Flawed thinking?

[Predator_SD]

What predator sd and I are saying is get close, be patient and you won’t need a second shot. Stop buying into the narrative that you just have to kill an animal. We all like elk meat, but we don’t honestly count on it for survival. Therefore you should be making your shots count or not shooting. If you don’t have good enough judgement to tell the difference, you should not be archery hunting.
I’m pretty disgusted with the amount of elk I see wounded now that the IG bros have popularized flinging arrows on a whim. I’ve watched people do it first hand (antelope, from a distance) and it’s just not right. Get close enough that you know your first shot will do the job or wait for a better opportunity.
I’ve wounded exactly one in over 30 years of archery elk that I wasn’t able to recover. Haven’t killed one in 3 years now but that’s ok, I still have a full quiver and a pocket full of tags for this year.

Bingo

I have never made a back up plan in 40 years of bowhunting. My only “plan” is to kill the animal with that first shot. And yes, as you mention, this means i have let far more animals walk than i’ve killed over the decades. The way we were taught back then was if you’re not ok with letting them walk if they don’t present the ideal shot opportunity you want to see you need to be ok with not shooting at all. Sometimes that means unfilled tags too but that’s bowhunting.

I’ve actually never taken a second shot with a bow on an animal outside of a second one in the bread basket the few times i’ve blood trailed up to still alive but mortally wounded and incapacitated animals to put them down quicker. I use the same arrows in the quiver i took the first shot with of course. This has not happened often, less than a handful for sure though i’ve not counted.

Have a good one.

 

[Predator_SD]

He’s not talking about the initial shot. He’s talking about a follow up shot after the animal is already hit. The ethics that apply to the first shot do not necessarily apply to the follow up shot. Even a poor second shot is better than no second shot.

There should never be a need for a follow up shot in bowhunting. I realize some believe flinging arrows is the appropriate course of action as you mention “even after a lethal shot” but you’re, respectfully, incorrect.

The correct course of action after a well placed lethal arrow is to immediately watch the animals reaction, follow the animals route as far as you can, mark landmarks so you can walk to the general area you last saw him and then sit quietly for an hour or so and reflect on the shot and absorb the nature around you while that animal expires unmolested. Then, when you’re ready pick up the blood trail as if you’re stalking that animal as quietly and deliberately as possible in case it does happen to still have life and the ability to move.

Will your way get the job done as well, sure. But it sure isn’t how i learned bowhunting and frankly the image it paints in my mind makes me cringe a bit. Not trying to be offensive my friend just trying to paint a better way to bowhunt.

Have a good one man, seriously. I hope you never need a follow up shot.

 

[KurtR]

 

[5MilesBack]

Not trying to be offensive my friend just trying to paint a better way to bowhunt.

This isn't about a better way to bowhunt. Hunting is hunting whether you have a rifle in your hands or a bow. But when it's time to shoot, it's time to shoot. Whether rifle or bow, if they're still standing within range after a first lethal shot, they're getting shot again. I've shot elk with a rifle that completely destroyed the heart, and they still ran 400 yards before toppling over. If I could have gotten a second shot off right after the first, I would have. I shot one bull right through the left shoulder broadside with a 175gr Partition, then through the same shoulder quartering to me, then right side quartering away into that left shoulder again, and then another one that finally dropped him. All four shots were under 25 yards, and every shot should have been lethal on its own. But you shoot until they're down.

If you want to shoot one arrow and then let them disappear so you can track them later, fine. You do you. But when I'm running and gunning screaming bulls, things happen in a hurry. There's no time for patience, shot opportunities appear and disappear in a hurry as well. You rarely get more than one in these scenario's.

 

[HunterGatherer]

There should never be a need for a follow up shot in bowhunting. I realize some believe flinging arrows is the appropriate course of action as you mention “even after a lethal shot” but you’re, respectfully, incorrect.

The correct course of action after a well placed lethal arrow is to immediately watch the animals reaction, follow the animals route as far as you can, mark landmarks so you can walk to the general area you last saw him and then sit quietly for an hour or so and reflect on the shot and absorb the nature around you while that animal expires unmolested. Then, when you’re ready pick up the blood trail as if you’re stalking that animal as quietly and deliberately as possible in case it does happen to still have life and the ability to move.

Will your way get the job done as well, sure. But it sure isn’t how i learned bowhunting and frankly the image it paints in my mind makes me cringe a bit. Not trying to be offensive my friend just trying to paint a better way to bowhunt.

Have a good one man, seriously. I hope you never need a follow up

I’m sorry, but you and a maybe a couple others, are still missing the point. Shooting until the animal is down is about the most sound piece of good hunting advice a man can give another man. How this seems like some sort of an alternative to making a good, clean first shot, I can’t understand.

I actually don’t get the chance at a lot of follow up shots while archery hunting in thick timber but when I do get the chance, I’m taking it 100% of the time. Then I sit down and meditate and absorb the nature, just like you mentioned - once I’ve made every effort to expedite the quick killing process.

I hope you never lose an animal that you could have followed up on. Have a good one