RE: Bad shot or not???
 

I can now seethat I am out of line in regard to this subject.

I apologize for coming across as holier than thou because I think bowhunters should restrain from attempting low percentage shots regarding killing and finding the deer in time to utilize the meat.

On reflection, I once accidentally shot too far forward on a deer and hit the deer in the shoulder with little penetration. I left the deer overnight and was amazed and pleasantly surprised to find the deer the next morning not 150 yards from where I shot. And to think that I had always been told this was a "no no" to shoot one there.

So the next time I am only presented that shot due to brush, etc. I think I'll take it.

What the hell, it worked once before and I wasn't even trying to hit there. If I put a hole in it, its bound to bleed. And if it doesn't work. well.....at least no one can accuse me of being part of the "shot police".:D

And with a target the size of a basketball in addition toall the arteries, I am starting to think that all of these threads that happen during hunting season on non recovered deer must be from people making these stories up just to get attention, cause it just isn't that difficult, right?

RE: Bad shot or not???
 

Actually, there are guides that show and advise this shot, but it has to be perfect. There is an opening in the chest about the size of a Cantoulope, that is a direct route to the heart and lungs. On a deer, this opening is more the size of a baseball, and IS not as easy to hit. I lost a great 130+ buck about 15 yrs. ago because I took this shot on him. Only thing that I had to go on, plus he was coming down a trail right AT me. We tracked him on "spec's" of blood for a long time before we lost the trail, arrow still inside him. My buddy found him probably half a mile from where I shot circled almost all the way around, with no blood anywhere around him, as if he stopped bleeding "out" but continued bleeding in. The shot on a whitetail IS a low probability shot, and IS something we SHOULD discourage other bowhunters from taking unless the situation IS PERFECT, such as short distance, head up to lick a "licking branch," but even then, I'd have to think really had about it.


Good Post, I agree.

RE: Bad shot or not???
 

I've heard that too about elk but it just makes me nervous! This is the way I am, I want everything to be as perect as it can be for myself! I've passed on some nice critters because I'm so picky. Each to his own.

RE: Bad shot or not???
 

IMO worring about makeing a bad shot will cause more bad shots IMO. I mean how man "I hit right behind shoulder" stories have we heard?
There is so much more to the issues than just shop placement.

BH
KE
Angles

My setups are overkill for a reason

My setup now produces 72 Ft.lbs of KE
My new setup (Elite GTO) is going to be over 80 FT.LBS

Far more deer are lost to setups than shot selection IMO. HNI is the expection to the rule, all the guys I know here; know what they are shooting.

I know a guy who was shooting 47 ft.lbs with a rage two blade. Than complains about pentration [&:]

RE: Bad shot or not???
 

I'm not really a bow hunter, but I do still have my old 65# Bear take-down recurve. I have not shot the bow in over 15 years but I can still draw it. I would take a head on shot if it was within my comfort range for that shot today. That range is 15 feet or less. (I have taken a walking buck at 20 feet broadside while I was wearing blaze orange.) I passed on a head on shot at a doe once at 20 feet. I waited for a broadside and lost the opportunity because a deer can turn around faster than I can pull the trigger.

If this hunter was a great shot, and he knew he would make it, more power to him. I have much more trouble, from an ethical stand point, with people who shoot under powered bows. I've seen too many videos of 25 yard shots where there is a slow, light, arrow arching to the deer and only penetrating six or eight inches. The ethical hunters punch through the ribs, no problem with heavier, faster arrows. These hunters usually are not hundered pound women or 90 pound children either.

I am planning on taking up the bow again but I also have a problem ethically with letting a deer go over night before recovery. The good video shots I have seen all kill the deer within a couple of minutes if not in just a few seconds. If I shoot towards evening the deer will have to be close or it will let it walk. If you do not recover the deer in time to make good meat, you failed. The only time I will wait is the time it takes to calm down and get down from the tree. Fifteen minutes or so.


Bob

RE: Bad shot or not???
 

i have heard to never take that shot. but this year my friend and i each shot eight pointers head on and killed them too. so i dont know. To each is own i guess.

RE: Bad shot or not???
 

By all means; that is a fair question. And it also has some really good timing.

I’ve never, ever lost a deer with any weapon, and I’ve hunted for a lot of years. But with a bow, for only the last three.

