Shooting through trees
 

So last year I was in my stand...it was built on a three tree base with the front tree being a pine...we didn't trim the branches on it and last year I spotted a buck through the branches, i could only see its ears and antlers. I thought it would be smart to let it pass because it was a risky shot. Because I didn't take the shot I've been ridiculed by my cousin whom I hunt with. Please tell me it was smart of me not to shoot.

It was smart but are we talking about pine needles and a shotgun/muzzle loader or branches and a rifle. If your shooting a shotgun/muzzle loader and you have pine needles in front of you go for it but branches will deflect a rifle bullet very easily and same with a shotgun. I would also not shoot thru pine needles with a light caliber rifle.

branches and a 243 rifle, sorry that i didn't specify.

i would say nj on not shooting...depending on the distance, the bullet might not cross the same spot as the scope would....so just because its a clear shot through the scope, might not be for the bullet..or vice versa even.
tell yer cousin to jump in a lake, that ya cant believe he woulda took that shot...flip the script on him.
a branch will detour a bullet..the thing with trip ot is ya have 3 30 cal slugs, maybe one wont hit a branch and ya get lucky, or maybe ya just wound something..
verdict...wait for a good shot..nj
my daughter had a 9 point..60 yards at 1st..i called him in to 43..but she just couldnt get and hold a good shot..so she didnt shoot....and it was wide open, no branches er anything...buck fever i imagine? i commend her even more than if she got the buck..cause she didnt take a risky shot.

well, since i could only see the antlers and the ears through the branches...i knew it wasn't a clear shot for the bullet either.....its funny because he shot at a deer and just skimmed it....

If all you could see were ears and antlers what would you aim at? If you cant even see the body or neck or anything vital what are you to aim at? It sounds like the only shot you had was point in the tree and pray the bullet miraculously hit the deer.

Your cuz is an idiot. When a hunter passes up a shot due to safety or chance of wounding the animal, he is demonstrating responsibility and respect...nothing less should be expected of any of us.

That said, depending on range a bullet can be easily deflected when the objectis impacted. There have been articles on this proving that the angle of deflection is worse when the object is closer to the gun than the critter. Think about it like this. You shoot at a feer and nick a limb close to you deflecting the bullet only a fraction of a degree but the deer is 75 yards away, you will most likely wound or miss. If the limb is only a few feet from the critter, you most likely would not notice a difference in the impact from point of aim.

I can tell you I have butched several deer with buck shot in them from idiots like your cuz who will shoot at anything they can see with no regard for if it can make a clean kill. I would say calling him an idiot is being kind.

Good for you. Have a great season.

Personally I wouldn't risk it and get a pole saw out there. When hunting with my muzzle loader 1 year we were pushing a section of woods and I had a nice doe jump up and I took a shot at her. It was only 40 yards and clear open except for a 2" sapling right where I aimed at that very second. Long story short I drilled the 2" sapling cutting it right off and never hitting the doe. Due to the scope I couldn't see the sapling. If i had known it was there I would have waited for her to get around it until I had a clear shot.

Hunter gun safety rule: Make sure of your target and what is behind it. You did the right thing.

Good for you! You definately did the right thing. It's hard to demonstrate restraint, but it is the responsible, ethical thing to do in a situation like that. I passed on a doe on opening day with my crossbow. It was only 15-20 yards away. She creeped in on me without me seeing her. I didn't like the angle and there was some brush around her that could have possibly deflected my shot.... so as hard as it was, I passed on the shot. After loosing a nice buck a few years back, (after what I believed was a clear, unrestricted shot) I wouldn't chance ANY shot I wasn't 100% comfortable with.