SCRIDER1

No disrespect here. This is a serious question/issue I' ve been struggling with and I hope you can help me. I want to bow hunt. I bought the equipment for myself two years ago and practiced all summer, planning to use it in the Fall. But when the time came, I didnt feel ready to take a shot on a live animal even though my practice indicated I probably could. I read this board quite a bit and I see more than enough stories about wounded and lost deer, or deer that have to be tracked for hours (or days) and finished off...I dont want to do that to an animal. So I practiced a lot over the next summer..even bought my son a set and he practiced with me...we both have a great time target shooting. But sure enough, when the time came, I couldnt bring myself to give it a try. I' ve gun hunted all my life, so its not the idea of harvesting an animal that turns me off..I' ve taken plenty. The deal is I' ve never lost one, and I' ve never felt like one suffered for even a few seconds. My question is: how do I develop any confidence I can take a deer with out losing it or causing it to suffer unecessarily--or is that just an unavoidable part of bow hunting? If it is, I guess maybe I' m just not cut out for it. I just re-read this and I really hope none of you think I' m just slamming your sport...I' m not. I WANT to take a deer with a bow for the challenge of it. Thanks.
SC in LR

GeoffM24

I' d much rather be shot by an arrow then torn apart alive by coyotes.

I have seen a lot of yahoo hunters let the slugs and buck shot fly in the general direction of deer.

I have only shot once and I hit the deer perfectly and she fell and died within in 50 yards and in a very short period of time.

davidmil

It' s NOT our decision to make. It' s your choice. Yes, things can and do go wrong. Yes and arrow properly placed brings quick, painless death. We really can' t help you beyond that.

Tazman

SCRIDER your thoughts sound a lot like mine before I started bow hunting. I can assure you that you will make a GREAT bow hunter. Why? Because like me, you want to make sure of your shot and recovery of the deer. There are a lot of yahoos out there that could care less, they do not practice enough, they sling arrows or lead at any opportunity they have and could care less if they wound one or can' t find one, they just move on to the next opportunity.

I am not going to lie to you and say you won' t stand a better chance of wounding a deer with a bow than with a gun, you will, but from what you have stated as long as you have practiced enough and limit yourself to shots into the vitals within your abilities you will have little to worry about.

Be it gun or bow there is always that possibilty of wounding a deer and losing it, but I can tell you that you are like me and will reach a point where you know your limits and will stay with in them the probabilities of wounding one and not recovering it will be very low for you.

Straightarrow

It is my personal opinion that getting killed by a broadhead brings much less suffering then many of the other ways they could die. Heck, I' ve even cut myself pretty seriously and wasn' t immediately aware that it had happened.

Death by automobile or starvation sounds kind of terrible. I' d much rather be shot by a broadhead then a slug. Many times deer that are shot by an arrow, don' t run far before stopping and looking around as if nothing much had happened.

I also believe animals are able to endure far more pain than we can, without suffering. They are built to curl up in a snow bank when it' s 30 below and they haven' t eaten any nutritious food in a week. To me, this would be great suffering. For them, it' s a normal occurrance. I' ve seen animals that were recently wounded, acting very normal - chasing does, etc. It is my belief that nature gave them what it takes to be a prey animal without having to suffer too severely in many situations we would consider terrible. I mean, just imagine a pack of wolves bringing you down and then have them start eating you, without killing you first. This is a normal occurrance in the life of an animal like a deer. We interfere with this process, by killing them first, with a very sharp, fast broadhead, that probably doesn' t involve a lot of pain or shock. It' s been my experience that if the broadhead doesn' t kill them, they recover rather quickly.

badshotbob

Well scrider, your point is very valid and I don' t see anything wrong with your concerns. To me, confidence comes in two stages: being proficient at the range, and gutting your first bow-killed deer. Unfortunately, part of deer hunting (even with a rifle) sometimes includes wounding deer. I' ve been hunting for 24 years now and have lost a few. It' s the worst part of hunting to me. But, it is a part of it and we have to climb back on the horse and ride. If it makes you feel any better at all, whitetail deer not only have amazing survival instincts but incredible healing charcteristics as well. Biologists have learned that deer produce a chemical/vitamin combined with adrenalin that almost instantly stops most or all pain. They also produce a chemical that aides blood coagulation. In fact they are tyring to duplicate to help humans. I would suggest getting out there in your stand and taking some shots at a 3-d target in full hunting gear - get yourself off the range in other words. From there, decide your max limit for a killing shot. Make sure your bow is tuned, quiet, and quick. Then hunt. If you can' t bring yourself to shoot, well, watch the deer instead. No big deal. One thing as you know from gun hunting though - it' s a little different deal when a live animal is in front of you compared to shooting at a range. A well placed shot can kill a deer within seconds. I live and hunt under the conviction that if there is no shot, then don' t try to make one. Wait for the shot and only then take the shot you know you can make. I can confidently say that once you do try it, there is nothing else like it - being that close to a deer is something else. Sorry for being so lengthy in the reply. Good luck and God Bless.

