I question the shot placement, BUT
 

it did work. I would have never took this shot though.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

I dont see where it was hit, unless it is the little orange thing on the snout?

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

Yep thats the fletching of the arrow sticking out of its head.Not a very ethical shot and i agree i dont think i would shot it there.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

I'm betting that shot was accidental. The deer was probably broadside with his head toward the shooter and he missed that bad, but got lucky. I can't imagine anyone intentionally taking that shot on that kind of buck.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

It's hard to imagine that somebody actually shot an arrow at a deer's head, although I've heard if you are looking at the rack when you shoot, you have a fair chance of hitting it...and that is an impressive rack.

What I really don't get is how the deer could have possibly been positioned so that that shot could have been aimed anywhere near the heart or lungs. What the heck was he aiming at?
I suppose if somebody can miss the whole deer, they could hit the head unintentionally, but the way that thing is buried it would be sticking out of his neck if he had his head turned. Since the arrow looks like it is still in his neck, it would have had to be a head-on shot. [:'(]

Got any details on how the shot was setup?

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

yeah i agree with everyone else, definitely an unethical shot, and thats just a weird shot, but hey i had one nice buck get by me that stopped behind a pine tree when i drew back, i would have taken the shot if i thought i might have killed it by shooting it in the face, either way thats a really nice buck and i congratulate the shooter on their trophy, good job,

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

Sad thing is that there are some fools out there that would take that shot. I'll be honest, I have always supported that right for hunters to hunt with any legal method that they choose, but lately I have heard numerous "bow hunters" talk about "sticking another one" that got away. It is almost to the point that I wish bowhunting was deemed illegal. I have heard those words at least 7 times the last week. The majority of the people bowhunting don't practice enough to be efficient as a hunter.
Even the so called professional bow hunters are somewhat stupid/inefficient at times. A couple of weeks ago I saw a TV show with Jay Gregory showing his and his friends misses while shooting at turkeys. I didn't count them, but the entire show was missing turkeys. They didn't show the bad hits on the turkeys that probably died later, just as the shows don't show other game animals that receive bad hits. There are just too many variables with sighting and shooting a bow efficiently.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

That is horrible! I would never take that shot and if it was an accident that guy should be ashamed of himself. that shot is completly unethical. and you know the deer probably flopped around for a good half hour.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

I guess the guy thought he was shooting the buck guillotine. Seriously, I hope that shot was not intended. An inch or two any way could have resulted in a slow painful death with no recovery. Really nice buck though. I won't even take a head shot with a rifle, much less a bow.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

Knew a guy that killed one like that. You know how a buck will run with his nose down....kind like a sneak position....neck stretched, head straight out. Buck was coming right at him, then slightly quartered. He had a good shot, albeit tight, at the vitals and it was the only shot that had presented itself. Well, he lets the arrow go and the buck dropped his head to wind something in that stretched out sneak position...and, you guessed it, head is were the vitals was.....caught him right between the eyes. Got lucky, but dropped the buck right where he stood without even a twitch.

Now, I'm not saying that's what happened here.....but stranger things have happened in the deer woods.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

There's a lot of gimpy deer out there that were not hit so well by someone hunting with a gun too. There's going to be a degree of idiots out there no matter what you're hunting with. I wouldn't lump all the bowhunters into the same stereotype because of a few isolated stories like this. In fact I would tend to believe bowhunters go above and beyond to be ethical and respect the sport. I personally know of a lot of gunhunters that grab their shotgun opening morning, dust it off while on stand, and let lead fly at running deer. Not putting down one method of hunting over the other, just stating that i dont' think it's a fairstatementto say bowhunting is less ethical than gunhunting and should be illegal.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

Honestly I think you should take it easy. You're talking about taking away a hunting right here. I live to bowhunt, and you saying something like this sounds like you're from an animal rights group. People injure deer with rifles and shotguns all the time too. That's why it's hunting, that's what happens. I take offense to that kind of thing.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

I know a guy that i go to school with has shot 2 does in the head with his bow same way, however i disagree with that technique. One year over by my house there was a nice 8 pter with an arrow stuck out its nose, from what i heard from ppl in the neighborhood it died of starvation because with the arrow sticking out it couldn't eat.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

I'll assume it was luck because no deer deserves to be killed like that. Gun or bow shooting a deer in the head is risky at best. one question though. Is he gonna have the taxidermist put the arrow in the deers eye when he has it mounted????

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

its a nice buck tho!

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

I can guarantee that I am far from being an anti-hunter. I've killed somewhere in the neighborhood of 175 deer, all with a gun, exceptone with a bow. I will have my 12 year old grandson with me on Alabama's special early youth hunt tomorrow and there is a very good chance he will shoot a deer. I'm not questioning the ethical part of hunting with a bow, I'm questioning the number of people I have heard talk about sticking another one that got away, usually by not being a good shot with a bow or taking a poor shot. On these forums there are often people talking about sticking one that they fail to find. If you are proficient with your bow and can harvest and collect 95% or more of the deer you shoot, then I congratulate you, shoot another one.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

nice buck but bad shot placment even though it did the job .You should never take that shot

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

There areseveral issues that contribute to this.
1-Not proficient / tuned / practiced
2-Uneducated in proper shot selection / deer anatomy
3-Lack of blood trailing and tracking skills to recover awounded deer

I feel that #3 isvery important and often understressed, because we are all going to make a bad hit by accident someday. All year long, guys talk about equipment choices, tuning, clothes, scents,and even shot placement and selection, but 'how to find a wounded animal' never comes up until somebody is on the verge of losing one or has already given up. Consequently they end up spending time on here asking questions instead of staying in the woods looking for their deer with the knowledge they should already have, at least in an acedemic sense.

A thread like this (and a picture like that)is an opportunity to educate new and/oruneducated and/or lazy hunters in the importance of the choices we make and how they can be judged by outsiders. However, I don't think that any of our own should besuggesting thatbowhuntingbe made illegal because of the actions of a few unsrcupulous(or unlucky)individuals.

There are lots of people who misuse guns and baseball bats too. Not a single one of those incidents, nor all of the lives that they have affected is a reason to take away my gunsor bats. If you want to take away my hunting privileges, you better be able to prove that I don't do it right.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

This is the kind of stuff the Anti-Hunters love to see. Lets not do this kind of thing so they have one less thing to worry about.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

F%#@ the anti's. Why is everyone worried about what they are reading. I'm not going to hide in some hole and watch what I say to appease them freaks.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

I think that shot was intentional. It is a VERY low percentage shot in my opinion. I hope that deer is mounted JUST LIKE THAT...

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

That would be awesome.

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

That's what I call a bullseye! No, seriously, that is an example of a shot that should never be taken!

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

I would have never taken that shot

RE: I question the shot placement, BUT
 

Thats an excellent animal, but the harvest of it is questionable. I knowI would not have made that shot and-HOPE- that many hunters would agree.