Can you pull off this shot?

[Bowwild]

Looks like the deer are fix'n to add another digit to their side of the win column. I'd wait for things to improve before I risked:

1. Spook'n the living daylights out of him.
2. Take a shot that ended up eating dirt or worse.

On such occassions I have waited and usually the deer moves on without me shooting. A couple of times though something has happened to distract the deer, like another deer showing up that resulted in my getting an excellent opportunity. I have to admit I LOVE to turn the tables on a Doe that thought she had me pegged so well that I was already field dressed and on the barbecue!

[lpcjon2]

I would have been at full draw before it noticed me and awaiting it to blink and the game would be over.  

[Blaino]

I don't think you should force anything with a bow and arrow. Even if you were able to make a good shot she wouldn't go down a soon/clsoe as a relaxed deer.

Last Friday I shot a doe that was quarting away.  The arrow got both lungs and hit her far side leg.  I found her 180-200 yards away.  I have been replaying the whole situation over and over in my head since... The best I can come up with is she had been running from some people that were dog hunting close by(i could hear the dogs) and she was already jacked up from them.  Her toung was hanging out like a hot dog when I shot her.

[ron w]

Never happens to me so I can't help ya.....I wish I would have a deer that close to me so I could see what happens......I would think an alert deer is not good!

[toehead]

i made the mistake of shooting at one at 5 yards that was looking dead at my ground blind....my thinking was he was about to split but at 5 yards it shouldn't matter...WRONG he ducked enought to dodge the arrow by half a foot!  
I always heard if you can get them in mid step or eating they take a little longer to DROP.  
I always tried to wait until the deer is relaxed with attn. elsewhere....

[amicus]

In my area, on a calm day, any deer is going to tense up and look at you when you draw within 15yrds.Thats just the way it is. Every deer I have shot was looking at me and thats because it heard me or sensed me draw back. If its windy or there is some other noise distraction he might not look at you. If he is still in a broadside position when he looks at me and Im still focused on my spot I will release the arrow. At 15 yrds Im not worried about jumping the string. Thats my 2 cents.

Good luck

Gilbert

[GingivitisKahn]

I wait. They leave with no shot opportunity. I second-guess my decision.

Been down that road a few times.

[bayoulongbowman]

goose bumps that close...

[ksbowman]

No shot, Let her walk and hope she isn't further educated . Next time she comes thru take her.

[Mike Theis]

I agree to wait it out, especially at longer than 15 yards, But . . .

I have made shots when they decided to take a dump. Yep, when the tail goes out, it's not a bad time to let it fly. That motion and distraction for the deer can be just enough time spent in one spot to place an arrow without the escape/body drop motion.

Just another thought not mentioned.

[maxwell]

Greyghost said it perfectly, wait.   Way better than a wounded deer, besides you can enjoy the deer and figure out why she had you and next time it's your turn.

[Terry Lightle]

Let her rip.Happens to all of us.Last year when it happened to me and I didnt shoot the old doe haunted me all year,would circle me at 75 to 100 yards ,find me and blow and stomp until I  left.Will always shoot if they are close enough from now on.By the way,she died the day after Thanksgiving.

[Bonebuster]

An alerted deer is not a target. A recipe for disaster.

[LCH]

It depends if it is a doe or a buck. Most of the time the doe will duck more than the buck. Wait till they are quartering away, aim at the lower 1/4 of their body. Draw slowly anchor and shoot. Works for me. LCH

[sbschindler]

thats why I like this forum except for one oddball all choose the safe route

[bamboo]

Originally posted by howler:
thats why I like this forum except for one oddball all choose the safe route

while typing they did--its pretty easy to talk yourself into a shot!!

[Onehair]

Rule one> Never look at a nervous deer.
Rule 2> You can't kill it unless you shoot.
I have taken several does that knew I was there and were very nervous. I bring my bow up in one smooth motion only seeing the deer out of the corner of my eye. A smooth draw while turning my head and release. Nothing sneaky or overly slow, just smooth. Some won't stand for it but I was not going to get that shot anyway.

[JamesV]

Most times I just let the deer move on but I have killed several alert deer using this method. Spooked deer came in to feed and I let them feed, sometimes 15-30 min. before I try to take a shot. When I did get a shot I aimed at the hollow spot in front of the hind quarter behind the rib cage. As I released the arrow the deer went down and pivoted away and the arrow hit high but got one lung. Very risky shot. I don't take that shot now.

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

Originally posted by Mudd:
I am in agreement with Sweeney.

I've tried a couple of times over the years to pull off the shot almost exactly as you've described it with bad and good results. The ones that ended with good results only means that no deer were hit and wounded.

I think I tried it the second time because the 1st time there was no foul nor harm.

Lesson learned.

My 2 cents worth.

God bless,Mudd

Same here.  I only tried this once with a doe and it didn't end well.  She loaded to jump and when she did she pulled her leg back in front of her heart.  You can guess what happened from there.

[amicus]

Oddball!!! and proud of it. lol In all honesty i don't know how I would of ever killed anything if I didn't shoot because it was looking at me. I much rather them not look at me but I havent figured out how to do that. These 2 bucks wern't looking at me when I started to draw but they sure enough did in the middle of the draw. They didn't change positions or run off. They were on alert but still broadside and I was still focused on my spot. First one was from a pop up blind 10 yrds away. Second was from a 12ft tripod 15 yrds away. If they had changed positions or moved off, I would of backed off. When I get ready to shoot I wait till the deer is looking away or busy doing something. I have not quite figured out how not to be noticed or heard while im trying to draw back, within 15 yards. Perhaps Howler you can tell us how you do it. In all honesty, on a calm day, I don't think it can be done, again within 15 yrds. At least I haven't seen it happen. When I draw I pull back very smoothly and quitly I wear soft clothe mainly wool but to date I have not been able to draw unnoticed at short distances. Done it many times with hogs and Javalina's but whitetails, not yet

Your Oddball

Gilbert