I wish I could tell you some great stories about some really cool shots I’ve taken at running deer, but I can’t. I’ve never shot at a running deer, even with a shotgun. And my favorite way to hunt them is on the ground, sneaking into their beds with my shotgun. Truth is, all my shots have been pretty boring. Don’t get me wrong, I love hunting, and I’ve had my share of some really cool hunts, and I’ve had some kills that others may not want to see, but no “WOW, what a marksman” shots.

My saying that your question also has good timing… means that recently I decided to change it up a little and be a little more risky. I’ve always liked to view my hunting as kind of primal, or survivalish (I realize that isn’t a word). By that I mean, I don’t carry climbers, and use a bunch of store bought stuff like doe piss, scent killer, state of the art what’ya’ma’call’it, latest-greatest gizmos, food plots or bait (I have tried some of them, but don’t use them regularly). I like to think of hunting as “could I survive here if dropped off in the woods, here, with what I can carry. Can I find a nice beach tree to get in with no stand on a good trail and take a deer? Can I kill one from the ground with my bow?

Just as Germ said a few posts back, lost opportunities haunt me, and more so as of late. What if I would have… you fill in the blank, is a sucky question to ask yourself time and time again. This year was my greatest year of hunting ever as it applies to me. Hunting with my kids is always the best, but this year I faced more challenges than ever, and I failed. I was after a monster and I never got a shot off after four good sightings. One, possibly two of those sightings probably should have resulted in shots, but I waited for a better one. Why? Out of fear; fear of a bad shot. As they say; fear causes hesitation, and hesitation is the root cause of our failure. I’d taken some advice or pointers here (mainly from GregH) about getting out and finding better places to hunt. And I found one, with a great buck on a great farm. All the pieces were there, except my instinct. My training (for lack of a better term) had me questioning myself, but my heart knew what to do.

Had I practiced the real “primal/survivalish hunting that I thought I was, I’d have taken a shot. Not a bad shot, just a not so optimal angle shot. A starving man would have never passed up the shots I had, and I did. So it all feels pretend sort of, and I don’t like that, not anymore.

The one shot I mentioned in this thread was because of this new way of thinking. And instead of being really happy or excited about it, I felt as though I’d done something wrong. What did I do wrong? Nothing, besides do something that I’d heard not to do by some people that I’d never met. That doe walked away and fell over. Almost close enough for me to throw my bow at.

I may end up learning a lesson the hard way, but I’m a little ready to be true to myself and take on that responsibility.

I watched my arrow fly through a 3D bear target (dry rotted and worn out vitals) two bails of straw and stick into a fence board about 3”. I’m pretty sure that my arrow will be lethal if shot at the chest of a deer, as long as it is aimed well.

Before I would have waited, but now I think that was probably a good shot, in the chest.

Sorry so long, good luck,

KP

RE: Bad shot or not???
 

Well said Jeff I agree!

RE: Bad shot or not???
 

very very stupid shot. shows he is irresponsible and does not respect the game he goes after, like most african hunts

RE: Bad shot or not???
 

You see where we find ground to differ on is the way we view the animal. Honestly, some people just go to extremes to spit out their LOVE for the deer and the God Almighty necessity to make a quick, clean, ethical kill. OH, and they're the same people that say they HARVEST their deer. In one sentence it has to be a quick clean ethicalKILL and in the next thread... it has to be HARVEST to be PC. I try to kill every animal I draw on as fast as I can. I draw the bow because I want to KILL the critter. Knowing the anatomy of the beast, my skills and the power of my equipement I decide what shot I'll take and when I'll take it. Usually it all happens pretty quick. Sure I want a quick kill... it makes for short tracking jobs. But to hold myself back with some PC directive that I owe something to the animal is hypocritical. I'm trying to kill the damn thing. I don't care if I hurt his feelings. I'm trying to make him a BBQ. So, if there's a shot opportunity I'll probably take it. I don't have to consult the nimrods of the world about whether it's ethical or proper. The same people that would tell everyone what they should and shouldn't do as far as shot selection have probably hunted birds. How many times have the missed, or got feathers. Maybe they should stop bird hunting because you can't kill them all.

That's about right. Either that or they can't shoot or they're not much good at hunting. TO be good at hunting youhave to know a lot more than shooting. You also have to have the killer instinct and become the arrow. It's not rocket science, but some people just can't fly. Tracking ability is probably the number one cause of lost deer.