Was out hunting public land yesterday morning and around 9:00am I hear a deer behind me and i see a nice 120 class buck walking through open woods slowly feeding on acorns. I'm hunting an edge where thick cover meets these open woods. I think the deer is heading for thisreal thick stuff by some houses so I grunted once. I know he heard me so I wait about 5 minutes and then give him a softer grunt. Then I wait. Sure enough 3 minutes later he swings right around and starts heading to me. I have two trails on each side of my stand 15 yards out so i am psyched. Unfortunately the deer comes right under my tree where there isn't even a trail. He walks straight away from me into thick stuff and I passed on the shot. He was looking around and came back out at 40 yards perfectly broadside but passed on that too. Then he started heading back and was going to pass me on the lefttrail at 15 yards but held up and got me wind. My friends say I should have taken the straight down shot but I always heard that was the shotto avoid. Am i wrong?
That's not a shot I like. Normally that will be a spine shot, or a one lunger. They can travel a long way with one lung.
Nope. You did right IMO.
Better to wonder about taking the shot, than where a wounded deer ended up if it was a poor shot.
Definitely an ugly shot-I would have passed too. Let me guess...........your friends are cccCompounders?
You made the best choices, though they did not fill your tag. Look forward to your next encounter with this buck. Good luck!
If you need to question whether to take a shot, you probably shouldn't. Hopefully you'll see him again and have a better opportunity.
Jeff that is a tuff shot. But I think anyone who shoots as good as you do would have made it. :smileystooges:
Get-em next time.
First instinct prevails. No need to second guess yourself. A wounded deer not found is no fun. Better to let him pass and get him next time.
If that arrow doesn't make it through the bottom of the chest you almost have a zero chance at any blood trail at all. Low percentage shot and you did good by passing it up :thumbsup:
You know there's going to be some guys coming on here saying they made the shot and recovered the deer but still a very very tuff shot and a lot can go wrong the best you can get is one lung and maybe the heart but they can run for a long ways before expiring.
Tracy
I think you made the right call and way to go on making it!!!!! Sometime making the right call is a lot tougher then taking the shot.
I agree with your first instinct.
I didn't read you post....just the title...and if you had to post here and ask....then you already had your answer IMO. :campfire:
He's going thru thick stuff to heavy to shoot? You're in good company to pass on that shot!
Hind sight is perfect vision. You went with your gut feeling, and have no guilt to live with from taking a shot you were not comeforatable with.
Good call.
Pete
no sir i would not take that shot. Good call :thumbsup:
You had no shot. :thumbsup: That's called being ethical. :archer:
I have taken straight down shots and the results have been mixed. I usually pass on them. In fact, from a tree stand I like them out in the 20 yard range.,,,they are less startled by the shot and tend to look at the source of the shot rather than duck.
Terry took the words right from my fingers... Except I read your post. Never take a shot you are uncomfortable with, and the size of the prey doesn't make the shot any more "comfortable."
I wouldn't take a straight down or straight away shot and I wouldn't take a shot outside my effective range. If it didn't feel right then it wasn't. Always follow your gut. Good job letting him walk. :thumbsup:
As Don Thomas once told me, "I've never regretted NOT shooting." Nuff said. Besides, that buck is still out there, and he isn't getting any smaller.
Learned a long time ago to pass up a shot straight down. Only after I lost two deer. hard to get an exit wound for a blood trail. It is a leathal shot. I found both deer several weeks later. But not ethical IMO.
Al
quote:
Originally posted by Terry Green:
I didn't read you post....just the title...and if you had to post here and ask....then you already had your answer IMO. :thumbsup:
Any shot that occurs to me to pass I pass with no questions.
My decision is just that....regardless of what friends say. I am the only one who has to live with my decision.
If the shot does not feel right to you, and your thought is pass; then pass.
You did what you felt was best, so you did the right thing.
you made the right decision. Feel good about what you did, a wounding shot would have mad you feel bad for years.
Good call on your part. I've tried it twice, once on a 130" in MO- tracked for 10 hours with no success.... that was in 2006.
Just pulled it off this year- but didn't recover until the next morning, coyotes got him first. He's my avatar buck....
I won't be trying it again- just can't get all the way to the bottom.....
If it doesn't feel right don't shoot. You made the right choice. You will get another chance to arrow a deer and maybe the same one. :thumbsup:
The recent issue of Bowhunter Magazine has an excellent article on treestand shot angles. It came to the house the day after I passed up a very close quartering on opportunity at a 10pt. My son-in-law thought I was nuts (new bowhunter), I insisted he read the article.
Besides reviewing the do's and don'ts of various shot angles I learned something new. Deer and goats have a membrane between the two lungs. If only a single lung is damaged the other lung is fully functional. The straight down shot is not a good shot angle as it is nearly impossible to take out both lungs.
You made the right call!!! He will be back for the 15 yd broadside.
I did not even read your post and I can tell you that you were right to pass on the shot. You were the only one there at the time and you are the only one that can make that judgment which is always the right one for you at the time.
DDave
Now I read the post and my thinking is still the same. Think about your margin of error on that straight down shot.
That and how many times have you actually practiced that shot. My view is that if you have not tried a similar shot at a target you have no business trying it on a living creature.
At the very worst that buck should be 130 or better by next year.
Great ethics which is something our sport really needs!
You did right. I passed on a doe last week that was about 15 yards away but there was lots of small twigs and stuff between us. I actually never thought about shooting. All I could envision was the arrow glancing off a small limb and then wounding the deer and losing it altogether.
