[Hunterdave]

had a doe come in 14 yrds behind me[im sitting on ground] by the time i get in posistion she has my scent and is 43 yrd and nervous,here is where my opening day stupidity shows up, i take the shot anyways and she of course jumps string because she is already on edge, the arrow enters threw the backstrap missing spine and the artery, very little blood just some fat on the arrow, i feel awful for taking such a stupid shot and wounding an animal. :thumbdown::bag:

 

[Predator]

You made a mistake, it wont be your last. and although the deer was wounded, that is an unfortunate part of hunting. it does happen. I have seen good hunters make bad shots on closer deer. it takes a true sportsman to admit it to himself as well as another group of hunters on a forum.

 

[spiker]

im gonna have to agree with you that was stupid if you had a broadside shot and you entered near the backstrap 43yds is obviously past your effective range.now on top of that the doe was aware something was wrong.43yds at an alert deer is to far.nobodies perfect but your rt you shouldnt have took the shot.

 

[Buckshot]

Yea the adrinaline got the better of you, the good thing is that the deer will likely recover from that shot. It's good that you recognize it was a bad shot and won't take it again. We all have to learn from our mistakes.

 

[Hunting Man]

Archers especially need to know their effective shooting range and pass on any temptations to shoot beyond that. Self discipline is tough medicine to take at times. 43 yds is a long shot for most.

 

[BruceBruce1959]

Whether the deer was at 43 yards or 23 yards anything can happen once the arrow is in flight.
Don't beat on yourself over a bad shot, it happend and will probably happen again at some point through the years.
I'm sure similar things have happened to all of us, all we can do is learn from our experiences and do our best to avoid making the same mistakes repeatedly.

Good Luck and keep at it, the same deer may come back later in the season to offer a better shot.

 

[deerslayer05]

Honestly it wasnt a stupid shot, Ive seen guys take down hogs from over 70 yards with only 1 year under their belt. Just because you wounded a deer doesnt really mean its gonna die, due to population increases it probably wont make an effect on your hunting area.

 

[tator]

I think what hunterdave is feeling is was his shot ethical and was his intention to down the deer as quickly as possible? I believe the first answer is no, but the second is yes. As hunters we all take bad shots. Unfortunately, at times, deer suffer because of it. I once shot a doe w/a rifle and never found her. Little blood, but I more than likely gut shot her. Was the shot ethical? probably not, I was approx 250yds away in the prone position. Would I do it again, probably not. I felt bad for taking the shot and I felt bad that the deer had to suffer.
I believe this is why hunterdave feels bad about the shot. BUT TRUST me, we all do it at some point or another.

 

[gfdeputy2]

If you go back in the posts you will see i did something like that last year too 30 Yard broadside & just shot high the good thing is you feel bad about it & will stick with you next time
I also like what Bruce said

 

[hunt NH]

like everyone elce sead. the fact that you feel bad about it is a good sighn. but at the same time dont beat you self up about it to bad. it happens.

 

[Hunting Man]

I don't think anyone here called the shot stupid. What we've tried to point out is for someone to shoot 43 yds takes a lot of practice to pull off. Game animals deserve to be ethically harvested so that requires us to be diligent in our decisions regarding shots taken. Wounded game happens to all of us, but it is something that can be corrected by self discipline. 70 yd shots, come on that's really a stretch for all but the very elete shooters. Way too many things can go wrong with long shots. If the animal is not with-in your confident shooting zone let it pass and go out again, maybe change your stand location to close the distance. This is a good topic to talk about, shot decisions.

 

[tator]

I'm guessing the 70 yards was either strictly luck or maybe with a firearm? Compound bow? seriously???