Lowest point in my bowhunting career....
10-24-2007, 07:00 AM
#11
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Cenral Illinois
Posts: 3,180
RE: Lowest point in my bowhunting career....
ORIGINAL: gzg38b
That's a good point. So what could I learn from this?
1. Don't alert the deer to your presence. I know you see this on all the hunting shows ("maaap - deer stops - perfect shot) but I'd rather wait for the deer to stop on its own. They usually do, and if they don't, oh well. Let em walk. Why put a whitetail on full alert and shoot them when they are staring at you? Your just asking for one to duck the arrow. I know better than that.
2. Check the dang forecast before you hunt. It's never a good idea to shoot a deer if rain is coming in the next hour. That's just common sense. How stupid was I to shoot 30 minutes before a 12 hour steady rain? God that was dumb. I can't believe I did that.
3.If you're going to hunt next to hundreds of yards of thick nasty bedding area, you'd better put a good hit on them so they don't go far and leave a huge blood trail. I thought I did that but I guess not.
I took the day off work yesterday to search all day. I will go out one more time tonight to look, even though the meat is already spoiled. I want to find the deer to know exactly where I hit it.
That's a good point. So what could I learn from this?
1. Don't alert the deer to your presence. I know you see this on all the hunting shows ("maaap - deer stops - perfect shot) but I'd rather wait for the deer to stop on its own. They usually do, and if they don't, oh well. Let em walk. Why put a whitetail on full alert and shoot them when they are staring at you? Your just asking for one to duck the arrow. I know better than that.
2. Check the dang forecast before you hunt. It's never a good idea to shoot a deer if rain is coming in the next hour. That's just common sense. How stupid was I to shoot 30 minutes before a 12 hour steady rain? God that was dumb. I can't believe I did that.
3.If you're going to hunt next to hundreds of yards of thick nasty bedding area, you'd better put a good hit on them so they don't go far and leave a huge blood trail. I thought I did that but I guess not.
I took the day off work yesterday to search all day. I will go out one more time tonight to look, even though the meat is already spoiled. I want to find the deer to know exactly where I hit it.
10-24-2007, 07:03 AM
#12
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Finger Lakes, NY
Posts: 1,613
RE: Lowest point in my bowhunting career....
Look at it this way, good lessons learned. And, not just by you, but all who read this. Thanks for posting. We all make mistakes and we can all learn from our brothers.
10-24-2007, 07:32 AM
#13
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Michigan/Ohio
Posts: 11,682
RE: Lowest point in my bowhunting career....
1. Don't alert the deer to your presence. I know you see this on all the hunting shows ("maaap - deer stops - perfect shot) but I'd rather wait for the deer to stop on its own. They usually do, and if they don't, oh well. Let em walk. Why put a whitetail on full alert and shoot them when they are staring at you? Your just asking for one to duck the arrow. I know better than that.
I am going to say this, some may disagree, but...
I think we have become to "perfect shot" addicted these days. I think a lot of us are thinking about not wounding a deer when we shoot, and not killing one.
We live in a free society, and with that comes mistakes. We have to accept those mistakes and tolerate them. If we start beating ourselves to death over mistakes than living a life is just about over IMO. It's not the end of the world, deer die everyday from what we do. Deer die worst ways than be wounded by an arrow or gun. Something I or any hunter does not want to do, but it happens. It happen before we hunted, and will happen until the end of time.
In the next 35 years of hunting I plan I doing, I know I will lose one or more again, the odds are there. I am going to learn from it and move on. If I or anybody letsare bad past outcomes effect are current shots,we might as well hang our bows up.