Not for me.
Yep. You certainly did the right thing.
:thumbsup:
Good choice.
Good call. I passed on four different bucks last weekend. I don't regret any. Two were fork horns. One was probably around 120 or so, but only about 2 1/2 years old...15 yards, broadside. I just couldn't take him because of his age.
The worst one was a huge, old buck, 150+ and VERY wide...but it was getting pretty dark, he was 25 yards out, and he was quartering slightly to me. I passed, reluctantly. The next morning, back in the same stand, I could see some pencil-sized limbs that very well could have deflected an arrow. I'm glad I didn't attempt the shot. It was the right choice and so was yours! The results could have been similar: a wounded and possibly unrecovered deer.
I have never regretted passing a low percentage shot.
If it didn't feel right then it wasn't. I passed the same shoot on a mega muley a few years ago. It's never good to find out the "hard way".
Personally I feel if you questioned the shot angle then you made the right choice.
Good shot opportunities just feel right...
I think you made the right choice for sure.
Thanks guys, I knew i did the right thing but when you hear people saying the opposite it gets you thinking.
A big New York Buck has been my white whale. I see at least one a year out hunting but there are always just out of range with me and the recurve. I know i can hit them but not sure I can get them in the boiler room so I have always waited for a better shot.
With all the hunter pressure thats in the area I sure hope a deserving hunter gets him and not someone with a nuisance permit and a shotgun at night.
I guess I am in the minority here, I would take a spine-shot, I practice that shot a lot from the stand on leaves. I have killed 2 deer that way, no blood trail to worry about, they dropped right there. Take whatever you are comfortable with.
"If you have to ask, you should pass"
Having had a questionable season so far with some poor shot selections, this is my new motto.
its not all about the kill! you got that deer so close you could spit on its back!! awesome dude!
your doing it right!
Any time you have doubts, it is a probably good idea to pass and wait for a better opportunity.
In a trial that truly tested your ability to stick to what you yourself believe was unethical, you came thru a better man and a better hunter.
I applaud you.
Even though I read your intro, it wasn't necessary. If you are not dead sure of a shot, you should pass. You weren't sure, you passed. You did the right thing. Period.
You already knew the answer when you passed on the shot.. you should feel good about your decision
You definately made the right decision. I was able to stalk within twenty yards of a really nice buck last week and passed because of the severe angle of the shot...with a perfectly placed shot, I would have only got one lung. The good news is that I get to keep hunting him.
PASS IT UP,A GOOD CHOICE,,,WAIT TILL NEXT TIME,,,
I took that shot on a buck 25 years ago in Idaho. The arrow missed the spine and took one lung, then lodged in the brisket with just a tiny hole.
Thankfully there was snow since the buck went over 400 yards and never left a single drop of blood.
I won't do it again.
Good choice, you did good. But you know it already.
It was six months ago.. I'd say he is over it by now...
prob would have ended up hitting the spine, or one lung.
Yeah i'm over it and the good news i saw him late in the season so i am hoping that I get a crack on him when this year season starts.
Yep, you're over it now, because you followed your first impression to pass on a marginal shot. That was a good call on your part. If you had taken the shot and one lunged him and then lost him, you would be bugged about it for a long time. I know this is an older post, but it is good to be reminded of these situations. The fact that you saw him in the late season will keep you pumped for a chance at him next Fall. That's got to be a good feeling and no regrets.
Yes you did the right thing for sure. I'll pass that shot up every time.. One lung is the beginning of a bad day!
QuoteMy friends say I should have taken the straight down shot but I always heard that was the shot to avoid. Am I wrong?
you take the shots you believe you can make, pass the ones you cannot
all you can do is shoot the best setup you can that gives you the best chances to make the shots you take ... thats bowhunting
I hunt with a guy who has taken "iffy" shots and has been unable to recover the poorly hit animals, believe me you are much better off letting them walk if your not 100% sure.
Great call! Have heard several horror stories of shooting big deer straight down like that and never finding them...I will not take that shot and I think you did exactly right!
Plus now you have something to look forward to on your next trip!
Only take the shot you're confident you can make. Even then, you'll be wrong a percentage of the time. Doubt in the back of one's mind can wreak havoc with a traditional shooter's ability to deliver. So when in doubt, pass.
I could have made the shot no problem. That was not the question. My dilemma was this a fatal and quick killing shot. From what people have posted it is not and most likely the deer will travel a long ways without a good blood trail. That isenough for me to pass on this shot and i am glad i did.
The fact that you weren't sure made it the right choice not to shoot. Even if he's broadside at 10 yards with his leg forward facing the other way with a bright dot on his side that says "hit me here", if you aren't sure, don't take the shot.
Passing a marginal shot comes straight from the heart. Hopefully, it is something we all have experienced.
A story such as this doesn`t get quite as much attention as one with a hero picture, but maybe that is how it`s supposed to be.
When you want it so bad, and the opportunities are so few, the choice to pass reaches a different level. I am a public land warrior myself, and I KNOW how difficult it can be just to SEE the deer that make the big rubs and open the scrapes under cover of night. Sometimes, a monumental effort.
Success comes to those who prepare. All of the arrows throughout the summer, are not wasted, even if you don`t shoot.
There are truely, very few who can honestly stand where you are Mint.
You never really "get over it", but you do get on with it.
The best part is, you know you could have made the shot.
A great thread. :campfire: