magicman54494

I see the ethics police are out in force! For the record this is the 4th deer I have tracked and shot, the last 3 were all dead in less than 40 yds. Hunting the dense northwoods requires slightly different tactics than open country or farm country. Not all shots are going to be perfect and perfect broadside standing shots are rare. Dense cover can easily deflect shots as well. I do practice shooting for this type of hunting. Most guys sit over a pile of corn but that style of hunting doesn't suit me. I thought I'd share my story of a slightly different form of hunting. I also was truthful as to how the hunt happened - the good and the bad. Those that don't understand probably don't because they have never hunted the type of country I hunt in. I, as much as the rest of you, wish he would have went right down.
These judgemental attitudes make me regret sharing my hunt. It's funny because had I dropped him I'd be a hero. I wound so I'm a goat. I ask for help in ending the hunt asap and then people question who's deer it is. That in itself says something about those posters. At that point I wasn't concerned about who kills it as much as getting the job done asap. I'd bet that everyone that criticized has missed or placed poor shots. I'll take your advise and practice again this summer and contemplate my shot selection if you take my advise and try to be less judgemental. PS , If you really "don't want to pile on" you could have sent me a PM.
Merry Christmas to all!

NebBuckHunter

I'm not big on "pm-ing" on a "public forum" but that's never here nor there. I will agree with you that I mostly do stand hunting, and spot and stalk. The second buck I took this year was in the dense woods however and I had seen him about 4 times prior to the time I actually pulled the trigger due to marginal/unethical shots. The morning that I ended up taking him, I passed on 2 shots that I had on him running through the dense cover. I finally got him stopped in a small clearing, broadside at about 75 yards, made a double lung shot, and he was down in a matter of seconds. Had he not stopped, I would not have taken the shot, and waited for another day.

I did make a marginal shot once. It was my first deer ever as a kid. A small buck with only one side of his rack was running straight towards me and me and all my nerves pulled the trigger. I pulled the shot low and to the left knocking out both his front and back leg joints. The sound that deer made still bothers me as he was in severe pain. I lucky was able to end the hunt with a quick follow up shot, but hopefully won't take another straight on shot again.

I agree with you that we have all taken a poor shot in our lives. This year I lost one of the best deer I've ever pulled the trigger on. I was on a ridge above river bottom country. He was about 100 yards away and took a broadside shot from the prone position. He into heavy cedar timber and down into the bottom. I waited and went to track him. Found a few spots of blood, and then it ended. I spent two days of a three day hunt, and countless hours on hands and knees looking for that deer and never found him. The shot was a perfect set up, but obviously, my execution was far from it. I'm still bothered by that, and can't figure out what I did wrong, and will spend countless hours at the range this off season further improving my skills.

I messed up there, but that is a far cry from shooting the lower jaw, and hoof off a mature deer. No matter what the conditions, environment, cover, etc, those shots were FEET off the mark. In my mind that's suggests three things, faulty equipment, a need for more patience waiting on a better opportunity, or more practice to hone skills. No offense is meant by any of these comments. Glad you got the deer, he's a beauty.

warbirdlover

Nice buck. There's some dandies up north but very smart and hard to get. You did good!!

And anyone who's hunted the deep Wisconsin woods knows that the shots are there and gone in the blink of an eye. You dink around like they do on those TV shows or in the open western states and your chance has gone. If you can't hit a running deer you won't get deer in northern Wisconsin.

countertop

I passed on a shot at the biggest deer I've ever had in my sites Monday night because in the rapidly fading light I wasn't 100% sure I could nail him with a guaranteed kill shot. In hindsight of course, it turns out he was closer than I thought and I could have easily dropped him. But at the time I had doubts and passed on him.

But, that said, you should be complimented for keeping up the effort to finish what you started. Most likely would have not returned the 2nd day. And for that - and the killer beard - you should he complimented.

Oh yeah, that's an awfully nice buck!

MZS

This is a different kind of hunting. Tracking. I have heard about it from those that live in the N.WI area. You need a big un-posted area to work in (like the National forest). You find a track in the fresh snow and follow. From what I was told, the deer has less stamina (for the long haul) than a human so eventually, their bolting ahead of you becomes shorter and shorter, to the point where you actually have a shot. Since they are probably in heavy cover, it probably is not the best shot. The logic here, perhaps, is that a wounding shot provides a blood trail in the fresh snow in addition to the tracks. Eventually, the exhausted and possibly wounded deer provides a good shot. I am not going to comment on the ethics of all this, just providing some perspective.

Blackradio

I've been back and forth on this for 10 years and I've made my decision...no we can't.

mrbb

WOW took you 10 yrs to reply to this one , and the person your quoting back at, hasn't been on the site in 9 yrs??
LOL
but since it took you 10 yrs to reply, I guess there is hope in the next decade or so, he will too ??

Bocajnala

Good stuff
-Jake

rickt300

I'm going to scrutinize your posts to make sure your not some tree hugger no hunting long haired commie.

Blackradio

You have my blessing.