I understand that completely. I grew up on a farm and saw the destruction and damage to equipment from their burrows that groundhogs can do so I have no remorse for those filthy critters. Every chance I get I will eliminate them by any means possible. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I raised both meat birds and egg hens but not near the scale you did but I felt it was my responsibility as a gentleman farmer to eliminate any fox that dare come near the coup. I have a full mount of the first fox I shot, nothing special now.
The thought of shooting a deer with an arrow struck me as unethical initially. Seemed To me like getting sliced open and bleeding out would be unpleasant at best. Not to say a bullet is better but often times quicker. Then I sliced my leg open on a piece of roofing tin. I can honestly say that I never bled so much in all my life, or at least not that I can remember. Oddly enough it really didn’t hurt much. Made me rethink my stance on a well placed, sharp broadhead.
bleeding to death wouldn't hurt a bit. What would hurt is whatever nerves are damaged....busted bones, tissue trauma, etc. Honestly a non-lethal or long-lethal hit from a gun would in all likelihood hurt a heckuva lot more than an arrow. All the hydrostatic shock from a bullet/slug would definitely cause more trauma than a broadhead/arrow.
Compared to being chased, attacked and eaten alive by a pack of coyotes, or dying of starvation, or dying of disease, death by hemorrhaging is a great way to go.
I think all the OP questions can be answered with on word. Practice. Just about everyone on here bowhunts so we for the most part all love archery. I dont think there are too many truly junk broadheads these days it really boils down to placement which gets better with practice. As for seeing an animal die out. I am the son, grandson and nephew of butchers, it ain't gonna get in the skillet itself. However, like most every other archer out there, we have all made that one shot on an animal that, you guessed it, makes you practice more. So no matter what anyone else thinks about bowhunting it really comes down to yourself and the shot you made and will have to live with. Practice.
We all want our deer dead as quickly as possible after the shot. Sometimes, that just doesn't happen. But, a dead deer is a dead deer. I'm quite sure there is pain involved in being hit by an arrow, but usually, a well placed arrow the pain can't be long before the animal blacks out from suffocation or sudden blood pressure drop. The video in question, the guy made a beautiful shot, one that almost always results in a quick death. Perhaps because the deer only went a little ways then stopped, not getting the heart pumping harder caused this. Heart shots can be weird like that I've heard. Not like a double lung where usually the deer runs and runs and until it quickly runs itself into a violent crash (dead).
