What would you do?

[igojuone]

I'm out in the bush today and spot a real nice 6x6 or better Whitetail. He beds down and I'm 100 yards to his right as he faces down hill. If I try to come at him from below he'll see me, if I try from above he'll probably smell me.

I decide to try from above as the cover is better and maybe the wind will change. I get to within about 40 yards but he's up and out of there too fast for me and the 40 yards is not a good range for me yet.

Track him and 3 other bucks until they bed down again, I'm 60 yards out and a few dead trees and thickets between us. I push slowly through the snow and over the next half hour move to within 20 yards. Now it's just a tree between me and the 4 bucks. The smallest one a 3x3 is laying and looking directly at my position. Every time I peek out from the tree he's looking right at me. I waited and waited but no movement until the wind changed and they all shot up at once, the big boy looking straight at me but not giving much of a target.

My question should I have just drawn the bow, stepped out and hoped they would present me with a clean shot or waited as I did?

[whognu]

let me be the first to congratulate you

if this is representative of your approach to hunting, then well done

to have stalked your quarry and chosen not to take a shot due to 'conditions' deserves high praise

you are a sportsman

you will get many, many more opportunities to cut your tag

[rocksteady]

My question should I have just drawn the bow, stepped out and hoped they would present me with a clean shot or waited as I did?

Either way you could have been cutting a tag....

Sometimes waiting pays off, this time it did not...
Sometimes being aggressive ( draw bow, step out quick and they will sometimes just stand and look at you like WTF?) giving you plenty of time for a clean shot....Sometimes it just scares them half to death and they are gone in a flash...

Thats the joys of hunting...every situation is different, there are no rules on what to do in a situation like this....Its better to have them flock off to be hunted another day/year, than to go with a low percentage shot and lose the critter...

[RoscoeP]

I think you did the right thing and sounds like it was a great day even though you didn't shoot a deer. Just being in that situation, the suspense heart beating etc. That to me is still a great hunting day. Getting something is just a bonus. Next time maybe. Cheers Roscoe

[Bow Walker]

In my estimation you did the right thing. This is what "ethics" are all about. You passed on a very low percentage opportunity. You'll get him, maybe next year (or so), but you'll get him. Good on you.

[igojuone]

Thanks everyone, I didn't get much sleep last night, had buck fever. I'm going to wait a couple of days and try again. Give them some time to settle down as I pushed them hard trying to cut them off every time they gave me the slip, I finally gave up some almost 7 hours later after coming almost nose to nose with the 4 of them, this time I don't think they were going to stop until they were sure I wasn't close.

[savagecanuck]

Tomorrows the last day you better be there at first lite tomorrow am.Good luck

[Bowzone_Mikey]

hind sight is always strange ....

Nobody knows the situation but you ...

I might have taken the shot at 40 or so (because I am comfortable shooting that distance) .. I might have had the bow drawn at 20 waiting for a shot to present itself ... I might not have depending on the trees and snags and stuff there ....

at the end of the day only you can tell yourself what you did was right .... you made the decition not to let an arrow fly for a personal reason .... no matter the result ... it was the right one