where do you draw the line?

[JamesKerr]

Every situation is different. I had a bad year last year recovering deer. When I would shoot them they would "duck" so bad that even when I aimed low I barely even scratched their backs. There would be a very small amount of blood on the arrow and NO blood on the ground. My whole camp did grid searches and everything we could to find those deer. The only thing that matters in the end is that you give it everything you've got. **** will happen and when it does all you can do is take it.

[Bowwild]

To shoot or not is the single most important decision I make during a hunt. Missing bothers me a lot. Wounding bothers me a lot more. Mortallly wounding and not recovering becomes part of my life as a hunter story.  

In 45 years of bowhunting, more than 100 shots at big game, I wonder about the outcome of 4 shots (did the deer die or not). Unfortunately, I know the outcome of 1. Every shot was taken well within every parameter of my personal ethic set but still, like some have posted here, it didn't work out.

Equipment selection and practice are great fun for me.  All of this 'fun' is aimed at increasing my opportunities to shoot and to make good on shots I take.

On average I'm sure I shoot every day, sometimes several times per day.  I hope to hunt one more time before my season closes on Monday. So far this season I've missed one shot (14 yards) and killed one at 8 yards.  

Yep, yardage matters to me - is the shot under 20 yards or not? I thought I was an instinctive shooter in the early 1970's. I wasn't and I'm still not. So knowing the distance is part of my shooting equation.  

By the way, I have no idea why 20 yards has been an important distance for so many bowhunters over the years. It was when I was 16 and still is at 57.

The average kill-shot for a recurve/LB has been about 14 yards (state surveys) for more than 40 years. The average for compound shooters is only 3 yards further.  FYI, in IN and MO (only surveys I know about) the average rifle kill is only 37 yards.  It is tough to get a longer clear shot in eastern forests.