Observation on the first day of firearm season...

[ghitch75]

what i'v seen is there is not many deer around here.......not very many shots per hunter in the woods around me.......i'v seen no deer today.....there is something wrong

 

[Titanium Man]

Yep..........one basket rack buck following one doe. Getting ready to leave now to see how my luck runs.

 

[patience0830]

I'm goin out this morning and sit the trail the bucks were chasing a hot doe on last night. wind is still right for it and there'll be more bucks following the scent this morning.
I only shot once last night with my pistol. Clean miss from what I could find.

 

[Field King]

This is why I prefer Archery anymore. Firearms season brings out the worst in people. It is just sickening to think of how many deer are laying out there wounded and suffering tonight because of a poor shot.

Bad shots are not limited to gun hunters, I have found more dead/unrecovered deer from misplaced arrows than gunshots.

 

[dukeboy_318]

Well, you didn't hear me fire 3+ times. I fired once, dropped a 6 pointer with that one shot. Slugs are too dang expensive, especially sabots, to spraying and praying. Picture to come

 

[mjpell]

Agreed! I even heard a volley of 6 shots! Incredible. Maybe those guys should be given a single shot gun....

Just after one of these volley's, I texted my buddy suggesting China must be invading to the east....

overall I think I heard fewer shots throughout the day compared to recent years. We only took 1 off the property where I was hunting.

 

[hps]

For what it is worth, I shot 3 times tonight and harvested a doe. I missed on my first (50 yds), and she walked about 10 yards then stopped. I shot her again and this time hit her. I dropped her right there. After 30 minutes I walked up to her and found her alive. Shot her again to finish her off.

The second shot (first hit) broke her spine it turns out and she couldn't move her back legs.. The third was a good heart/lung shot and she died quickly.

I think I aimed a bit too high on the first. The gun is sighted in at 50. Maybe I flinched too, or she was closer than I estimated.


So, don't knock the 3 shot wonders. Sometimes t happens.

It happens, show me someone that says they "never miss" and I'll show ya a liar

 

[hps]

Bad shots are not limited to gun hunters, I have found more dead/unrecovered deer from misplaced arrows than gunshots.

BINGO!! I can't stand a "holier than thou" Idiot bowhunter. Hope I offend one lol!!

 

[dukeboy_318]

It happens, show me someone that says they "never miss" and I'll show ya a liar

I agree, I honestly admit that I miss sometimes, last year I missed an 8 pointer at 30-35 yds, not sure how I did, but I did.

 

[pirate]

I find it funny how nearly everyone on INGO isn't part of this "shoot more than once" crew.

We are full of dead-eyes around here.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I find it funny how nearly everyone on INGO isn't part of this "shoot more than once" crew.

We are full of dead-eyes around here.

I can't remember the last time I missed with the first shot. About half the time I put a killing shot in from close range, but in the last decade at least the first shot has always hit pretty much where I was aiming.

Most of it for me was when I became a serious shooter. I still don't care that much about hunting itself. That's just the legal way to fill the freezer, but I take pride in my shooting ability and I'd feel less competent if I was missing, especially in the hundred yard range which I now consider a boring distance to shoot at.

 

[HICKMAN]

I find it funny how nearly everyone on INGO isn't part of this "shoot more than once" crew.

We are full of dead-eyes around here.

well, my son and I only hunt with muzzleloaders so that we can hunt both firearms seasons. We either hit or miss.

 

[trapperDave]

I find it funny how nearly everyone on INGO isn't part of this "shoot more than once" crew.

We are full of dead-eyes around here.

well there you go. Its no wonder they shoot n miss so much, what with dead eyes.


I never spray n pray...I use a muzzleloader

 

[HICKMAN]

Bad shots are not limited to gun hunters, I have found more dead/unrecovered deer from misplaced arrows than gunshots.

yup, found this guy with a "rage hole" in his shoulder blade.

Someone lost a dandy.

 

[dukeboy_318]

I find it funny how nearly everyone on INGO isn't part of this "shoot more than once" crew.

We are full of dead-eyes around here.

I've shot more than once but its been a long time. Ive been hunting since I was 9 yrs old, I have never once emptied the tube on a deer, max I've ever shot was 4 at a 4 point when I was 12. Needless to say, I didn't get it. Dad taught me afterwards that if you can't hit it with 1 shot, you're not going to hit it on the run with 4 more. Since then, I've maybe fired more than once 2 or 3 times. I never try for a deer more than 100 yds, or on the run, In the area I hunt, its densely wooded, so even seeing one at 100 yds is tough.

 

[dukeboy_318]

yup, found this guy with a "rage hole" in his shoulder blade.

Someone lost a dandy.

Was that this year already?

 

[HICKMAN]

Was that this year already?

found that the other day at work after putting up a ladder stand at lunch.

 

[trapperDave]

that looks like mighty fresh blood

 

[clfergus]

I spend time sighting my gun in and selecting the most accurate loads. Me personally, I have OCD but I spend too much money and time on this passion to get up at 4am...layer up and make my way to the stand to potentially miss a trophy due to poor prep. I can see how a guy can shoot more than once though. If you misjudge distance or get nervous and miss sometimes the deer don't run. You get a second shot a fair amount of time depending on the distance. Maybe you bought the deer bundle...like another member said he took two doe in a row...I assume a autoloading shotgun.

I have only ever taken two shots on one deer and that was with a TC omega. Shot my biggest buck in the lung from 80 yards and hit ran into the tree line and stood behind a tree up against it. He was hurt but big enough to stand up still as the shockwave was a pass through. So I loaded again frantically and brought him down with a second shot not knowing the first was fatal.

With that said...there are some nut jobs out there and why I enjoy the peace of archery. I often wonder if some guys shoot the same deer multiple times for fun even when its down.

 

[Hookeye]

Make the first shot count. But be ready to deliver another ASAP, and do so if there's any question.

The problem then............."any question".

Too many people think they're better at stuff than they are. And even if they have an honest view of their abilities, that doesn't mean they'll process the info at the time of the event correctly. Some folks who are OK in those regards might just have slow processing speeds.

Doesn't matter.

I hear stories year after year, have for decades, and many when I worked in a shop.............about the single shot delivered and lost.

You shoot the deer and unless you know what the heck you've done (and that takes some experience IMHO) you shoot the thing again if you have the opportunity.

The object is to kill the animal as quickly as possible.

Sure some jerks just shoot like crap and or don't care, rely on followup shots. If you mandated single shots for them they'd save on ammo, but still shoot like crap. The problem is in their heads, not their gear.