Deer902.....

Unfortunately our temps were a bit to high last night and today for the meat to be any good. (70 today). We searched pretty hard last night and she traveled well over 500 yards and the blood had all but ended. She ran into a pine area with very little undergrowth which made it more difficult. (ever try to find minute blood droplets on pine straw?). First deer I have lost, and its not a good feeling, but that's hunting. (By the way: I had two other people I called out to help me track last night.).

GroundHunter

Theres several types of shots

A - bad shots that rarley end up good
B - good shots that end up bad
C - good shots that end up good


You did a B I suppose IF you're an ace shot at 35 yards, IF the low light wasn't a factor and IF you shooting at your first deer you wasn't shaking in your shoes ! You know the shot, I don't , but I do know the result - lost deer.

But it wasn't the broadheads fault and you still aint admitting that the distance, low light or lack of experience had anything to do with ( still leaning towards the broadhead/failure ecuse it looks to me)

You can change to every broadhead in the market and it my opinion you'll kill no more deer than what you already have.

[Deleted by Admins]

So we shouldn't shoot at a target that moves? What exactly are you saying here?

Here we go off to the land of ethicalness, if that's a word.

First GH, let me state the obvious, which I think you already know - it wasn't the broadhead's fault your shot wasn't true. Ok so what. What does that tell us? That you are an inexperienced bow hunter and can't shoot for crap at 35 yards and shouldn't have takent that shot? No. Is a 35 yard shot at a deer unethical? Obviously not. Have you ever shot your bow at 35 yards? Probably. If you were out there with no idea where your pins were hitting beyond 20 yards and took the shot anyway, that would not be cool. Obviously stupid. So you answer the question: was it you or the broadhead? Probably you. As for the broadheads, IMO mechanicals suck. I shot a deer a few years ago with a mechanical that didn't open on impact. I got the deer though - the thing punctured the lung, but would have done a better job had it been open. Went back to good old Thunderheads. It's up to you though - lots of guys swear by mechanicals.

I may be hanging myself out to dry on this statement but come on guys, have any of you ever missed a deer or had a shot go bad? Didn't see that twig in broad daylight perhaps? Just blew the shot somehow? Does that make you inexperienced or unethical? I'd challenge anyone that has been hunting for some time to not admit they have not made the perfect text book shot on every deer. Maybe there's some, but my point is simple: we miss deer. It's called hunting folks. It happens. Could it be possible that we as humans are not perfect and will make a mistake? I've hunted for 24 years - have killed many deer, and yes, have missed a few as well. It happens. Leave the guy alone. And for crying out loud - a 35 yard shot being unehtical? Give me a break man.

lol......sack up and admit what?????? I said I would take the shot again, and I will!! Was it a good shot? I guess not. Why? I don't know. Could have hit something, string could have hit my jacket sleeve, the doe may have had esp, or maybe I flinched? (I can assure you I wasn't shaking over a doe...big buck, yep, but not this doe.) I will take that shot again, and most, I think, would have as well.

I'll work on being PERFECT in the future.....lol.....In the mean time, one of y'all should start a new website called www.ImPerfectWithMyBowAndAlwaysFindMyDeer.com

Nope you can send them to me. I"ll use them as I know they will work if I put them where they are supposed to go. Same is true of most any broadhead on the market today.

I don't blame or change my equipment when I have bad luck on a shot. I try to figure out what went wrong and then correct my problem.

Should you toss them???? I don't know... I don't like the things to begin with, but my hunting buddy has shot just about every broadhead ever made. He killed a TON of deer with Rockets. I can't say how many, but the last count I had was 18 or so this year with the bow. HE experiments with all broadheads as part of his business. He never had problems with the Rockets killing deer.

I have lost two deer in my life and I am willing to my that they were my fault.

The first deer was at 20 yards broadside. I put the pin on him, squeezed the trigger of my release and sent an arrow flying. The shot was high and far back. It was entirley my error. I didn't put the arrow where it was supposed to go. P.S. That was a Easton GameGetter II xx75 tipped with a 100 grain N.A.P. Thunderhead and I didn't get a pass through.

