I just lost my first deer I arrowed a few weeks back.posted it on archery talk. I didnt get grilled to bad. I took a long shot just under 40 yard.the deer was on a incline so he was pretty even with my stand. I felt good at that range. Drew my bow settled the pin waited for the leg to move forward and squeezed the release. Shot ended up high and a litle far back.arrow sticking out both sides still thought the shot hit lungs. No blood the first 30 yards then had little blood for about a other hundred or so yards. Then stoped. Backed out then got my dad to come with in afternoon. 6 hr it sat. So we ended up finding blood again. Hrs latter blood ran out we push the field looking for him and came up empty. It still suck and havent been hunting since.i could of hunted two days this week and didnt.
to many people think that Mech. heads give them a farther edge. i don't give a crap how good you are shooting long range targets with a bow. a deer can take a full walking step by the time the arrow gets there at 40 yards. watching "pro" hunters shooting 1/2 tame deer at 40-50 yards ai'nt the same as what most of us have to encounter. skittish/jumpy deer. i'm actually almost embarrased to admit what bowhunting is turning into.
I agree with Siman/OH about getting back to basics and getting close. Trust your equipment...yes, but also be VERY careful about shot selection. I made a conscious decision a few years back (sadly, after wounding a couple of does that I never found) that I wouldn't take a shot unless I could get both lungs and only if I felt confident in the shot. Since then, I have killed 6 or 7 deer with bow, most within 20 yards, and all have gone down within sight. That being said...it can happen to any of us. A flinch, the deer drops, an unseen twig, misjudged yardage....none of us are infallible. We practice hard, try to make right choices, ...and then hope that everyone else isn't too hard on us if we make a mistake (:
I thought that there were more first deer than lost deer this year. Anybody that loses a deer feels bad.I felt bad when I got my first with a bow this season because the shot was bad. Still posted not for praise but to ask a question. I still feel bad about the shot.
