Found him!!!!

[Dawg]

A LOT better here than any other forum I've been to Corey.

I can agree with that.

I'm not promoting or condoning what he did at all. However, we can't force the guy to learn from his mistakes and bashing him for not looking/searching "like I would" won't make him any wiser. I guess I have a short nerve when it comes to folks who try to be the deer police.

[hoosierhunter]

A LOT better here than any other forum I've been to Corey.

I can agree with that.

I'm not promoting or condoning what he did at all. However, we can't force the guy to learn from his mistakes and bashing him for not looking/searching "like I would" won't make him any wiser. I guess I have a short nerve when it comes to folks who try to be the deer police.

I respect that. It can be very frustrating because more times than not guys pile on negative comments when they don't practice what they preach. It's also nearly impossible to tell who's bsing and who really does it online.

Overall this is much better than most as Al said. Iowa whitetail is famous for the dogpile and better than thou attitude.

[Dawg]

I respect that. It can be very frustrating because more times than not guys pile on negative comments when they don't practice what they preach. It's also nearly impossible to tell who's bsing and who really does it online.

Overall this is much better than most as Al said. Iowa whitetail is famous for the dogpile and better than thou attitude.

It is hard to see what emotions/attitudes are behind the text, that's for sure.

I've seen a lot worse on other forums...(archerytalk being one)...that's where my short nerve came from I reckon.

Anyhow, to the OP....don't run off just because a little "tough love" was handed to you. Stick around and contribute to the forum. You could always do what I do when 92xj makes a post......just ignore 97% of it.

[wtnhunt]

Let the know-it-all comments roll off of you like water off a ducks back. Post a picture of the mount when you get it back.

Kinda said pretty well the same last season when this seemingly same topic came up http://www.realtree.com/forums/bowhunting/109329-first-deer-bow.html. Think some of the frustration seen by posters here has to do with what appears to be a total lack of remorse for a poor shot and seeing what may look to some like a pattern. Don't think given the circumstances the expectation of a pat on the back or an attaboy are very realistic.

Had my share of bad luck, unfortunately it happens to most of us at one time or another. I lost a pretty decent 7 point with the bow last year that I know I hit a little back with a slightly deflected arrow http://www.realtree.com/forums/bowhunting/110057-could-use-little-tracking-help.html. Shot the deer in the morning and backed out. I was absolutely sick over it. Could not sleep. We looked for several days and I still have a little remorse over losing that deer when I think about it. I did not get back out with the bow until I was sure I was not going to find that deer. We crawled through thick briars and snake infested ground following what blood we could find, we ran across a couple copperheads and water mocassins while tracking but kept on carefully rather than just giving up. I even went back later got on my tractor one day and bushhogged a path in the swamp along the river channel and tried to look from a higher perspective. Never found the deer despite expending a lot of effort.

Everything will have to be just right the next time I let another arrow fly and I will be absolutely certain there are not any potential deflections.

Like some others have said, a lot of us would do all we could to help another hunter find their downed animal so long as they were also putting in their time looking, just giving up and then someone else finding it rubs some wrong and I can understand why with what has been posted here by the op. Not bashing here at all, just saying learn from you experience and move on. Try not to repeat the same mistakes. Think that is what most are trying to get at here.

[Dawg]

Everything will have to be just right the next time I let another arrow fly and I will be absolutely certain there are not any potential deflections.

There's the key. If we can train ourselves to just wait and not take sketchy shots....

[redkneck]

I refrained from commenting in the original thread, other than stating I hate a quartering to shot. There's always enough advice and comments when folks are tracking down a deer, no need for my two cents. It's also not fair to judge another's efforts when you're not there yourself. One man can post and post and post about hard work, and come to find out he never left sight of the truck, others can simply state they looked as hard as they could, and they spent all night on their hands and knees in briars. Truth be known, all of us that have hunted enough have lost deer. Truth be known some of those deer were less than a hundred more yards dead when we stopped. This is just a fact. Looking at the final picture, it appears to be pretty open swamp, but im sure there, like here, terrain changes really fast from super thick to open depending on the canopy, so I'm not going to second guess the guy from the comfort of my chair.

But again, just like last year's post about the "first deer" and stating he never had regrets for making a bad shot, that says it all. Some humility in life serves us all well. We'll all make mistakes, bad shots etc as long as we enjoy the sport, but if you take as much pride for finding a stinking bloated deer as a clean recovery then you should just aim for center mass and come back the next week when the buzzards have done your tracking.

[dbHunterNY]

I think it's all been covered... good to see your buddies found the buck and you're getting the antlers. take the constructive stuff that's been said and do better next time. may seem like a close to perfect shot will never come but that can change in a fraction of a second. we all make mistakes and have been there. out of respect, and human nature for not wanting to fail, we try not to repeat them.

