Shot Placement Rant

[creepingdeth]

Wont watch youtube since I found the Beast. Either i get upset by what I see or its deer farms I personnally would'nt hunt. I also would'nt even draw on a little guy. I now have goals and I try to learn something new each day....Time to get the field tips back on.....

[Rich M]

The internet is full of poor judgement.

[Vexie]

Ok.. so tell me if I'm wrong, but I'm watching YouTube today and I see this guy talking about how he likes to head shoot moose. This way he don't waste 100s of lbs of meat. He says he don't care about the rack, he just wants the meat to feed his village.

Me, I think he's full of and a bad shot and clueless, but you tell me. I noticed that all the moose are bulls. Not one did he shoot once, they all required follow up shots, of which many went into the body anyway. is all I could think!

My GF wants me to mention guys using spears. She doesn't feel that is humane. I point out to her that very wide mechanicals are pretty gruesome too. She just looks at me with that look that says 'you're a dick'. What do you think?

[tgreeno]

I think many of gun hunters think just because of the weapon they use, they don't need to wait on that perfect broadside shot. I have always leaned on conservative side no matter what weapon I'm hunting with.

[checkerfred]

Bad shots can and do happen...Even to the best of the best shooters. We all know that.


But there is a difference between somewhat of a freak occurrence and a bad shot and a just pure bad shot that shouldn't have been taken.


Sadly some hunters feel they HAVE to fill their tag. Or a big buck comes and they take a poor shot because they just HAVE to try to get that buck. It's not right.

I'd say most of us here aren't like that...We tend to have a little different of a hunter on here and that's one of the things I love about this place.



I have a buddy that feels he HAS to try. And he was pretty lucky about walking in the woods and a big buck coming to him for a while..His only bow buck was one of those hunts... Literally walked around l a while...Sat down...Threw out some scent..Made some noise with a back pack full of calls...It was near dark and this real nice buck came by...Light was fading fast and the buck was still a ways away...He decided to draw...The buck seen him and spun to take off so he sent the arrow...He didn't know how far but he knew it was farther than 20..The only pin he had...And a distance he still couldn't shoot well at all...He held high...He called me to help track...I told him to go home and we'd look tomorrow because he had no clue where he hit...He called back 5mins later and found him. Said there was blood everywhere.


I got there and about puked at what I was looking at. Arrow went in the ham..Glanced off the hip and went in the guts. Sliced the artery in the rear leg....

He lost countless deer that season or 2 he carried a bow...He never devoted time to shoot and was a poor shot at even 20yds.

He hasn't touched a bow since...He went to a crossbow.



Sickening what some people do... And many, like my buddy, don't really seem to care.

That's just terrible. I grew up with animals and I do feel for them. While I love hunting I do usually feel bad after I've taken one. I don't really know how to put it into words other than I've taken an animals life and it's not something I take lightly or joke about or not care about. When I shoot one I want it to be as quick as possible.

[checkerfred]

Ok.. so tell me if I'm wrong, but I'm watching YouTube today and I see this guy talking about how he likes to head shoot moose. This way he don't waste 100s of lbs of meat. He says he don't care about the rack, he just wants the meat to feed his village.

Me, I think he's full of and a bad shot and clueless, but you tell me. I noticed that all the moose are bulls. Not one did he shoot once, they all required follow up shots, of which many went into the body anyway. is all I could think!

My GF wants me to mention guys using spears. She doesn't feel that is humane. I point out to her that very wide mechanicals are pretty gruesome too. She just looks at me with that look that says 'you're a dick'. What do you think?

I'm don't like headshots either. If the animal moves slightly or you're off a little bit and hit a jaw that's terrible on the animal. Won't do it

I also don't like spear. It's brutal to me. Also seen a video of a doe killed with a spear. It was horrible. I won't down anyone if they hunt with one. It's their choice and is legal here but I just won't do it.

[jwilkstn]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the proficiency of the individual hunter with his weapon in the conditions he is presented with...

In my opinion a perfectly placed head shot is really humane. However, it's not a good shot to attempt the vast majority of the time because of the small margin for error and the typical movement of an animal's head.

