seanshooter

listen to ratliff. that is the best advise. i admire your commitement. some would give up after a hour or two. also, GET YOUR BUTT OUT THERE AND HUNT. THAT THE BEST WAY TO GET OVER IT.

Rob/PA Bowyer

LADY, I can't say anything that hasn't been said above. I firmly believe alot of animals are lost due to what happens after the shot, perhaps some of this post from the past could help your endevours. It has some fantastic tips and suggestions from everyone.....What happens after the shot sometimes is the most critical.

http://forum.hunting.net/bbs/topic.a...00&FORUM_ID=19

<font color=blue>Good Luck and Good Shooting</font id=blue>

<font color=red>Rob</font id=red>

Edited by - Rob/PA Bowyer on 09/19/2002 21:38:30

Natty Bumpo

Lady Arwen...please do not despair. Get back out there and hunt. No one wants to have a deer get away wounded but it happens. You show what a strong person you are taking full responsibility for what happened. Shucks even I made a bad hit once on a buck and he got away. But it was because I was high in a tree that was swaying in 40 mph winds and raining sideways and a bee flew into my ear right as I was releasing <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

To make you feel better you should know that 500,000 deer are hit by vehicles every year and most are not recovered and end up feeding the scavengers.

On a broadside shot you have to go right up the front leg and aim for that spot just behind the shoulder. Too far back you can still put it thru the ribs but miss the lungs and that deer might go very far.

We all want you to go out and get a deer and post the pic.

FlipNY1

Even though you have heard this about 20 times already I wanted to let you know you are not alone. It has happened to most of us. The fact that it troubles you shows that you are a true hunter and have learned a lesson from this. There are many factors that may have contributed to this, but you need to dust yourself off put yourself back up the tree and wait for a shot at redemption. Make the next one count and it will that much sweeter for you. Let us all know when you get one this year and we can all celebrate. Hang in there and don't be too hard on yourself.

Flip

atlasman

First of all Lady Arwen I think you need to take a long honest look at what you did and decide for yourself if you did everything you could to prevent what happened or if in fact your actions are the cause behind this situation.

I am not being nasty at all............just honest.

By the sounds of your arrow findings you did not get much penetration at all........with a fixed Muzzy that is not good. Either the arrow did in fact strike bone or you lack the power to get good penetration at 23 yards.

23 yards is not a SUPER far shot but it also is not a slam dunk piece of cake either. I believe the avg distance a deer in my state of NY is taken at is 17...........Are you sure you are comfortable taking a shot at 23????......if so why did you miss??? Was your form bad?? Were you nervous?? or Did you just blow it???

You said you &quot;believe&quot; you hit too far back.....what makes you &quot;believe&quot; that?? What did the deer do when hit? Did you see it run away?? If so you should have seen your arrow sticking out of his side if it only went in 6&quot;.

Now for the last and harshest question of all..........Why did you get on the trail of a poorly hit deer instead of waiting?? Judging by the distance you found your arrow away from the hit I would say you pushed her all the way across the county by now. Ask yourself if you knew this BEFORE you went in the woods.......if so why didn't you trust your knowledge and wait........if not, you just learned the hard way.


In conclusion......only you know if what you did was more your fault or just something that will happen statistically if you hunt long enough. If I were you I would be making sure your bow is tuned right, that your heads are sharp, and that your bow packs enough punch to take a deer at 20+ yards........if not then shorten your effective shot range......go to the range and make sure your grouping tight as ever so your form isn't to blame................

THEN GET BACK IN THE WOODS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It speaks volumes that you have enough remorse and feel responable for your actions in a situation where you could have easily just said &quot;Oh Well....it happens I guess&quot; You looked for her hard(too hard probably<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle> and you know you could have done better.


Now you sound like to nice of a person/hunter to give up........we need more people like you in the woods(understatement of the year!!!)


Find out what caused the bad outcome......was it you?? your equipment?? both?? none of above?? and fix it. Then get back in your stand ASAP and post the pics of your next deer......and you better be smiling!!!!!


Keep your head up kiddo

Lady Arwen

Atlasman: I have asked myself many of the same questions that you have asked. Yes, I was pretty nervous about the shot and that could certainly have been a factor. I group well enough in practice to shoot a deer at 30 yards, but I had previously set a limit of 25 yds. to stay well within an equipment and personal comfort zone. I believe that I hit too far back because during the follow through I think that is where I saw it hit. Everything happened too fast. I shot, two other deer came running toward my deer, I heard a sort of &quot;thump&quot;, my deer sort of bucked in the air and then swapped ends(hence I couldn't see the arrow sticking out of her) and went running hell bent for leather along with one other deer straight up a hill. It is possible that we bumped her. We waited an hour before starting to look for the arrow, then because of darkness we started tracking when we couldn't find the arrow. I'm pretty darned convinced that I didn't hit bone because of the perfect condition of the broadhead. I have one week of season left and I just don't think that I feel comfortable enough to go back out. I really think that I want to work on raising the poundage on my bow and perhaps going to a two blade cut on impact. I don't know how to fix being nervous about taking a shot. I hope that in time I will get used to it.

Slo-bo

Lady A,
This kind of situation affects eveyone differently, it bothers some people more, and longer, than others. Like many sports, bowhunting involves a lot of work, dedication, practice, and personal involvement, and there will be wins and losses. The thing that sets bowhunting apart from many other sports, far apart in my opinion,
is the intense level of personal involvment, and that the losses are not just numbers on a scoreboard. I dont believe anyone can understand the depth of this until they have been there. I still encourage you to go back out hunting, but as I said before, when you are ready, and only you can be the judge of that. You will probably be nervous about taking the next shot, and the next one, for a long time, I kind of hope you always will be. Hopefully it will come from wanting to make a good clean shot, and not from worrying about having bragging rights. I think I will quit hunting when I dont feel that way before a shot. Practice, (and MORE practice), time and experience
will all help. When you have developed confidence in yourself and your equipment, the nervousness can be controlled, (in theory, anyway!), and channeled into positive shooting. I will stick with my original advice. Don't beat yourself up, work on the positive learning that can come from this, regain the confidence you need, and when the time is right, go back hunting. You have our support, good luck.

Rob/PA Bowyer

It sounds like you bumped her when you started on her too early. Don't allow darkness to dictate when you should track an animal. A 4 hour wait should have been your decision with a hit back in the area you described. Thus the &quot;After the Shot&quot; thread. I don't mean to preach but I believe bumping causes more lost deer than shot placement.

<font color=blue>Good Luck and Good Shooting</font id=blue>

<font color=red>Rob</font id=red>

silentassassin

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>I even paper tune with the broadheads just to sort of double check. If the paper is lying then how else do I check? <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

The paper don't lie. Just keep hunting. You will make mistakes like we all have but it will all fall into place.

Protect your hunting rights, &quot;Spay or neuter a liberal.&quot;

BobCo19-65

Rob, I agree with you 100%.