do you stop a walking deer before you shoot

[elbanma1]

Background: i have been hunting for two years now and only use blackpowder in all legal seasons. I am using a lyman GPR flintlock and had my first attempt at shooting a whitetail on saturday. He came in around 30-40 yards and when he entered one of my shooting lanes i bleated at him to stop him. He stopped and bobbed his head up and down looking for me in the trees but couldnt find me. I took the shot and he ran off the way he came and crossed a creek about a hundred yards away. Getting down from the stand i saw no signs of blood, hair, etc. I walked to where he jumped the creek and again no signs. i looked around for a while in the heavy cover but no sign. I am pretty sure i missed him, shot over his back.

Question - is it possible that he saw the flash in the pan and ducked the PRB before it got to him? If so, should i not get them to stop before i shoot and just pick and shooting lane and when they enter it just let them have it? Any advice is welcome.

 

[GrizzlyBear]

IMO...which really aint worth much....you're better off to get them to stop. This gives you a much higher probability of making a good shot. If you're bleating spooked the deer a little, as evidenced by the head bobbing, then work on your bleat. I bleat them ocassionally and they just look...not spooked. I try to have my gun shouldered and aiming when I bleat, that way it's only a half second or so before I can pull the trigger.

I may be wrong, but I don't see ANY WAY for the deer to duck your shot. Sounds like you missed clean.

Good luck next time!

 

[playfarmers]

I would never worry about stopping a moving Deer inside of 50 yards. We have a running Deer competion at the range every year and hitting a moving target at 50 yards is no problem at all, but I am using a cap lock. I have taken many Deer on the dead run at 50 yards or less with my Lyman Deerstalker. The people I used to hunt with pushed the bushes and almost all shots where running. This year my wife and I hunted alone, and I loved it. All shots where standing, and the Deer as calm as can be.

 

[GrizzlyBear]

Chalk it up to better expertise then!

I have shot at MAYBE one deer that was running....

I don't feel comfortable shooting at one walking if i can get him to stop.

 

[bigbore442001]

Ideally you would like to stop a deer for a moment to shoot. There are a number of methods to use. Last week I blew a kiss and shot a 6 pointer with a bow.

Another method is to use a bleat call or Kmere Deer.

Another method is a dog whistle.

 

[Shooey]

I agree with the others, there's no way the deer could have ducked the ball. However, when you stop them you DO put them on alert.

I don't like to shoot at running deer, but a walking deer is a different matter. A bleat, a kiss, or even a "hey you!" will stop them. Be ready!

-SHOOEY

 

[roundball]

I always try to get a deer to stop for a more precise shot...I just whistle...one short sharp whistle...and interestingly, when hunting in thick stuff like I do, sometimes I actually have to try and time the whistle just before they hit an opening so when that stride comes to a halt, their vitals aren't behind a tree, etc

 

[PitchyPine]

Ideally you would like to stop a deer for a moment to shoot. There are a number of methods to use. Last week I blew a kiss and shot a 6 pointer with a bow.

Another method is to use a bleat call or Kmere Deer.

Another method is a dog whistle.

Grats on your bow harvest. :thumbsup:
I always grunt and stop them before shooting.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Its very easy to shoot over an animal when you rush a shot, and its even more easy to fail to get that front sight all the way down in the rear sight and HOLD it there for the shot. Too many of us want to see what happened, and we don't follow through properly. We lift our head off the stock as the gun fires, lifting the barrel up with our face, and shoot over the top. If you hit that deer, there would have been clear sign of the hit, and he would have been showing signs of being wounded as he walked away. I suspect that you are correct that you shot over its back. Better success with the next shot.

 

[rabjr]

I always stop them with a "blaat" or a "grunt", then shoot.

 

[oneshot]

I've stopped I don't know how many Deer running,get my Rifle up.BAAA with my mouth,they hit the Brakes,I get a bead blast them.

