Would You Have Taken This Shot?

[Dangerous Dave]

Returned from Craig, Colorado exhausted and a lot humbler. The highlight of the trip was somehow getting within 200 yards of the biggest, widest mule deer buck I've ever had in my sights. We suprised each other. Got off a shot but missed. Particulars are:
1) He had me pegged, and was stareing right at me.
2) He was lucky enough to be standing in a wash in the shadows facing me.
3) All I could see were massive antlers and ear tips -no neck or shoulder or white muzzle patch.
4) Left my monopod at home. (-last time I do that!)
5) I was forced to wait for him to turn and run so he would hopefully expose either his nose, neck or shoulder -anything to give me something to aim at. (Crosshairs dissappeared in the dark hole he was in.)
6) He pinned his ears back, spun around and took off. I jammed the sights down on the top of his head, fired and missed. Looked for him for 2 hours on his tracks (no blood or hair) and he jumped the neighbor's fence. End of hunt.
I learned a long time ago that any miss-aimed shot is a miss... plain and simple. As fas as I'm concerned I never really had a shot, so I tried to make one. Maybe that big buck deserved better than a 'horse s--t' shot, but I still feel I owed it to myself to take a poke at him. Was I wrong to try to make a shot I never really had in the first place? (Ps, this buck's antlers were configured just like when you hold your arms up in the air in the shape of a"U"... just as wide and just as tall. Heavy with deep forks, too. Over 30-32+ inches wide, easy.) Excuse me, gotta go blow my nose and wring out my hankie... still sobbing about missing that buck. Oh, well... I'll try again next year.

 

[Moosie]

Dave... My thinking is you know your answer if you don't pull the trigger

that being said it's hard to judge a shot sometimes. Take IDbuglers tree shot. Was he wrong to try and time the buck gonig through the trees ? Is it wrong to try to shoot a Duck swinging by too fast ?

the reality is the Size of the buck shouldn't matter. If you thought you had a chance and pulled the trigger then My personal feels are you did right. Hopefulyl you did miss it and get a Crack again sometime.

 

[1_pointer]

the reality is the Size of the buck shouldn't matter. If you thought you had a chance and pulled the trigger then My personal feels are you did right.

I can agree with that! More often than not, shoot opportunities are the perfect 50yd broadside presentation. You work with what you have and go from there. That said, I've killed two of my three mule deer bucks by shooting the south end of a northbound deer...

 

[guppie9]

I can agree with that! More often than not, shoot opportunities are the perfect 50yd broadside presentation. You work with what you have and go from there. That said, I've killed two of my three mule deer bucks by shooting the south end of a northbound deer...

So...should we change the name of that to a "Utah Heart Shot"!!!???

 

[got2hunt]

personally I wait for a shot if I dont get the shot I want I wont shoot. a buck of that caliber should not have to go through the rest of his life with a "flesh wound". and I have let good bucks walk cause they were giving me a A$$ shot, I dont take those shots either. 2 years ago I was out after a deer and saw this nice 28" 4x4 150 yards away let him walk for that reason. he stopped at 800 yards stood broadside, all i could say was you lucky SOB...... my 2 cents

 

[1_pointer]

So...should we change the name of that to a "Utah Heart Shot"!!!???

You could, but then you'd be taking too much away from Texas...

and I have let good bucks walk cause they were giving me a A$$ shot, I dont take those shots either. 2 years ago I was out after a deer and saw this nice 28" 4x4 150 yards away let him walk for that reason.

I'm sure that works for you. I use a large enough gun, with a tough enough bullet that I can get to the vitals from any angle on a deer. In this case, our mileages definitely vary...

 

[got2hunt]

1-pointer, you and all the other unethical hunters out there, that is the reason animals get wounded cause you think you can make the shot, and I am comfortable shooting 500+ yards I dont know what you shooting but I killed my buck at 410 yards and all i saw was head and neck with my 270 wsm

 

[The Hedgehog]

You can't make an amazing shot if you don't take it..

 

[JB]

you and all the other unethical hunters out there, that is the reason animals get wounded cause you think you can make the shot, and I am comfortable shooting 500+ yards I dont know what you shooting but I killed my buck at 410 yards and all i saw was head and neck with my 270 wsm

not sure if ya know, but thats a funny ass post.

 

[ERSS]

I am with 1-pointer, a bigger caliber gun and quality bullets gives a guy a few more options. An deer shot in the hind quarter with a 140 gr bullet out of a 7mm-08 may live to see another day ( or die of infection a month later ), but a deer shot in the hind quarter with a 200 gr bullet out of a .338 ultra mag for example....is most likely going down right now.

