Terrible shot placement on muntjac buck

jontie3332

Active Member
Was out on a shoot the weekend great weekend but sadly I pulled a shot on a muntjac buck it hit far back more like a gut shot witch I can only imagine the poor animal suffering this is the first time I've done this and hopefully the last upon reaching the shot site there was no quarry after much looking around the area I found the splines but still no animal a small walk down a ditch I can across the very angry muntjac buck with a nasty hole upon moving back to a safe distance to discharge another shot with .308 to put him out of his misery a terrible guilt came over me that this animal had not had the best end too his life laying in bed that evening I seriously contemplated finishing stalking because of the guilt has anyone else had this problem and how is the best way to despatch injured quarry with a rifle if you don't have a dispatch side arm all help on this would be great thanks fellas
 
you will be saying a prayer next mate,listen we all have made a cock up once it happens when you are taking the life of an animal,no one is perfect.
judging by your post killing deer aint for you.
but to answer your question,NO Ive never felt guilty of pulling a shot,Ive felt ****ed off and disappointed with myself but never guilty.
you found the animal and finished the job now get over it or take up knitting.
 
Harsh, but fair, see it shoot it! if you shoot enough, sooner or later, you will balls it up, anyone that claims different is probably talking nonsense or hasn't shot enough. We all make mistakes, at least you clearly care about it enough for it to matter. Chalk it up to experience and move on, perhaps on a target to get your confidence up..?
 
Harsh, but fair, see it shoot it! if you shoot enough, sooner or later, you will balls it up, anyone that claims different is probably talking nonsense or hasn't shot enough. We all make mistakes, at least you clearly care about it enough for it to matter. Chalk it up to experience and move on, perhaps on a target to get your confidence up..?

thank you,its no good blowing smoke up some ones ass,sometimes the harsh truth needs to be said.
 
dont beat yourself up to much. it happens and the fact you searched and completed the job is as much as you could have done.
 
Well mate now you know why most deer stalkers have a dog that way suffering is kept to a minimum. We all try and place the bullet perfect but we are not on a range and sh it happens . You will do it again if you shoot deer again so if you are not ready for it forget it. But i do like people that feel some guilt but not enough to make me feel like wrapping it in.
 
As above it happens you don't want it to but it does if you didn't feel bad about it you wouldn't be much of a stalker .
keep calm and carry on
​norma
 
firstly, thank god you feel so guilty about it, it means you are actually an ethical hunter and not someone who just goes out to shoot deer at whatever range is convenient 'for them' or for their ego.

trust me, I've felt guilty about not only gut shots, but also good shots. I don't quite stalking because of it, but what I 'do', is not go stalking just to shoot something. Now I go stalking because I either need to put food on the table, to help a farmer with a problem (very rarely), or in the majority, to try and work to a good cull plan that will leave a well balanced population. I particularly enjoy removing old deer that are weak and struggling, or deer that are ill and clearly going to die an uncomfortably death, as well as those with injuries from fences or RTA's, etc.

should you feel bad about a gut shot, yes, should you stop stalking because of it no. it should help you identify the right reasons for stalking, which are as described above (at least in my book).

most importantly, you have to be happy with yourself and be able to sleep at night. but whatever your decision is, consider how frightening and horrible the death of chickens and other livestock are that go through factories and slaughter houses..they would probably take a gut shot after a full life in the wild any day ;) and unless you're a vegetarian, by not putting a piece of venison on the table, you're probably going to be putting factory chicken on the table...so again, stalking 'can' equal saving a factory/farm animal in that you're not helping push up market demand
 
I've shot quite a few deer and this is my first I more struggled with the fact the animal suffered and with the fact howon earth are you supposed to despatch the animal safely when it's in a ditch and all you have is a rifle I take my sport seriously and understand not everything is to be shot this minty buck was a perfect cull animal and the shot was safe and perfectly acceptable


I understand everyone pulls a **** this is my first in all of my stalking was after a little advice as this is what this forum is for not sure if taking up knitting is the answer but it's just a dark area for me on the safety of dispatching a animal with a rifle at close distance


I did feel guily and I am pretty sure everyone feels guilt on seeing something suffer as none of us are here to shot things and watch them suffer there last few minutes I understand clean kills are always best but don't always happen
 
I did it a couple of years ago... I had a red spiker in my crosshairs and it took a step forward in the time it took the message from brain to reach trigger finger. I saw it's front leg move forward and rushed the shot which connected about 12" too far back. I saw the bullet strike through the scope, re-loaded and waited..... and waited..... and waited. But the deer just stood there breathing heavily. My mate had to finish it off with another shot thinking the rifle must be off zero, but it wasn't.
I felt a bit **** afterwards but thankfully I was with another more experienced stalker. I learned from my mistake, I got over it pretty quickly and I'll not make the same mistake again.
Anyone who's never f****d up a shot is lying IMO.
 
