A very difficult shot!

DuckHunt · Post by **DuckHunt** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 4:24 pm

I'm one for one with that shot. It was with a vert bow. The doe got in on me too quickly on a trail and my first opportunity was straight down the side of my climbing stand. The arrow nicked a limb so I just missed the spine and got a pass through.

I haven't tried this shot with a crossbow yet. I prefer to get them before they get within 20 yards. There is just so much more that can go wrong when they are in your lap. (Scent, sound, movements)

DuckHunt

Esox · Post by **Esox** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 6:08 pm

That straight down shot always seems like a good idea, but as was mentioned before it can go very wrong if you don't get complete pass thru or don't hit the spine... I prefer letting 'em get out aways and take a high to low angle double lung.... They don't go far at all....

DARTONATOR · Post by **DARTONATOR** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:17 pm

I tried one of those shots directly under my tree stand and hit him exactly between the shoulder blades. I was shooting a 495 grain arrow 295 feet per second out of my Darton, Maverick compound and the fixed blade broadhead barely made it out of his chest cavity. He sprayed a lot of blood for the next 200 yards , but really slowed down fast. Needless to say, several hours later , crawling on my hands and knees (looking for specs of blood) I finally found him in the next block of woods, one mile over. They say that mature whitetails are harder to kill because they are much more developed. Believe it ! It is always better to take the broadside shot or quartering away shot !

warningshot · Post by **warningshot** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:29 pm

if the deer is straight down let him walk for a few more steps for the perfect shot...quartering away !!!IMO

DeepSouthHunter · Post by **DeepSouthHunter** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:34 pm

My hunting partner took this very shot last season on the biggest buck he has ever seen and it all happened so fast that he was not 100% sure where the arrow hit and did not get a pass through. The initial blood trail was good but eventually thinned out as it approached a swamp about 700 yards away. He searched that swamp for hours with no results. I went back out with him the next day and we followed the trail again to the swamp and searched several more hours without finding him. It made us sick to not be able to recover that deer and it would have been hard for him to survive with as much blood as he lost. We both learned a valuable lesson from this and that is not to rush a shot like that.

warningshot · Post by **warningshot** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:40 pm

check this site out ...

http://www.hunter-ed.com/sc/course/ch4_ ... _shots.htm

R.J. · Post by **R.J.** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 11:48 pm

I love a shot right under the tree !

Maybe it's the thrill of having them so close ! ( you can see a slight blurr in the bottom RH corner of the picture above = it's the corner of my climber stand last fall ) .... I will let them walk for a better angle if possible , but sometimes the situation calls for a quick shot straight down ... And shooting 330 fps or greater with 130 grian fixed blade broad head makes it a high percentage shot in my opinion . ( I have made many this way .)

99% of the time for me it has been a complete pass thru ( the arrow closes the gap quickly when your target is less than 25 feet away ) .
I have experienced excellent bloddtrails with the bottom exit wound .

And as bstout mentioned ... " off center is key " ( you can see the entry wound just behind her right ear in the picture below ) .

Also I believe same a sumner4991 , heavy arrow and good broadhead are key as well ....

This particular doe was right below me with her head head sniffing within inches of the steel ladder rungs and my pull-up rope when I launched a 2216 with 130 grain Wasp Cam lock off the deck of my 2007 Excalibur Vortex ! It didn't take long for the arrow to cover that 20 feet .

mikej · Post by **mikej** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:12 am

nice pics rj

sumner4991 · Post by **sumner4991** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 8:39 am

I like your stories R.J.!! I have always liked the picture books better!

Looks like you knocked the pellets out of her. Is that the same deer? Very nice indeed.

B-Logger · Post by **B-Logger** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:12 pm

I have taken deer with that shot. No pass through shots, but lots and lots of blood....coming from the mouth and nose. They do not go far.

The biggest thing is, as stated before, you can not aim for the center of the deer. If so, the arrow could actually hit the back bone and bury in the bone. You won't get the deer. If it hits spine, naturally it will drop right there. But if you haven't practiced the shot, I would highly advise against it.

Another little hint here. with the ladies it can be a terrible thing. Seems there are some projections on the front of a female chest that can really get in the way with that shot. Yes, I've seen some of the results; sort of takes the beauty away for a bit you might say.

ninepointer · Post by **ninepointer** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:56 pm

I killed my first crossbow deer (a young doe) with that shot. I watched it drop on the spot, no tracking required. The suprising thing was that although my arrow did not touch the spine, it was not a pass-thru. My arrow severed the thick part of the rib on the deer's back and stopped with the point of the broadhead barely sticking out of the brisket. If that deer had gone any distance, I may have had a difficilt time finding it. I think I'd prefer to avoid this shot.