I would like to add some food for thought. In looking at these statics for another thread on legal hunting age it became apparent that way too many of the 400 fatal and non- fatal hunting accidents in Wisconsin occurred when people were shot by other hunters while on deer drives and the shooters were shooting at running deer. Quite a few ended in fatalities. It is a good idea to look at these tragic cases and learn what to avoid.
Live it up! Doug

You've gotta be farkin' kidding me Sea Bee. Hunt in a lab coat in a sterile environment, do ya? There is nothing wrong with taking a shot at a running deer if you have the ability to make the shot. This practice has been happening since before you were ever thought of. Read an old hunting book like "Shots at Whitetails" to get some perspective. Maybe you just aren't very handy with a rifle and can't imagine taking a shot like this kid did. And that is just fine, for YOU.

20 yrds at a moving target with a 30-30 is a pretty doable shot.
I certainly would have done it. My first deer was killed by the Texas Heart Shot. A surgeon or Engineer couldn't have done a better job getting that bullet up there than I did.It was perfect. Now would I do it again? Absolutely not. But it killed the animal instantly.But yeah it
was my first opportunity a killing a deer. This particular kill shot is part of the hunting training manual so I took it. It does work.LOL
But I wait for better shots now . But honestly there was no way in hell I was gonna let that buck just walk away from me, that was my first buck .I had a very very clear shot at a vital so I took it.
No regretts cause it worked out perfect but I know that I took my .1 % of getting it right.

I am not a gun hunter but I have to chime in on this one. What ever a hunter does in the woods is their chose but for ME taking a shoot at a RUNNING deer leave a big chance for something to go wrong.like other hunters being in the way ..not friends doing a drive. I was not required to take hunters safety course in Va but my Kids had to so I also went. This course strongly stated "Check down range" before you pull the trigger. I have all the confidence I could hit a deer running but it is not worth the risk if I did not see the other hunter in time before I pulled that trigger.

I am not tell anyone to do it my way.I am just making you think about what could happen if there was someone behind that running deer that you did not see.

So if a shot at a running deer is so wrong and potentially dangerous what about shots at rabbits, grouse or other moving animals. That is one and the same only the deer presents a larger target. I have shot and killed several deer that were moving, using both rifle and shotgun with shot in it. As a matter of fact both deer I killed last year were moving through the woods, one was running full bore. So again I say if you have the ability then use it. Each of us MUST hunt within our own capabiliteis and who are we to tell someone else that what works for them and is legal is wrong. How many of you have missed deer standing perfectly still? Or how many have wounded a deer you shot standing perfectly still then could not find it? So using some of the logic you post then shooting at a standing deer is bad because you take the chance of missing or otherwise crippling a deer.

Sorry guys but you are pushing an unwinnable position if you think a running shot is bad.

International Hunter Education Association
http://homestudy.ihea.com/hsafety/11safeunsafe.htm

Safe/Unsafe Shots

A safe shot at game is one where you see the animal clearly, are able to positively identify it, and are sure of what lies between you, your target and beyond.
Never take these kinds of shots:

• At game that you can't identify. Never shoot through brush and trees at a sound, movement or a dark shape!
• At running game, when there is little opportunity to check your zone of fire and you are very unlikely to make a clean kill anyway.
• At "skylined" animals that are standing on or moving over a hill where you have no way of knowing what lies beyond your target.
• At targets when the angle of a missed shot would cause your bullet to travel its maximum trajectory and possibly injure others.
• At game that is clearly out of range.
• At flocks of waterfowl as opposed to a single target. Flock shooting increases the risk of wounding game rather than making a clean kill.
• When objects in the foreground of your target could deflect your bullet.
• At game that another hunter is shooting at.
• When your bullet is apt to ricochet off flat or hard surfaces such as rocks, water, or trees.

Live it up! Doug

Comparing a rifle shot at a deer with the shotgun blast at a rabbit or bird are a completely different matter all together (i.e. it's an invalid argument). You're right in saying that we should stick to our abilities whether you're taking 20 yard shot at a moving deer or a 400 yard shot at quartering deer. I think kswild has it right that safety should be the biggest concern because a bullet doesn't just disappear when it misses the target.

http://www.bowsite.com/bowsite/featu.../deergeometry/
i ran across this game on this forum and had to post it here. the shot on the running deer is impossible to make i just start clicking everywhere. its the hardest shot on the game and has the highest chance of wounding a deer. this is a little extreme but shows how hard it is to make a perfect shot.

"At running game, when there is little opportunity to check your zone of fire and you are very unlikely to make a clean kill anyway."

And I agree with that statement entirely. But what about at a running deer from a stand that you have been sitting on for hours and you know what is around you???

"Comparing a rifle shot at a deer with the shotgun blast at a rabbit or bird are a completely different matter all together" And how is that so different. Each is an animal running, each is being targetted by a hunter who knows his abilities. Using the above statement from International Hunters Association then hunting for small game and birds is a lot more unsafe than hunting deer from a stand. So you see there are definite interpretations for each type of hunting and how the shots are taken. Making a blanket statement that shooting at a running deer is bad is a bad statement to make and trying to justify that type of statement only leads to many able to prove its fallacy.

If the deer is in your freezer there is no need to ask if it was a good shot, the point is moot.