We've all had it happen...
07-10-2010, 07:09 PM
#31
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 1,211
Guys we also gotta look at the original poster's post he sounds to me like hes younger or a inexperienced hunter if we jump all over him we might ruin hunting for him so I say gently guide and tell him whats right/wrong
07-11-2010, 08:39 AM
#32
Typical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: N/W WI.
Posts: 814
We've all had it happen... we released an arrow, or pulled the trigger, and get rudely awakened from the high of excitement by the pangs of disappointment...
here's my story...
several years ago, my dad let me hunt with his ,270 one morning since i was on a stand with honest 300-400 yd shot opportunities... a big tower blind on the top of a hill overlooking a big saddle back ridge full of small live oaks thickets and acorns...
about 30 minutes after daylight, a big cow-horned spike comes in... its last morning so i decide to take him if he starts to walk out before anything else comes in... weather blows in with some tough winds, gets REALLY dark... it was 70 when i got on the stand before dark, with winds out of the east... now winds were out of the north, and that wind was chilly... i was in a tshirt and jeans...
after an hour of this, watching this spike, i finally decide, ok, time to make it happen... about then, he turns his butt to me and starts to walk into the brush... at the last step before the brush, he puts his head up and looks to the left... in that half a heart beat moment, the wind died, so i clicked off the safety, put the cross hairs on the base of his ear, and squeezed... head exploded and down he went... weather was rough, so i climbed down, getting really chilly now from the wind on that high ridge...
I hiked down and to my dismay, the dear was gone... just a toothe, blood, and what I thought was brain matter on the ground where he fell...
the only funny part about this is that I'm stomping around in what became 45-50 degree weather(yes, 20+ drop in temp... texas weather, go fig).... oh and that i did find the yearling that had been standing 15 ft to the left of the spike... apparently the bullet took a hard left turn in the deers head, and gut shot the yearling... go fig...
feel free to share folks...
here's my story...
several years ago, my dad let me hunt with his ,270 one morning since i was on a stand with honest 300-400 yd shot opportunities... a big tower blind on the top of a hill overlooking a big saddle back ridge full of small live oaks thickets and acorns...
about 30 minutes after daylight, a big cow-horned spike comes in... its last morning so i decide to take him if he starts to walk out before anything else comes in... weather blows in with some tough winds, gets REALLY dark... it was 70 when i got on the stand before dark, with winds out of the east... now winds were out of the north, and that wind was chilly... i was in a tshirt and jeans...
after an hour of this, watching this spike, i finally decide, ok, time to make it happen... about then, he turns his butt to me and starts to walk into the brush... at the last step before the brush, he puts his head up and looks to the left... in that half a heart beat moment, the wind died, so i clicked off the safety, put the cross hairs on the base of his ear, and squeezed... head exploded and down he went... weather was rough, so i climbed down, getting really chilly now from the wind on that high ridge...
I hiked down and to my dismay, the dear was gone... just a toothe, blood, and what I thought was brain matter on the ground where he fell...
the only funny part about this is that I'm stomping around in what became 45-50 degree weather(yes, 20+ drop in temp... texas weather, go fig).... oh and that i did find the yearling that had been standing 15 ft to the left of the spike... apparently the bullet took a hard left turn in the deers head, and gut shot the yearling... go fig...
feel free to share folks...
07-11-2010, 09:12 AM
#33
Typical Buck
Join Date: May 2010
Location: South East Pa.
Posts: 526
That is why I said I would not shoot at the deers' head if the head was turned. A little low, you hit the jaw and the deer is gone. In line with the neck and you either shoot high and miss or you shoot right on or low and you drop that deer right there. Works well from the front too. Both I and my buddies shot enough "stumpies" running through the woods to know that the broadside shot isn't the most perfect shot there is. We even shot doe that the legs had healed over from years before.
