I am crushed

[jhrebs]

Sitting in a tree yesterday. Big doe comes in. Not shooting her during the rut. Decent 6 point comes in. Gets closer he’s a big 6. She’s right under me. He’s 30 yards. I pull back and hold. He gets to 15. She takes off. So I think he’s either gonna follow her or spook. I shoot him dead center in the front of his chest. Yup. He was facing me dead straight on. Didn’t want to take it but I had to.

 

I tracked the blood for 4 hours last night then backed out. Started 7 am this morning. Come to find out a hunter close to me say he’s had him in camera; huge 6 point. Track another 4 hours. Find blood 300 yards away. Started to rain. Never found him.

 

I’m crushed. Depressed. Knew I shouldn’t have taken that shot. Won’t ever do it again.

 

 

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[Live to Hunt]

You learned a hard lesson.  Live and learn.  I have a feeling you have. 

[yoda4x4]

He was facing me dead straight on. Didn’t want to take it but I had to.

I don't mean to be that guy but this is crap. Bad shots happen. Deer turns as you're shooting, you mess up the shot, you hit a small branch that you didn't see, you name it. But you didn't have to take that shot. Own it. Starting out with a horrible shot angle almost always ends up in disaster. The only time I'd consider taking this kind of shot is with a shotgun or muzzleloader. Both of which have an enormous amount of energy they'll impart.

Hopefully you learned from this which, if you do, you'll be a much better hunter as a result of it.

David

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[Live to Hunt]

I think he is owning his mistake we all make them. 

[Buck154]

Yup learn the hard way. We all have made mistakes.  Now you just have to listen to yourself and wait for the right shot. Most of the time the buck will go right to where the doe was standing and smell around checking if she pee  there. She took off cause of him but he most likely would have checked where she was before following her.

[hunterbob1]

Didn't want to take it,what made you do it? 

[Mountain Goat]

I have taken bad angle shots too!  Not anymore.  I hate the feeling of wounding something when I did not have to take the shot....live and learn

[newjerseyhunter]

6 hours ago, jhrebs said:

Didn’t want to take it but I had to.

[gobblergetter]

Live and learn

[Nomad]

Sorry it didn’t work out for you. All you can do is go out there and try again. That’s a good shot if you can hit your spot. But maybe it’s not worth it because you have to be very precise and that can be tough under hunting conditions. Good luck.

[Rutting Buck]

Sorry to hear about this, but like most have said we live and learn. You have truly learned if you never repeat the same mistake twice. Hopefully he will live to be seen on the hoof again 

[_X7]

Quote

Didn’t want to take it but I had to

I know in the heat of the moment that the decision process becomes a bit muddled and even confusing at times. We've all been there. You should never "have to"  All that does is force mistakes and most likely mess up any chance of getting another chance at that buck.. As others have said let it play out for a better shot. If it doesn't happen be patient for the next time

[Rusty]

We've all been there at one time or another jhrebs, lesson learned.  

[Lunatic]

I have taken a number of deer on a frontal shot and never once had problems with recovery. In fact every time they went down quicker than any other shot placemen. Bad shot is a bad shot, how many broad side shots are not recovered and why? 

Good luck next time, no reason to be depressed. All of it is just another learning step

[John B]

Do you know what the issue was? Lack of penetration,  or did the shot glance off to the side? I have successfully taken hard angle shots, but never  this shot, not sure what I would do.