Time to wait after a poor shot placement (gut)?

[DuckHunt]

No prob Griz. I can take the heat.

Ch312: I hate to burst your bubble, but if it makes you happy I'll leave that tag unfilled in your honor because you're such a stand up guy. Now I can only shoot four more deer this season (1 buck) counting my bonus tags. One of my kids will be with me and will be behind the trigger from this point onward anyway. They have ten tags left (6 bucks).

BTW: In my area, there is no limit to the number of bonus tags you can buy. Most regions aren't as lucky as we are here in VA. But we also don't see (m)any 250lb deer.

How can anyone miss by 8" at 25 yards? Its easy. Trust me. No one is perfect. That is why we call it hunting and not shooting. The hard part is being dedicated and experienced enough to follow through once you've done the unspeakable.

Not to get too graphical, but this looks a lot like an entrance wound from a mechanical broadhead that opened in flight. That is definately a 1.5" entrance wound.


This is the sixth deer taken with my Exomax crossbow this season and the first to have an entrance hole greater than about 3/4". There was no obstruction in the flight path so it must have been a premature opening. The Spitfire 100 head was new and unfired.

It is very likely being 8" off on my desired POI was my error. In my limited history shooting this crossbow I've killed 3 other deer this season with shots of 10-30 yards. All have been perfect double-lung shots and none traveled over 30 yards. Knowing this I realize that this particular hit is an exception to the norm and it is conceivable that some hardware issue could have contributed to the result.

Will I work to correct the issue? Sure. Will I lose sleep? Uh, nope. Will I gut shoot another buck in the future? I can only hope.

[wabi]

Glad to hear you found him, even if you didn't get to keep the meat.
If you were sure of you aim and squeezed off a good shot, I'd say the mechanical may have opened in flight. I had one go way off course last season and hit the shoulder blade. It didn't penetrate the bone beyond the point (arrow was sticking completely out and broke off at the point when he went through some light brush) so my best guess was that it opened in flight. That one was a 1 1/4" cut wasp JakHammer that was single banded. I learned my lesson, and still use JakHammers (back to 1 3/4" cut), but I double band now, and keep spare new bands to replace any that have been shot! BTW - that buck I shot in the shoulder was seen the next day. Walking slowly, but walking!

[Tom]

Glad you found the deer. I comend your thoroughness and determination to recover it. You went way above what most hunters would have done, again I comend you.

As per a wayward shot. That is archery. In the last few weeks and months, this forum has discussed wayward shots and the possible reasons. It does not matter if it is a mechanical or a fixed head, there are many reasons to cause the arrow to wonder.

• A defective fletch
  off center axis of the head point
  wind
  deflection of the arrow
  mechanicals opening in flight
  bent arrow
  arrow not seated properly against the string
  flinch when shooting,

These are only a few things that can cause an arrow to wonder. If you have never had an arrow to wonder (a flier) then you have not shot long enough, it will happen. The only thing we can so is to try and make sure that you limit the possibilities of it happening. It is also very difficult to find out exactly why you got the flier. You might be able to rule out a few of the possibilities, but not usually all of them. I just wanted to point out that many different things can cause it to be off.

Again congrats to DuckHunter for showing your eithics in hunting.

[TPM]

BTW...how could u manage to gut shoot a deer at 25 yards!?!?!? i know poeple make mistakes but thats really bad...

Man, you haven't been hunting very long have you? It can happen to anyone and if you don't think it can happen to you you're dreaming. A bow cocked slightly off center alone can do it and that doesn't account for any other possible sources of error such as flinching or a canted bow or any kind of equipment failure. I gut shot a deer during rifle season last year. It wasn't off by much but enough to make a mess. Luckily the deer only went about 75 yards before going down. Having said that I considor myself a fairly good shot with a rifle. I've been shooting for thirty plus years and have shot at various levels competitively. I still shoot about 1,000 - 1,500 rounds a year off hand various rifle disiplines. Duckhunt did the absolutely right thing in his persistant persuit and displayed good sportsmanship and ethics. It sucks when this happens and he knows it and I give him credit for having the guts to share this story so we may all learn a little something from it.

[NZ Hunter]

Duckhunt thats hunting, you have gained plenty of posative feedback. whether you head opened during flight or you pulled the shot they are both things you can fix and learn from. Well done on your posative attitude and persistance.

[Hoss]

Duckhunt you dont have to answer to anyone but yourself Bro...you made a like we all have a less than perfect shot ..I cant begin to tell you how many deer Ive lost in all my years...thats huntin....you gave it your best effort in findin it heck some dont even go look after the first try..you did the buck justice and closed the deal in my opinion..I think Adams summed it up well....It wont be the last one you loose and Im not wishin that on you it just happens..Rock on Dude..there is plenty deer in the woods and those who are selfrightous loose deer too..go kill another...

[tkstae]

It isn't a perfect world. Sure sounds like you did everything you could do, and that's what a sportsman does. Proud to have you in our ranks. Hunt well friend.