What I am saying, and the last wounded thread I plan(
) on responding to is this: It's not the end of the world, its not what any ofus plan or want todo either. So learn from it, get it out ofyour mindand move on. It's a deer and I am sorry but we can not have it both ways. We can use the "It's animal not a human so we can hunt it argument" and then turn around and give a "human" feelings to a deer when we have a bad outcome. Do you guys think when a cougar screws up he goes to all his couger buddies and confess to be a complete failure as couger he is[&:]My advice to all is if this happens to you. Figure out what you did wrong, and you will know. Fix it and move on. Deer will have two outcomes. It will live or die.
"Shoot to Kill"
10-24-2007, 07:39 AM
#14
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Lehigh County PA USA
Posts: 12,157
RE: Lowest point in my bowhunting career....
I am sorry to hear of your misfortune but totally understand how you feel. The first time this happened to me I felt like I was going to vomit. It has only happened twice in the 20-odd years I have been hunting but it is a feeling I try to avoid as much as is humanely possible. I guess that is the crux of it then, isn't it? We are all human and this type of situation is bound to happen from time to time no matter how hard we try to avoid it.
Keep your head. You will get her the next time.
Keep your head. You will get her the next time.
10-24-2007, 07:44 AM
#15
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: land of the Lilliputians, In the state of insanity
Posts: 26,274
RE: Lowest point in my bowhunting career....
Dont kick yourself. It happens and it dont feel good. Last year I shot a doe about 20 yards from the clear fork of the Brazos River, in Brock Tx. I had been still hunting and set up on a big fat doe. I stuck and arrow right throught her, she turned and jumped in the river and died. I walked to the rivers edge and watcher her flow down stream. I tried my hardest to get to her, but the river edge was to over grown and the river moving too fast to swim after her. I guess she washed up somewhere and the coyotes got to eat.
10-24-2007, 07:48 AM
#16
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Antioch, IL
Posts: 661
RE: Lowest point in my bowhunting career....
don't feel TOO bad, it happens to everyone... believe me it could be a LOT worse... a somewhat similar incident happened to my cousin about 5 yrs ago, he actually found the doe, he just had another surprise in store for him... nice big doe comes out, early season... he watches carefully for about 5 minutes or so... takes his shot and the doe drops in about 10-20yds... he starts over to the doe and about half way there he hears a spotted fawn bleet a time or two and sees it come into the clearing searching for mom... said it broke his heart cuz he thought he'd been very careful to not take a nursing doe, watching and listening intently to keep from doing it... it was the last early season doe he's ever taken... now he waits until after christmas to take does...
10-24-2007, 08:04 AM
#17
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Heaven is my home, temporarily residing in WNY :)
Posts: 6,679
RE: Lowest point in my bowhunting career....
ORIGINAL: Germ
I blame hunting shows for this, it's just plain bad practice. I have done it twice, onceon a crazed rut buck and this years doe. I can tell you on the doe I hit higher than I aimed. I use it as a last resort, but I am going to try and never do so again.
I am going to say this, some may disagree, but...
I think we have become to "perfect shot" addicted these days. I think a lot of us are thinking about now wounding a deer when we shoot and not killing one.
We live in a free society, and with that comes mistakes. We have to accept those mistakes and tolerate them. If we start beating ourselves to death over mistakes than living a life is just about over IMO. It's not the end of the world, deer die everyday from what we do. Deer die worst ways than be wounded by an arrow or gun. Something I or any hunter does not want to do, but it happens. It happen before we hunted, and will happen until the end of time.
In the next 35 years of hunting I plan I doing, I know I will loose one or more again, the odds are there. I am going to learn from it and move on. If I or anybody letsare bad past outcomes effect are current shots,we might as well hang our bows up.
What I am saying, and the last wounded thread I plan() on responding to is this: It's not the end of the world, its not what any ofus plan or want todo either. So learn from it, get it out ofyour mindand move on. It's a deer and I am sorry but we can not have it both ways. We can use the "It's animal not a human so we can hunt it argument" and then turn around and give a "human" feelings to a deer when we have a bad outcome. Do you guys think when a cougar screws up he goes to all his couger buddies and confess to be a complete failure as couger he is[&:]
My advice to all is if this happens to you. Figure out what you did wrong, and you will know. Fix it and move on. Deer will have two outcomes. It will live or die.