First deer I ever shot was gut shot and made about 100yds before collapsing and dying.
I was told by the stalker that its a common mistake new shots make as they go for central mass rather than the kill zone, didnt make me feel any better about it but did make me determined to do the job better next time.
Its good that you have empathy for the quarry and you've learned a valuable lesson for the future.
 
follow up shots, off sticks, off hand, etc. whatever works. try to be at least 10yds or more back from the beast and put the bullet in the vitals or neck. put one or more, it doesn't matter, just be swift and ensure there's a safe backstop. if you can't use a rifle and a good dog is not available. I would personally (if the deers condition allows it) grab it by the head/upper neck, and stick it with a long thin knife in the atlas joint. again, just me and the way I've been taught.
 
​I'd rather feel guilty fellas I won't quit stalking I won't lie it crossed my mind that evening but I won't but i think this should be a point to tell people on how a safe despatch with a rifle can be done as I won't lie while stood over the deer with my .308 pointing at it that many things were going through my ind what if

I miss the animal
The round deflects
That ditch looks rocky
Am I down wind
Will the round hit me if deflecting


All these thoughts felt like and eternity




As for feeling guilty I always have a little guilt as me as a paid stalker does this for a sport I think there should always be and element of guilt I am going out taking that animals life for my own enjoyment every deer I've shot I have an element of guilt that I've taken its life from the 1st deer till the last. One I've shot the weekend this is not a bad thing you should always pay the animal the respect it deserves my opinion
 
Not sure "respect" has to mean guilt, I respect every deer i kill, but Christ, I would be a jibbering wreck if I felt guilt for every deer I've shot! I would even go so far as to say that some are positively "satisfying" if that doesn't sound callous.
 
Personally I like to see a bit of guilt when someone screws up.
Shows you have some compassion for the quarry rather than treating them like a item you need to dispatch

You should feel guilty if you screw up and an animal suffers needlessly. That is not a sign of weakness
I know I do when I have fecked up. I shot a red calf that was never found when I was 16. the image of it running will live we me forever. I make damn sure it doesn't happen again and won't force a shot when I am not absolutely certain it is bang on.

We should never forget that it is a living creature whose life you are taking and not a piece of paper


when you stop feeling guilty for causing needless suffering ....that is when you should hang up your kit
 
Not sure "respect" has to mean guilt, I respect every deer i kill, but Christ, I would be a jibbering wreck if I felt guilt for every deer I've shot! I would even go so far as to say that some are positively "satisfying" if that doesn't sound callous.

agree with this,
I can't say I feel guilty for an act which I don't think is wrong ( ie the killing of deer).
 
Been there done that as I'm sure all/most have countered. For those who ain't well count yourself lucky. Just because the cross hairs are firmly placed on the heart will not gaurntee 100% that it will,hit there. Their is a element of luck regardless of the speed a bullet travels and if a deer moves only a couple of cm's if that distance is from 100 yards it's a whole new ball game. Not too long ago I had the day from hell, giving this sport up was not a option I was totally disgusted with myself words can not describe the utter sxxt that I wanted myself to feel.
least you seen it through and have spoken about it many would have said nothing.
its ok to make mistakes as long as we learn from them, no one is perfect. There is a huge amount of pressure whenwe squeeze the trigger knowing what can happen, ending a life, popossible injuring regardless of why we do it..
chin up, learn from it and make happy ststalking dys ahead.
 
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Hi Jontie,

The fact that it affected you, badly, shows that you have compassion. That's a good thing in my book. As several other posters have said, this kind of thing happens from time to time to everyone - including me. The way to look at it is, as long as a lesson has been learned from the experience, then the unfortunate event was not in vain.

You are very honest to post the details of the event, and your feelings of guilt on the open forum. Good on you for that, but you need to learn from the experience and carry on. You also need to understand that anyone who claims they have never wounded a deer is either a liar, or they have not shot many deer. It happens.

You did the right thing, found the beast and dispatched it. Under the circumstances you couldn't have done any more.

Regards,

Mike.

Mike Allison
​Managing Director - Jelen Deer Services
 
First deer I ever shot was gut shot and made about 100yds before collapsing and dying.
I was told by the stalker that its a common mistake new shots make as they go for central mass rather than the kill zone, didnt make me feel any better about it but did make me determined to do the job better next time.
Its good that you have empathy for the quarry and you've learned a valuable lesson for the future.

like the man said,

bob.
 
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