quartering towards you

[Flatout]

I have always considered shooting an animal quartering towards me something to avoid. However, it seems to me that a heavy arrow setup (650 grain, 2 fixed blade broadhead) might take "quartering towards you" whitetails consistently.

What sort of experiences have you had shooting at whitetail or larger animals that were quartering towards you?  If you have the data, please include what broadhead, arrow weight, and arrow speed you were shooting - and of course what happened to the animal.

[2Blade]

Ive not shot an animal with a traditional bow yet but ive done so with a muzzleloader. One thing is theres not much or any blood because it exits out the guts which will sometimes plug the holes. I have seen a little blood from the entrance. My uncle did it last year with a bow we had 0 blood trail but the doe only went 25 yards before piling up.

[ckruse]

I'm not saying it can't be done, it's just a really poor idea. Any basic hunter ed course will warn you against this shot for archery. A deer's reaction time from this angle will be much greater as it will hear, then see something wrong. I'd venture to say that even with the fastest bows a lot of deer will get completely out of the way, while others will be hit in a non-desireable location. Even if you hit where you are aiming, as stated above your shot will be angling AWAY from the vitals instead of into them. CKruse

[Arwin]

I've shot two doe between the neck and shoulder as they were quartered to me and they both died in less than 1 minute. I cut main arteries in the neck and sliced between the lungs into the heart. This was at a very close range and would not try it past 15 yds.

[woodslinger]

Just because you can doesn't mean you should. A deer quartering towards you leaves very little room to get a double lung or heart without puching through some heavy bone structure.

With that being said I also use to think the same way and actuallt shot a 140lb deer that was quartering towards me. I was using a 70lb recurve shooting a 2219 with a 145gr 4 blade muzzy. The shot was 10 yards from the ground and even at that distance the deer was able to duck at the shot and I hit high about 3" below the top of the back in the middle of the rib cage. The arrow passed through the deer exiting in front of the opposite ham. That deer only went 35 yards and went down within site. Even though it worked out that time I have never attempted another beause in my opinion there is just to much room for error. I have been in on 3 different blood trails where deer were never recorvered on simmilar shots and 33% success doesn't cut it.

[NoCams]

Just don't do it... I lost two deer because I was just plain stupid and impatient. Both were opening weekend of bow season, two years back to back. Makes me feel even more stupid doing it two years in a row !

All I had to do was be patient and wait a little and I would have had a broadside or quartering away shot. Not saying it cannot be done, just that the odds are stacked against you. Why push a bad posistion if you don't have too ? Almost every deer that I did kill gave me a much better shot than initally offered when it first walked up, just had to wait a little. A few even walked or fed off, only to return and give me a gimmie shot later on. Don't be stupid like me, WAIT !!!

nocams

[pdk25]

There is always risk involved in shooting at an animal.  That being said, harvesting any single deer isn't important enough for me to take such a risky shot with a bow.  I would prefer to wait for broadside or quartering away.

[Kingwouldbe]

Flatout, this is one of the tougher shot selections and one that usually should be avoided.

You did not say if you would be in a tree or on the ground, out west we are usually on the ground and it is a different shot angle than from a tree.

Your arrow weight should be suffiant, you did not say the weight of your bow.

Most experienced bow hunters will avoid this shot, my self included, however, there are times that I have taken this shot, but every thing must be perfect for me to take it.

This buck was shot on the ground @ 12 yards 55lb Habu with a supper skinny shaft and a grizzly 160 arrow weight was 530grains.

 

This buck was also shot on the ground @ 8 yards 60lb Abbot with a snuffer, a 525 grain arrow, you see the broken shaft in its chest.

 

This buck was also shot on the ground at 12 yards with a 60lb Widow, snuffer and 525 grain arrow, head on.
 

[Stone Knife]

Did that once it was a big mistake, that shot is not an option for me. You would serve yourself and the game you hunt to wait for the proper shot angel to present itself. Patience will save a lot of heartache

[pdk25]

Sorry, didn't read the post closely enough.  No data here.

[Big Dave]

Why take a chance on a bad hit, when most of the time they will give you a shot if not spooked. Don't take the shot. David  

[Biggie Hoffman]

Never. If you have to kill something that bad...get a good 30-30.
Bowhunting is all about waiting for the right shot. Some days you get the bear, some days the bear gets you.

[Dartwick]

I think you will always have frequent issues with blood trails on a shot like that.

