What is, and what should never be.
Massachusetts
Not talking about the Zeppelin song. And this isn't in response to Carpe's deer, he hasn't even started looking for it yet. Last year there were way too many bad shots taken, this year is better and we need to try to keep it that way. So I'm just trying to get ahead of the criticisms.
A few weeks ago I heard the first of the bad shot posts for this season and cringed at the possible backlash those people might get for honestly stating their predicament. I don't like when some of us beat up on guys and make them feel bad. One of the best things about this site is that we help people new to hunting. Too often those new hunters are focused on getting a deer, any deer, I suspect to show the rest of us that they are one of us. And in trying so hard to "put one on the board" they rush a shot, shoot at a moving deer, take a marginal shot or wound a deer they can't recover, whether it survives or not.
So this is just a reminder to all of us, myself included because I still wing one for whatever reason, from time to time. Practice, practice, practice - even during the season and certainly from hunting height. Please take your time on your shot. Make certain your shot is broadside or slightly quartering away. Visualize the vitals, in particular the lungs and heart, and aim for where the arrow will exit the animal. If the deer is spooky be prepared for it to drop at the sound of your release and account for that. And keep in mind that most of the deer you see, even if they are close, you will not have a good shot at and you will let them walk. That is not only okay, that is something to be proud of and something that will gain our respect.
And know that getting a deer does not make you "one of us". Coming here, asking questions, reading the posts, taking part in the discussions and getting out into the woods makes you one of us. Seriously, by taking part in this forum and interacting with us makes you one of us. And as such, we expect you will do your very best to take a high percentage shot, a shot you can brag about on here. And if for whatever reason you didn't, we're here for you as well. It takes some balls to admit you might have screwed up, I can only guess how many we never hear about.
Couldn't have said it better myself we all owe that much to the animal we hunt
You hit the nail on the head mrw!!
It's your life but be ever mindful of the lives you affect.
For the judges: Be truthful but be kind.
Thank you mrw, great words of wisdom.
Amen. Couldn't say it better.
Very true and well said. Ive notice a lot of posts on social media this year, of quartering to shots taken. Nothing wrong with that but a lot of these are cases are where the person doesn't know what to do as far as, how long to wait to track or what sign they have on their arrow. I feel if your taking a marginal difficult shot you should know what youve possibly hit and when to go track it. I wish there where classes out there for the inexperienced to just teach shot placement, what diff blood sign means and time frames for tracking.
well said. MRW said that most deer you see don't give you a good shot anyway. I will admit that it took me a long time to get that threw my head, but understanding that has helped calm me down dramatically. My hart still pounds when I have a deer in range, but knowing a deer in range is far from a shore thing calms me down and calm people make better decisions.
Well said. A marginal shot is bad enough... not seeking advice/help due to fear of public bashing would make the situation worse. A double negative doesn't make it a positive situation. I would volunteer anyone to direct message if folks they want advice/ and not judgement... just like I tell my kids about drinking and driving.... we will probably have a cordial conversation later but not in the moment...
Tax there is tons of information. The Drury brothers shot placement stuff for starters.
I'm in Rhody right now. This is a meat hunt, and I had 2 does for a long time. They were st 200 yards and I wasn't 100 % sure of a lethal, ethical hit. So I passed.
My daughter was 8 when we went turkey hunting. Birds were gobbling but not coming in. She grabs her 410 and low crawls to the Tom. Gets within 20 yards and doesn't shoot, just watches him walk off. I ask her why she didn't shoot (she is a crack shot out to 40) and she said there was too much leaves and grass in the way. The 410 wouldn't have noticed but the fact that she held off because she wasn't 100% sure made me burst with pride! And she has the respect of all the hunters we know in town.
So it's not the kill, it is the chase that makes us hunters. Let's be awesome hunters!
I think every single hit is unique and their is no real answer as to how long to wait. I have a bad habit of not trying to stop a walking deer as I don’t want them to know something isn’t right and alert them to me. It was amazing to me that a slow walk resulted in a hip shot. Logic said to wait to go after this deer but I swear I heard it crash and it did only 60 yards away. The artery back their is more lethal then a lung hit from my experience. Although I learned to make attempts to stop a walking deer instead of shooting. Like I said each hit differs as if I did not hit the artery it would have most likely been not recovered.
