Should I have taken the shot?

[pikey]

Seeing as we are the topic of Bears and shot placement I thought I would bring this up.

I had a situation on Friday where I had a Black bear at about 40 yards and all I had was a shot where is was quartering towards me and a little obscured by some twigs etc.

I didn't want to take it in that position as I couldn't double lung it and I didn't want to over penetrate into the gut. It did stand up for me and I guess I could have hit it in the chest but that still wouldn't have been a double lunger......
It was a little small and I was looking around to see if there were any cubs, there was quite a lot of cover around and I couldn't confirm either way.

I never did get it into a quartering away or broadside position, it took off.

This would have been my first bear, am I overthinking this?

My hunting partner was looking at me like WTF? Shoot it!

Should I have taken the shot?

[Marmo+]

The answer should be obvious.....

if you don't have a clean shot, don't take it.

[Sideofabarn]

Better to think too much about it than not enough. Ask yourself this, would you rather go home empty handed or would you prefer to have a WHOLE lotta 'splainin' to do, or worse? In my humble opinion, you did the right thing.

[bsa30-06]

If the shot didnt seem right to you, then you did the right thing.Just because others would have taken the shot still doesnt mean it was right for you.There are alot more bears out there, you'll get one.Take your time, be patient,dont be pressured into a shot your not comfortable with, and when you do pull that trigger you'll know that bear is down.Good Luck, and Kudos to you for doing the right thing.

[silvicon]

good call not to shoot!
it may have ben a sow, cubs still in cover.
it is nasty business looking for a wounded bear in the brush.
there are enough bears out there,
there is always next time...

[.308win]

Nice decission Pikey! Actually thinking while you hunt, Way to control the "BEAR FEAVER"!!....Best of luck on the next one!!

Perry

[moosinaround]

Your the one pulling the trigger! If it is not right for you dont pull the trigger! If your hunting partner doesn't support your decision, find a new one! Moosin

[pikey]

Yeh, thanks guys been playing it over in my mind quite a bit!

Shooting an animal, screwing it up would be bad enough, shooting an animal with young, .....don't want to go there.

My hunting partner is cool, from where he was standing he just thought I had a better shot than I actually did.

[KodiakHntr]

Brush in the way is bad...Period. Worse when its you that has to look for him in the shrubs.....grin

And that is what it takes to hunt bears. You have to be pretty damn sure that there aren't any little cubs.

[5 spike]

good call pikey dont take the shot unless you are sure. i had a chance again today shooter and i were all set up on a bear he spotted in a gully, i took the high road that ran up the gully shooter stayed low in case the bear went down the gully i watched that bear for fifteen min and decided to head back down to the truck and told shooter it was a smaller bear than the one we saw yesterday,this one was in the same area we saw the big boy yesterday. so shooter stayed low i took the truck and our boys up the high road we went a little higher above were i saw the bear last, guess what ran up in front of us a single cub.i could have shot the first bear we saw in the gully but something didd not seem right. that bear i wasnt sure sow or bore didd not get a good look at the head so i decided not to take the shot. those bears are in great shape this year.

[416]

If the shot didnt seem right to you, then you did the right thing.Just because others would have taken the shot still doesnt mean it was right for you.

X2......your the one that has to live with your decisions.

[browningboy]

Take it this way, trust your judgement, if you don't it will let you down, and you did listen to yourself, if there was a shot in your opinion, this post wouldn't be here, just the way the ball bounces!8)

[brotherjack]

If you ain't comfortable, DON'T DO IT!

Good call.

[hunter1947]

I my books you did the right thing by not shooting the bear ,who knows maybe it was a female that had cubs that were further away from mom??? you said you were in thick bush. The bear never give you the right angle for what you wanted for a shot placement ,you went with your instincts and that is what counts ,no in my books you did the right thing by passing on the bear and to you thats what counts ,not the person standing near you.;)

[RiverOtter]

If you didn't feel good about the shot, you did the right thing.

That said, I personally don't fret over penetration on bears or busting shoulders. Any time you can poke one or both front shoulders and put them down on the spot, I'd go for it. If you get an exit wound, all the better, as two holes leave a better blood trail than one.

