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my weekend rant
hsracer201
Member Posts: 966 ✭✭✭✭
[:(!][:(!] this will be long, but please if you can take the time to read because i need advice.
if you remember last weekend i said i saw a nice buck, i thought it was either a 7 or 8 pointer but i didn't get a shot. well, i took a friend of mine hunting again this weekend with me so i put him where i thought he would have a good chance of getting a shot. i was only about 60 yards away so i watched the whole thing unravel. bout 7 oclock i saw him come out of the creek bottom and i thought he was gonna come to me, but he angled and walked right up under my friend. he was a nice 8 ptr, even with the ears but pretty tall rack. he got a shot at 10 yards and shot the deer right in front of the hind quarter. he thinks. he says he honestly doesn't know where he hit except that it was very far back. his arrow didn't look like it passed through, but there was a huge amount of hair on the ground. we waited 6 hours and then started tracking. we only had a blood trail for about 100 yards and then we lost it. we covered about a 700 square acres looking for him but no sign.
but here is the problem. well, actually i'll start at the beginning. the first time i took him he missed 2 does early on and then hit one doe in the leg. ok, i could forgive that, he hasn't killed much with a bow and gets the jitters. i take him hunting again and he misses a doe at 20 yards broadside. again, i can forgive. i take him again and he shoots a 4 pointer in the guts. i wasn't too pissed off because we found him about 5 hours later. he then hunts on his own for a few weeks and killed a doe, and wounded another one that he couldn't find. and then he shoots this 8 pointer and screws it up. he can hit a target pretty good, i wouldn't take him hunting if he couldn't. but he can't get a good shot on a deer to save his life. i really don't want to take him anymore because i don't feel its ethical. if i don't take him with me to one of my spots, then he only has 1 spot to hunt and its not a very good one. so then i feel guilty.
where should i draw the line, and how should i tell him to either get better or stop hunting with me? i've wounded deer before too, but not like this. he's messed up 8 shots this year. he shoots a pretty old bow, do you think this could be part of it? help!
40 and counting...
if you remember last weekend i said i saw a nice buck, i thought it was either a 7 or 8 pointer but i didn't get a shot. well, i took a friend of mine hunting again this weekend with me so i put him where i thought he would have a good chance of getting a shot. i was only about 60 yards away so i watched the whole thing unravel. bout 7 oclock i saw him come out of the creek bottom and i thought he was gonna come to me, but he angled and walked right up under my friend. he was a nice 8 ptr, even with the ears but pretty tall rack. he got a shot at 10 yards and shot the deer right in front of the hind quarter. he thinks. he says he honestly doesn't know where he hit except that it was very far back. his arrow didn't look like it passed through, but there was a huge amount of hair on the ground. we waited 6 hours and then started tracking. we only had a blood trail for about 100 yards and then we lost it. we covered about a 700 square acres looking for him but no sign.
but here is the problem. well, actually i'll start at the beginning. the first time i took him he missed 2 does early on and then hit one doe in the leg. ok, i could forgive that, he hasn't killed much with a bow and gets the jitters. i take him hunting again and he misses a doe at 20 yards broadside. again, i can forgive. i take him again and he shoots a 4 pointer in the guts. i wasn't too pissed off because we found him about 5 hours later. he then hunts on his own for a few weeks and killed a doe, and wounded another one that he couldn't find. and then he shoots this 8 pointer and screws it up. he can hit a target pretty good, i wouldn't take him hunting if he couldn't. but he can't get a good shot on a deer to save his life. i really don't want to take him anymore because i don't feel its ethical. if i don't take him with me to one of my spots, then he only has 1 spot to hunt and its not a very good one. so then i feel guilty.
where should i draw the line, and how should i tell him to either get better or stop hunting with me? i've wounded deer before too, but not like this. he's messed up 8 shots this year. he shoots a pretty old bow, do you think this could be part of it? help!
40 and counting...
Comments
40 and counting...
Ben
President: Loyal Order of Teletubbies
Distinguished Kuwaiti Observer
I know that when I am by myself I shoot alot better because I dont have the pressure of others around me. Maybe it is just reassurance from you that he needs. I know it sounds silly and men are not supposed to need those things but you all know that you really do.
its all about pucks and bucks
Lt. Col. Winky Girl
Chevrons were earned, not given! Can you say that? Semper Fi!
Does he feel guilty?
Ben
President: Loyal Order of Teletubbies
Distinguished Kuwaiti Observer
yes, he feels very guilty.
40 and counting...
Is his problem falling to pieces on deer or judging distance? Part of my early problem was that when I shot in the yard, I could hit very well; I knew what pin to use for everywhere I stood in my yard. Then when I hunted, I would misjudge the distance and miss. Sure my heart was racing and everything along with the rush, but it was distance screwing me up. Try taking him out stump shooting where you pick a leaf or something at random and shoot that. It really helps judge the range to target and gets a person out of a mode of already knowing the distance. Otherwise, I agree that you shouldn't take him any more. I wouldn't feel too guilty about it but you have to draw a line. Do everything that you can to help him but there is a point when you have to say enough. I had a similiar problem when a buddy would not scout or help put up stands in the off season and then expect to hunt my stands. I got a "honey hole" spot and luckily, the landowners wouldn't allow anyone but me to hunt it. (that's changed but he doesn't know that and won't either) I have killed two very nice bucks there and I don't feel guilty. There comes a time when each person has to be accountable for themselves and others can't help them any more.
Chevrons were earned, not given! Can you say that? Semper Fi!
most of the time it is not his yardage. he is decent at guessing pretty close. but the one this weekend was at 10 yards! there is no way you can hit a deer in the hip at 10 yards unless you close your eyes.
maybe gagirl had a good suggestion, maybe its the fact that i'm watching. maybe next time i won't sit in sight of him.
i love helping people out and putting them on deer, but i've taken him with me on 90% of my hunts this year. i put him in the good spots, only to have him wound the deer. i'm just frustrated, that's all.
40 and counting...
Semper Fi!
When I first started hunting I'd get the shakes real bad. There were a couple of times when I had to "MAKE MYSELF SIT BACK DOWN" because I new that it wasn't right for me to shoot. After having to watch a few deer walk by, and not allowing myself to take the shots, I calmed down considerably. It really was good therapy.
Don't take hunting away from him. But, I would talk to him, for his own sake as well as the deer.
Ben
President: Loyal Order of Teletubbies
Distinguished Kuwaiti Observer
You are freakin wacked!!!! I say that with love.
If huntin' is a sport, then your lookin at an athlete- T-shirt
Gun bans have never accomplished anything, other than to create a safe working environment for criminals.