This really bothers me!


hoosierhunter

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I'd have to say it really bothers me, too. Hunters and attitudes have certainly changed with the times. To me it all starts with the hootin' and hollerin' on a "big ole smack daddy" with absolutely no reverence to what just occurred. The extent to which some of these actors take it is mind boggling at times. The commercialization and the ever loosening standards in all of society can be the blame. The word sportsman has been replaced by big ego and self righteousness.

It is one thing to be excited, but really?

North American Whitetail TVNorth American Whitetail

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I hate to point this out, especially on this particular forum, but the hunting related companies have contributed to the whole concept that you are unhappy with. Every year there is a new camo pattern that guarantees you will not be spotted by your prey, a new bow that is .0000000001 seconds faster, a new broadhead that is sharper and more aerodynamic than any other, a new hunting boot that is more comfortable, a new scent that draws them in better than any other, a new call that attracts only the biggest of bucks...and as hunters we literally buy into it.

Adding to the problem, every outdoors personality is so busy selling these products and telling you how much better of a hunter they make him or her that you rarely if ever hear any mention of the importance of shot placement. Long gone are the days of Dan Fitzgerald being happy to take a 2-year-old doe. Rarely do you hear a "Jimminy Christmas!!" like that of Roger Raglin after dropping a buck in his tracks with one shot. Instead you hear the famous personalities lamenting that their deer will "only" measure around 150 or you see them shoot the deer in the moring but not recover it until almost dark with no mention of the fact that it was gut-shot.

Yes, you can blame the hunters if you want, I blame their heroes and the companies that those heroes represent. They are the role models that set the standard and rarely do they set much of a standard.

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The OP mentioned that hunting is a "privilege" and not a "right". I hate to tell you this but it is a right in some states. When I lived in Vermont it had been since the place became a state. Seems they didn't want the ability to feed themselves to be contingent on the mood of the people in charge.

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Hoosier, I agree that a lot of the stuff you see on hunting shows (attractants, scent eliminating clothing, that new rubline green slime stuff) is junk and probably doesn't make a difference in the woods, but if I see Michael Waddell, Bill Jordan, David Blanton take a quartering to or away shot, I as a newcomer to bowhunting i can only think that is an ok shot to take. Obviously we all want a perfect broadside shot, but pro hunters lead us to believe other shots are just as effective.

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Hoosier, I agree that a lot of the stuff you see on hunting shows (attractants, scent eliminating clothing, that new rubline green slime stuff) is junk and probably doesn't make a difference in the woods, but if I see Michael Waddell, Bill Jordan, David Blanton take a quartering to or away shot, I as a newcomer to bowhunting i can only think that is an ok shot to take. Obviously we all want a perfect broadside shot, but pro hunters lead us to believe other shots are just as effective.

If you get a quartering away shot where the animal is facing away at 45 degreees to broadside take it. You will angle the arrow through most of the vitals and you'll never see an animal go down quicker. Study the animal and know where the vitals are and you'll see what I mean.

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What m gardner last said is great advice, a quartering away shot is a great shot to take and animals tend to go down quicker. If we had to always wait for a perfect broadside shot there would be a lot less deer taken every year as things don't always pan out as you'd like. Study the vitals and practice quartering to and quartering away shots on any type of target and just try and picture those vitals and what you would be hitting.

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What m gardner last said is great advice, a quartering away shot is a great shot to take and animals tend to go down quicker.

Yep...actually a better choice IMO. It opens up the vitals a little more than a perfect broadside shot. Unless it's a very severe angle for the quartering away shot just use the off side leg as your line to pick your point where you want your arrow to exit.

Now the opposite is the case when quartering toward you. That's puts more of the vitals behind the shoulder blade. That's not a problem with a firearm but it sure is a risky shot with a bow. Just my $.02

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Yep...actually a better choice IMO. It opens up the vitals a little more than a perfect broadside shot. Unless it's a very severe angle for the quartering away shot just use the off side leg as your line to pick your point where you want your arrow to exit.

Now the opposite is the case when quartering toward you. That's puts more of the vitals behind the shoulder blade. That's not a problem with a firearm but it sure is a risky shot with a bow. Just my $.02

+1

I LOVE the quartering away shot, prefer it to the broadside shot. First you are out of the deer's field of vision, ears pointed away, great shot on vitals too. I will not take a quartering to shot.

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Yep...actually a better choice IMO. It opens up the vitals a little more than a perfect broadside shot. Unless it's a very severe angle for the quartering away shot just use the off side leg as your line to pick your point where you want your arrow to exit.

Now the opposite is the case when quartering toward you. That's puts more of the vitals behind the shoulder blade. That's not a problem with a firearm but it sure is a risky shot with a bow. Just my $.02

I actually killed a 5 point bull elk last year on a quartering to shot. G-5 Montec broadhead and Victory Armor Piercing arrow. Fifty pound Bowtech Captain bow. I watched him die. When you call elk they charge in sometimes and that's your only shot. You better have practiced it. Yes 50 pounds is plenty of bow for elk. They shoot twice as fast as the old recurves we used back in the 1960's.

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Those shoulder hits are the reason I shoot fixed blades and 11.3gpi arrows. Just remember that speed doesn't offset the loss in kenetic energy from a heavier arrow. My hunting setup is at 278FPS. That's very slow compared to my bow IBO being 334FPS.

Heck with my short draw length the only way I'm getting through a shoulder is with a rifle. LOL I just stay away from them.

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Just get a tree with cover, not like they will flow down the trail like a car on a highway and never turn. Any deer you see in range is going to eventually give you every angle possible (unless they bust you). You just have to capitalize on the opportunity when it arises.

You're seriously thinking about this too much, go get in the tree already!

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