RO

[tomahawk]

This bear never presented you with a good ethical shot that was fair to the bear and the right decision for you! Good for you for letting it leave the area unhurt!
PS.....I had a huge boar in the same scenario at 11 yds in PG and he was a good 350 to 400 lbs and never released the arrow and I feel good about it to this day!

[RiverOtter]

Pikey, you never really said what you were hunting with, bow or rifle?

I kind of assume bow, seeing how you were waiting for a quartering away/broadside shot. Arrows change everything......

RO

[johnk]

I think that old adage, "better to NOT shoot and regret it later than TO shoot and regret it later" would apply here.

[steel_ram]

A quarting toward shot in the shoulder will dump a bear, but you were right to consider the possibility of sow and cubs, because that isn't always obvious in thick brush.

[Mr. Dean]

Seeing as we are the topic of Bears and shot placement I thought I would bring this up.

I had a situation on Friday where I had a Black bear at about 40 yards and all I had was a shot where is was quartering towards me and a little obscured by some twigs etc.

I didn't want to take it in that position as I couldn't double lung it and I didn't want to over penetrate into the gut. It did stand up for me and I guess I could have hit it in the chest but that still wouldn't have been a double lunger......
It was a little small and I was looking around to see if there were any cubs, there was quite a lot of cover around and I couldn't confirm either way.

I never did get it into a quartering away or broadside position, it took off.

This would have been my first bear, am I overthinking this?

My hunting partner was looking at me like WTF? Shoot it!

Should I have taken the shot?

No brainer.
NO SHOT, just for this reason alone.

Excellent call.

[pikey]

Pikey, you never really said what you were hunting with, bow or rifle?

I kind of assume bow, seeing how you were waiting for a quartering away/broadside shot. Arrows change everything......

RO


I had my 30-06 with 180's.

I haven't seen any info on what sort of shot a standing bear offers, on the face of it they seem to offer up the lungs and heart for a shot.

Only took my first deer last year and still keeping it to the basics, and a double lung, positive identification and reasonable distances etc. seems the best way to go for me.

No one is going to starve if I don't bring any meat home, I took up hunting to better myself, I don't need to be doing anything to be ashamed of.

[RiverOtter]

A standing bear offers plenty. A shot high and center on the chest can take out sternum, heart and spine, then exit out the back.

No harm in passing up on a shot, I pass up plenty every year, for many reasons. I get plenty of satisfaction out of just knowing I busted an animal at its own game and then chose to let him live. If you want to restrict yourself to double lung shots, then so be it, its your hunt. No shame in doing things your way.

RO

[Bowzone_Mikey]

I wouldve and Have done the exact same thing you did ...for the very reason of not being able to confirm of cubs ...

you did it right ...when in Doubt ...back out

[greatwhitehunter]

Absolutely did the right thing.
We as hunters owe it to the animals we harvest that only ethical, legal shots are taken and this is exactly what you did by NOT pulling the trigger.
Good on you.
Look on the bright side now you still get to go hunting.

[tomahawk]

A quarting toward shot in the shoulder will dump a bear, but you were right to consider the possibility of sow and cubs, because that isn't always obvious in thick brush.

The shot was a quartering towards and that is not a good bow shot for anyone.

[RiverOtter]

Pikey stated that he had a 30-06 with 180's.....

RO

[o2fish2day]

I would have taken the shot....but what the hell do I know...

:tongue::tongue::tongue:

[tomahawk]

Pikey stated that he had a 30-06 with 180's.....

RO

With that being the case, he would have dropped if it were me and the bear was what I wanted.

[CanAm500]

If you dont feel comfortable taking the shot dont take it.

[Coyote]

Way to go Pikey. You're a hunter, not a killer

'yote

[o2fish2day]

Ok, I have been watching this thread for quite a while and just can't keep it to myself any longer... I happened to drive by that day while Pikey and his most excellent partner were hunting. I have hunted with his partner. the man is a world class hunter, and the best shot I have ever known. In fact he would put Wyatt Earp to shame.

I recognized Pikey because he wears and HBC hat with his handle on the back. Anyways...I saw the whole thing go down and snapped this photo...

Now I'll admit that I thought that bear was a sow too when I first saw it but if you look closely at the picture, it was just trying to fool them because it's bear season.

[hunter1947]

I'm proud of you Pikey ,good going on going with your instinks http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif.