Scrider, I have to be honest about this one mainly because as the others have pointed out, it' s your decision alone and, things will go wrong. I' ve named myself badshotbob not because I' m a bad shot, in fact, I' m actually pretty good. This name was picked because of the bad luck I' ve had in the woods this year. The first hour of hunting this season a nice six walked straight in and ate my corn with his hind facing me for 20 mintues. Obviously no shot. He finally got full and quartered away to leave, but stopped to itch his leg leaving me with a quartering away shot. The instant I squeezed the trigger, a squirrel had bounded over a fallen tree behind the deer and scared the daylights out of him. (It was actually rather funny). Needless to say, the arrow went under him. The second shot I had on the same deer three weeks later went south as well - he came in, quartered away with his left side facing me, the opposite front leg forward, head down and away at 15 yards. Doesn' t get any better than that. I was at full draw with pin on his vitals for about 10 seconds trying to find that " gotcha" lock before sending the arrow through both lungs. Well, I flat out blew it - shot too low and skimmed his belly. Kind of like a t-shot - you concentrate then pick your head up and blow the shot. It happens. Nothing is a guarantee even when you are a proficient shot. What did I do? I shot at the whole deer rather than a very small target on the deer. Yeah, after a dozen or more deer shot and years of hunting experience, it' ll happen. I did track this deer for hours that night and the next morning. No deer. He had a little scrape on his belly. He' ll be fine. But, we can' t lie to you and say that these things won' t happen. This probably doesn' t help, but it certainly is the reality of hunting.

This is a very good topic. I also worried about the same thing before I started bowhunting. A good friend convinced me to at least give it a try. And to be honest I was amazed that it appears to be more humane than gun hunting. Let me explain. I hunted for 4 years before I shot my first deer. On the first deer I shot an 8 pt, it was a complete pass through and when the arrow hit some brush on the other side of him he actually took 2-3 steps toward me. He never ran he just walked away and I found him 30 yrds away. It looked like he just fell over on his feet. The second deer I shot was a doe and she ran away but I found her 40ish yrds away curled up like she was asleep.

I have never seen this happen when a deer was shot with a rifle. A rifle bullet is designed to deliver as much shocking power as possible. But an broadhead is designed to cut with as little resistance as possible. So there is much less shock to the animal.

Keep your ethics Scrider1 it wil make you a better hunter but go ahead and give it a try. Just getting that close to a deer is a huge rush even if you don' t take a shot.

I would suggest doing some 3-d shooting. This should help you confidence quite a bit. It is about as close as you can get to shooting at a live animal. I' ve also heard people talk about vidoe shoots where you are shooting at a image of a moving deer. I' ve personally never done any video shooting but I do believe it may help.
Bottom line is if you' re not ready, you' re not ready. only you can decide when the time is right but if you shoot good on 3-d I' d say go for it. If you' re in a tree and the shot dosn' t look right there is nothing saying you have to shoot. I' m sure once you get out there the shot you want to take will unfold infront of you and then it' s time to put the practice to the test. [:-]

Scrider, it' s about discipline. You' ve done your practice. You' ve hunted so you know the adrenaline rush and the heart beats sometimes makes some people take shots they shouldn' t take. Make yourself have a mind set where your not going to take that first shot unless the deer is broadside and in easy range. When you make that double lung shot, the deer will be dead in just a few seconds. He may cover 30 yards but it' s over quick. I' ve gutshot one deer that took me two days to fine. It was my fault and now I' m a much more disciplined hunter. If I can' t double lung it, I ain' t shooting, obviously alot of deer get by me but like you, I' m not into animals suffering.
To gain confidence in your ability, try taking your target in the woods, climb a tree with your bow and practice in the woods. Have your son move the target around so you see the different perspectives of range through the trees. Another thing, get you a range finder and eliminate that part of the equation. I admire your ethics and like Taz said, you' ll make a good bowhunter that all of us would be proud to hunt with.

This is an excellent question. I think a fair amount of good bowhunters have wondered the same thing. Everyone has given you great replies, but Tazman more or less said what I was going to.
It' s might be hard for you to see this now, but you will not be wounding animals. You obviously have the respect for the animals and good ethics. Those two things will result in quick, clean kills. You know the bow is less powerful than a gun, and a bad shot with a bow will be worse than a bad shot with a gun. I' m almost certain you' ll be waiting for good, clean shots that you have no doubt that you can make.
I know the last thing I want to do is wound an animal, so I' m more selective than a lot of people with my shots. I' ve passed up a couple good deer that I most likely could have killed, but just didn' t like the shot. Let me tell you, you' ll feel proud of yourself for passing up a possibly makeable shot just because you didn' t like it. Some of my friends rib me a little about passing up certain shots, but I don' t let it get to me. They' re just having a little fun, and understand my point of view on ethics.

I would say you should get out and try it. With a responsible shot, you can put a deer down just as quick with a bow as you can with a gun. I also think a sharp broadhead is much less painful than the tremendous shock that a bullet generates. Have you ever seen a video of a deer shot with a bow that just stood there until it fell over? I have a friend that shot a deer with a bow. He said it took a quick hop at the sound of the shot, looked around, and started eating again. All of a sudden he started to sway, and tipped over. It doesn' t sound like that deer was in very much pain.

Become confident in your equipment, be confident in yourself, and go for it. I think you' ll really enjoy it.

peashooter

scrider - it sounds like you' re ready to me. what you need to do is go sit in your stand and wait for a deer. if it presents a shot you' re comfortable with - take it. if not, keep waiting. your heart will tell you if you' re ready. Or, take the kid along and let him take the first shot. maybe sitting in the stand will help boost your confidence. Good luck and keep us posted on your succes!

I would like to add that the only deer hunting that I have done is bow hunting and I didn' t know if I could kill one matter less with a bow!

The buggers get to you though when they keep outsmarting you! By the time I got my first deer all I could thinking about was FINALLY getting one.

You feel bad for them until they make you look stupid, LOL.

To further comment on Geoff' s post. You, or at least I, always feel a great rush of excitement and the sadness of taking an animal. If I ever lost either of these senses I would hang it up. I am not a real religious type person but i always thank the creater for the opportunity and the spirit of the deer.
It' s kind of ironic, why do we feel more remorse for a deer than say a rabbit or crow, or coyote. If we believe that they are all equal in terms of animals there should be no difference. Perhaps because they are of greater size, closer to our own?? Hmmm. Perhaps it' s just the respect we pay them based on how much a part of ourselves the hunt becomes? Whoa getting way to deep and philosophical here.

I agree with the others. Best thing to do is go out and if you can bring yourself to do it great, if you can' t well you have the memories anyway and there is nothing wrong with target shooting. Don' t let the fear of wounding an animal stop you, let that fear control which shots you take and which you don' t. There are no sure thing shots, rifle or bow.

Thank you, guys. You' ve given me some really good advice. I' m particularly impressed with what you' ve told me about the effect the sharp broadheads have on the deer. Yes, I' ve seen the shows where a deer shot through and through by an arrow just stood there...but I always assumed they did not run away because without a gunshot to scare them they were just confused about what had happened..I didnt ever think that they might not be in that much pain. Its too late for me to break out the bow and give it try this season...I have not practiced in a while. But I think I will bring it out again this summer and get ready for next Fall....if I wait for just the right opportunity for my first attempt I should not be disappointed. I' ll come back here to let everyone know what happens.
Thanks again, and I' ll check back for more advice on this topic later if there is any more.
SC