Shots on animals while they are bedded down?

[jjenness]

So I was wondering what everyones take is on shooting at an animal while they are bedded down. I havn't put a whole lot of thought into it until today, as I missed a great antelope buck while he was bedded down, after making a great stalk on him. Of course you can always second guess yourself after missing a shot, but I just can't stop thinking that I should have tried to get him to stand up before I took the shot. What do you think?

 

[Jtelarkin08]

Did he stand when you shot?

Bc if he didn't I'm not quite sure the outcome would have been any different if he was standing? Sounds like a bad shot. Laying down he couldn't duck or flinch your arrow. You pretty much hit where you hit unless he jumped up on the shot.

 

[desertcj]

I'll admit that I missed a shot at 30-35yds on a bedded buck last weekend. It was all my fault as I was using my 40yd pin and he was slightly down hill. Shot clean over his back by 3"! I would take that same shot again, even though it seems like a smaller target then when they are standing.

 

[jjenness]

He had no idea I was even in his bedroom when I shot. The only thing I can think is there was a pretty good crosswind when I shot. The elevation on the shot was perfect I just missed a hair left. The shot was 50 yards but the wind must have been just strong enough to push my arrow. He was quartering away from me when I shot so my shot window was pretty small compared to if he had been broadside. But I think your right, it was pretty much just a sh^%y shot.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Well, I've shot quite a few animals bedded down and I always thought it was okay and they always died right there. Then one day, I got crap from someone who said that it was really unethical to shoot a bedded animal==supposed to wait till they stand up. Never really thought about it but I 've always felt that if you have a good clean shot, take it. And I have heard that from more than one person that its not right to shoot an animal "sleeping.".

Randy

 

[Carolina joe]

If I get within bow range of a animal without waking it up, you bet I'm going to shoot him. I've heard the same opinions on shooting bedded animals, but since there is only me there when the shot is made, I will have to decide what is ( ethical), not anyone else.

 

[Shrek]

Why wouldn't you take a clear shot on a sleeping animal ? I'm there to kill the animal not play games. How is it better for the animal to be up and alert ? Somehow it's better if there is a chance of the animal string jumping or moving as you release ? Give it a chance to spot you at the last moment and blow out of there ? If you have put the mother of all sneaks on and got the tne shot the more better !

 

[Rucker61]

If I get within bow range of a animal without waking it up, you bet I'm going to shoot him. I've heard the same opinions on shooting bedded animals, but since there is only me there when the shot is made, I will have to decide what is ( ethical), not anyone else.

"He went peacefully, in his sleep".

 

[realunlucky]

"He went peacefully, in his sleep".

Yea it's truly the best way

 

[2rocky]

If you study the shot angle and can put the arrow through both lungs with out it being obstructed, then BONUS. Just sneaking into bow range on a bedded animal is a huge accomplishment.

I remember a broken Tule bull I had at 35 yards in 2010. I nearly shot him JUST because he was bedded. But there was a little bit of rabbit brush obscuring his vitals. When he woke up, he LEVITATED 25 Feet away to the back side of the Willow choked creek. No way in hell I would have shot him when he got up.

Man What a rush!

This is a good article that addresses shot placement :

The vitals "TILT" so a shot from the back will be high on entrance and low on exit, and from the Front go low to high.

Also the quartering angle may not be as noticable.

 

[2rocky]

Another Rokslide thread


A diagram I put together to illustrate..


View attachment 10084

 

[Buster]

Killed quite a few of mulies bedded. In my personal opinion, waiting for an animal to stand is not more sporting or ethical. Like a previous post stated, it can give them a chance to jump the string. Knowing anatomy is a little more critical, which was also pointed out. I've talked to tv show personalities and other media professionals that say it is just as much a public image issue. I've even heard (but haven't confirmed) that some hunting channels will not air shots on bedded animals. Unfortunately the majority of the public is not properly educated.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

As long as the vital are open I will take the shot. No sense in waiting for one to do something unpredictable.

 

[Jdog]

shot at a bedded dall sheep last week at just under 500 yards--shot a smidge high and thumped him pretty hard in the horn! :0

He stood up and looked directly at me and I throat shot him...game over!

 

[DeepMauka]

They taste the same if shot bedded down as they do standing up. Don't see why there is a problem.

 

[Buster]

They taste the same if shot bedded down as they do standing up. Don't see why there is a problem.

If they get up startled or even alerted, they get that shot of adrenaline. You could argue they taste even better if they're bedded and sleeping.

 

[unm1136]

If they get up startled or even alerted, they get that shot of adrenaline. You could argue they taste even better if they're bedded and sleeping.

I agree. I have no qualms shooting a bedded animal, and I hold myself to a pretty high ethical standard, usually higher than those who preach ethics without ever being called on it. Being a subsistence hunter, I don't need artificial ethics getting in the way of my harvest. The game rules are restrictive enough. Bedded animals can be tough shots particularly during any stalk. If you can identify it as legal to shoot then any legal shot with a reasonable likelyhood of success is ethical, and cerianly any legal shot that ends with a dead critter. I regularly practice out to 600 yards with my deer rifle and hundreds of rounds a year. I have been told that shooting deer over 350 yards away is unethical. It may well be for the people that say things like that, it is not for me. I spend more ammo on the otherside of the 500 yard line than on the close side. Even a wounded, lost animal, injured by someone shooting within thier skillsets is ethical. Not ideal, but ethical.

pat

 

[Buster]

Unm136, I particularly like your last 2 sentences, well put. Ethical hunters never intend to shoot an animal and not retrieve it, but ultimately it is part of hunting. I have personally witnessed a shot go bad at 8 yards on a broadside, unaware mule buck. Deciding on whether to take a shot comes down to each individuals abilities and confidence in making it count.