Its true...if you post a thread about losing a deer, but you know the secret handshake, you will only receive praise. For those with a secret decoder ring, you can read the message below. Stop whining.
BS! Taking a low percentage shot and ****ing it up is not a "mistake", it is a dumbass move. I can think of 3 threads off hand that the person took an extremely low percentage shot and lost the deer. They should have been crucified. I can think of a few more threads that were actual bad luck on a high percentage shot and no one was crucified. If anyone takes a dumbass shot and loses the deer they shouldn't be an imbecile and be surprised when someone calls them a dumbass. It has nothing to do with a clique.
I think that overall, new members or new hunters just need to use common sense. When you are drawn back on a questionable shot or situation, think to yourself "am I more concerned about getting that trophy to brag to people about or injuring the deer?". When posting a new thread, think to yourself "am I willing to take the backlash and criticism that might follow?". Personally, I pride myself on the abundance of common sense I was blessed with. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I posted last year about a buck I lost. It was only a 12 yard shot and was far from my biggest, wouldn't even make my top 5 bucks.... Why did I post it? I feel if I can share my successes with you guys, than I can share my failures as well. Nothing more, nothing less.This is a bow hunting board, not a bragging board. Lost deer have always and will continue to always be a part of bowhunting. Hopefully with the stories posted it brings the thought of lost deer to people afields mind and in some way helps them to avoid the mistakes of others.
Bruce, please quit making sense with your posts. Consider this a warning....keep posting truths like this and you will be banned.
Maybe on other forums this is the case but this is by far the most unbiased group I have seen so far. I can guarantee that if Virginiashadow, Rockingchair or Quicksilver were to take a stupid shot, they would get hammered for doing so. You will probably never hear of one of these guys loosing a deer because of threading the needle or shooting at a deer that is 50yd out because they won't do it. I have to dissagree with the fact that most will try to learn from them. Maybe most on here would but, 9 out of 10 people I have talked to outside of this forum place blame on something else. This is what I have heard just this season: My Rage didn't open or I didn't have time to settle my pins right or it was the only shot he would give me so I took it. Not "I shouldn't have made a 35yd shot when I never practice past 20yd", "I should have been ready or let him walk" or "I didn't have a shot so I shouldn't have drawn back on him". Not one single one of them said "I". So I am sure they didn't think they did anything wrong to think about fixing.
Dude...I won't crucify anyone for making those threads but that is the direction those threads tend to take. Heck, do a search. I've made a few of those threads over the years. I was in a bad rut a few years back with injuring deer. I felt the need to share as well. Hopefully those days are over for me.
Agree but the people who are making these shots and being successful with them are then getting a huge pat on the back. Why are they getting a pat on the back taking a lower percentage shot when their successful? They shouldn't as far as I'm concerned. A risky shot successful or not Is still a risky shot.
I've never lost a deer, you guys just suck! I think it boils down to admitting mistakes. Most threads that take a negative turn are about the guys who refuse to admit they made a mistake or bad judgement call and defend their actions. If your deer didn't go down from a double lung/heart hit in mere seconds, its because YOU did something wrong 90% of the time. Own up to it. It likely will happen to everyone at some point. That said, some guys are a little pious on the internet forums as well. It's easy to be the guy who only takes broadside shots within 15 yards when the only documentation is your written account on forums. Not saying everyone lies online, but some egos are padded and smoke is being blown for sure. One last rambling point is how guys talk in definitives about a shot/what happened and the outcome of a wounded deer. Nothing draws a bigger chuckle from me than when guys claim a buck they wounded is without a doubt still alive. I don't think people realize how rare it is for a deer to truly live through being wounded by an arrow in most any place in the body. Sure it happens, but that doesn't mean every blood trail that dries up means your buck simply had a flesh wound. Just talking in absolutes about what happened in general is pretty silly to begin with.
Its happened to me this year at 20 yards with an "every hunters dream shot". I am starting to think, that sometimes our hands are just tied and the more you bowhunt, no matter how profecient you are your odds of making a bad shot go up. It is part of bowhunting. I know alot of you will not agree with that statment, but get over confident and bam there you are faced with an easy 20 yard shot and for whatever reason fate gives you a bit a bone deflects your arrow and a recovery never happens.
