Super close tree stand shots?

[Badland]

I’m curious on opinions regarding those super close treestand shots with a bow. I had this buck doggin two does hard the morning after thanksgiving here in North Dakota. My first deer with a bow also.

He got behind me at 35yds right away and I thought the hunt was over based on wind, the does continued up behind me up a slight ridge into a field to my left and I thought it was over again, then he stopped and started trotting dang near straight my direction and I stopped him at 5 yds or so with him quartering to me. I had a decision to make so I aimed just above and back from the shoulder hoping the steep angle would be enough. He went 75 yds or so and was dead. Didn’t get a pass through but was embedded over half way and he was all tore up inside around the lungs area and near the heart.

I know my hunt worked out but not sure it would always play out that way with a tough shot like that. I’ve had other deer near me and I my instinct is to wait for them to keep moving until I get a better shot. In this case I don’t believe it would have happened if I hadn’t stopped him where he was based on the brush nearby and where I knew other adult does had just been minutes before.

So close shots from 15’+ up, thoughts? I plan to get a new setup for next year and want to go heavier.

Thanks

 

[sconnieVLP]

Good work, nice buck for your first bow kill!

Me personally, I'm not a big fan of shooting straight down, but I'll do it if it's all I have. Anything other than straight broadside to me my though process is to think through the complete path of the arrow/exit through the deer and adjust my point of aim accordingly to try and put the arrow through as much of lungs/heart as I can.

 

[Yoder]

Nice Buck! That's a heck of a first deer with a bow. I think as long as the deer is quartering and the angle isn't too steep I would shoot. My buck this year was sharply quartering away at 5 yrds but I was only about 15ft high. I hit just in front of the liver, passed through the deer hitting the offside shoulder. It only ran about 75 yards. It went through both lungs. I have hit high on shots like this from having bad form. Luckily they ended up in spine shots. This season I setup my stand in the back yard and practiced a lot at shots like this. It made a big difference.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Hard to lose at 5 yards. Fine 1st buck. Somebody needed to bring that serial rapist to justice.

 

[Badland]

Thanks guys! Definitely not new to hunting, shot around 25 deer so over the seasons but all with rifle. Bow hunted a lot but was always waiting for the right deer in the right circumstances and it finally happened! Was 16-17’ up.

I appreciate the feedback, always over thinking things per usual, just hate not finding a wounded animal. But yes, tough to mess it up too bad at 5 yds! Haha.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Way to Finnish, nice buck.

 

[Libtard McSocalist]

Shot one once that was between the tree and the ladder. Didn’t particularly enjoy it but it worked out for me

 

[Bearwhisky]

Nice deer. My personal opinion is it depends on your setup and shooting abilities. Meaning, if you have a heavy enough arrow with strong components moving fast enough, you can shoot a whitetail within 20 yds from pretty much any angle and blow through to the vitals. I built my arrows and bow with this in mind and feel confident with almost any shot besides a texas heart shot within 20 yds. I actually shot my buck this year straight through the “T” in the scapula and shattered it. Thats arguably the most likely spot to stop an arrow and my setup proved to work for me. Note: Im FAR from an expert and this is just my humble opinion.

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[Riverratt33]

Tough call on steep shot angles. I've seen them go both ways. A buddy lost a nice Bull a couple years ago, Buried the arrow to the fletches. We scoured the area and didn't find a drop of blood. Since then we are careful of the height of our stand in relation to shooting distance/angle. Congrats on the nice buck.

 

[Badland]

Tough call on steep shot angles. I've seen them go both ways. A buddy lost a nice Bull a couple years ago, Buried the arrow to the fletches. We scoured the area and didn't find a drop of blood. Since then we are careful of the height of our stand in relation to shooting distance/angle. Congrats on the nice buck.

Yeah I could absolutely see how that may happen, if it was a bull it may have been a different story.

I had zero blood around the shot so I backed out a couple hours then found blood at 40 yds and it sprayed all the way till I found him dead, stiff as a board. I’m lucky it’s so open here in this case, if he left the woods (another 20 yds) it’s pretty open for at least 500 yds if not 1000yds in the direction he went.

 

[MallardSX2]

The close the better.

I prefer 25 feet.

 

[Badland]

Nice deer. My personal opinion is it depends on your setup and shooting abilities. Meaning, if you have a heavy enough arrow with strong components moving fast enough, you can shoot a whitetail within 20 yds from pretty much any angle and blow through to the vitals. I built my arrows and bow with this in mind and feel confident with almost any shot besides a texas heart shot within 20 yds. I actually shot my buck this year straight through the “T” in the scapula and shattered it. Thats arguably the most likely spot to stop an arrow and my setup proved to work for me. Note: Im FAR from an expert and this is just my humble opinion.

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Hoping to be able to emulate this in the future

 

[roosterdown]

Nice deer. My personal opinion is it depends on your setup and shooting abilities. Meaning, if you have a heavy enough arrow with strong components moving fast enough, you can shoot a whitetail within 20 yds from pretty much any angle and blow through to the vitals. I built my arrows and bow with this in mind and feel confident with almost any shot besides a texas heart shot within 20 yds. I actually shot my buck this year straight through the “T” in the scapula and shattered it. Thats arguably the most likely spot to stop an arrow and my setup proved to work for me. Note: Im FAR from an expert and this is just my humble opinion.

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Not to hijack, but I would like to know what arrows/insets/FOC/grains/heads you are shooting. Asking for a friend who has hit a few shoulders over the years...

 

[Macintosh]

Last deer I shot with my bow was 2 paces from the base of my tree. Avoid the spine, went right out the sternum and buried in the dirt. The nice thing is at that range you can be very precise. Blood trail is usually “plenty” when the hole is on the bottom of the animal. That one I could Follow the blood trail from the stand. I shoot unweighted arrows with slick trick broadhead, but 32” draw so they are in the 525gr range, pretty midweight setup, bow is right at 60lb. I’ve never had an arrow in a deer that didnt pass through and keep going, including 1 shoulder blade and lots of ribs. You can see light through a shoulder blade, there isnt much to it unless you hit the joint. Id worry more about vertebrae on that shot.