![[Deleted]](https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/iconimages/whitetail-deer-hunting/deleted_ltr.gif)
[Deleted]
12-21-2003 | 06:57 PM
#62
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 194
Likes: 0
RE: i think i shot a a really nice one....need some input
Coyote food by now. Tough luck but at least you did try and props on having enough sack to tell the tale. Hopefully we all learned a few things from your experince.
12-21-2003 | 07:32 PM
#63
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,001
Likes: 0
From: Shakopee MN USA
RE: i think i shot a a really nice one....need some input
Rack...I guess I really don't mean to rip on you specifically, but I think that this is another case of someone seeing a "big buck" and then shooting when not even knowing the any specifics...just shoot and hope he goes down. You said when you started tracking him that he ended up being only 30 yards from you. 30 yards?? and you don't know exactly where you hit him? At 30 yards, you could easily taken an extra 2 seconds to let him turn broadside to you for a high percentage shot. You said he was standing there facing your tree....I believe. Well if the buck was standing there...he was calm and you SHOULD HAVE WAITED for a better shot. If he wasn't calm, and all of a sudden took off and you didn't end up with a shot, well then he did. Point is.....only take high percentage shots!!!! If you have to let a B&C or P&Y buck or even a doe walk because you don't have a good shot......then you have to let it go. You owe it to yourself and you owe it to the animal. I'm sorry, but I just have heard of so many big bucks, doe, fawns etc... running around on 3 legs, limping because of an a$$ shot, guts hangin out, found dead because a hunter couldn't retreive the animal, so on and so on because people don't have enough self discipline to take a "GOOD" shot. Don't think for a minute that I think that I am holyier(sp?) than all because of the things that I have said, but fact remains that in 12 years of deer hunting(gun and bow), I haven't lost a deer. If I don't get a broadside shot, I don't shoot. I've had to let a lot of deer go, but if that's what it takes...that's what it takes.
12-21-2003 | 09:05 PM
#64
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 602
Likes: 0
From:
RE: i think i shot a a really nice one....need some input
ORIGINAL: rackassasin
sorry for the delay guys...I'm not really feeling too good about this whole thing. I haven't found him yet but I am definately not giving up. I will keep searching. My brother has been very sick with the flu and my buddy didn't come through yet on helping me search...and then there is work....so it's been tough....not to muention how thick it is in the last direction he headed. I will search again this week when I'm not working. Once again...I truly believe I shot this deer in the chest. He was facing me head on and I could see him very clearly. I concentrated and stayed calm and let the shot off very smoothly without moving. I was confident I hit him good. The hair on the ground was directly under where his chest was. There was also marks where he spun around after the shot. There was a nice amount of blood where he initially stopped roughly 50- 60 yards from the shot. If he was gut shot I don't know if there would have been much blood but depends on the exact point of impact. You know...If I didn't think I would have found him I would never have posted. I am disappointed and I know everyone doesn't like this. I don't know what to say really. I apologize. I tried. I didn't take a running shot. I didn't think it was a bad shot. I fully expected it to take him down. I feel bad. I will update when i find this deer. We could see what direction he went and he was most likely a large deer because the tops of the trees were moving that he was banging into and they were decent sized tall trees. I am bummed because I did see his horns sticking up when he moved when i first spotted him and I am pretty sure he was a big one. When he first tried to get to his feet and he looked me directly in the face I kinda went into shock so it was hard to focus...it was like a bad dream. I was certain i was going to find him dead and then that happened. I could tell that my brother was shocked too by the way he reacted and the tone of his voice. My opinion is that the buck was very strong. I have no other explanation.
sorry for the delay guys...I'm not really feeling too good about this whole thing. I haven't found him yet but I am definately not giving up. I will keep searching. My brother has been very sick with the flu and my buddy didn't come through yet on helping me search...and then there is work....so it's been tough....not to muention how thick it is in the last direction he headed. I will search again this week when I'm not working. Once again...I truly believe I shot this deer in the chest. He was facing me head on and I could see him very clearly. I concentrated and stayed calm and let the shot off very smoothly without moving. I was confident I hit him good. The hair on the ground was directly under where his chest was. There was also marks where he spun around after the shot. There was a nice amount of blood where he initially stopped roughly 50- 60 yards from the shot. If he was gut shot I don't know if there would have been much blood but depends on the exact point of impact. You know...If I didn't think I would have found him I would never have posted. I am disappointed and I know everyone doesn't like this. I don't know what to say really. I apologize. I tried. I didn't take a running shot. I didn't think it was a bad shot. I fully expected it to take him down. I feel bad. I will update when i find this deer. We could see what direction he went and he was most likely a large deer because the tops of the trees were moving that he was banging into and they were decent sized tall trees. I am bummed because I did see his horns sticking up when he moved when i first spotted him and I am pretty sure he was a big one. When he first tried to get to his feet and he looked me directly in the face I kinda went into shock so it was hard to focus...it was like a bad dream. I was certain i was going to find him dead and then that happened. I could tell that my brother was shocked too by the way he reacted and the tone of his voice. My opinion is that the buck was very strong. I have no other explanation.
