Do you aim low on deer?

[rg176bnc]

Do you aim low anticipating the deer to duck or do you aim normal?  Ive shot over 3 this year.  1st one was obviously alert.  2nd was alittle on edge because it was windy.  I don't think he flinched.  The third was at 9 yds and I know I didnt aim low enough to start with, but Im sure she flinced a good 3 inchs or so.

Its been a week or so since Ive had a shot and had time to think about it.  Trying not to get all screwed up in the head before my next shot.

Im thinking Im gonna aim as low as I can hit it and still hit the kill.  Whats your stratagy?  Our deer here arent wound up as tight as Texas deer lol.

[trashwood]

put a senstive tape recorder where the deer is and shoot a few shots.  now listen the recording.  I bet ya can tell when your about to shoot, before ya ever hear the string drop.  sometime it is shifting weight in the stand, sometimes it is hunting clothes, sometime it is old bones creeking.  that is just in the frequency that humans can hear, think what we are telegraphing to the deer.

I watch the deer closey, looking for it attitude.  if it knows i'm there ya gotta shoot real low    .

I hold 2" under the heart (i am a direct aimer).  often hit mid lung. several times a spine shot but I have never shot under one

rusty

[wingnut]

Yep i look at the bottom of the chest on whitetail and usually hit mid lung.

They do duck.  Especially Texas deer.

Mike

[longstick]

Mikes right there! These deer are super QUICK and we do aim low

[357max]

I seem to have a problem of always shooting under the deer. I've shot at four deer with my recurve and every time i end up under. I have even set up a 3d target in the woods at my stand site and can drill that thing all day long but when a deer walks to the same spot my arrow goes under! I guess i'll just have to aim high.

[RC]

I shoot for the white hairs at the very bottom of a deer. I usually hit mid lung.The white hairs below the crease in the leg to be exact.RC

[Butts2]

I did probably 2" from the bottom and Whitetail down  

[Fletcher]

I don't have problems with deer ducking the arrow.  I shoot quiet bows, but so do lots of others.  I aim where I want it to go.

[SuperK]

Hey, I feel your pain RG176bnc.  I have had some shots from the ground and I really think the deer duck quicker than shots from a tree stand.  Well, maybe not; but it sure do seem that way.  Anyhow, I'm gonna start aiming for the bottom of the chest like these guys suggest.  Funny, when I'm shooting from a tree stand I remember to aim low but when I have had shots from the ground I don't!  I'm still new to ground hunting and I tend to rush my shots.

[Robhood23]

Are you shooting from an elavated platform? If you are in the trees that can make a difference as well.

[d. ward]

I'am with Fletch on this one...Whatever you do,if you start second guessing yourself you can open a whole new can of worms.Aim and shoot where you want the arrow to go....think positve and never ever second guess yourself in the woods.What do you do when target shooting or praticeing for the up coming hunt ??? pratice shooting low ? Guessing which way a critter will jump when and arrow is released ??????? wow I'll buy a copy of that book any day.....bowdoc

[Jerry Jeffer]

Why would you aim some place you don't want to hit? How do you know what the deer will do? I shoot at the spot I want to hit. Anticipating a deer to do what you think it will is IMO irresponsible.

[wingnut]

Jerry,

Come to TX and shoot over 50 or so or wound a few in the high shoulder, and then talk about irresposible.  Your deer don't move like these do.  They duck everytime and are about 1/2 the size and twice the speed of a northern deer.  You have to adapt to the game your hunting and Texas deer are a shoot at the bottom line animal.

If they stand still, you shoot under.  Don't know of anyone that has but you do.  It is interesting to look at where the folks are from that talk about aiming low.  All from the south.  The north guys shoot where they want it and the south guys shoot where it's going to be.

Wish our deer were big and didn't duck!!  LOL

Mike

[str8jct]

I've shot over 5 this year, from a tree stand.  None knew I was there and I don't believe the ducked, but it happens so fast who knows.

[vermonster13]

Northern deer can duck too, especially when you're on the ground with them. Aiming for a heart shot can help with that immensely.

[Charlie Lamb]

Jim Dougherty once said that it's hard to hit a deer too low. I agree.

Most hunters tend to shoot a little high on deer anyway, so it makes sense to aim for a low hit.

Better to miss too low than hit too high !

On the Texas deer thing... never judge someone else's hunting by what's happening in your backyard.
All deer aren't created equal.

[BobW]

I should have....  

[Sharpster]

Originally posted by vermonster13:
Northern deer can duck too, especially when you're on the ground with them. Aiming for a heart shot can help with that immensely.

I was trying to figure out how to reply with a "multi-quote" from Vermonster and Charlie.
Together they took the words right out of my mouth.

I aim for the heart. If the deer doesn't move ..dead deer. If the deer ducks... lung shot, again dead deer. If the deer jumps... clean miss.

All of these outcomes are vastly preferable to a high wounding hit.

BTW, they also depend on me being able to shoot well enough to make the shot.  

Ron

[Steertalker]

Anticipating a deer to do what you think it will is IMO irresponsible.

Hmmmmm....not paying attention to a deer's body language and not anticipating what it might do is IMO irresponsible or just plain ignorant.

The worst that can happen if you aim low and the deer [does not] react is a low hit, which in most cases is exactly what you want, or you shoot under the deer.  The worst that can happen if you aim for a double lung hit and the deer ducks, is a high hit, which in some cases means a lost deer running around with an arrow stuck in the shoulder blade or a hole in it.

You bet I am low; sometimes a full body width.  I usually aim for the intersection of the back of the front leg with the chest.  I don't know about other places, but the deer I hunt out here in W. Texas ALWAYS duck!

Brett

[mark land]

Yep, me too!  I aim for the top of the heart, but then again it always depends on the angle and distance as well, I just usually visualize where I want my arrow to exit and aim at that spot holding low.  When we started videoing our hunts several years ago, if was amazing to see how much animals move at the shot.  Every single animals I and others have shot on video has reacted to the bow going off, whether it was just a flinch or all out dropping and twisting, everyone reacted!  It always suprised me to recover some deer and find the impact point totally different then where I thought the arrow had hit, but by watching it on video you can definitley see the animals reaction to the shot even though at the time of the shot, the eye did not pick it up!  Mark