There are shot placement videos and web pages, a lot of good info.
https://youtu.be/r_iswMukM8Y
It's not the kill,it's the chase that makes us hunters!!!! Love that! Great words of wisdom! Awesome thread MRW. I always try and tell my self to not rush the shot!
I measure my success by how many deer I see while in my stand and how close they are coming to me. To me it means that I have done a pretty good job scouting and then narrowing the position down throughout the season.
This has been my best season ever. And that is comparing to a string of years I would get a deer every year. But I was lucky back then. I stumbled onto a great spot and nobody else hunted it. However, this year I am hunting pressured spots. No less than four stands in every area I hunt. I have seen three bucks and countless does. However, they were either not in any safe shooting lanes or in one instance I had mom and her kid within two yards of me, but I just did not have it in me to separate them from each other.
I refuse to take a risky shot because I know that even the perfect situation can go wrong easily. Less than perfect increases the risk exponentially. I know I will injure one someday, but I am doing my best to ensure it never happens. It goes for hunting with a gun for me as well. I am still trying to figure out how to increase my accuracy with my inline. I am shooting it well, but it is not perfect. My groups still are not touching at a 100 yards. Probably never will, but will continue to try.
It is tempting though to shoot at the first deer that is even close to being in range when you read about all the success stories online. You have to take a step back though and think for a moment that even though you are seeing it every day, it is still a very small percentage of hunters that harvest an animal. I think you are in the minority of hunters if you are actually even seeing one while out there.
Most of the folks on this site are pretty hard core and put a lot of time into scouting and hunting. I mean a LOT!
Great points guys, and great thread MRW! I like what Peter said, the measure of our success as hunters are the number of sightings, putting yourself in the right place at the right time to be successful. I think often times a shot opportunity is luck. They rarely follow the script, coming from a direction you wouldn't expect, or skirting the obvious run for a lesser used path. At this point I've seen a bunch of mature bucks over the past 10 years, and last week was the first time I had a shot I felt completely comfortable with. Almost every hunter at one time or another is going to take an ill advised shot. I took one last season. What's important is that you learn from your mistakes and not repeat them. Although I wouldn't want to shame someone, I also dont think there's anything wrong with being honest, or holding each other to a higher standard. As much as my own value system keeps me from taking those marginal shots, it's also knowing I would have to answer to you guys. Every shot is definitely different, but the bottom line is you and only you can make the call to let that arrow fly or not. If you can look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and live with that shot, you did the right thing. If not, take your lumps, learn from it, and move on. I have your back no matter what, because we're brothers. Nobody knows your pain like I do, the ups and downs, the countless hours in a tree, the miles on those boots, the thousands of arrows threw that rest all year. Because this is a brotherhood. Not the kind on the Tshirt, but the real kind. Your all the brothers I can turn too when I need advice, or an honest opinion, or help finding a blood trail. It's nice to know your not alone in this thing we love, because your not.
Great post MRW. Words of wisdom. I would like to add a tip of wisdom that has made me a better hunter and shooter over the years. Carry a rhinehart target or block in your vehicle. Every time your return from your hunt before you take off your hunting gear take a few shots . You’ll be amazed at how one little change in what you wear can make a huge difference in your shot. This can make a huge difference in not wounding animals. Even something as small as wearing or not wearing a glove can make a huge difference.
MRW, thank you for the thread. Last year, I was one of those hunters that got too excited and took a bad shot. 20 yards and deer was moving. I thought it was a broad side shot at 20, how could I miss? I didnt. It was a straight pass thru. Issue was it wasn't an instant kill. Took a week to find and of course the coyotes got to it. I got torn apart on this site and almost didn't come back. I hope all of you saying "great post" and jumping on this thread remember this thread when someone inexperienced posts a screw up and asks for advice. I did learn from it and took a button buck last Friday at 3:40pm and a doe Saturday morning. Found both. I have 2 of each tag and at least 4 more deer on my property just today alone. My shots were true and deer at full stop. My arrows got stuck and broke off each deer, so I'm down 2 arrows, but no worries, Reedy's has more.
FatKid - awesome successes this year. I missed that if you had posted it this year. Well done and enjoy the fruits of your efforts!
Very good point drslyr on the clothing. Especially as the layers increase in the cold.
I think Eastie nailed it for all of us, "Nobody knows your pain like I do".
Fatkid, those 2 are just the beginning. And the son of that 10 pointer is growing big so you can have a shot at him!
