Charlie P,

Everyone has a messed up shot once in a while. Take two deer that were taken on our lease last year. My first buck ever, stood broadside at 33 yds. I shot because it was well within my shooting range and knew that I would make a humane kill. My arrow passed completely through the buck and burried itself upto the fletch in the dirt behind the deer. Lots of blood on the ground where the buck was hit nice deep red blood the kind you get from a liver hit. Well as it turned out the deer wasnt completely broadside but turned a fraction of an angle and the arrow exited behind the rib cage. Still no problem I thought. So I waited 2 Hours to track my deer. Plenty of time to die. After the wait I picked up the blood trail with about 5 guys Blood on the ground as if someone painted it. Easy track but the more the deer ran the less and less blood we found thinking the deer had bleed out we picked up the pace until we found no blood. the we searched for about 6 more hours and still no deer. My grandpa and dad looked the next day found my deer next to a stream. The deer hadnt bleed out the lower exit wound had been clogged with gut material and fat as had the upper entrance hole. I dont know about you but Shist happens sometimes. So please dont think it is all your fault.

I would also like to add that anyone who is learned to shoot at deer with any weopon then switching to another needs to relearn how to shoot at deer with that weopon. no way around it. And during this learning you will wound animals no way around that but what makes us all sick is those that dont learn from their mistakes.

And for all you out there on a high horse think back to your first few shots at deer and you will probably remember a few hits that didnt kill deer. I can. WE ARE HUNTERS A DYING BREED WE NEED TO ATTRACT AND KEEP ALL THE NEW AND BEGINNING HUNTERS THAT WE CAN. WE WILL NOT DO THIS BY RITICULING THEM THAT WILL ONLY MAKE THEM QUIT. SO ALL OF YOU PERFECT HUNTERS OUT THERE TAKE NOTE TEACH DONT RITICULE. I WANT TO TEACH MY GRANDCHILDREN AND GREAT GRANDCHILDREN HOW TO HUNT BECAUSE THEY STILL HAVE THE PRIVILGE.

No high horse here, and I agree that when we switch weapons, we need to learn to shoot that weapon. I did. When I switched from compound to recurve I didn't hunt for an entire year until I learned to shoot that weapon and was confident that I could make a clean kill within my effective and self limited hunting range of 20 paces. However, I disagree that there will be wounded deer while learning to shoot. The time to hunt is when you are proficient with your weapon, not when you are just learning to shoot that weapon.