Three shots. Did they get him?

Competent hunters often shoot an animal more than once. I always shoot again if my first shot doesn't look perfect and there is any chance of the animal escaping. I don't mind two or three holes in an animal compared to a long tracking job. And yes, I can hit them when they are running, within reason.
 
I was hunting once on private property (not my property but I had permission and the owner said nobody else should be out there) and some guy let loose with 5 shots behind me in quick order like 50yards behind me in the bush. ...well, that sucks. ...start packing up my stuff and this pickup way over on the country road is driving by slowly with the window down and I can hear him talking to somebody. ...then I hear the response from behind me on a walkie...wtf is going on. Crash, smash through the bushes and this #### comes out 10 yards away from me. Whoa, hey, you see any deer run outta here? No....give him the F U stare. He jogs back to his buddy and they take off. Were they doing something illegal, no idea. Did they have permission, no idea. Sure was sketchy.
 
Personally the only issue I have is with the usage of the word 'Cowboy' , lol. But the OP is from Ontario, so he's likely never met any real Cowboys...ignorance is bliss I suppose.
Never had much better effect with 2nd or 3rd shots...they are usually hot and running at that point. Makes for a gamey cut of meat IMO.
Good luck and stay safe
 
300wmxcr2 said:
Been out the last couple of days and twice heard 3 shots with in a minute or 2. I have never been able to get 3 good shots at a deer and when i hear that i usually think its some cowboy taking wild shoots at a running deer that they never get. Maybe wound and can't find because they dont know where to start looking.
In my opnion these guys are taking hail mary shots with no consideration for the deer or others in the area. Anybody think the same?
Click to expand...

Ever hear of ranging shots?

tokguy said:
Personally the only issue I have is with the usage of the word 'Cowboy' , lol. But the OP is from Ontario, so he's likely never met any real Cowboys...ignorance is bliss I suppose.
Never had much better effect with 2nd or 3rd shots...they are usually hot and running at that point. Makes for a gamey cut of meat IMO.
Good luck and stay safe
Click to expand...

you kinda beat me to it...

I take issue to the usage of "cowboy" as someone taking wild shots and not getting their game, but wounding and losing too...

friggin fudds :p
 
For many years, three shots was the standard signal for help. The shots were spaced a bit, like maybe three or four seconds between shots, so a person with a single shot could get them away.
When I was a kid, hunters were so conscientious about this, that if they fired three shots at game, they would fire a fourth, to indicate it wasn't a signal for help.
 
Are you sure they were rifle shots? 3 rounds is the maximum allowed capacity for hunting waterfowl or upland birds with a shotgun in Ontario. Could be duck or partridge hunters. If the shots were close it's easy to tell the difference between rifle and shotgun but at a distance...?
 
15 mints after lega light that not bad
I never wear a watch or jewelry ever at home or in the bush I'm not that kind of guy
In the bush I use my own judgment and not a watch sum time I call it a day early and Sumtime I mite be a bit late but ether way it all work out in the end
Evan my phone I leave that crap in camp or at the house
I realy hope that we as Hunter haven't becom that guy in school that recites the rules every chance thay get and justify there actions by rat out his fellow classmates just to gain faver of the teacher
 
Last edited:
3 evenly paced shots is still an accepted distress signal, although obviously someone has to be paying attention. :)

Off the top of my head the only time I recall 3 shots at a big game animal was when I took a pretty new hunter out for bears. I've spent lots of time around black bears and grizzlies, but black bears are far more numerous, so I was always a bit cavalier with them- I see them almost daily and it's not uncommon to walk out on the porch and run into one.

This time, the hunter made what I thought was a good shot at about 60 yards, and the bear lost it's footing for a moment. I was expecting a short dash towards the timber then he would drop, but this big male bear must have got disoriented, because he started running straight down the hill towards us! It was at that moment that I felt I was indeed a bit cavalier with bears because my rifle was still slung on the shoulder. I pulled it into action, dropped to my knee and ripped off 2 160gr Barnes X bullets from the 7RM, which dropped him ASAP. I guess it sounded like this- BOOM..........BOOM..BOOM! :)

Post mortem showed the first shot was a good one, and both my shots hit him in the front chest and shoulder area. I don't count this as an actual charge since the bear never got within about 40 yards of us, and I actually think that the initial bullet just turned him a bit and he decided to run downhill, not planning on an attack although I'm sure he would have run right over us given the chance. I really don't think he even knew we were there when he decided to run.

Other than that, I don't recall more than 2 shots and maybe a finisher.
 
I was taught to take heart/lung shots on animals and then to place a second round in behind the ear when approaching the animal at close range to ensure the animal is in fact dead and not suffering. Maybe that's an unnecessary step, but it's better than poking them with a stick. I was once in Haida Gwaii and shot a deer in tall grass and it went down and then a second deer, that I hadn't seen, raised its head and I shot it too. Then I finished them off behind the ear ..... it sounded like a massacre, but it was two clean kills. It's rare, but it can happen.

And yes, three shots is a sign of distress as well.
 
A buddy and I once had two deer on a hillside move behind a couple small tufts of trees/bush. The only cover on the side of the hill. I could only see little bits of either one but nothing I could put a lethal shot on. Buddy and I probably ended up shooting 10 shots each to try to get them to move a bit to get a shot. Finally they slowly moved some and I was able to get both one shot each through the neck. Must have probably sounded like WWIII to any other hunters in the area though.
 
Three shots in a minute and a half (do people
pack stop watches with them?) doesn't sound like wild blasting
at running deer, unless the deer are running on a treadmill. It could be
some one checking their rifle, the timing for
3 very deliberate shots would be about that. One wild-assed guess is as good as the next. You're never going to know what took place anyway, no use getting all wound up
Over it.
 
Let us begin this narrative by saying my wife was a good shot. From a solid rest. A few years ago, she fired on a doe, full frontal. Knocked it ass-over-tea kettle. Turned to me and said, "See, just like that. One shot, DRT".
Then she watched in shock as the doe twitched, jumped up and ran away. We looked for 3 1/2 hours, no blood, no hair, no trail. Lesson learned. She has since made that same shot (just last season, actually) on a large buck. It was down, thrashing, went still and she hit it again. Head shot. Done.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom