tough decision
 

I had a nice symetrical 8 pointer. (out to his ears and around 11 inches tall) I was hunting in a climber treestand and I was on a hill facing downward. Well it was 6:30 am and I heard movement behind me and to my left, which is my bow side. I looked back and I saw this nice body deer coming down the hill walking on the same path that I came in on. I was about 15 ft. high and I was trying to plan out a shot. Well I couldn't shoot him coming down the hill b/c he would've seen me draw back. So at the path that he was coming he would have gave me a good shot in front of me quarting away. So thats what was my plan. Anyway he came right underneith of me... so close that I could have spit on him. So he stopped under my stand and just froze. He smelled me. And was out of there. I was wondering if shooting directly down on a deer is a good shot. You know spinning him and yet still trying to get a lung or a heart shot with it. HELP PLEASE....[&:]

RE: tough decision
 

I have had a friend try that shot on a bruiser. Thier is a lot of bone and stuff to go through. If you get to the lungs, You will probably only get one lung. Then you arrow will have a tough time getting a pass through. If you don't get a pass through, there won't be any blood due to the entrance being on top. So your left trailing a buck a couple hundred yards with no blood. Not fun to me.[:-]


RBBH

RE: tough decision
 

You did good by passing. Its not an easy shot to make and find your deer.

RE: tough decision
 

what about the quarting away shot, and trying to sneak in behind the shoulder blades...is that a good shot?

RE: tough decision
 

That is the perfect shot to me.

RE: tough decision
 

A quartering away shot is very good. Once it gets to be too straight away it gets bad again, but a quartered away, aiming such that your arrow buries into the opposite shoulder is deadly.

Edited to add
That the steeper the quartering away, you'll want to actually aim a little further back on the deer. Good rule of thumb is to line up the leg of the far shoulder.

RE: tough decision
 

how do you become a sponsered hunter I am very interested in becoming one how do I do it...

RE: tough decision
 

XTREMEOCTANE04, congratulations and give yourself a pat on the back. You absolutely did the right thing. You were not sure of the shot and held back. Personally, I would NEVER take that shot. You will not get both lungs. And you would be very LUCKY in recovering a single lunged deer. The only thing you could hope for is a heart, and that would be a shot through a lot of bone, which is not good. I'm glad to see you kept your wits about you and did the right things. Congrats!

RE: tough decision
 

Absolutely! Unless your sure of the shot your better off not taking it![&:]

RE: tough decision
 

If you did not feel comfortable ,You did Right

RE: tough decision
 

You did the right thing. Your better off letting him get away from the stand. I would also recommend a high stand height. I don't like being too low. 15' is shot gun level unless your tucked in close to good cover.

Good luck, It is fun to have them walk right underneath you and pass them up.

RE: tough decision
 

I had a deer do the same thing to me this fall. You made the right call. Made me wish I had a heavy spear instead of a bow.

RE: tough decision
 

That's definately not a good shot to take(straight down). If you give him time and a shot presents itself(such as a quatering away) then take it then but shooting straight down on a deer is a bad decision. If the shot never gets better and the deer disappears then that's hunting and the deer wins a round.

You made a good decision by letting the deer pass. The shot wasn't there and you didn't force it. Kudos:)

RE: tough decision
 

I hit one once that was directly under my tree. The arrow was on the ground 3 feet from the tree as he ran off. He ran about 35 yards and stood there for about 10 seconds or less before staggering and falling, sliding back down the hill toward me. I didn't examine the entry/exit wound, believe it or not, but seem to recall hitting him to the side of the spine but between the shoulders, and must have taken out a lung and maybe clipped the heart. One great thing about a deer beneath you is they can't see you draw back, though they might hear the arrow on the rest if it makes noise. I once had a 6 pointer walk right underneath me and blew it because I thought it was a doe until it was close enough to see me draw. Then as he walked beneath me, I figured somehow he'd know if I drew back with him so close. I waited until he passed, drew and missed him quartering away at 25 plus yards. From now on I am going for it if it's a deer I want.

RE: tough decision
 

Good point DougMD. At that close of range, you are virtually assured of hitting exactly where you are aiming, which means that if you aim just off the spine you should be able to get the heart as well as a lung. Maybe the improved accuracy at that distance compensates for the virtual impossibility of taking out both lungs.

RE: tough decision
 

what is a good bow stand height[:-]

RE: tough decision
 

I rarely go over about 22' most of my stands are from 15 - 22' high, seems to me you have to watch the shot angle too much if you are too high.

RE: tough decision
 

i want to hunt for a living how do i become sponsered

RE: tough decision
 

Not to easy to get a hunting sponsor....The only thing I would recommend is buy yourself some video equipment and start learning how to video your hunts. Eventually you could start selling them and possibly get a sponsor if your hunts are any good.

RE: tough decision
 

i have contacted tom marinda and I am goingto send him some of my videos and see what he thinks, he is going to send me some sample of some stuff like arrows and broadheads.