APPierce0628
Senior Member
I've been bowhunting for about six years now, and it's been quite interesting from my point of view. I have had a poor record of recovery vs. loss of deer in those six years for multiple reasons. However, I realized one of the more prominent issues I've had and that is anatomy of the animal. I have always aimed three or so inches behind the "shoulder" of the deer, and between 1/3 and 1/2 the way up the body of the deer. Well after wounding more deer than I care to admit, I started reading all that I could on shot placement. Over and over I read to shoot a deer behind the shoulder, but it wasn't until I saw a diagram of a deer's skeletal structure, as posted by members of this forum, that I realized how far back I was aiming as opposed to the area most call the shoulder (the area to avoid). Well my mentality changed somewhat this year and I awaited an opportunity to shoot a deer a little farther forward than previous. Well, I saw a doe on Monday and she was ever so slightly quartering away from me and so I aimed for a farther forward exit and released the arrow. The shot looked good, and she took off full sprint. Ran about 60 yards, stopped, wobbled, and fell down. I was excited to see her go down, as this was only the second deer I have watched fall. Most of the stuff I learn about hunting comes from the fine people on this forum who have much more experience than I, and I appreciate the ones who are always willing to help.
Where the shot exited:
And entered:
Where the shot exited:
And entered: