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Post by jeffpahunter on Aug 15, 2007 15:37:25 GMT -4
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Post by mrlongbeard on Aug 15, 2007 17:34:45 GMT -4
great pic's Jeff. what is the best shoot on a deer. quartering away, broadside etc. and do you all wait for the best shot.
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Post by Buckslayer on Aug 15, 2007 21:40:58 GMT -4
the best shot on any deer is quartering away.
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Post by jeffpahunter on Aug 15, 2007 22:59:40 GMT -4
I prefer a slightly quartering away angle if possible. This widens the area of the vitals that my bh will pass thru creating more damage. Broadside is fine but not quartering to me as the shoulder or leg bone can get in the way. I'm a treestand hunter myself and since nothing here in Bradford County is level ground of equal or even more importance to me is to have a low exit wound to ensure the best blood trail possible. If the exit wound is too high a Deer can go a good distance before the cavity fills and first drops blood to follow. One thing you might notice from these diagrams is the shape of the lung/heart area is somewhat triangular with it's narrow point down low and look at it's placement in relationship to where the leg joins the body. Many people reference "place it right BEHIND the shoulder, really meaning that first leg joint where it meets the body but if you truly put it BEHIND there the lower you hit the narrower the vital area and the more your in danger of actually missing the heart and/or lungs and having a gut shot. I've seen this happens many times to hunters. On a true broadside shot such as these pictures, provided that near front leg is either straight down or forward I prefer to go up directly from about the center of the leg bone and about a third of the way up the body. This way if I am a little left I have more lung area to catch. This method hasn't failed me yet...knock on wood...
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onager
lodge member
Posts: 244
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Post by onager on Aug 20, 2007 16:03:10 GMT -4
Boy do I agree with you about getting that exit wound low from a tree stand. Even on the ground or when the deer is on the side of a hill while in your stand it is important to not shoot center mass. I have regretably single lung shot two deer. Great blood for two hundred yards then the blood diminishes until nothing at about 600 yrds. Maybe you other bow hunters don't struggle with this but I have to mentally remind myself to aim low,as aptly demonstrated on the visuals. It is also helpful to draw the imagianary line thru a lifesize deer target or borrow one of the kids toy plastic animals "Daddy where is my toy Bambi?"
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Post by lonewolf5347 on Aug 31, 2007 19:56:44 GMT -4
I love to bow hunt been a bowhunter for more then 35 year:I started with a recurve damon howard 50 lbs bow,then the first Allen compound taken more deer with a browning 4 wheeler bow that is laminated limbs still sit on the bow rack stop bow hunting 6 years ago due to a cervical neck problem but for me a broadside lung shot can't be beat .I don't think in all the years of bow hunting maybe I lost 2 deer only because of heavy rain that washed out the blood trail.My favorite broadhead are the thunderheads 125 grain before that the original bear broadhead did the job.
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Post by dewalt on Jan 29, 2008 11:02:27 GMT -4
I recently just purchased a bow and am looking forward to joining the ranks of archery hunting this autumn. This thread (which I just printed out) has given me some great insight. Thanks for posting the information...and keep it coming.
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Post by fastarrows on Jan 29, 2008 12:15:19 GMT -4
Dewalt, Welcome to the wonderful world of Archery. The worst drug known to man! My wife hates it "I spend way to much money!". There is alot of great info on here read, read, read some more. The pratice, practice, pratice, and continue praticing! i hope you enjoy! I surly do!
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Post by dewalt on Jan 29, 2008 12:52:08 GMT -4
LOL...the man who owns the archery shop where I bought my bow was tickled pink when I first went in to inquire about my initial purchase. When he heard me say I was a rifle hunter...well, he lit up and stated that he loved converting "us"...lol He said the same thing that once I go archery hunting I'll never pick up another rifle. We'll see...but so far I love it. But...I won't go out in the field until I'm as accurate as I am with a rifle. I've never had to track a deer and I'd like to keep it that way...or at least keep the tracking to a minimal. I've come across dead deer when hiking that were either shot or had an arrow sticking out of them and were obviously never found. I'm not a fan of feeding the coyotes.
As for this site, it is filled with information and I am reading, reading, reading (and jotting down notes)!