[Maine Hntr]

I have been watching the threads continue to pile up here on this particluar subject and you guys have about covered it all and have gone back and forth with constructive criticism and some tough love as well, but you're right in saying Pat that you can't just pat the guy on the back and tell him go get em' next time because they'll never learn anything from that approach. They've got to learn that the animal deserves more respect than that and of course things happen as many of you have mentioned, if it hasn't happened to you yet as a hunter, it will! Good Talk and hope to see SCBASS back on here.

[Ohiobucks]

Don't mind me, just stirring the pot...

[RangerClay]

Ok, I don't see why people are bringing up last year and then making comments like "There wasn't much of an effort." The old saying goes: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. I get the feeling that some people on here are super hunter, Ted Nugent wannabes, but some of us are in it for the fun and the challenge. I think it sad that there are people in here that can't just say good job and be happy for somebody. I get on here to learn and get advice about hunting, not to be put down. If you think you are the greatest thing to walk the woods, go join a television show. Consider this my last post on this forum. Absolutely rediculous.

No Ted Nugent or super hunter here. Just a guy who is a conservationist like many who posted here. Remember conservation means wise use. You made a poor shot last year and you chose to do the same again. That is not wise use because your second deer has now gone to waste. Why would you expect high 5's and congrats for that? I'm not sure how many buck tags you are allowed but I sincerely hope you you had the decency to put your tag on him. Nuff said. So long.

[bowhunter97]

Lol Ohiobucks thats funny

[The Bug House]

[The Bug House]

Ok, I don't see why people are bringing up last year and then making comments like "There wasn't much of an effort." The old saying goes: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. I get the feeling that some people on here are super hunter, Ted Nugent wannabes, but some of us are in it for the fun and the challenge. I think it sad that there are people in here that can't just say good job and be happy for somebody. I get on here to learn and get advice about hunting, not to be put down. If you think you are the greatest thing to walk the woods, go join a television show. Consider this my last post on this forum. Absolutely rediculous.

I didn't mean to point out anything other than what I perceived as a strange coincidence, the same thing happening 2 years in a row. I'm a novice hunter, yet to shoot my first deer FTR. I have however, passed on 2 different shots in the last 6 seasons. The first was what I think was a 6 pt Buck that would've made a fine bag but I was unsure I could get a good shot off. Later on my friend and I paced about 35yds to where he was, and turning around we noticed a clear lane to where I was ... I still take a ribbing over that one, but I do not regret passing. I think I'd feel similar to WTNHunter if I couldn't retrieve him. I've also passed on a Doe because I want my first deer to be a Buck.

I'm not judging, and I can't say for sure I wouldn't have taken the shot you did ... but you're the one who posted about taking a poorly placed shot and then not wanting to go into the swamp to look for him. Good luck in the future and don't let a little thing like this stop you from posting.

Edited August 26, 2013 by The Bug House

[hoosierhunter]

loooouuuuuddd noises..........

[Hunt or be Hunted]

Practice Practice Practice!! Sounds like you get buck fever and make a bad shot. Same as last year. When I first bought my bow a few years back. I wanted to be out in the woods as bad as everyone else. But I knew I wasn't ready. And it sounds like your not quite ready either. I'm not jumping down your back. I'm just trying to help out. And yes, You'll still make bad shots. But it will narrow that tunnel of that happening.

Also, In your other thread when someone posted to get a couple buddies to help you look and you said there was no one to help you. But then your "buddies" found him? Looks like it was in a pretty easy spot too. I'm not trying to point fingers over the computer. I wasn't there so I don't really know. I'm just going by what you have posted.

Just gotta Practice before going out again! And by all means don't make a shot like that. Because something like this will happen...

[elkoholic]

One thing that sticks in my mind from the previous post is the fact that someone on a hunting show made the same shot. Well, I do not watch nearly as many hunting shows anymore but on almost every show that I have watched lately there has been some pretty iffy shot choices. If one is willing to make such a shot than one must be willing to put in the extra effort in the recovery phase of the hunt. In this instance I am not so sure that the hunter should be allowed to take possession of the rack and I am of the personal opinion, since every possible effort of recovery was not made, that he should be charged with wanton waste of a game animal. Look at it from this point of view; You are sitting in court and a lawyer is grilling you about why you did not try harder and all you can say is, "I was not willing to look there". In my book, the shot is only a small (but very important) part of the hunt, the recovery (in a timely manner as to not let the meat go to waste) of the animal is the most important. Yes, things happen but when choices we make cause them to happen we should at least be accountable. We do not need people in the hunting fraternity who are not willing to put in the effort required in every phase of the hunt. Sometimes a kick in the butt is more appropriate than a pat on the back. Can one change? It is not looking that way judging from the attitude displayed.

Yes, it is easy to judge from behind the computer screen, but that does not change the way this scenario apparently played out.