Well said!!!!!!!

Take your time ,shoot your gun as often as you can,know what you and your gun can do Tikka 2" groups 200yd

I absolutely agree with just about all of these comments here, great subject. One thing I would add is this;

What about the jerks that try to "steer" deer from your land by shooting at them if they are headed your way? The same jerks that put diesel fuel soaked rags on your trees and human hair along your propery line? The same jerks that do these things are the ones I hear shooting 20 times in a row and then 1/2 hour later another round of 20.

All I can say is that you need to walk your property at least once a week. We are really thinking about puting up trail cams just to prove who these dirtbags are.

Sorry if I come accross mad, but I am and it just stinks that people are that jealous. Hunting should be a family tradition and jerks like this ruin it and are teaching it to the next generation.

This year I passed up a 10 pointer because it was beyond my shotgun reach, but I knew it was going straight towards my husbands stand and he nailed it with one shot. If I would have shot, (trust me my finger was itching), I would have either missed, wounded it or sent it off in another direction. The point is we have meat.

Good luck everyone.

This archery season there is a guy sitting in an overgrown creekbed just north of the property line where I hunt. He basically sits near the fence waiting for deer to cross from us to the field he sits on. I was talking to a friend of a friend of this guy and found out that in this archery season alone,(as of 11-10)he has shot, wounded, and not recovered F-I-V-E deer with his bow.[:@]

...and he was recently divorced because his wife "wouldn't let him hunt enough"

In 5 seasons of hunting, I have wounded and not recovered 1 buck, and I felt terrible about it. We looked for hours and hours, and the next day, but no sign. I was disgusted, but it didn't make me quit hunting.

The experience did, however, make me work on my marksmanship quite a bit. The past two seasons have been two deer, two bullets. Hopefully next year will be one more deer taken with one more bullet.

I rarely take shots our over 150 yds (my estimate), but strangely enough the deer I mis-shot was actually at such close range that I really could have used a scope mount I could see underneath for the iron sights.

I also shudder when I hear 5-6 shots ring out in the canyons.....

There was a thread on here awhile back that address the opposite side of this topic-Shooting until he drops.
http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1708730&mpage=1
Read and enjoy!

I don't see anything wrong with shooting at a moving deer. I have killed deer on the run with my rifle a few times. If I'm comfortable with the range and the deer isn't moving too fast I have no problem shooting. I have also made good shots on deer and they didn't just fall over. I won't just let the deer walk off and die like they do on the hunting shows, I put another bullet in it. Everyone makes a bad shot sooner or later. If you can honestly say that you tried your best and you took a shot within your skill level you have nothing to feel guilty about. A deer that is hit badly will most likely die a quicker death than it would have if left up to nature. Loosing sleep and feeling guilty about a bad shot isn't going to do you any good. Just trynot to make the same mistake the next time.

I don't feel comfortable shooting a moving deer. I wait until they're eating or just standing around.
JMHO

Nothing for Nothing! I think other areas of the US have it easier than the heavily wooded states. Here in NH our woods are thick. We don't get the long shots or even the very clean close shots. Unless you are bow hunting and you've precut your stand you are most likely going to be shooting through some brush. Especially during firearms. The deer love to hang in the hemlocks and those badboys grow right to the ground. We hunt deer like most people hunt partridge! That's just how it is!

I agree. Here in WI where I hunt it's shotgun OR riffle territory. I use a shotgun, (the only one in our group that does), because in the thick woods and/or swamps I sit in, a riffle is overkill and you usually don't get a far shot like that. Just because you can use a riffle, doesn't mean you should in my opinion. I cut firing lanes so I have clean shots up to 150 yards if needed. That means brushing out prior to bow season to allow the deer to get back to the norm well before the hunt. Shotgun is the best brush gun out there!

As for shooting deer on the run....I've made great shots, (heart), while they are running. I WISH I could get a shot while they are standing still! It's too damn thick though, it's usually a window of 2 seconds or else wait for the next firing lane.