do you take the shot?

How sure do you have to be before taking the shot?

  • almost 100%-I have to be almost certain of a clean kill

    Votes: 307 76.8%

  • 75% The odds are in my favor

    Votes: 80 20.0%

  • 50% I have even odds

    Votes: 10 2.5%

  • 25% I hunt on private land,and am good at tracking

    Votes: 3 0.8%
  • Total voters
    400
S

stubblejumper

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How sure do you have to be of making the shot before taking it?

The reason for posting this poll is that on another thread,one individual openly posted that twenty rounds was not enough for a week of deer hunting.He also posted that he regularly takes running shots,but yet admits that he is terrible at running shots.Yet he feels that it is perfectly ethical to take any shot that presents itself,because that is how you get practice and become a better shot.

What are your thoughts?
 
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Even if you are 100%, odds throw in their cards and fubar the situation. I use my skill set and abilities to get me into 100% range/situation and hope crap doesn't happen.
 
My dad taught me not to shoot at anything I wasn't sure I could drop in one shot. I teach the kids in our youth program the same principles. It follows in our culture that if an animal is offering itself up to you, then it will do so in a manner that won't require it to suffer. It seems to be working as I have seen some of our shooters turn down shots that I would have taken, but they didn't feel comfortable given their skill level.
 
Ithink this is a multi-faceted question. It really depends on the hunting situation. In all situations, you have to maintain safety, beyond all else. PERIOD.

The deer gun hunting that I do in Ontario, is much different than what I perceive that an BC hunter would do. Typically, my shot are 50 yards or less, with only a few seconds to make up your mind whether you should take the shot or not. Safety being the key factor. PERIOD. If I have good situational awareness, and know where my fellow hunters are, and a Deer comes within my zone of fire, and I don't see any Orange, the deer is getting shot at. Front, Side, Rear, Quartering presentations. If I feel the deer is moving to fast, is to far away or for whatever reason, I don't feel good about it, I will NOT take the shot. PERIOD.

All this happens, extremely fast, in the thick brush of Ontario hunting.

On the other hand, when I am Bow Hunting for deer, the target must not be moving, it must be calm, ie. it doesn't know I am there, and it also must be broadside, or quartering away, and it must be within 20 yards. Those are the limits I place on myself for bow hunting.

From what I gather, a lot of this does not come into play in the western provinces, because you typically hunt in more wide open areas, and do more of a stalk on deer, and typically have up to minutes to decide when to take a shot, not seconds, like is typically found here. My opinions might be completely wrong, and feel free to correct me if I am. And oh yeah, to the question of the amount of rounds I take, I take 40 rounds for our deer hunt, I have never used more than 4, 2 times, two deer had two rounds each into them, the rest I only had enough time for one shot before the deer disappeared. I have lost a couple, not due to not trying to find them, but the vast majority, 90%, are recovered.

So I would say, that I have to be a least 50% sure of my shot connecting while gun hunting, and 99.99% sure when bow hunting. Duck and geese, well, that's a whole another discussion.
 
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I still hunt and usually like to get quite close to my animal before taking a shot, even at close range I wait until I am 100% certain before I pull the trigger. Even at close range problems can still pop up like a branch you don't seen or a last second movement of game or shooter. That being said one of my favourite shots I have ever taken was a buck which I hadn't seen stand up out of his bed at approx 40yrds and I shouldered my gun and shot him without even thinking. Sometimes it works when you let instinct take over. My average round count for a season is one or two cartridges, out of twenty five I handload for the season. I usually fire between 100-150 through my deer rifle at the range in the summer though.
 
Well that's a great question.
If you heve ever taken a running shot and missed, then should that say you should never take one again, due to the fact that you were 100% wrong about your assesment of a running shot, and if you've only ever taken one running shot and missed, then out of all your attempts at running shots, you have failed 100% of the time. Should you ever try again with that data being presented?

I am rarely 100% sure of my shot. I am always 100% sure of my target and safety, ... but rarely of what will happen once I squeeze the trigger.

Will I flinch, will the trigger creep, will I pull, will the wind blow etc etc etc.

Only take shots that you know one shot will do it. If that's the case and you've ver required more than ones shot, then that goes out the window, because what you were sure of, you were not.

I have spined deer, completely unintentional.
Was I sure of the shot? Well as sure as I could be, but with spine shot, I wasn't 100% sure now was I.

I have had a moose out at 200 yrds with a breeze and a 30 30. Was I sure of the shot, ... I aimed at the hump and he fell within 10 yrds. I was not 100% sure.
For every person that is 100% sure, I am 100% sure they are not.

I always carry a box of 25 rounds. God only knows what I may encounter, or god forbid, damage the cope in the middle of no where and need to resight on the spot.
On animals, I expect 1-2 bullets maximum, and ready to let 5 fly in case of a real fowl up.
 
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7.62mm said:
From what I gather, a lot of this does not come into play in the western provinces, because you typically hunt in more wide open areas, and do more of a stalk on deer, and typically have up to minutes to decide when to take a shot, not seconds, like is typically found here. My opinions might be completely wrong, and feel free to correct me if I am.
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Well it depends where in the province you are, in the south it's mostly open area hunting, once you get a ways north of Edmonton though you can expect most of your shots to be through the bush. Occasionally you get lucky and find a clear shot down a cutline or powerline but thats the exception, certainly not the rule. :cool:
 
So, here is a typical scene where I gun hunt for deer, and when I say 50 yards, that is the absolute maximum distance that you can see. Typically, deer are shot 20 yards or less, and moving, Smartly.

thickstuff.jpg
 
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2x on 110% --like the Kid in the States saw a Bear and moments later a dead hiker lay on the ground-Like the saying goes don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes or at least their horns.
 
After 50 votes,there is only one vote for less than 75% sure,and 68% of the votes are for almost 100% sure.I am actually not at all surprised at the numbers since I have always believed that the vast majority of the people on this site are ethical hunters,and have enough respect for the game that they hunt to turn down the low percentage shots.
 
stubblejumper said:
After 50 votes,there is only one vote for less than 75% sure,and 68% of the votes are for almost 100% sure.I am actually not at all surprised at the numbers since I have always believed that the vast majority of the people on this site are ethical hunters,and have enough respect for the game that they hunt to turn down the low percentage shots.
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Either that or most of us are lying.
 
If i'm not fully confident in the shot, I won't take it. Around here there is always more than one of everything. Then again I'm out of shape and like to do the least amount of work when it comes to tracking an animal, If it means passing up the shot to get out of extra work then so be it.
 
There are areas where the typical hunting action is to push bush and when the deer hits the open and you first see it on point, its always a running shot.
 
There are areas where the typical hunting action is to push bush and when the deer hits the open and you first see it on point, its always a running shot.
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The issue is not running shots.Some people are very good at running shots(within certain ranges),and some people are very capable at 500 yard standing shots,but if you yourself openly admit that you are "lousy" at such shots,why take a shot where the risk of wounding or missing an animal is even higher than the odds of a clean kill?
 
I hate shots that have ???? written all over them, and will pass on these, for sure. That being said, I feel confident on "longish" standing shots as long as I have a steady rest [and I mean steady, not some old jackpine tree] Running shots must be inside of 125 yards, and no tangle to shoot through. I feel for you guys shooting at deer in some of the jungles that exist. One thing that must be done, is plenty of practice. Did I mention lots of practice? And then there is practice some more. Regards, Eagleye.
 
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