Shooting with deer looking...what's your experience?

[olddogrib]

Took a nice doe this morning and she locked on me about the time I was settling to anchor.  Anywhere short of that and I would have paused or tried to let down, but got away with it this time. She dropped to lunge and the hit was a bit further back and higher than I would have liked, but I still caught the top of the lungs.  Might have gone 50 yds. and I heard her go down.  What's your experience with this scenario?  I figure the percentages aren't good, but it helped that the shot was no more than 15 yds.

[buckeye_hunter]

Here is a link to a thread where I asked a similar question.

 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=117254#000000

Congrats on the doe!  

[frassettor]

I never do it , every situation is different though. Good shot, have some pics and a story?    

[hawkeye n pa]

I'll pass on that shot.  Their reaction time is much quicker than mine.  Congratulations.

[Marc B.]

I tried several times over the years and never got by with it. Now I think I'm older and wiser I won't try it.

[m midd]

Ive shot one.. Very fast reflexes resulted in a gut shot and a lost deer. I will not shoot another that is looking at me.

[jcar315]

Congrats on the doe!

Would love to see some pics.

[Knawbone]

Don't do it if you can help it. Your shot had a high prob. of missing. Glad it worked out for you. Congrats

[Bill Carlsen]

Results have been so poor I don't even think about it anymore...well, not for the past 20 years or more.

[Rob W.]

I had a small buck stare me down at about 7 yards once. He caught movement of me grabbing my bow. I slowly raised my bow as he pawed the ground. The second time he lifted his leg I put an arrow just behind the crease. He didn't drop or spin til after the arrow was there. I guess because his leg was off the ground.?

Congrats on the doe!  pics?

[AWPForester]

I shot a doe last year at about 9 yards from the base of the tree head on.  She was walking towards a fence crossing I was perched over so I started the draw as she wouldn't catch me while she was moving.  About 2/3rds the way home, my fletching scrapped the front bar on my stand as I was starting to level the bow out to reach full draw.

She looked dead at me, but I never stopped and by the time she really focused the arrow was on it's way.  She reacted and dropped about 3 inches, but the arrow went thru the neck patch, down the neck, into the boiler room, and out the back of the sternum.  A few yards farther and it would have been bad, so I won't do it again.  God Bless

[Doc Nock]

They duck!

Old doe years back...ducked, jumped or otherwise dodged 5 arrows till my quiver was empty...then walked closer to see what I was! LOL

[Sean B]

I dont do it anymore.  I had a doe drop and spin as the arrow got close,hit her in the back of the neck.  I wont shoot at an alert deer any longer.

[reddogge]

Very poor percentage shot.

[Stumpkiller]

Don't.  Don't make eye contact.  If they look your way freeze and squit until they relax.

[Matthew Bolton]

I shot a doe at 8 or 9 yards last year that I mouth bleated over a creek and she busted me at the start of my draw. She didn't even flinch when I shot. She didn't survive that encounter.

[Hoyt]

It's according to when they look. I shot over 9 or 10 deer the first yr back with recurves. None jumped the string..don't know that I've ever had a deer jump the string, but I aim right behind the elbow now.

[olddogrib]

Thanks for the feedback, that's what I thought the concensus would be.  I wasn't condoning the shot, it's just that this was the first time I recall ever attempting it.  Normally if deer are alert I don't move, period.  Won't look them in the eyes either...baaadddd juju! I've had plenty of bad things happen when deer weren't looking and was a bit ashamed as soon as I dropped the string (rare form of target panic...that the target's getting ready to haul a**).  I was really inquiring as to whether you feel the flight response is triggered more by sound than sight. And obviously, I have to assume the deer had busted me. I was in a tree and the deer could have been just looking in my direction trying to pick me out. The down side is that we'll not hear the deer's side of it.  All I know is when that head came up, my "anxiety meter" red-lined. Sorry, no pics.  She was a fat thing, and I was so excited about getting away with an "iffy" shot, that I managed to nick the paunch and replicate Mt. St. Helens spewing acorn mast.  Was not going to descrate a beautiful creature by capturing the moment with it coverd in "neon green icing",  And oh, that lovely smell!

Also, I thought it odd that the deer I took, as well as one that came by as I was getting down to track had no fawns. I'd guess mine may have been a "late bloomer" last year that didn't come into estrous.  The second was a whopper that might have been barren.  Probably 90%+ of does I see this time of year are accompanied by fawns.  Don't know if this was just a reproductive "off-year" or the coyotes are well-fed!

[Fritz]

In my experience, don't do it. I've learned the hard way in my younger days.

[jonsimoneau]

If they are for sure looking at me I won't attempt it.  But I shoot alot of deer in which I can see their eyes.  Sometimes you think they are looking at you when in fact they are looking past you.