just a guess, what kind of broadhead were you shooting?. i've shot 10-15 deer like that and kills em dead but i hit a bit lower and center mass
You've already made a huge point to rag on a certain type of expandable all over this forum. That's a poor shot to take no matter what broad head you are shooting. Focus on helping him make better shots not ragging on a product you dislike. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Its hard to get pumped up with adrenaline and mentally prepare to kill only to have to say nope not gonna do it. In that situation next time just let down and enjoy the experience of the encounter. That shot shouldve been alot lower and to the right, but theres no margin for error. Im definitely not good enough to make that shot with comfidence. Hope the rest of your season is better.
You're second sentence discredits the need to know the first one. This had nothing to do with broadhead selection. Shoot you slide a field point down and to the right more and hit the heart and it is a dead deer...doesn't mean one should ever hunt with them. Quartering to shots in my opinion should be avoided....far too many non-recovery stories, wounded deer stories or Spring time "found my buck" stories.
Learn your lesson and move on. It is hard to pass what you think is a good shot when you havent had one dead in front of you. However stick with it and practice so when the time comes ,and it will come, you shall have a deer to show us on here. Good luck and dont quit.
This is not a bash or a means of being negative but Honestly I would never take that shot. Even if I had the horsepower to drive it into the boiler room. Now I know a lot of guys will say, Yea I can make that shot and i'm not saying they cant, but in this instance, there is a lot of things that could have gone wrong. 1. very little light left. 2. We ALL know that when the light gets low there are branches that we cannot even see. 3. Low percentage angle choice to an extent. If we as bowhunters respect the animal, we should all wait for the best percentage chance and let the animal walk if we have too until we get a better shot to put him down. Some of you might disagree but just thought i'd share my thoughts. I know its hard to let a deer walk but its something we ALL have to do. Live and Learn
i certainly won't argue the point and i'm not endorsing it but......if i get a CLOSE standing shot, i'm taking it. these 5 were shot at 15-15-15 15 and 10 yards and i don't sit high. drive a broadhead in the "pocket" and its all over!! none of these made it 25 yards. again, i would NEVER tell a new hunter to take that shot but under the right conditions, it very lethal. i've not lost a deer yet shooting them there. lucky i quess.
Typically hitting vitals will do this, no matter the set up/situation/bow/broadhead/wind/or color of camo being worn :D I killed a deer once shooting straight down through it's spine, thing died instantly and slide down the hill otherwise would have been next to my tree....I regret that shot so much to this day for everything that could have gone wrong....and refuse to take a questionable shot ever again out of respect for the animal I chase.
To the OP- One bit of wisdom passed to me that I think is the best shot selection advice I ever heard: The angle of exit is much more important than the entry point. With every shot you take think about where and what the angle of exit path is. With your point of impact on that angle, you would be lucky to get the top of a lung and/or possible liver- with little chance of punching through for an exit hole. I certainly don't recommend anyone committing to taking a shot at a deer at that angle; but I don't necessarily condemn you for taking a shot in theory. But not to pile on, if you are going to take a shot at that angle where you actually hit him is a big no-go. If you had tucked it lower and in front of the shoulder closer to the neck, with the right equipment you do blow through the heart, maybe also a lung, and out the other side, with buckets of blood to follow. I'll probably get torched for saying this, but I consider a quartering away shot ALMOST as risky as a quarter to; although most will disagree. However, I've shot plenty of deer right though the boiler room quartering away, and there is often very little blood to follow if you don't get a through and through; even though the deer is dead on its feet. Too often a quarter away shot ends with a high up entry hole through one lung and an arrow buried in the opposite shoulder, with nowhere for the blood to drain and leave a trail. It's a dead deer, but many hunters, especially inexperienced ones, don't have the ability to track a deer that is shot like that. I've lost a few deer that way, and even though I'm now a pretty solid tracker I am now just as leery on a quarter away as a quarter to. Again, especially with your lack of experience and success to this point, I'd say hold off next time until you have a maximum chance of success (i.e. broadside)...especially since success breeds confidence and confidence breeds success. But to a guy who obviously has the equipment, experience, and success that say a Bucksnbears has had; well, it's hard to argue with that. He obviously has the ability to make a clean kill shot from that angle.
noodles you definitely nailed a risk with a quartering away shot....exit hole is what I aim for and is what I consider when shooting. If it leads to the opposite shoulder and the deer isn't getting ready to bust or leave I'll hold off. It is a great shot in that most of the time you'll hit a lot of vitals but if exit hole is at shoulder blood most times will be minimal. Hunting as high as I do does assist me some in quartering away shots in that say a 25 yard shot...the entrance is gonna be high and hit the top of the entrance side lung...then slice through the top of heart and/or bottom of the opposite lung exiting below the opposite shoulder. However from the ground or a low height stand that opposite shoulder becomes a factor no doubt!
I personally refuse to take any frontal shot on a deer.. As others have mentioned there's just too much that can go wrong. Quartering away is a better shot, but even then I'd feel it should be a chip shot with in 20 yards where you can really pin point your shot and make sure your placement is perfect. Broadside is the ideal shot that any ethical hunter should look for regardless of the size of the deer. I agree with a lot of people on here that people make bad decisions and take low percentage shots with bigger deer. Any deer you shoot should be treated exactly the same and people need to learn to control themselves, as a hunter we owe that to the animal. It's all about being ethical more so than taking a reckless shot in hopes to get lucky so you can show off to your friends... Because it feels a lot worse knowing you made a careless decision and wounded a deer that you don't recover than it does to simply let a deer walk because it didn't present a good shot with in your skill set or comfort zone.