There are alot of "good shots". One of the best is a deer quartering away from you at a slight angle. Another factor is how good a shot you are. Don't for one minute think that the only "good" shot is broad side. Pass that rubish on somewhere else........
12-22-2003 | 06:20 AM
#65
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,001
Likes: 0
From: Shakopee MN USA
RE: i think i shot a a really nice one....need some input
Easy now boy.....easy......
There are alot of "good shots". One of the best is a deer quartering away from you at a slight angle. Another factor is how good a shot you are. Don't for one minute think that the only "good" shot is broad side. Pass that rubish on somewhere else........
There are alot of "good shots". One of the best is a deer quartering away from you at a slight angle. Another factor is how good a shot you are. Don't for one minute think that the only "good" shot is broad side. Pass that rubish on somewhere else........
Ok...granted I didn't go into every single angle that a deer could be standing for a high percentage shot, but you have to be crazy to not think that a broadside shot isn't the best shot at a deer out in the woods. I'd take a broadside, double lung shot at a deer anyday over ANY other angle. Bow or gun. The other factor of being a good shot.?. If your not a good shot, hit the range until you are. Bow hunters(well most that are worth a s**t), don't buy a bow the day before the season, practice for 10 min and then sit in a tree stand and "attempt" to hunt. But it can happen very easily with gun guys. I know two of those this year. They bought a gun, got it bore sighted, hit the range for 10 min..."It's dead on at 100....I'm ready to go". LOL What a joke!! That was the main point I was trying to get across. This goes out to the beginners in either the sport of bowhunting or gun hunting....Be an archer or a gun shooter before you step into the woods to be a "Deer" hunter. Certainly doesn't mean that nothing can go wrong, but atleast you will know what your weapon does and what it's capable of before you step into the woods.
12-22-2003 | 11:28 AM
#66
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: Georgia
RE: i think i shot a a really nice one....need some input
If you are a good shot you don't HAVE to limit yourself to broadside shots. I see absolutely nothing wrong with shooting a calm deer facing you at 30 yds. with a gun. With a bow, it's a different story. But there is nothing wrong with the shot he took....only the fact he didn't make a good hit. It's easier to hit the vitals on a 30 yd. frontal shot than on a 100 yd. broadside simply due to the range.
I think he did all he could do. It sucks, but I bet he learned from it.
I think he did all he could do. It sucks, but I bet he learned from it.
12-22-2003 | 11:49 AM
#67
Giant Nontypical
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,921
Likes: 0
From: Saskatchewan Canada
RE: i think i shot a a really nice one....need some input
But there is nothing wrong with the shot he took....only the fact he didn't make a good hit. It's easier to hit the vitals on a 30 yd. frontal shot than on a 100 yd. broadside simply due to the range.
Rack I am sorry to hear you never caught up with him and it can & does happen...a shame but part of hunting to a degree. All we can do is learn from these experiences & hopefully it won't happen again. Best of luck on finding what is left of him.
12-22-2003 | 12:02 PM
#68
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: Georgia
RE: i think i shot a a really nice one....need some input
I don't think he hit the vitals either. The buck is not going to be alive to be jumped out of his bed if the vitals were hit. The deer was probably quartering toward him and he hit guts....
I just meant that a frontal shot at that range is acceptable to me, personally. A bad shot is a bad shot, unfortunately....whether frontal or broadside. If he made a bad hit at that range, he may have made a bad hit regardless of the shot angle given him.
Like you said, you have to be confident you can make the shot, or you shouldn't shoot.
But, bad things do happen and I hate that Rack lost a very good deer. But I do commend the effort to retrieve him. At this point, it's all he can do. Hard lesson learned.
I just meant that a frontal shot at that range is acceptable to me, personally. A bad shot is a bad shot, unfortunately....whether frontal or broadside. If he made a bad hit at that range, he may have made a bad hit regardless of the shot angle given him.
Like you said, you have to be confident you can make the shot, or you shouldn't shoot.
But, bad things do happen and I hate that Rack lost a very good deer. But I do commend the effort to retrieve him. At this point, it's all he can do. Hard lesson learned.
12-23-2003 | 07:38 AM
#69
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
From: Bloomer Wi. USA
RE: i think i shot a a really nice one....need some input
Not meaning to open a can of worms
But I can't believe nobody caught what really happened here.The answer to the poor shot is not the placement ,but the terrain. The big B word and it don't stand for buck.(Brush)I believe what happenned here is that he hit a branch of some sort that deflected the slug.causing a misplaced shot.
just my 2 cents
tanner1
But I can't believe nobody caught what really happened here.The answer to the poor shot is not the placement ,but the terrain. The big B word and it don't stand for buck.(Brush)I believe what happenned here is that he hit a branch of some sort that deflected the slug.causing a misplaced shot.
just my 2 cents
tanner1
12-23-2003 | 07:50 AM
#70
Boone & Crockett
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 13,672
Likes: 0
From: Fredericksburg Virginia USA
RE: i think i shot a a really nice one....need some input
take the scope away from my eye and look again for maybe ten seconds and i pick him out in the brush. I put the scope on him and he's a big racker. A bruiser for this area. I took the only shot i had... a front on chest shot.