As far as spears go, again it's all about proficiency. If a guy has practiced for years and is consistently accurate then a spear seems every bit as ethical as an arrow.

Just my thoughts

[jwilkstn]

I guess I should clarify my post by adding that I don't take head shots or hunt with a spear, just making conversation!

[Ack]

In my opinion a perfectly placed head shot is really humane. However, it's not a good shot to attempt the vast majority of the time because of the small margin for error and the typical movement of an animal's head

Deer....absolutely not. Turkeys though.....all day any day!

[IkemanTx]

I will say, my goal is an ethical shot every time I release the string. I study the anatomy of each animal I hunt and try for the most "high probability shot" possible in each encounter. But, whereas I will agonize and stress over a deer that I messed up on, I will no longer do the same with a pig. My particular state has waged war on pigs. They are funding studies for swine specific poisons that coagulate a pigs blood in its own veins. It is legal to take a pig with an automatic weapon..... from a helicopter. That is how big of an impact they are having. I cannot describe to you how many deer bedding areas have been overrun, how many acres of agriculture have been ruined, and how many good habitat areas have been ruined by pigs. Just my most recent scouting trip alone, I came across at least 15 spots that looked like a moldboard plow had been taken to them, and all because of pigs. Texas Parks and Wildlife have declared them the most prominent threat to ground nesting birds in the state. Some counties have a bounty on pig tails... understanding the threat that the species poses to native species, I will take the first ethical shot presented to me. I will no longer agonize if the animal is not recovered. You may come snider that unsportsmanlike, but you probably don't complain about rat poison. To us down south, those circumstances are pretty equal.

[Rich M]

Ok.. so tell me if I'm wrong, but I'm watching YouTube today and I see this guy talking about how he likes to head shoot moose. This way he don't waste 100s of lbs of meat. He says he don't care about the rack, he just wants the meat to feed his village.

Me, I think he's full of and a bad shot and clueless, but you tell me. I noticed that all the moose are bulls. Not one did he shoot once, they all required follow up shots, of which many went into the body anyway. is all I could think!

My GF wants me to mention guys using spears. She doesn't feel that is humane. I point out to her that very wide mechanicals are pretty gruesome too. She just looks at me with that look that says 'you're a ***'. What do you think?

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the proficiency of the individual hunter with his weapon in the conditions he is presented with...

In my opinion a perfectly placed head shot is really humane. However, it's not a good shot to attempt the vast majority of the time because of the small margin for error and the typical movement of an animal's head.

As far as spears go, again it's all about proficiency. If a guy has practiced for years and is consistently accurate then a spear seems every bit as ethical as an arrow.

Just my thoughts

Question and answer above. BTW, kids read these posts...

You can't go assigning your values to everyone else - no matter how good you think they are.

I have tried a spear on a large hog and it bounced off the shield at about 6 or 8 feet. I have shot deer in the head. I shoot moving/walking/trotting deer with my rifle (some folks say that's immoral).

If you are proficient with your chosen weapon and feel confident - then use it. If you make a bad shot, I would hope that you learn from it and do better in the future. IMO, that's all we can ask for.

Can't worry about the other guy cause he's always gonna upset you. I know cause I'm him, you are him, he is him. Different values...

[Vexie]

Question and answer above. BTW, kids read these posts...

You can't go assigning your values to everyone else - no matter how good you think they are.

I have tried a spear on a large hog and it bounced off the shield at about 6 or 8 feet. I have shot deer in the head. I shoot moving/walking/trotting deer with my rifle (some folks say that's immoral).

If you are proficient with your chosen weapon and feel confident - then use it. If you make a bad shot, I would hope that you learn from it and do better in the future. IMO, that's all we can ask for.

Can't worry about the other guy cause he's always gonna upset you. I know cause I'm him, you are him, he is him. Different values...

I do agree that worrying about it won't help. But to say you hope they learn from it and do better in the future is all we can ask for... I do not agree with that. While it may be all the control/power we have, we can inspire and maybe convince others to do better, before they cause harm. Unnecessary Harm to an animal they never get to harvest, harm to our reputation as ethical hunters, harm to our hunting rights.

Afterall, isn't this forum about learning, inspiring, communicating?