"Shoot to Kill"
1. Don't alert the deer to your presence. I know you see this on all the hunting shows ("maaap - deer stops - perfect shot) but I'd rather wait for the deer to stop on its own. They usually do, and if they don't, oh well. Let em walk. Why put a whitetail on full alert and shoot them when they are staring at you? Your just asking for one to duck the arrow. I know better than that.
I am going to say this, some may disagree, but...
I think we have become to "perfect shot" addicted these days. I think a lot of us are thinking about now wounding a deer when we shoot and not killing one.
We live in a free society, and with that comes mistakes. We have to accept those mistakes and tolerate them. If we start beating ourselves to death over mistakes than living a life is just about over IMO. It's not the end of the world, deer die everyday from what we do. Deer die worst ways than be wounded by an arrow or gun. Something I or any hunter does not want to do, but it happens. It happen before we hunted, and will happen until the end of time.
In the next 35 years of hunting I plan I doing, I know I will loose one or more again, the odds are there. I am going to learn from it and move on. If I or anybody letsare bad past outcomes effect are current shots,we might as well hang our bows up.
What I am saying, and the last wounded thread I plan(
) on responding to is this: It's not the end of the world, its not what any ofus plan or want todo either. So learn from it, get it out ofyour mindand move on. It's a deer and I am sorry but we can not have it both ways. We can use the "It's animal not a human so we can hunt it argument" and then turn around and give a "human" feelings to a deer when we have a bad outcome. Do you guys think when a cougar screws up he goes to all his couger buddies and confess to be a complete failure as couger he is[&:]My advice to all is if this happens to you. Figure out what you did wrong, and you will know. Fix it and move on. Deer will have two outcomes. It will live or die.
"Shoot to Kill"
10-24-2007, 08:19 AM
#18
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Flushing Michigan
Posts: 2,355
RE: Lowest point in my bowhunting career....
Thanks Germ.
I realize the best thing to do is to learn from it, correct whatevermistakes I made,and not dwell on it. It's never happened to me before so this is the first time I've had to deal with these feelings of shame, embarrassment, guilt, frustration, and anger all at the same time.
I will say this: If I ever get to the point that wounding a deer no longer bothers me, I probably will quit hunting. It SHOULD bother you. The fact that it bothers you is what makes you want to learn from it and makes you a better hunter.
I hate these threads too. Hate them even more when it's me we're talking about....
I realize the best thing to do is to learn from it, correct whatevermistakes I made,and not dwell on it. It's never happened to me before so this is the first time I've had to deal with these feelings of shame, embarrassment, guilt, frustration, and anger all at the same time.
I will say this: If I ever get to the point that wounding a deer no longer bothers me, I probably will quit hunting. It SHOULD bother you. The fact that it bothers you is what makes you want to learn from it and makes you a better hunter.
I hate these threads too. Hate them even more when it's me we're talking about....
10-24-2007, 08:25 AM
#19
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: North Lima Ohio & Clarion Pa
Posts: 6,453
RE: Lowest point in my bowhunting career....
That was great post Germ, perhaps the best yet, to an "I wounded one" topic.
On apositive sidegzg.. I made a couple more Luminoks based on your post.
Your post sure simplified the way I had done it in the past. Thanks a lot
On apositive sidegzg.. I made a couple more Luminoks based on your post.
Your post sure simplified the way I had done it in the past. Thanks a lot
10-24-2007, 08:32 AM
#20
Guest
Posts: n/a
RE: Lowest point in my bowhunting career....
I have never stopped adeer for a bow shot. If she or he is on teh move that much, I let em walk. I have just been scared to death to yell out or grunt or anything.
And this example confirms my idea that its not a great idea always.
And this example confirms my idea that its not a great idea always.