Quartering Shots

[CT.HNTR]

This morning I was reflecting on the 2014 seasons for lessons learned. On two occasions I had a deer at 20 yards but the deer were quartering towards me. I was 18 feet up in a tree. On both occasions I waited for the deer to offer a full broadside but on both occasions the deer moved off without offering the shot I was hoping for. I hunt on state land so these opportunities are far between.

The first lesson is that I should take the first ethical shot that presents itself as you cannot predict what the deer will do.

My question to the forum members is in regards to the quartering shot when the deer is facing towards you. The shot I had on both deer would have been from 18 feet above the deer and I would have to shoot into the front shoulder. I always want a clean ethical shot so I hesitated on these front shoulder shots.

Would you take this shot or pass?
Have you had good success with these shots and where would you aim?

[galamb]

"Would you take this shot or pass?"

I would pass.

A couple/few years back I was faced with a similar decision. The deer was quartering towards, at 27 yards. I was on a platform stand at about 15' to the height of the shooting rail.

The deer was quartering such that there "appeared" to be a "glimpse" of the vital area just behind the front leg/shoulder on the side I could see. I "judged" that with perfect shot placement, I should be able to get a heart/lung pass through, just at (perhaps) the most extreme angle possible "without" first hitting "major bone".

My bow is wickedly dialed in and I shoot it a lot at the range - I was "confident" - so I pulled the trigger.

Long(er) story short, the deer was recovered about 700 yards from where it was shot.

The arrow passed just behind the front leg, passed through both lungs and even left a cut mark (from one of the blades) across the top of the heart, but once it got "through the vitals", it deflected on the far rib cage and turned toward the rear end of the deer. The angle of the shot was pretty severe.

It was recovered with the broadhead and a couple inches of the bolt sticking out from the butt end of the deer.

There was almost no blood trail and the recovery was really just a "fluke" - no tracking involved because there was nothing to track. Bambi was full of blood (in the body cavity), there was just nowhere for it to get out. The entrance hole was (higher) and even though there was kinda/sorta an exit, it was higher in the butt area AND most of the arrow was still in the body cavity, blocking the exit hole.

That whole process changed my opinion on quartering shots - if the angle is such that I can't "reasonably expect" to get a pass through (if I can't visualize it) then I don't pull the trigger.

I realize the "the best laid plans etc" can go haywire on you, but there is a difference between a shot that "should result in a pass through" and one that "might, if everything goes perfectly".

I will no longer assume the latter, and will leave the safety on...

[CT.HNTR]

Thanks Galamb,

I guess in the back of my mind that's what I was worried about and why I did not take the shots. I don't want to shoot a deer that I cannot recover.

I have been second guessing myself but my instincts must have been correct.

I was just doing a check to make sure I have not gotten too hung up on waiting for the perfect broadside.

[paulaboutform]

Thanks Galamb,

I guess in the back of my mind that's what I was worried about and why I did not take the shots. I don't want to shoot a deer that I cannot recover.

I have been second guessing myself but my instincts must have been correct.

I was just doing a check to make sure I have not gotten too hung up on waiting for the perfect broadside.

Good for you, you did the right thing. The fact that you're this concerned shows strong ethics and I commend you for that. We all want to get our game badly but never want to take risks that we'll think about for years and regretfully never be able to take back. You'll get more chances and when you score it'll be that much sweeter.

[bubba]

I also think you made the right decision on passing the shot.like said there is always next year for the deer. And I think your patience and hunting ethnicity will pay off for you in the long run..................................

[xcaliber]

You made the best shot, none! Good for you to know it was low percentage, and you held off.

[galamb]

Yes, there is nothing worse than the feeling that sets in when you start thinking "I'm not going to find this".

I was over confident. When the shot hit my first two thoughts were "I hit him good" and "the shot was righteous" - not "man that was an iffy shot".

I even use a string tracker and it wasn't until the 300 yards of orange string had payed out, AND WAS STILL GOING, that it started to sink in (as you replay the whole thing over in your mind) that, that was a pretty "cocky" shot to take and probably not the smartest I have ever taken.

And it doesn't matter how good a shot you are - a "low probability of pass-through" shot is just that whether you can do this (at 17 yards - and can do that all day) or not.



(practice on "targets" this size and Bambi looks like T-Rex when you get him in the sights)

[Canuck Archer]

I had the biggest buck I ever was lucky enough to see giving me this shot at twenty yards.
I passed and wound up never seeing him again. I don't regret passing the shot.
Probably 50/50 chance to find him but that's something I wasn't prepared to chance.
If you have to think about the shot, chances are you shouldn't shoot.
Personally, I think you made the right choice.

[8ptbuk]

You did the fight thing ! Don't regret it ! You get a high entry hole and no exit hole ALOT of the time . Good choice !

[retrieverman]

I've found that we all have different shooting skill levels and "comfort zones" on what shots to take (or not take), and I really don't like playing the "would you or wouldn't you" game.

For me, if there is a question about a shot, DON'T DO IT.

[manitou1]

I will probably get trashed here, but i have killed multiple deer and a couple of hogs on a quartering frontal shot... with a vertical bow. Never have lost one in a quartering frontal shot. I may be lucky. That being said, i would not take the quartering front shot from a steep angle, ie: deer too close to the tree.

[amythntr]

...agreed fully!...you did the right thing!...but also understand those that don't see a deer all season and finally get "that opportunity!" It takes a very determined person with a lot of willpower to pass up on such a shot....

....that 's pretty cool Graham how you get those squirrels to do chin up's on your arrow...I am giving away my age...but it reminds me of Alvin in "David Seville and the Chipmunks!"


Anthony

[VixChix]

It's a high risk shot and I very strongly recommend against it.

I have done it. Watched the deer dropped after severing the heart.

I shoot a fair bit of 3D and I worked with horses for many years so I felt confident in visualizing the internal anatomy of the deer. When the time came for the shot I had a flash of "now" which i can't explain or describe. The shot was effective but not a pass through as it was stopped by the opposite shoulder. When the deer was down it looked like a neck shot.

Again, I strongly advise AGAINST this shot as the margin for error is very small.

I used a 2"cut Trophy Ridge mechanical:

[Fullquiver]

Don't second guess yourself, you did the right thing.... The quartering to shot is a much lower percentage shot than some will say and much lower than my standards and most reasonable hunters standards also...

[Waif]

I'd pass. Just don't like chasing deer any more than need be and squinting at sign when tracking. Were I starving my ethics would dip; but for now it is still pick and choose on shots that let lots of air and wet stuff out. Preferably with an exit hole.