost one with the bow, (knocking on wood) but have lost 2 with a gun.

Do I think people are idiots for losing a deer? No, even the most experienced hunter will have it happen.

When it begins to becomes the rule of thumb instead of the exception is when you have to step back and review the situation.

" Anyone can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a Dad"

[Deleted by Admins]

I just want every one to know i am not asking for pity,just given my opinion to the hunters who consider themself mistake proof,i have been a hunter for 23 years and a bow hunter 6 of them,i consider myself very ethical when it comes to the sport,i have never got one for archery yet and i practice my shots alot and feel good about them,i have past up many shots that i new i should not take,but i was confident about this shot and it was good,i just feel the spitfire broadhead did not work right,i have played the shot over in my head and new i did everything by the book,including tracking the deer,i want to thank the hunters for their upbeat opinions,and fingers up to those who think its all the shooter and nothing else in between.

I'm not sure which thread this started on, but...

No, losing a deer in and of itself does not make one an "idiot". If you hunt long enough, gun or bow, it'll happen. A deer, even at close range, can do a lot of things between the time that you shoot and the arrow gets there. Some things are within our control, and others aren't.

One of the most difficult things to teach people is how to go about tracking & trailing a marginally shot animal. Every situation is different, and experience is often the best educator. We all started out somewhere, and most of us learned the hard way.

I took an NBEF course this last year, for fun, and was surprised when bloodtrailing wasn't covered much at all. No mention of how long to wait on different wounds before trailing. No mention of how to determine the animals direction of travel by looking at a single drop of blood. No mention of how to assess wounds by the type and location of blood drops (i.e. what foamy drops on leaves 2 1/2 feet off the ground mean). No mention of how to determine shot location by different types of hair found at the scene (neck hair is different than loin hair, is different than chest hair, etc.). No mention of how animals tend to react when hit in different locations (ex. gut shot deer going to water). And certainly no mention how to track an animal when no blood is on the ground.

It seems as though everything today revolves around setting up to get a shot, and shooting the animal, but little attention is payed to actually finding the animal. Personally, I think we do new bowhunters a tremendous disservice in that respect, and could easily cut down on wounding losses with better education.

JRW