Speaking of Perfect....

[Tominator]

Have you ever shot an animal (with a bow) with what you would consider to be the "perfect" shot?

[redkneck]

Probably the best was the possum last year directly between the eyes.

I've shot a few that never took a step (either spine shot or pinned through the shoulders). The perfect shots to me are the quartering away double lungers that run less than 75 yards though. No matter how far they ultimately go, you know you're going to retrieve them short of vanishing in a river.

[earnhardts12000]

i would say turkey shot was best but the mistake deflection shot was easiest track was in corn field shot at my first buck it hit husk that didn't see on way hit buck right in back head between ears through skull dropped him on spot.

[woolybear]

Few years back I stuck a woodchuck about 60yds out in an open field with a dull stumpshooting broadhead tipped arrow. Got him a little far back behind the last rib and watched him make the mad dash back to his hole.

The shaft had not passed through but stuck out on both sides. When I got to the hole I saw 2 hind legs and his butt sticking out. The arrow hung him up at the front door where he expired at ground level.:smoke:

[Crappiepro]

I shot a doe that was laying down, Her body was sideways to me and when I shot the arrow and it went low and kicked up the leafs. I thought I had missed but she never moved until I seen her head and neck start to wave. She laid out on her side and the arrow poped up like a flag. I dont know if thats perfect but it was cool!!

[Tony]

i shot a doe a few years ago that i consider one of the most perfect shots i have ever made. the yardage was 38 yards and she was quartering away. i had just ranged that spot 30 mins before, so i was very confident of the yardage.

but what happened next was something out of weird. when the doe appeared i wasnt nervous at all. i was very calm and kind of detached from the whole thing. i placed my pin close to where i wanted it to go and then stared a hole in the exact spot to hit where my arrow would come out of her armpit on the opposite side.

i could actually see the hair i wanted to hit. when the bow surprised me by going off and i hit exactly where i was aiming for. the arrow actually did come out the armpit on the opposite side. the doe didnt even know what happened and she only stumbled 5 or 10 yards and fell over.

i have had a couple of other shots where i have seemed kind of detached from the situation, but this one stands out in my mind the most.

Tony

[hutchies]

A few. One was a doe that snuck in on me. I was watching 5 behind me when I heard a crack and turned she was at 5 yards. She kept walking and I grabbed bow, drew, she turned like she read the script, and stopped at 21 yards quartering away. I put it behind the 3rd rib and exited the armpit......................It was honestly like my body just took over and I was along for the ride. It happened so quick it was over by the time I got nervous.

2 years ago I had 2 does come in behind me. First one that gave me the opportunity I dropped at 30 yards with a high spine. She tried to duck and I caught top of the shoulder. She fell angling downward into a creek finger facing away. Drew again and she flopped when I shot and when she did it hit her in the hindquarter. Had to put a 3rd in her. I felt terrible but finished her off......................Moral though was the 2nd doe even though watching all of this circle right back in and gave me a 25 yard quartering away. Even with being a wreck I snatched an arrow and threaded the needle with it coming out her armpit. I had my first double and they were both down in sight.

I've had probably 4 or 5 that I feel were perfect shots but alot of times things are out of your control. That's what makes bowhunting fun. If I never missed and all the shots were perfect they would call it killing not hunting.

[hunterbobb]

Seems like a lot of people making perfect shots on does. Maybe because we don't get as excited.

I had a perfect shot on a doe at about 30 yards. Which is about my max range for deer. She was quatering away. I put the arrow right where it was suppose to be. She ran about 40 yards and dropped over stone dead.

:gun2:

[Wobbly_Alaska]

Seems like a lot of people making perfect shots on does. Maybe because we don't get as excited.

:gun2:

Interesting..

i can honestly say i have never been prone to " buck fever"

i do get " excited " when blowing on the call and see that bear running at me. or having a moose cut toward me from a mile away and stop 4 yards from me with a " WHAT THE ?? " look on his face... but when rifle or bow goes up it is all business from there. gross motor skills take over and i do what ever it takes to make a good first shot and any follow up that is needed.

my perfect shots?

over the years i have dropped enough moose to understand them a lot. WHERE i shoot the moose is where i want it to stop...

they DO NOT buck and run like the deer i see on TV most are large enough the body adsorbs most of the impact and they flinch and move some.. when gun hunting it is normally the report that makes them run. and the bow... i have had them stand and look around and kick at the sting..

they tend to NOT know what happened if you keep your cool... a good BEHIND the shoulder shot through the lungs in front of the liver will move it FORWARD 20-30 yards on average and they stop to look back... NORMALLY in the first clear spot they get to and by that time the "sickness" has set in and they are going down. a heart shot will give them 5-10 yards and when i have a rifle a shoulder or neck shot will drop them in the track when used correctly..

this is important to me... as sick moose head to water.. and once in it they don't come out.. fortunately unlike many of my friends i have never had to process a moose or caribou IN THE WATER.. and use shot placement to move them away from obstacles when i can..

my best bow shot? 65 yards on a barren ground caribou with zero cover he went maybe 15 yards and went to sleep...