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Post by mrlongbeard on Jan 29, 2008 21:57:20 GMT -4
a good train of thought is when shooting at a deer with thebow aim for the off shoulder. study the pic's from the start of the post and you will see what i mean. one more idea is to wait till the deer moves his or hers leg fore ward so the shoulder blade isn't covering the vitals. practice with your broadheads as much as posssible to
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Post by jeffpahunter on Jan 29, 2008 23:38:04 GMT -4
Tracking/ trailing a Deer is a FACT of Archery hunting. If you drop a Deer in it's tracks with an arrow there's a 99.9% chance you actually made a bad shot and spined it or hit the neck. An arrow kills it's prey by hemorrhaging or bleeding to death rather than by shock as with a bullet. Some musts for a clean bow kill are: - razor sharp, well constructed, good quality broadheads.
- well tuned bow. A less than perfectly tuned bow results in poor arrow flight which in turn reduces the arrows kinetic energy impeding the arrows ability to penetrate.
- careful shot placement at a RELAXED animal. A shot at a tensed up animal ready for flight often results in a less than perfect hit and/or a long tracking job. The animal is already poised for escape. The sound of your bow, not the arrow will trigger it's flight and they can go a amazingly long distance even when fatally hit.
- know your limitations. If you can't place every arrow inside of a 8" circle at a certain distance you should not shoot that far. Personally I'd like to see every Archer take this distance and subtract about 10 yards from it for their personal maximum. There's just to many factors that come into play in the field.
- if in doubt don't. If there's any doubt in your mind as you prepare for the shot DON'T release. A shot passed on today ensures that Deer lives to be hunted another day.
- practice under hunting conditions. Wear your hunting clothes, shoot from unorthodox and uncomfortable positions, anything that could occur in the field.
In my mind if a new Archer live, breathes and practices the above they are on their way to becoming a responsible bow hunter. Archery involves tracking, plain and simple. Sharpen your skills because no matter how good of a bow hunter you are, before to awful long a Deer will come along and pull a fast one on you and test your best tracking skills & abilities. They will double back on their trail, hit a creek and walk up or down stream a ways before leaving, and the ever popular "drop that last faintest drop of blood but go another 30-40 yards into the thickest cover possible before dropping. In my personal opinion after 30+ years of bow hunting, I think the #1 issue that gets to most new bow hunters that they may not be used to dealing with as a firearms hunter is the close up nature of the sport of bowhunting. How many Deer will you shoot at with a firearm at say 10-20 yards and have to wait maybe 5 or 10 minutes for this Deer to get into an opening or maybe the proper position for your shot ? This is what tests one's nerves and composure and ability to execute what they've practiced and rehearsed in the yard at home or on the practice range. It's entirely different when in the woods, in a treestand with a living and breathing Deer 15 yards away. I've taught a lot of people to shoot over the years and it's amazing at how many have become very good shots at targets in a relatively short period of time, some superb shots almost natural. But yet I've seen many of these same people get out on stand for the very first time, have a Deer at 10-20 yards and they sail their arrow into the dirt under the Deers chest or 5 feet over the Deers back.... ..... Under the pressure they come totally unglued and forget everything they've ever practiced. Heck it still happens to me after over 30 years, I still have to talk to myself and walk through my shot routine mentally as I prepare for the shot and keep myself calm. Years ago I hunted with an "old timer" who taught me this little trick. He said, "the only way to learn to conquer this emotional rush is to subject yourself to real life situations. Get out in a tree stand in the off season to increase your close up encounters with Deer. When your bow hunting draw on every Deer you see as if your going to shoot it even if you know your not. Draw, hold anchor, wait for the perfect shot and mentally tell yourself, now is when I would release,.. got ya". As he said, when the time comes to actually take a real shot you'll have already rehearsed it as much as possible and the release should come unconsciously without you even realizing it. Well enough preaching. Welcome to the wonderful world of Archery and hope you enjoy it as much as we all do. Hopefully you can learn a little from the things many of us have learned throughout the years. If so you might find that store owner you mentioned was right after all, you may not go gun hunting again. I haven't in about close to 10 years now. If I have any tags I want to fill left come firearms season I take my bow. It's the challenge and close up nature of bowhunting that is the rush to me. When that thrill leaves I hope they have my "pine box" ready...and it better be big enough to hold all of my archery equipment.. Jeff
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Post by buckhntr92 on Feb 7, 2008 19:05:51 GMT -4
;D i got a deer vitals target from bowhunter magazine hanging on my bedroom wall
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Post by jeffpahunter on Feb 7, 2008 21:19:34 GMT -4
Just don't shoot it... ;D....
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