But as to the the lethality it depends on your bow and gear - and on what you are shooting. If you going with the light bow trend then maybe its not a going to work.

A 45lb bow with medium weight arrows and 3 or 4 blade broad heads should do great on a side lung/heart) shot but maybe not on this shot.

A 65 or 75lb bow with durable arrows and a single blade head is going to have a way better odds in this case.
Sometimes people forget that a whitetail is small - it would be a much worse idea on an elk than a whitetail.

A lot of people like to talk about how accurracy is all that matters when choosing gear, the flip side is that more power applied properly allows a greater variety of shots.

[Flatout]

I don't get the argument about the angle of the arrow being undesirable.  Most agree that quartering  away shot is a great shot.  Quartering towards is just going the opposite direction. Vitals are vitals no matter which way the arrow is going. I do understand that you might have to go through bone before you get to the vitals, but couldn't a beefy arrow solve that?  Of course ckruse mentioned string jump and that is also a good point.

KingWouldBe  Unfortunately, I am not able to hunt right now because I am living outside the states. I just sit here and watch you guys do the hunting.  But someday I hope to be hunting from the ground with a 50lb bow.

I have taken a yearling with a quartering to shot with a wheelie(ran 40 yards w/ good blood trail) but wasn't sure I should mention it in this section.

[Dartwick]

Quartering away will be  more likely to leave you a good exit trail if you have the penetration, than quartering towards.

If you dont have good penetration quartering away is more likely to reach the vitals than quartering towards.

Quartering away is a better shot in almost all cases..

[WESTBROOK]

Your asking for trouble!

Eric

[Don Stokes]

I killed a young deer in MO a couple of years ago that was quartering toward me. It was about 20 yards, and the deer was distracted, watching my hunting buddy who was in the area. I was using a 55# longbow with arrows about 600 grains, with a 190 grain ribtek head. Not much blood trail, but it barely got out of sight before crashing. Penetration was to the center of the chest.

There are no absolutes in this. A number of years back Deer & Deer Hunting magazine did a survey of successful archers, including shot angle. To my surprise, the archers who took quartering shots were equally successful at recovering the animal regardless of whether it was toward or away. In fact, there was a slight edge for the quartering toward shots.

I think the most important factor is whether the deer is likely to see the hunter when the shot is taken. If it's likely, pass the shot. You can rarely hit a deer that's seen you, at least not well.

[stmpthmpr]

If we are looking for a particular answer, we will get it if we ask enough people. Some have taken these lower percentage shots and had success. Was it because a "frontal" shot or a "quartering to" shot is an acceptable shot for you to take, or was it because that particular hunter had the experience and confidence in his ability and gear to KNOW he would make a clean kill?

How many similar shots had that hunter taken that he did not recover? Or, did he have engrained in himself a very high standard for shots he would take and the few lower percentage shots he has taken just felt right to him after years of experience?

This is a personal ethics question that can only be answered by each individual. We must be honest with ourselves and KNOW our own abilities and that of our gear. We should establish high standards for ourselves before we ever go into the woods. The excitement and the drive to harvest animals more often than not has caused the inexperienced archer to lower, not raise, his standards.

Dont set yourself up to learn from mistakes. The animal, the hunter, and bowhunting in general all suffer for mistakes and bad judgement. Knowing that we are imperfect beings and WILL make mistakes, even when we take the high percentage shots, should lead us to set the bar very high with regard to "shoot/dont shoot"

[Rick McGowan]

Flatout, not the same, look at the cutaway of a deer or any animal for that matter, the upper leg bones go FORWARD towards the sternum, so you end up with a very small area, between the heavy bones and the angle, being more head on, makes it very difficult to get both lungs. A broadside or quartering away shot, means the only bones you need to worry about are small ribs.

[blueslfb]

I agree with most everyone on here regarding this angle.  I avoid it at all costs but last year I took a doe angled towards me.  At the moment of release she spooked a little bit and turned to run.  She went from broadside to quartering to me and the arrow took her just behind the front shoulder and exited just in front of the opposite rear leg and stuck in the ground.  She died quickly but she was a mess inside.  The arrow tore thru the guts and made a real mess.  The shot was from a treestand about 15ft up and the shot was around 12yds.  

I was shooting a 55lb Martin Mamba with a 31" CX 150 with a 125 Grizzly mounted on aluminum adapter. Total B/H weight was 175grns and total arrow weight was 547grns.  I had a good outcome and short bloodtrail but I got lucky.