fishtaconc

If that is in fact a broadhead, It is mighty dull a dull broadhead will push stuff out of the way rather than cut it... as others have stated I have seen deer with odd wounds, like 2 yrs my father in law killed a buck that hobbled when he walked but otherwise seemed fine, when we cut the backstrap out the knife hit something it was a broadhead that had broken off the tip was slightly embedded in the spine it's amazing at what tha deer can withstand

MD DEERHUNTER

I'm not trying to piss off all the bow hunters out there but I have to agree with sconnyhunter. Too many times I hear of bowhunters missing the shot. Wheter you're hunting with a gun or bow, you always hear of someone miss judging a shot from time to time. But I hear it from bow hunters quite frequently. My personal opinion is bowhunting is unethical.

sconnyhunter

Now, don't be using my Personal Experience to make such a broad statement MD Deerhunter.

That is not what I was saying at all. I was saying that I PERSONALLY needed more experience hunting deer before I would feel comfortable hunting them with a Bow.

There is nothing unethical about Bow hunting. Making the shot has more to do with sometimes unforeseeable factors as much as it does with practice and patience.

Ky Bob

It's not that bowhunting is unethical but there are some unethical bowhunters who take shots at farther distances than they should, have also heard of some that shoot at running deer which is totally unethical. But these two excuses could also be used by a rifle hunter. Shooting at deer to far away and shooting at deer on the run. I've bowhunted and got 14 deer on my wall since 1986 and have lost only one deer and that made me sick to my stomach. It happens sometimes, bow or gun,

KCbuckeye22

He will live, a episode of heartland bowhunter had a buck shot in about the same spot, and was killed later in another episode in good health.

fishtaconc

I agree, more hunters should a have mindset like yours, GUN OR BOW.... So many hunters judge there abilities by the equipment they carry.... Cheers to you for your honest assesment of your abilities.

UPHunter08

Meh. A proficient bow hunter can kill deer just as well as a rifle hunter. I do agree, however, that it is the hunter's responsibility to only take shots that he is comfortable will quickly kill the animal.

I'm not trying to restart a bow-hunter vs. gun-hunter debate here, but want to point out that on the opening day of gun season I hear a lot of multiple-gunshot barrages. There's no way many of those are 'accurate' shots. Point is, any hunter can make a poor shot if they're not taking the care to make a good one...so examples like this shouldn't be taken as a reason to ban bow hunters (not saying that's what you're saying, but I hear this line of debate from time to time).

As to the poster that said bow hunting is unethical, I'd like to hear his opinion about gun hunters that shoot 3 rounds a year to check their scope, and then unload a magazine on the first deer they see on opening day. I practice with my bow for weeks and months before season, and only take shots that I'm virtually guaranteed will connect where I want them too. Blanket statements like his are ignorant and only divide the hunting community IMO.

Disagree. If you're avoiding risky shots to begin with, there should be few 'unforeseeable' factors to worry about. A broadside deer at 20-30 yards in front of a proficient bow hunter will be just as dead as one taken by a proficient gun hunter with a scoped rifle at 100 yards IMO. The problem isn't 'unforeseeable factors', it's hunters takings shots outside the envelope of their skill and weapon. This includes long shots in iffy conditions with a bow, or rifle shots at distant, running deer. Blame the particular hunter taking the poor shot, not the entire community.

You're not comfortable taking a shot at a deer with a bow, and I respect that. I wish more hunters would only take shots they're comfortable with.

Mr. Deer Hunter

My dad shot a doe once, when he took my brothers for a walk in deer season that only had 3 legs and it was running so fast, you couldn't even tell how many legs it had until it started walking, then it hopped, not walked normally because it had to put all of its weight onto the one leg.

My guess is that someone had shot it in the front leg years before and the rotted - blown off leg fell off and the wound healed and it learned how to walk on 3 legs.

The first time I went small game hunting, my Uncle shot a fox with 3 legs and no tail. You couldn't tell that there was anything wrong with the Fox until after you killed it. I believe that he got $65 for that Fox.

The bummer is - I saw it first and I didn't know that you were allowed to shoot foxes with a shotgun. He didn't offer to share the money with me either.

RONHUNTERRI

It's hard to say if he'll make it or not; Whiteteils surprise us all, everyday. A few years ago, I harvested an 8-pointer and when I went to the butcher to pick up the venison, he informed me he found a broadhead lodged in a vertabrae; it had a large ball of scar tissue encasing it. The deer had no wounds in the area of the broadhead. The butcher gave it to me as a "souvenir". when I got home, I cut it out of the tissue to see if it was one of my broadheads; it wasn't. I had shot a similar looking buck the prior year but never recovered him nor the arrow and i thought it might have been mine.

MD DEERHUNTER

Well, I can see I pissed off some the avid bow hunters out there. But my main reason for making such a bold statement as...."bow hunting is unethical", was to get a rise of all the bowhunters out there.
But seriously though, I've never bow hunted and wouldn't even think about going into the woods with a bow unless I have had several hours of practice and was confident in myself to make an accurate shot and clean kill.
I myself am a gun hunter, I hunt both muzzleloader and shotgun seasons. But the only time I bring the shotgun into the woods is to hunt squirrel and rabbit. I use my Thompson Center Encore for deer hunting.
I feel that I have something in common with all you bow hunters......One Shot, One Kill. There has been times where I have missed judged my shot and could do nothing but sit there and watch the deer walk away.
I've never been able to experience the satisfaction of being able to bring down that big buck with a bow. Maybe one day I'll give it a try.
So, in the mean time I'll just search the forums and see who else I can piss off! HA!HA! JUST KIDDING! Good luck to all the bowhunters out there. Better bring 'em down because once I get in the woods.....They're Mine!