 

[1_pointer]

1-pointer, you and all the other unethical hunters out there, that is the reason animals get wounded cause you think you can make the shot, and I am comfortable shooting 500+ yards I dont know what you shooting but I killed my buck at 410 yards and all i saw was head and neck with my 270 wsm

Dude...

 

[Dangerous Dave]

You can't make an amazing shot if you don't take it..

Exactly my reasoning. I had to hit a 2 inch by 4 inch target at 200 yards. I've done it before -just not with this much pressure. When I saw his ears go back, I started tighting up on the trigger because I knew he was leaving. The crosshairs were where I figured his black skullpatch was. His antlers spun like they were on a turntable and I didn't see anything I could get a better bead on. When the rifle fired it was aimed right at the top portion of his skull. He could have ducked.
When I trotted down there, I saw why I couldn't see his body -he was standing in a 4 foot deep slide at the end of a grassy field. Imeadiately found his tracks (no sign of a hit) and slowly trailed him to the neighbors fenceline. Then I looped uphill and then downhill in case he doubled back.
I was pretty sure it would be either a skull-shot instant kill, or a complete miss. Turns out I was right. Later I started feeling a bit greedy about wanting that buck so bad... that I would have fired a shot through the engine of my new truck in order to get him. I'll have to maybe use a little more discression next time. I'd sure hate to wound a buck that great just because I got greedy.

 

[IDHunters]

I was on a buck in NV 3 times. ONce in my sights, running, at about 300 yards. I didn't take the shot, not because of the ethics, but I figured if I shot at him and missed he would be gone. Given the date (11/4) and 20+ does he was with, I thought "maybe" he would stick around. The second time he boogered out before I could get close. The third time didn't work out so well, for the buck. 150 yards in his bed.

My only point was maybe if you would have held off he might have stuck around. The buck in NV was within 400 yards of the original spot, about 6 hours after I held off on the shot.

 

[Bambistew]

I would have let him go.

a buck of that caliber should not have to go through the rest of his life with a "flesh wound

Does it really matty how big he is?

As far as ass shooting the only time I've ever taken one is to slow down/kill a wounded animal. I have seen a few 'botched' ass shots and have had a couple myself. If you break a femur or pelvis game over... the critter will go maybe a 100 yards and laydown.

I just can't talk myself into taking a THS at an unwounded animal because if I mess it up by a couple inches I'm out a whole hind quarter.

 

[noharleyyet]

I won't and have never taken a Utah Heart Shot.

 

[smalls]

I won't and have never taken a Utah Heart Shot.

At the back tire of their bicycle?

 

[noharleyyet]

At the back tire of their bicycle?

LMAO

 

[krshunter]

I have to agree with the let him go group or wait and hope for a better shot. I can very fortunately claim that at after 22 years of hunting I have lost zero animals. I will take a long shot if it is presented broadside, but only because I have two rifles that have the ballistics to do it, are set up for long range and I fequently shoot at long range. I have on several occassions let the buck of a lifetime wander off because the shot wasn't right and it's not fun to have to track into the dark or the next day nor is it fair to the animal to have to spend a day, week or month dying a slow painful death.

A good friend of mine shot what would have been a B&C buck about 10 years ago and made a hurried shot on an animal that was in less than ideal position. We don't know where he hit the buck, but it bled terribly. After giving it time we went to find it only to find a puddle of blood and then a trail of blood. It would stop frequently to rest and then go more. We spent eight hours tracking it in dark timber and mountains to no avail. We lost light and came back the next day to 6 inches of snow and no sign where we left the previous evening. Talk about a sick feeling. And I would guarantee that based on the amount of blood loss that buck didn't stand a chance of making it. That makes me feel much worse than watching one saunter off healthy.

I think it's more of a personal ethics question than right or wrong. I say no shot, that doesn't mean it's right.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

I hear what you're all saying. Twice before I've let the biggest, widest horned muley I've yet to see go about 5 years apart. The one in Nevada was too far and the other in Oregon walked away in the bottoms of criss-crossing washes and all I could see was that giant rack swaying further away. So, I'm not a trigger-pullin' idiot and ALWAYS pick my shot and pratice constantly using field positions at short and long range.
I've wounded one buck in 40 years of deer hunting and I pray that number remains one. He bled a few drops for about 100 yards and that was it. I looked for him for three days. That was about 30 years ago. That was a wake up call.
I figured I had a 50/50 chance of making that headshot, but I still waited until he turned to leave -hoping I'd be able to quickly sight in on a better spot if it was presented. It wasn't, so I fired a shot at the only thing I could see... the top of the back of his head.
I can't call that shot back. But if I wasn't able to skull him, I'm glad things turned out the way they did. I also think I may have re-learned a lesson.