[tgreeno]

You will never be able to control what others do! All you can do is practice good ethical hunting, and hope others do the same. I'm sure there are many who just don't care. They want to "shoot" something.

I will guarantee there aren't any on this forum, that feel that way!

[checkerfred]

I will say, my goal is an ethical shot every time I release the string. I study the anatomy of each animal I hunt and try for the most "high probability shot" possible in each encounter. But, whereas I will agonize and stress over a deer that I messed up on, I will no longer do the same with a pig. My particular state has waged war on pigs. They are funding studies for swine specific poisons that coagulate a pigs blood in its own veins. It is legal to take a pig with an automatic weapon..... from a helicopter. That is how big of an impact they are having. I cannot describe to you how many deer bedding areas have been overrun, how many acres of agriculture have been ruined, and how many good habitat areas have been ruined by pigs. Just my most recent scouting trip alone, I came across at least 15 spots that looked like a moldboard plow had been taken to them, and all because of pigs. Texas Parks and Wildlife have declared them the most prominent threat to ground nesting birds in the state. Some counties have a bounty on pig tails... understanding the threat that the species poses to native species, I will take the first ethical shot presented to me. I will no longer agonize if the animal is not recovered. You may come snider that unsportsmanlike, but you probably don't complain about rat poison. To us down south, those circumstances are pretty equal.

Yeah I don't really agree with this. I'm definitely against the poison. You did say you will take the first ethical shot so that's good. You're not just spraying lead and not caring and that's exactly what I'm talking about. However these hogs can. E killed by trapping. They have got rid of a large amount by me doing so. Big pen traps and then dispatching them. Instead of wasting the hog they could possibly be used to feed the needy.

As far as being proficient with your weapon that's not what I'm talking about. Think how many people go out with a bow or crossbow and have shot it just a few times. I know people like this. Or once their gun is sighted in they're done, no more practicing. Again I know I'm not good at offhand shooting at least not at long distances. So I know I have to prop against a tree or rest on something. I know that my maximum distance with a completely stopped and non alert animal with a clear shot and shooting from a good solid rest would be 300 yards. With archery I won't shoot past 30 even tho I can, almost everywhere I hunt I'd hit a branch or something past that.

Id guess, and I could be wrong but from what I'm seeing, the majority of shots are from poor judgement. Not waiting for that broadside shot. Not shooting for exit with archery. Not trying to stop the animal when you can't shoot a moving target. etc etc etc

[Rich M]

I do agree that worrying about it won't help. But to say you hope they learn from it and do better in the future is all we can ask for... I do not agree with that. While it may be all the control/power we have, we can inspire and maybe convince others to do better, before they cause harm. Unnecessary Harm to an animal they never get to harvest, harm to our reputation as ethical hunters, harm to our hunting rights.

Afterall, isn't this forum about learning, inspiring, communicating?

Pointing things out is only a first step, sadly most folks stop there. You can not approach any of the guys on here who lost deer this year and tell them they did anything wrong - they worked hard and put the time and energy into being prepared. Things happen.

You can choose where your energy goes and how to channel it.

Maybe you can get with the hunters education system in your state and start there? Often that is the only formal lessons people get. That would be a great way to impact how folks do stuff. Did an archery hunt ed class back in 88 or so and it was great - guy took a dixie cup of food coloring and showed us what an average blood trail would look like - also showed us how much he had left at the end....moral was a little blood goes a long ways. That stuck with me.

I'm almost 50, started a pro duck hunting org in FL and sell/give away 1-man duck hunting boat building plans - did all that stuff when I was younger and had all kinds of time & energy. Did something meaningful that has helped thousands of guys have a place to hunt, better regulations, longer seasons, as well as giving those who wanted, the ability to build a hunting boat and a new way to see and shoot more ducks & geese. The boats have been built around the world. This is not to brag but to show that you CAN make a difference. It does take time but not too bad.

The guys on here are sharing their knowledge and helping us hunt better - that's huge. I'm way ahead of where I was when I found the beast. Itching for hunting season to see how well I've learned.

It is an endless circle of giving and receiving, sometimes see something we want to change, so we work to change it in a positive way.