This evening I shot a doe with my bow. It was about a 16 yard shot and she was staring right at me. I let it rip and she ducked. I caught her right in the spine paralyzing her back legs.
I didn’t have a pistol with me, so I grabbed another arrow and shot her in the head. It passed through and did not seem to disable her at all. I ended up getting out my knife and cutting her throat.
This might be my 4th or 5th deer I shot with a bow but I have always had pass-thru lung shots and found them dead. I am thinking of getting a .22 pistol to carry so I can quickly dispatch a deer if this happens again.
I don’t consider myself soft, but I do believe if I am taking the life of one of Gods creatures, I should do it quickly for them and as painless as possible. What do / would you guys do in this situation?
Vitals are key, not to critic but if she was facing you that’s a shot that’s tough to get right… If down put another in the vitals! Don’t get fancy w a head/neck shot. Both will fail you at times and leave you disgusted.
That is one reason I don’t bow hunt. I don’t think less of anyone who bow hunts and concede that bow hunting is more challenging but it isn’t for me. Deer are killed with bows by blood loss. If the arrowhead is in a deer and it is running the arrowhead is cutting as the deer moves. If it is a pass through arrow shot then the deer will still probably run but either way You are essentially waiting for it to bleed out. Deer are really tough animals and I have read that they are capable of losing as much as 30% of the blood in their body and can still live. Rifles kill by means of trauma. You have a 150 grain projectile traveling at 2200 fps and the impact is what kills. It makes sense why you have more bang flops with a rifle than a bow. I think carrying a pistol is a very good idea and I do just that even when rifle hunting. It provides an immediate solution to this problem and it has come in handy more than once for me. Plus you feel safer stopping in the sketchy gas station on the way to the stand if you are packing heat.
Practice on pigs more, those are Satan’s creatures, it doesn’t matter what you do with them.
Mark
Pioneer 222 Sportfish Yamaha F300
Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
“Life’s tough…It’s even tougher if you’re stupid” John Wayne
Vitals are key, not to critic but if she was facing you that’s a shot that’s tough to get right… If down put another in the vitals! Don’t get fancy w a head/neck shot. Both will fail you at times and leave you disgusted.
bulletsrcheap
I guess I should have explained it better, it was a broadside shot but her head was facing me. I am quite certain she saw me release and was ducking down to take off. I would not try with a bow a straight on shot.
Practice on pigs more, those are Satan’s creatures, it doesn’t matter what you do with them.
Mark
Pioneer 222 Sportfish Yamaha F300
Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
“Life’s tough…It’s even tougher if you’re stupid” John Wayne
I would love to shoot some hogs but there are none around me. I am planning a trip to Orangeburg in a few weeks for a 2 day hunt with my son. He has a shiny new 243 and wants to break it in.
ive hit 1 deer in the shoulder meat (no vitals) with the bow and it made me absolutely sick never finding it, but the key to bowhunting is practice, practice, practice, and when youre not practicing…practice! i wont take it out until i consistently group my arrows within a baseball in the backyard so if i shake a bit or the deer moves during the hunt it will very likely still go through the vitals. ironically my best placed shot the buck ran over 200 yards through a corn field and into a thicket but most of my not so perfect ones drop shortly after i lose sight of them (maybe 50 yards). a majority of deer ive killed were with my compound bow and the 1 survivor was actually with the crossbow not the compound. it happens to the best of us and yes a .22 pistol would be good for dispatching unfinished deer quickly as long as regulations allow.
A spine shot is a gift when a deer jumps the string, usually hit them below the spine in a non vital area and they tote it a mile. Arrow in the head is never a good idea, nock another, put it where you wanted it in the first place, and it will be over by the time you climb down. And a .22 as a side arm? No chance, I’ll stick with my 9mm or .45, god forbid you need said side arm on a decent sized crippled buck or pissed off hog, a .22 isn’t going to cut it.
Maglite to the head will do the trick. Bullets are expensive. and for the 22 bullet it will kill pretty much anything when aimed between the ears. Hell troy kills 13 foot alligators with a 22.
MattR… No doubt a quick kill is what everyone wants. Careful with the knife to the throat, even an old Nanny can do some damage with those front feet/hoofs. I really hate when you get one in the back and they start squalling like a dying woman.
.22 would be work as a side arm and is legal to shoot deer in S.C. except on some WMA’s. The only thing I’ve not killed with a .22 in S.C. is a bear, coyote, and Panther. Close distance and Head placement is crucial.
I usually carry my Glock .40 while hunting but some times swap out for the Mark III.
Careful with the knife to the throat, even an old Nanny can do some damage with those front feet/hoofs.
a buck is pretty self explanatory but this is especially the case with a hog if you find one! a wounded boar is much more ill tempered than deer and 2" cutters will rip flesh pretty good if you arent careful.
She jumped the string, it’s part of it. Deer move when you squeeze the trigger from time to time. Better than getting mauled by a group of yotes, or smashed up by a car. Glad you respect the animal, totally agree with you, but also keep it in perspective. Best of luck to you.
Practice on pigs more, those are Satan’s creatures, it doesn’t matter what you do with them.
Mark
Pioneer 222 Sportfish Yamaha F300
Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
“Life’s tough…It’s even tougher if you’re stupid” John Wayne
Amen, do more of what salty said. My advice is to hold your pin low and level with their arm pit. About 2-4 inches from the bottom of the brisket/chest if they are over 18-20 steps. Unless you are shooting a bow from the 80s or some off the wall brand, they will not do much string jumping inside of 15 steps. However, do your best to never shoot one which is looking at you. That’s just asking for a jumped string. The spookier they are the more likely they are going to jump you. So if one is looking at you and sees you release, he/she is gonna have even more of an upper hand. Just my 2 cents of what I have learned the hard way over the past 13 years or so. Good luck.
We have all accidentally spined a deer. We have all shot deer that we knew were going to die but never be found.
For myself, and b/c of the former, I am looking for a very specific shot (I have personalized it and named it “My shot”) and without it, I don’t take it.
My shot is the following: I’m looking for a relaxed or distracted animal, broadside or quartering away, looking the other way or head down in the feeding mode, at no more than 30 yards but 15 yards as ideal. Why so picky?
I have tried all the other shots and they just don’t work. There is no disappointment like the disappointment one feels at the moment when one gives up looking for a deer. That is a dark moment and it lasts for a VERY long time. It can even cast a shadow of depression over the whole family, and your wife’s family.
But there are two, unbearably tempting shots one should never take: that’s the directly-under-my-stand-just-5-yards-away shot, and the quartering toward, can’t-believe-it’s-looking-right-at-me shot.
Won’t write a bunch more bout that but trust me if you take either one of those shots and recover your deer twill be the only time in your life/twould be like winning a lottery.
Back to your questions. 1) Don’t carry a side arm unless you think you might be confronted by a dangerous animal rights person. Put a second arrow in the right place, and depending on the situation continue bowhunting or walk back to your truck, drop off your stand, and enjoy a victory smoke. 2) Wounding animals unintentionally is a part of bowhunting; minimize that by learning your lessons…as the lessons will be repeated until they are learned. All the best.