I didn't think there were that many unrecovered deer threads. There are a lot of lost deer threads but recovered later. There are a lot of things that can go wrong when making a shot with a bow, that's why we practice. We should practice in the same situations as actual hunting conditions. That's when we learn our limitations. We should not take shots beyond our limits, that's when we wound deer. After the shot we should make every effort to recover our quarry. If it's a good shot and you see it go down still give it some time. If it's a good shot and you don't see it go down give it an hour. If it's a bad shot give it six to eight hours. Spending 1-3 hours looking for a wounded animal is not enough time in my book. You should be on hands and knees looking for blood if you have to. Marking the blood trail is very important so when you need to go back to where last blood was you know where it is. I don't think the new guy's know this stuff. There's more but this is off the top of my head. With the equipment we have today you can be hitting a bulls eye in no time! That does not mean you are an experienced deer hunter. So until they learn this stuff you will lose game. I agree with TEmbry I think if I were hit in the leg or any place else with a Rage broad head which boasts a 2"+ cutting diameter would I survive on my own? Not likely! This is a public forum with many, many different opinions so don't expect pity or praise from everyone. Think twice about what you type.
Well said sir. Like previously stated it comes down to the basics: 1. Know your max range 2. Know where to aim on a LIVE deer 3. Know which shots give the best chance of hitting vitals If a "hunter" fails to or refuses to trust his instinct he should be criticized as at that point it is the only way he is going to learn. I however do understand posting the threads on here in hopes of help or maybe helping a hunter who has yet to understand what might happen on a low percentage shot. I believe that George Santayana said it best "Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them."
I would suggest that probably a higher percentage of bowhunters are newbies than ever before. Newbies make more mistakes. The impression that I get is that archery deer hunting is expanding exponentially. I could be wrong, but when you look at all these dozens of new TV shows on archery deer hunting, it seems like this is akin to the explosion of televised poker games around the year 2002. In 1999, probably less than 5% of the US population new how to play Texas Hold'em. By 2004, almost every guy I knew played Texas Hold'em. It seems like the same phenomenon is going on right now with bowhunting, which is good and bad. I would guess that TV-educated bow hunters are more likely to take questionable shots, and probably spend less time practicing.
I never said they should. If we do praise them, then its on us for encouraging bad behavior or risks. This is actually a big problem in the fire service as well, a problem i can relate to. Just cuz it worked, doesnt make it right.
Trust me Caleb I wasn't calling you out. Just calling the people out who praise a person In making a low percentage shot.
I would have to agree. To be honest, before I joined this forum, I thought that it was normal to make 35yd plus shots. This was due to me not growing up around bows or hunting and seeing this activity on T.V. I watch Levi Morgan take a SUCCESSFUL 90yd shot on a whitetail on one of his shows. Granite they were standing in an open field with no obstructions and he is a professional competition archer. I still do not agree with that shot but, at the time I thought it was possible for even a rookie to do because it looked so easy on T.V. LET ME JUST SAY I DO NOT THINK THAT NOW!!! I believe there are not enough informative T.V. shows out there. I believe this is an irresponsible product of our money hungry production companies who have found an up until recently untapped market. I can't tell you how many shows I have seen that a gut shot deer appeared to have dropped within 50yd because they were using a Schwacker or a Rage. Then it seems on T.V. that they only wait as long as it takes them to pack up to go find it. Very few actually tell you all of the details or say their shot was not ideal. Its shows that depict this that help cause a misinformed population of bow hunters. Don't get me wrong I watch these shows for entertainment and to see the size deer I may never see but, I take their advise with a grain of salt.
I am new to this forum and liked this particular thread so here I am. I think that the increase in lost deer may be attributable in large part to the increase in bows and equipment sold by big stores like BPS, Cabelas, ****s, etc. I would never have gotten into bowhunting at such a late date without my neighborhood mom and pop store taking time to properly outfit me, show me how to shoot properly, provide practice facilities, etc. I also never bow hunt alone as I want as many people as possible helping me to find my deer if it gets out of my site. I hate to lose deer but it happens fortunately rarely. However no one cares more about deer than bowhunters, no one.