07-11-2010, 11:19 AM
#34
Typical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Kansas
Posts: 616
What is the controversy about because it was a head shot? No I think rather it was a poor decision given all the variables such as weather, distance, and deer position. Most of us know the heartbreak of missed shots and bad hits, but as along as we are doing everything we can as the reasoning predators we are, to ensure clean, quick, ethical kills, as heartbreaking as these situations are we can rest assured we have done all we can following the common sense, information, knowledge and experience we have been exposed to on our journey to becoming the the ethical managers and stewards of the precious renewable resource's we have been blessed with.
I know the author of this thread has no doubt learned an invaluable lesson that he will carry with him and I'm sure will pass along to those he comes in contact with through out his hunting lifetime including family, friends, and us. Thanks for sharing your story and teaching us all a lesson about ourselves and bringing us closer as a hunting community.
Live it up! Doug
I know the author of this thread has no doubt learned an invaluable lesson that he will carry with him and I'm sure will pass along to those he comes in contact with through out his hunting lifetime including family, friends, and us. Thanks for sharing your story and teaching us all a lesson about ourselves and bringing us closer as a hunting community.
Live it up! Doug
07-11-2010, 02:05 PM
#35
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ponce de Leon Florida USA
Posts: 10,079
The thought of a potential photo of a starving deer with his jaw blown off because of a dumb shot makes me cringe. That is the type of stuff that would really help the anti's cause. I don't have a big problem with a head shot if the shooter is an experienced hunter, but an experienced hunter would never try to hit a target the size of an orange walking away at 115 yards. I shoot a lot of neck shots, but always within 60 or so yards at a still deer.
07-18-2010, 12:18 AM
#37
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: NC
Posts: 113
What size is the "instant kill" zone on a whitetail head? The size of a coke can? The size of your hand? Smaller if they are looking at you?
I've seen quite a few hunters pre-season at the range warming up, and can honestly say, none of them have impressed me as being able to hit something as big as their hand consistenly at 100yds in 3 shots.
Now they might be close....but that don't cut it.
I know that survey is flawed, but still...these were from a rest. How'bout in hunting conditions?
What has always kept me from a long range head shot, is not so much the size of the target,(assuming I know I can hit it), but how much that target can move in the time it takes the bullet to get there-from the trigger squeeze.
That could be as much as or more than a second depending on cartridge and distance.
See how far you can move your hand in one second, or even half a second.
I've seen quite a few hunters pre-season at the range warming up, and can honestly say, none of them have impressed me as being able to hit something as big as their hand consistenly at 100yds in 3 shots.
Now they might be close....but that don't cut it.
I know that survey is flawed, but still...these were from a rest. How'bout in hunting conditions?
What has always kept me from a long range head shot, is not so much the size of the target,(assuming I know I can hit it), but how much that target can move in the time it takes the bullet to get there-from the trigger squeeze.
That could be as much as or more than a second depending on cartridge and distance.
See how far you can move your hand in one second, or even half a second.
07-18-2010, 05:40 PM
#39
I have read all the postings on this topic. As a 40 yr. + hunter I can only say that I hope that I do what is ethical and right at any given time I pull the trigger or release. I do know that for what ever reason I have decided to shoot. Once the trajectory has left there have been times I begin to second guess myself and I have not recovered every hit. Maybe it was buck fever or adrenalin. I have never shot over 100 yrds. as I live in Pa. and the cover I hunt is thick. Over the years I have processed that information and it makes me a better hunter for the next hunt!
07-18-2010, 06:22 PM
#40
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Iowa
Posts: 1,583
If you want to shoot a deer in the head... then do it. I know we're not talking about bows but I can sit at home all day and shoot a deer target that has its head at the same postion and angle every shot but when I get out and have a deer in front of me, its not the same as shooting that deer target in the head. A deer does have the ability of moving its head unlike a target. Its too risky of a shot for me. Same goes for a rifle/shotgun. Yes, their much faster and accurate than a bow but between you pulling the trigger all the way back and the powder igniting; that deer could have already moved its head a inch or two and you could have your self a wounded deer with a hole through their jaw or nose. And we all know that isn't always fatel.