Down in sight, or out?

[maineac]

I've only taken three deer with the bow.  One dropped in sight, one I heard crash and one I had to trail for a looong way.  After the last one, as rewarding as it was to have worked out the trail i vote for drop in sight or hear it crash after running out of sight.

[HATCHCHASER]

Just out of sight but I lke to hear em crash. Sometimes they have a strong will to live and I don't enjoy watching them struggle to stay alive. I usually have a spiritual and emotional moment then the overwhelming urge to grill those tenderloins takes over.    

[GREATBROWNKNOCKEMDOWN]

I like both it doesn't matter, trailing a deer teaches you alot along the way and helps on future trails,Plus when they run a lil bit out of site i can calm down a bit. I have had a number of deer i shot that went down in site that i was so excited i had to relieve myself from my treestand and could hardly climb down cuz my legs were Jello.LOL!! It's alright you can all laugh!

[Horner]

Originally posted by HATCHCHASER:
Just out of sight but I lke to hear em crash. Sometimes they have a strong will to live and I don't enjoy watching them struggle to stay alive. I usually have a spiritual and emotional moment then the overwhelming urge to grill those tenderloins takes over.        

I have to say this is how I feel.  I like them to just run a little bit out of site and lay down in peace.  I don't like to watch anything struggle to live either.  
However, I do love to see a massive splatter all over the place blood trail.

[Guru]

Good stuff fellas    

Remember, we're not talking about poor hits, and long bloodtrails.  Because anyone, would without a doubt, would take "in sight" over that anytime.


I see I am in the minority here, I guess I just relish the "unknown factor" of when  critter runs out of sight.

   

[Ben Maher]

In the scrub where i usually hunt , a "drop in sight " scenario is rare to say the least. I like to "hear" them go down instead.
I totally understand what Curt is saying though ... the mystery 'after the shot' is perhaps the great unknown in hunting and as such should be relished for the integral process that it involves . So many variables , even to the best of shots is what makes this an adventure every time i step into the bush...

[Guru]

Well said Ben    

[Bill Carlsen]

Curt: I'm not sure you are in a minority. It takes one set of skills to shoot and kill an animal and a whole different set of skills to follow up. It's almost always seems like a relief when you see them go down, bur the sense of accomplishment by unraveling a complex trail is pretty special. Shooting a deer the first day out is nice, too,  if you have more than one tag to fill. But if you don't and you take that one deer on day one or two means you are missing the whole rest of the hunting season. As long as the trailing is successful and the deer drops where I can find him real close to my truck, I could vote for the trailing thing as the way to go.

I hope what I am trying to say makes sense. We hunt with trad equipment for the challenge...so I guess the real question has to do with how challenged do we want to be?...both before and after the shot.

[Onestringer]

I enjoy a good blood trail, its part of the experience.  Kind of like Christmas morning as a kid.  Now, after a difficult trail or two it sure is nice to see them fall.

[Friend]

The total preparation as well as following and figuring out a blood trail is most rewarding to me. Many find it a chore to follow a blood trail and want get it over as soon as possible. I thoroughly enjoy taking my time and am in no rush as this is the climax of the hunt for me.

[Tdog]

When you know you have made that good shot.It's up to the deer how far they go.A little or long traking is all about the hunt..I've had them go down in sight. In heavy cover sometime's you can't see what happen's..It's about the hunt and the challage..Never give up...

[J.Williams]

It is a relief,for me,when they drop in sight...you know you got them and there is no wondering or other concerns.I find bloodtrailing to have it's own rewards,however,and a lot can be learned from it.Good practice for any hunter to take part in and it's a great feeling when you can look up and say "There he/she is"!

[sagebrush]

I don't mind a good blood trail. It can be real rewarding to find the animal if the trail is a hard one. I hate it when you don't find them, even if it is someone else's animal. I do prefer to see them drop in site though. Especially with elk. They are enough work without tracking them for a ways too. Gary

[HATCHCHASER]

I don't like having to trail mine very far but i love helping my buddies track and drag. It does me as much good to see my buddies get em as it does if I get em myself.          
I also enjoy the knowledge I get from others.

[Littlefeather]

One of the most exciting factors in running an arrow through a deer is the moments of uncertainty after arrows impact. I find that there is little that I enjoy more than blood trailing but even so, when deer hunting, I think I enjoy seeing the wobble and fall of the deer even more.

Many times I've shot deer only to see them run out and stop, looking back to see what disturbed them, only to wobble and fall right before my eyes. That's a hard feeling to beat. I guess I'll go for "fall in sight" when deer hunting. I like to blood trail everything else.  

[Northwest_Bowhunter]

I was watching the outdoors channel and country music star Blake Shelton shot a pig with a wheelie bow and it let out a long squeal, stiffened up and fell over.  And I just laugh everytime I see that.  Also saw Fred Eikler shoot a turkey and it did a somersault and died in its own shadow.  If I could, every animal I kill would go down like that, at least that would be my goal.  I expect I will seldom actually see an animal go down like that except in my mind just before the shot.

[TooManyHobbies]

Down in sight for me. The only deer that I've lost are some that didn't go down in sight. I'll track them from my tree to where ever they fell anyway, just for the practice.
As soon as the shot hits, I repeat, "GO DOWN, GO DOWN". But, if they do get out of sight, I want a loud crash.

[ncsaknech1ydh]

Its great when they fall within sight, but as someone previously posted, what is even better is when they go out of site and then you here them crash!

[joe vt]

My most fond memories are following a blood trail ! There is nothing like it in my opinion.

[bolong]

I't is a big relief when they go down in sight but I also love to follow a bloodtrail. Nine times out of ten you won't see them go down where I hunt simply because visibility is limited to 40 or 50 yards usally, sometimes less. My black lab loves to find them also.