GR8atta2d

Unfortunately, the possibility of wounding is far greater for an accomplished bowman than an accomplished rifleman. I say accomplished because there are people who don' t practice either and expect to be spot on when an opportunity presents itself. Even a perfectly rehearsed shot, can go wrong. Deer jumps the string, miscalculate a yardage, perhaps you don' t see a twig in the waning light etc. These minor things don' t effect a bullet TO THE SAME DEGREE as an arrow.
All we can do is know our limitations and take as many precautionary steps as possible before loosing an arrow. Get a range finder and know how height from a treestand effects that yardage. Or simply pace out yardages and hang scent wicks or toilet paper or something at those yardages. When the light is available look at your shooting lanes for anything that could influence an arrow flight. Most importantly know your ability. Your ability doesn' t change with Rack size. You hear people say " if I saw a monster buck, I' d try a shot at 50 yards" . That' s just wrong, these trophies (and all deer) need the respect that you will make your best efforts to do all the right things. A bowhunter also needs to have tracking abilities and patience to allow the animal a chance to bed down before we go charging in to see if we " got it" . For the most part we will see and pass on more opportunities than we actually take, because something wasn' t right. Animals do not have feelings of a human, and that is hard to comprehend sometimes. They truly are in a life and death struggle everyday, not just while we are out there. Respect the animals and your ability, if you know in your heart that it' s time to squeeze that release, than you have done your homework. The rest is your decision and we can not help you with that. But just by you asking the question, shows me a lot about your desire and I would welcome you as a bowhunter in my woods.

6ptsika

The majority of wounded posts on this forum are from people taking shots they shouldn' t. New hunters shooting 30+ yards, quartering to shots, straight down shots, shots when the deer is looking at them, etc. If you hunt ethically, and limit your shots to 25 yards the first couple of years, at broadside, unalert deer, you won' t have a prolem.

ButchA

Good post!

I have had one opportunity to get a nice buck (a nice 8 pointer last season). He was coming straight at me 12:00 high. I drew my bow when he put his head down to sniff. But he was still a good 50-60 yards away. I didn' t take a shot at him and couldn' t do it either. Because, he never moved from his straight ahead position. He ended up winding me, or seeing me move, because he stomped his foot, snorted, and was gone in a flash.

I want to take your ethics and deer hunting theory and get a little weird for a minute.... Okay, I' m 6' and 210lbs. Let' s pretend God transforms me into a 210lb 10 point buck. What would be the best way to go?

.270 rifle - let' s say I get shot in the left shoulder/shoulderblade while quartering away. The bullet smashes my bone and imbeds in the upper lob of my left lung. Now I can only walk on 3 legs. I am in agony and breathing is difficult but okay. All I want to do is run away and bed down somewhere to heal up. But I can' t heal up because of a broken left shoulder. I keep going, running on 3 legs to find a quiet spot to lie down. I end up becoming easy prey for coyotes.

125gr Muzzy tipped arrow - Let' s say I am cautiously walking, smelling doe scent on the ground and trying to locate her. Out of nowhere, I get this sharp sensation of something hitting me and going through me. I am startled and terrified, as I don' t understand what just happend. I run as fast as I can to get out of the situation. But I immediately feel faint and find it hard to breathe. All I want to do is run to my bedding area, but everything soon goes black and I expire.

....Which is more morally and ethically of a good hunt?

Butch

Danny45

Scrider, you' ve gotten alot of good information here from the guys. I want to commend you on NOT going hunting since you did not feel ready. Far too many bowhunters do just that.

Only you can decide whether or not your shooting ability is at a level where if everything is right, you' ll get a quick clean kill. If you lack confidence, stay out of the woods.

I too feel that a razor sharp broadhead is a more " humane" way to harvest a deer. I' ve seen deer shot and only flinch before going back to feeding. Then just fall over.

Keep practicing until you are SURE. Then, go hunting. It' s up to you, and you alone, on what to do at the moment of truth. Force yourself to only take a shot if it' s one that you practiced over and over and feel confident in.

Even if you don' t shoot, you' ll enjoy the experience bowhunting gives you with up close animals, and with nature as a whole.