The second deer was my fault. A bunch of doe came out and I picked out the biggest one. There was a smaller does standing in front of her, but her head was covering the larger does butt. I drew back and shot and the small doe ran. My arrow smacked her right in the lower part of her neck. I shouldn't have taken the shot at the big doe when there was a chance that the smaller doe would run in the way. I didn't think of it at the time, but I should have. I tracked that deer well over a mile before finally seeing it feeding along the edge of the woods. I left it at that and later that year she was killed by a rifle hunter.

The thing about my two experiences is that I am willing to admit my fault. You have to trust me on this, but you will loose less and less deer if you are willing to admit your fault in this situation. The first deer I lost, I didn't want to admit that it was my fault. It just made me look bad, but that doesn't matter.

Blaming a b-head will get you nowhere. Mechanicals are proven to be good if you put the arrow where it is suppose to. These horror stories about mechanicals start from posts like this. People will blame that b-head no matter what happens. If it was a Muzzy or Montec G5 that you did the same thing with, you would be blamming that.

Face it, you lost the deer because of human error. Now, I am not saying that I am perfect, nore am I saying that anyone else is perfect, what I am saying is that you have to be willing to admit your fault.

As far as choice of shot, I personally wouldn't have taken it. I can hit 5" circles out to 50 yards with my bow and the farthest shot I have taken was 65 yards (at a target) and I hit that 3-D deer in the lungs. Now, I will NEVER take one of these shots in the field because there are just too many things that can go wrong. Like others have pointed out, a 35 yard shot on a deer is rough even on un-pressured deer. Deer can react very quickly and that leaves a big margin for error. Now, throw into that the fact that deer have been chased around since Sept. or Oct. and they are constantly on alert. This makes they very skittish and they will react to anything much faster. The low-light poses another problem like others have mentioned.... small branches. At 35 yards in the last minutes of shooting light, you won't be able to see a twig, and that is all it takes to throw an arrow off.

This year, I got what most would consider a "perfect shot". I was only about 14 feet up in a tree and I had a doe come in. She stopped at 15 yards but she was VERY slightly quartering towards me. I didn't want to risk anything, so I passed up that shot. Then she worked her way in to about 4 yards broadside and stopped. There was a TINY twig that was covering her vitals. One tiny branch that I could have shot past no problem, but I passed it up. Well, she went behind me into a dried up creek bed that was entirely open. She stopped slightly quartering away at 7 yards and I knew that it was the shot I was looking for. I very softly grunted and she stopped. She wasn't nervous and it was 8:00 in the morning so I took the shot. The result...... well.......



All I can tell you is take the bumps from these guys. They will help you out in the long run. It may tick you off right now, but seriously take it to heart and it will help you out. how do I know...... ask any guy on here about me posting about the two deer that I have lost! The comments that these guys have given you looks like compliments compared to what I got! I have been there and done that, and I took my bumps, got up, and improved myself, and that is all that matters!!!!!

Groundhunter: We are trying our best to guide you. Granted, some have been a little coarse and to the point. Simply consider that Buck Magnet just spent a considerable amount of time in his response. He has been there. He has done that. That is why many of us are trying to help you. We know the feelings about lost game. We have been there. No one is claiming to be perfect. Please keep in mind that bowhunting is a very different critter. Gun success does not necessarily mean that you will have that same success at a pot shot 10 yard shot with your bow. Then you take it out to 35 yds. at dusk. Many of us just consider that a fairly risky if not poor choice. Think things over for a few days, re-read some of our comments and then go on with your life. I wish you the best my friend.

Sorry for all the grief your getting on this one. I don't question the shot, you felt it was within you capabilities and took it. Nuff said! Now as for not trying to track the doe further.... I don't feel you should quit until you have exhausted all of your options. I don't think you can honeslty say is wasn't a killing shot because as Davidmil said sometimes with questionable shots you have to track a long way. If you can get permission, go onto the other land and see if you can find her. Hopefully next time the shot will be right on and the tracking job will only be 30-40 yards. Good luck.