Had one I missed,while I was reloading he was walking towards me.I killed him at 10 yards.Reloaded had a Doe running past me I BAAA,she stops 25 yards all I can see was her Head,shot her.

oneshot

 

[bob1961]

a snort or grunt than boom :grin: ..........bob

 

[barebackjack]

Mines more of a MAAAAAAAA.

You should always attempt to stop em. But if their really going, sometimes they dont.

 

[Bountyhunter]

I have enough confidence in my ability and in my rifle that if the buck is walking at less than 50 yards, I know where that bullet is going to hit, and I would just as soon not alarm the animal. I much prefer that they die by surprise.

 

[cptleo1]

30 yards and walking

Put the bead on his shoulder and put em in the freezer.

With the BOW I will grunt at em.

Big difference between 275 FPS and 1300 fps.

Like anything else it all sounds easier than it is.

First couple I grunted at, I had my head up, looking at the deer. By the time he stopped and I got my head down on the sights - too late - hurried the shot and missed. Sound familiar ?

Have your sights on him - THEN - grunt - then shoot.

Also when using a PRB I will look at least twice as long and twice as far for blood. I don't want to get everybody riled up - just seems to me a PRB blood trail is often - not always - not as visable as say a broadhead or a .270.

With time, practice, and an open mind it all works out.

Good luck

 

[ronrryan]

Deer commonly bob their heads when looking for something they can't quite identify. But if the deer was stopped and you had a clear lane to a vital spot, then you might have had your ball touch a twig or small branch, this will throw the shot off the mark. Only you know what the sight picture was when you pulled the trigger. It is also possible for a deer to show no blood trail but in fact be hit by a ball. Anyway, good luck, ron in FL

 

[CrackStock]

I had a similar experience recently. My flinter was a bit slow in firing the main charge under very wet conditions. I was at a known location and the tracks demonstrate where the deer was when the shot went off. The .600 ball plowed deeply into the ground right where it should have. The depth of the ball in packed dirt was evidence that it had not travelled through a deer. The scratches from at the marks show that the deer dropped. This is what archery hunters term jumping the string. He trotted away along his original path with his white tail waving behind.

No hair, no blood and after a long search, no deer.

Yes, deer can jump a string or a flash with equal skill. This is another reason why hunting with a flintlock in the rain is such a challenge. If it was easy -- then anybody could do it and it would not be so interesting.

CS

 

[Stumpkiller]

It's just one of the cards in my hand, but it depends on the situation. I have whistled with mixed results. I'm lousey at whistling and sometimes use the "smuk" of my cat/squirrel call. Jumped a buck in heavy cover yesterday and tried a whistle, but he just jinked right and was gone from sight. Elapsed time: less than two seconds. I had nothing to lose. If a deer is walking and unalarmed I'll like as not shoot without making a sound. I'll just try and time the shot into a nice window through the cover. If a deer is running or about to walk out of my area of opportunity I'll try and get it to pause with a noise.

Here's a photo of Carp in my Neighbor's woods - typical cover. (Red watch cap and red wool watchcoat).

Now you know why a scope is as useless to me as suspenders are to a snake.

 

[jethro224]

On an unalarmed walking deer, I just shoot 'em at the first good opportunity.

I can't whistle loud so when a running deer goes by I just usually watch 'em run by... I have hollered to stop 'em. Sometimes it even worked. When it works you better be ready to shoot now.

 

[ffffg]

i carried a turkey call for years, stopped everything i sqwocked at.. just used it for fun,not during hunting.. we have muleys here and they seem to always stop.. if i wanted the buck and didnt think it would stop, i agree with the walking shoulder shot, but i use a .62 cal... i was missing to much last year , your story sounds exactly like mine.. i drilled my flashole out to .070 and havent had the problem since.. im guessing its about a 70 percent probablility that is what the problem your really having.. i swore they were jumping the gun, but it was me, jumping the flash.. you can get ahead of that flash with a new ssssharp flint when you go hunting, and .070 flashole.. its a numbered bit at a good hardware store.. measure it before you drill becouse they can get mixed up.. :v dave