Personaly if I had the choice, Id rather not spook the deer and make it any smarter than it already is. Last year I had a 160" 10 point come in with no shot oppertunity and luckily he walked off having no clue I was even there. I would have loved to put an arrow threw both his lungs, but at least he will be around next year. Later in the season I had a 150" 8 point come in on me at about 5 yards on the ground. He caught me trying to draw andhe high tailedit out of there in a hurry,and I was HOT. Not only did I not get a shot, I just made an already smart buck even smarter.

I would rather not have a shot oppurtunity than to take a high risk shot, which I did last fall on a 150 class. I watched him an a doe for about an hour an ten minutes an had them within 25 yards just to watch it come un done in the last few yards, never got a shot.

I guess it depends on how it happened for me ..... One time I was sitting in my favorite spot watching deer consistantly to my right ...squirrels were everywhere ... the woods were so noisey .... I had heard what I thought was a squirrel to my left ...... I didn't turn around ... something caught my left peripheral vision ... some thing big, and right under me ... I look to see what had to be a 250# 150+" buck, which is big for my area, walk at a steady pace right away, not stopping for anything ... no shot.....

In that case, I woulda much rather a deer duck my slightly high 30 yard shot, causing a clean miss ...

I'd rather not get a shot off, the almosts haunt you slightly less than the miss's...lol

Misses happen I guess, depending on low light and small branches and such, but I would much rather, and have, let a deer walk by and not shoot rather than take a shot and "hope" I hit it. No shot is better than a missed shot because a missed shot is just a few inches away from a bad shot that could wound the deer without killing it. Personally, if I'm not 100% sure the arrow is going to hit the kill zone, barring mechanical failure, I don't take it.

And this is my first post as I just found this site today. Hi all!

tough one!!!

Miss, if it is a big buck........not getting a shot, if it is a big buck![8D]


Bo

not get the shot off.......enough said.

I would rather not get a shot off than miss or even worse wound the animal.

I have to agree with everyone. Not getting a shot off is by far better. I mean that's part of hunting. Missing a shot means you did everything right as far as set-up, scent control, and all that stuff that leads up to the shot, then you blow it. Opening day last season i did my homework and hung my stand in a spot i knew they were using and i had 2 does walk 20 yrds away and i blew it. Talk about a killer. I didnt sleep very good that night. I did make it up and ended up killing 3 deer last season, so maybe it's better to get those misses out of the way.

are you talkin take a risky shoot or just one or the other I will take a riskey shot but not a shoot that wont kill the deer like a quarting to me shoot