As said, it' s up to the individual hunters ability. Many people can barley hit a standing target, but many others can hit one running with one hand. It' s all what you practice. Most, and I mean the vast majority of hunters do not practice shooting enough. I shoot all year long, but then, I am a gun nut.

Amen, A5Mag12. One has to love not only the hunt, but also the tools of the hunt, in order succeed more often than not.

I wouldn' t think about it too much unless it becomes a habit. I don' t know his situation or how many deer he has harvested, but I' m sure we have all taken shots that we' re not proud of when we first started humting. I took two stupid shots at deer when I was younger before realizing the importance of a clean shot. I' ve only lost one deer in my life and I attribute that to waiting for just the right shot.

a 30-40 yds running shot should not be that difficult of a shot to make for many people to make. He didn' t make the shot but I don' t feel you can jump all over him for taking it.

maybe, but i know he tends to show off and act stupid, i just hope next time a shot like this presents itself to him, he' ll think about this experience and say ahh i didnt do to well on the last one better wait for a better shot

ive killed alot of deer running, i would take the shot

I wouldn' t hesitate a bit in the same situtiation.

Use it a learning experience and show/teach him how to make the shot instead of bashing his head in. He' s only 16 for Christ sakes.

I would have shot. I have shot a few while running. I have also seen a lot of guys shoot at standing deer and they lost those deer. So.....does that mean that it was irresponsible to shoot at standing deer?
Lay off the kid, give him a break. If he' s 16, how many of you never made a mistake when you were 16?

I personally don' t believe in shooting at a running deer. It' s just too hard to place a shot where it needs to be. You can always tell when someone is shooting at a running deer because they shoot 4 or 5 times in short succession. Just burns me up when I hear all those gunshots, knowing that whoever is doing the shooting is probably going to just wound the deer instead of put it down... [:' (]

Just my opinion, but I never shoot a deer when it' s running. Heck, I never shoot it when it' s just walking. I always whistle and make it stop before I shoot...

Thunder