Shoot again.
He was bedded, and I made an eighty yard stalk. I shot him from eight yards. Hardest lesson I ever learned.

Killdeer  :(

I'm no sicko but I really enjoy shooting animals so if I'm given a second chance I don't hesitate , you can go a long way between shots . my thoughts , Fred

No brainer, YES. The object is to kill the animal as quickly as possible.

Like Fields said, you never know what you hit 'till you put the knife to the animal. If it's on it's feet, put another blade to it.

I always put in a second if I can. Thanks,  Ben

I think if you put an arrow through a deer and he goes a little ways and stops, unaware of what stung him, it would be best to wait and see what happens. A second shot may spook him into running. Then you'll have a maybe not so good blood trail and you don't want that. If he's in sight with an arrow through his vitals and not going anywhere he may go down if you wait a bit.

It's happened to me a few times, the most recent was  a nice 8pt that my shot looked high and a little back. He jumped ran a few yards and stopped. I got another arrow on the string and was ready to shoot again but I held off for a minute. Even though the shot didn't look that good it cut a major artery and he drooped dead in less than a minute.

Dr Ben Peyton, a well know Game Biologist here in Michigan stopped by just a bit ago on his way north to his hunt camp. Ben just retired and is a long time traditional bowhunter. I ask his opinion on the 2nd shot scenario. He's of the same mind as I am, if the animal is not moving off, time is on your side. It of coarse depends a lot on where the first shot hit. If you know it's a bad hit, gut shot or other then yes, shoot again but otherwise it may be better to hold off and let the first shot do it's work. an  animal that isn't alarmed isn't going to run off...walk off maybe but if hurt he'll lay down. If the shot is vital, he'll die shortly.

If you spook him with another shot he could run a long way and may not leave a blood trail.

The buck I told the story about was shot from the ground. Another that comes to mind was a young fork horn I shot some years ago. I was pretty high up a pine tree when the buck walked by under me. I shot and the arrow looked like it went over his back. He ran off 35 yd's or so and stopped, looking around to see what spooked him. I gave a low grunt on my grunt call to try and coax him back within rang for another shot. He looked my way and then just wilted to the ground. I found that the shot I thought went over took him high in the back and angled down through the lungs.

Anyway, I think a 2nd shot is a judgment call, sometimes called for....sometimes not.    
http://www.fw.msu.edu/labs/humandim/research.htm

I agree with Ron, mainly because I think he is right, but also because

1)he has a wealth of experience
2)he makes really cool bows
3)he is bigger than me!

Really, I wouldn't shoot again if I was pretty sure of the shot for the same reason that I wait for 30 or more minutes before starting to track. I don't want to spook a well hit animal into running and turn a short, easy tracking job into a long, difficult, maybe impossible one.

I'd nock another arrow, pick a spot get ready and wait. BUT not long, 5 seconds tops, that would mean about 10 seconds from the intitial impact and if the deer isn't down within 10 seconds your first arrow probably isn't as good as you thought.Aim small and sting the deer again.

kill as quikly and humanly as possible if that means take another shot then take another shot.  

Gene, I agree, we want to kill as quickly and humanly as possible, but...an arrow causes hemorrhage which takes a minute or so on average to  cause death. If a deer is standing, like I said, time is on your side. If he is spooked into running he can cover a lot of ground before going down for the count. In most cases a well placed shot through the lungs will leave a good blood trail. A fatal hit which may be in a place that doesn't leave a good blood trail makes a possibility of not finding a dead deer that has traveled any good distance if he runs off.

If you're not sure of the hit then by all means put another into him...like I said it's a judgment call.      

Ron and I have the same mind set. I have killed plenty of deer with a bow both wheel and stick. Over 100 and counting, have I taken second shots, yes, but only on deer that I knew the hit was not that good and presented me with a good second one. JC, just like Ron said why risk causing it too flee and as you yourself said, make it harder to find. If we are talikg a rifle or modern slug gun than I would answer Yes, but that is not the case here. I have had the same experience as Ron, shot a young 4pt. once and thought I was over his back, he even put his head down and started to feed again, I nocked another arrow and as I was about to draw he just snapped his head up and stumbled over. It is up to the individual but I have done this long enough to know when another is neccesary. Shawn

People have different opinions about what to do in a certain situation. I don't think anyone's wrong if they decide to take a 2nd shot. I just think in some cases it may make it harder to recover a deer if they do.

Interesting topic for discussion    

Ron, I am jealous! We cannot hunt here in my part of NY until the 13th. Go out and shoot once would ya!     Shawn

heck, I'm so pumped after making the first shot, that I don't think I could get a second one off...

The only ones I can recall that when hit stayed around close enough to give me a second shot,were already in big trouble they just didn't know it yet and by the time they did, wasn't much they could do about it.
 Maybe a spine hit would drop and give you an opportunity that you should take, your going to have to put another arrow in anyhow.
If have to be there and read the deers reaction to the hit.

What a good topic.

I would shoot again if I could.Things are not always as they seem and another set of holes will not hurt a thing.  

QuoteOriginally posted by Ron LaClair:


Anyway, I think a 2nd shot is a judgment call, sometimes called for....sometimes not.              
 

Personally, I think that is the correct answer.

I've had times I could have, but dared not....right call.  

I've had times when I should have and did....right call.

Had a friend the shoot a hog not long ago while we were hunting together that had a limp, and the hog did not run, but limped off after he made a bad shot and he said he was afraid to shoot it again even though he had plenty of time.  I asked him if he'd read my story "Hail Storm Bacon and the Bay of Pigs" and he said no......I told him it he had, it probably would have triggered him into shooting again....he said 'yep, I'll know next time'...now all he needs is another limping hog...and we all know those come around once a week.       :rolleyes:      

You have to make the call on the situation at hand at the time....just my 2 cents.

BTW...I think Joe's been around the block more than once as well Shawn.

Sure it's a judgement thing....But if you have a good one in an animal already...why would you even worry about not finding it if you try another shot in an attempt to kill it quicker?

I've shot twice in about every scenario possible....99% of the time I'm going for a second shot!