[Leo]

This one ranks real high for me. It's a Gold Medal Duiker I arrowed in Africa.

The Pronghorn I got hunting with Steve Beilgard and some other forum members ranks real high for me too.

[m gardner]

The buck I killed this past year was a perfect shot. Entered 1/3 of the way up his body at the last rib and went through his off shoulder and hide a bit higher. Didn't exit but no blood trail was needed. He tipped over after about 30 yards.

The perfect shot I remember most was a 4 point that came in all puffed up and was ready to fight me when he saw me move to draw. He walked right to me and I shot him at about 7 yards. The arrow went through him facing me and cut the top off his heart. It bent and exited his rib cage and he ran to my left just missing me. That was 1986 and I still think about what would've happened if I hadn't hit him perfectly. Probably have some cool scars and a better story to tell.

Mark

[Bowtech_archer07]

One of the does I shot last year I would say was the perfect shot. I knew the exact yardage to be 35 yards because I constantly ranged that area. She stepped out with another deer and stood broadside for 5 minutes never having any idea I was there. I settled in and put the pin right behind the shoulder and watched the arrow disappear. She only ran 15 yards and stood there not having any clue what hit her. It was a pretty cool sight to actually know that I fooled a deer completely. That is probably the only "perfect" shot I believe I have made.

[Chrud]

but what happened next was something out of weird. when the doe appeared i wasnt nervous at all. i was very calm and kind of detached from the whole thing.

It's funny you should describe the situation like that. When I shot my 10-point buck in 2008, I had a similar feeling. I wasn't nervous at all and from the time I drew my bow to the time of the arrow impact all seemed like second nature...almost like I didn't even have to think and everything went according to plan.

Back to the topic, the very hunt I just described had what I would consider near perfect shot placement. About 30 yards, slightly quartering-away and the exit was directly behind the opposite shoulder. It was a double-lung shot with a great blood trail.

The buck I shot last year was a pretty good shot, maybe a little high and an inch or two forward, but the buck fell over within 25 yards.

[sskybnd]

ive alot of what we would call perfect, double lungers, but the one i think im was most empressed with, was when i was antalope hunting with steve b last year,we had a buck laying down at 40 yards, i made a perfect shot on him, i got so excited with the shot i actually grabed steve's b shoulder and asked him if he seen that shot, as we watched him run about 60 yards stumble and than fall down.

[Turkeygirl]

The 2008 season, I made what I thought was about as perfect as you could get...A doe I shot was broadside about 20 yards away, maybe slight quartering away, and the arrow went right behidn the shoulder, halfway up...Great blood trail, went about 45 yards. Then same season, my archery buck, he was 25 yards away, stopped him broadside, right shoulder forward and I watched the arrow fly straight through, behind the shoulder, right through the heart....Just beautiful.

This past season I had 2 arrow broken d/t quartering away and the arrow getting lodged in the opposite shoulder.

[Tominator]

I've shot a handful of deer through the heart. I've shot a handful of deer that have died within sight of my stand, but I don't think I could say any of those deer were hit with a perfect shot, mostly because I had some doubt when I did shoot them. To me, that's not perfect, but that's just my opinion. Kind of brings up the whole "miss" debate we had a couple years ago.

The one deer I do remember shooting and probably the closest I've ever had to what I would consider a perfect shot would be the first deer I shot while hunting with Ohiobucks. He set me up in his ladder stand and told me where the deer normally come from and sure enough, right on cue a doe and her fawn came right up the hill. By the time she was in range though, we were almost eye to eye and she spotted me. When she put her head behind a tree I drew. She took a step closer, but now she was looking straight at me.

Horrible shot angle, I know, but like Tony's scenario, I just got so focused on a spot--the swirl on her brisket, I knew I could make the shot, so I released.

I missed that swirl by an inch or so, mostly because of her ducking the string a bit, but the arrow ran almost the entire length of her and exited near her back leg.

She didn't go very far.

