That animal suffered for MANY hours due to a horrible decision. Kudos for not airing the footage. I don't think that would even constitute a recovery by P&y rules. No matter, it would be hard to look at as a trophy for me knowing what it went through. That being said, we have all done some stupid stuff. Especially when starting out.
Justin, Todd & the rest of the BHOD staff I am thankful that you are sticking to your principles and not letting the fame/money influence the way you do the show. That integrity is why I watch every week Thank you for the hard work you do and sticking with it. -A Grateful Follower
1 more angle on not airing the footage. This goes back to the Bowmar/Under Armour debacle a few months ago. Hunters and shows need to be careful about what is put out there. A bad shot with a deer suffering for days is just what a person on the fence about hunting needs to be pushed to the other side. Hunters are vastly outnumbered in many states and all it takes is a pissed off constituency and a politician makes a bill to ban bowhunting or hunting in general. Don't think it can happen? Look at our cluster **** case of an election this year. Anything can happen. Hunters know that things don't go perfectly right all the time. Many non hunters know as well and understand because they are somewhat educated in the topic. Many non hunters do not know, can not understand and refuse to learn. No sense in putting something out that could cause a backlash when not putting it out just results in a conversation on a hunting forum.
A bumped arrow or a blown shot on at a good moment is one thing...a choice to shoot a moving deer at a long range without stopping is something different entirely. No offense made to Richie, as I suspect it is the very last time he ever does that no matter buck or doe or filming or not (I atleast seriously hope so). Good move all around by the crew to choose not to air it....now on to more important things, like Zarr....when we gonna see you dropping the slam on some bucks!
So I've stewed on this for a few days... Sorry in advance, but I'm not buying the sincerity in Justin's post that they won't post the footage b/c it doesn't represent BH.com. Or is this something new that will be a higher priority in the future? We've seen quite a past shots w/ terrible shot angles, arrows being forced out the back of blinds at a turkey, passing 3 legged deer. And a lot of those issues have been addressed during the show. Do not get me wrong - I respect the heck out of the decision not to air the show. There are countless other shows that would for sure. But I do question what would happen if Richie pulls off a luck-shot-hail-Mary, and 10 rings this buck? Or if the deer was a next day recovery vs. a day 4 or 5 recovery? Would we see it then? Was the choice not to air the footage made easier b/c the team is having an amazing year, knocking down some giants so there's plenty of hunts?
Sorry for what exactly? Calling me a liar? You're right, and we've learned from those experiences. As I already talked about in my earlier post, we teach through doing and through setting a good example. Not through these "Do as I say, not as I do" situations. This is a decision that was made here months before any of this happened. I guess we'll never know, will we?
I guess we'll never know, will we? Guess not on this hunt... just have to wait for future hunts and see if anything questionable against the BH.com ethics policy gets to slide through. ps - I'm a dog guy, not a cat lover
Let us take a look at this video and make up our own minds. Put it on youtube for the world to see. Sounds like the problem is a walking shot at 43 yards. Is it ok to air a walking shot at 10 yards, 20 yards, 5 yards, what is the cut off? Is it ok to take a 43 yard shot at a walking coyote or wounded deer? Did he know he missed cleanly after the first shot? Playing a little devil's advocate.
J/w, anyone have issues with Fred Bear or Pope and Young for the way they hunted? Sent from my XT1080 using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
I agree with others. Id rather not see that footage. It would be painful to watch. Ive made some pretty bad choices myself and they stick with you. We dont need to see it. An explanation is enough. Questionable mistakes are one thing but a flat out horrible descision is another.... Just my thoughts.....? and i didnt stew for days about it. Who would do that besides Richie? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
I have issues with the way they hunted. We are in a different time and have 50 + years of bowhunting knowledge and experience to draw from. I hope we have a different understanding of what constitutes ethical shot selection and what should be accepted by sportsmen and the non hunting public than we did in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
Dang a tough crowd. I'm not going to defend the OP. Easy to sit here at my desk and say he should not have taken the shot. But I am also not going to blow smoke up anyone's *** and say that I haven't forced a shot when I shouldn't have. I've lost a couple deer sadly over the years and it sucks. Whether I forced a shot that I shouldn't of taken or I flat screwed up an easy chip shot. That is the reality of bow hunting. We can say that we won't do it all year long, but until we are standing on that platform 20 feet up and that buck of our dreams walks in sight, there is not a single one of us who can 110% guarantee that we won't try to force a shot when it looks like he is going to slip out of our lives forever. A walking 40+ yard shot, I can say "not for me" all day long, but when panic mode sets in during buck fever I cannot tell you that it is a 110% certainty that I would keep my composure. That rush makes us do dumb things sometimes. We might make the right choice 99 times out of 100, but there is still that ONE time where we just don't make a good choice. It happens unfortunately. As someone who films hunts, it can be hard sometimes to fight the urge to just make the kill happen on video. I do think that all too often in today's TV hunting world that many shots are taken that never would have been if the camera were not there. For some it is the "look at me" factor. For others it is because kills on camera pay the house mortgage. It happens way too often. I just watched the recent Mid-West Whitetails where Bill shoots his latest giant. He choked the gimme shot (we all have done it) and then he gut shot the deer on the shot where he arguably should not have ever taken the shot. Was the camera to blame? Who knows. But I do know we see it far too often. Personally, I am glad the BHOD guys didn't air it. Unless ... the video showed full disclosure by the hunter about how upset he was with himself. I have seen a couple hunts where the hunter who made the bad choice has beat themselves up pretty hard over it on camera. I think then there is something positive to be learned. I don't think there is much positive to be gained by sugar coating a bad decision and then going all Glamour Shots in the end. That just looks bad for all of us. I killed a buck on video back in 2010 that I got absolute lucky on. I should have never drawn back. The arrow hit the exact point needed for a quick kill. One inch in any other direction and that buck may have died a long painful death. I said it on video repeatedly about how disappointed I was with myself for taking the shot. I got lucky and I have sworn that I will never take that shot again ... that is until a 180" giant offers me the same shot ... I cannot guarantee that I will keep my composure to let him walk. I guess I'll know if that day ever comes. I'm not going to bash the OP. I read his post in a humble tone and it sounds to me that while happy he found the deer, that he is truly regretful for taking the shot. For that I give him props.
I give him props for putting it out there for the world to (see) know about.. He easily could have said he didn't turn the camera on, that it was a 20 yard broadside shot that he goofed up and the camera was on a bad angle or not told a soul about it and just recovered the deer and no one on here would have known otherwise. It's easy for everyone to say what they would have done after the fact. Live and learn, he seemed truly upset that he made the mistake and Justin and the guys decided not to air the footage. That should be the end of that and everyone move on with learning a lesson but what do I know?