[Bob LeBlanc]

[/img]

He was taken at 27 yards from my treestand....quartering away.

Clean pass-thru...the arrow was stuck in the ground on the opposite side.

Trotted off about 20 yards, and stood there looking around...then fell over...stone dead. Less than 30 seconds from the time of the shot.

(that's the entrance wound you can see)

Bob

[ruttinbuc]

I have many that I could consider a perfect shot. One that stands out is the 9 point I shot some years ago. He was feeding his way toward me eating acorns. He got broadside at 20 yards and when he moved his leg forward I sent a 100 grain Thunderhead to him. His reaction to the shot was a flinch as if stung by a bee. I thought I missed at first. He stood there continuing to feed on the acorns. After about 10 seconds he started wobbling and tipped over right onto the arrow that zipped through his heart like a hot knife through butter. A little tail wave and done..... He still had an acorn in his teeth.

Another was a 7 point that showed up bind some doe one night at the Delaware Water Gap. The doe were making their way up a small hill towards an old pasture. The wind was a bit squirrly and I can remember how cautious they were as they went by me heading to feed on whatever it was in that field.

The buck appeared at the top of the little hill at about 15 yards. Surprised me, really. He was bobbing his head up and down like trying to see something through the cover. With the doe going to catch my wind at any second I told myself that if he bobs his head up again he's going to get it. Almost like slow motion the deer raised his head and in one instinctive motion I put the arrow right between his shoulders. The buck dropped and turned breaking the shaft. As I watched the red and white fletch spin in the air the buck went to jump a small rock row and collapsed.

The front end of 2116 Easton Autumn Orange arrow tipped with a Rocky mountain 125 Razor was laying in the chest cavity when I dressed him out. His heart was in two pieces.

[Tominator]

I have many that I could consider a perfect shot. One that stands out is the 9 point I shot some years ago. He was feeding his way toward me eating acorns. He got broadside at 20 yards and when he moved his leg forward I sent a 100 grain Thunderhead to him. His reaction to the shot was a flinch as if stung by a bee. I thought I missed at first.

Almost exactly the same story as I had on my first buck. It was a little basket racked 8 pt. It was November 1st and he was out scent checking trails when he wandered by me at about 15 yards. When I shot I heard a crack and the deer took two hops to my right and stood there. I couldn't believe I missed. As I watched him stand there looking back, his butt dropped, then he dropped, he then turned his head up on his chest to lick the exit wound and died with his head on his chest. Probably less than 30 seconds. That was in the evening so I never did check the heart, but I have to believe I shot him through the heart for him to die that quick. But, I wouldn't call it a perfect shot because I honestly thought I missed (that's just me though). The crack I heard was the arrow lodging itself in a log behind the deer I think. It might have been a deer rib though, can't really say.

He stood there continuing to feed on the acorns. After about 10 seconds he started wobbling and tipped over right onto the arrow that zipped through his heart like a hot knife through butter. A little tail wave and done..... He still had an acorn in his teeth.

Doe I heart shot 2 years ago still had a ball of maple leaves in her throat when I cut her tongue out. That was pretty wild.

Some great stories here folks, thanks for playing.

[mallard_drake85]

There are two that really stand out to me, both of which came from last hunting season too.

On October 2, not 40 minutes after being in the stand I had 6 does less than 6 yards from my persimmon tree, none of which had a clue I was sitting there. I settled my pin on the nearest doe who was quartering to me. Now some people would not take this shot, however, my Masters Degree dealt with managing cervids (mainly whitetailed and brocket deer) and I was able to gain extensive knowledge about a deers' anatomy. I settled my pin just above her shoulder and slightly foward before touching off the arrow. She was a small doe and I did not get a complete pass through, but she expired less than 30 yards from my tree stand.

Pic from my tree

In all my years of hunting, I have never had a deer expire on its back so this was truely a first for me!

This is what she looked like standing on top of her

And this picture shows the entry angle

The second was my 3.5 year old buck I harvest in November during firearms season. A steep quartering away shot that richocheted off the opposite shoulder and exited out the same side of entry. The necropsy showed that his lungs had two wound channels from the sabots trajectory, and his opposite side shoulder was crushed!

This picture shows the entry and exit (after richochet) on my 131" buck

That ruffled tuft of hair behind his shoulder is the entry, and the projectile exited just infront of his shoulder. Had the .50 cal sabot not richoched off his shoulder it would still would have passed right through both lungs.

[Hardwood_HD]

i wouldnt say any of my shots were perfect, but this is one of my better ones i think.. gotta love them rage