Your thoughts on 2nd (follow-up) shots

I dislike putting another round into a animal but I know as a ethical-hunter - necessary. When I first started deer hunting, I learned that lesson the hard way in my 2nd season of deer hunting:

My Dad and I was sitting on the back side of a large swamp (we knew people would start moving around about mid-morning and push deer to us - we did this set up before). Sure enough mid-morn, we a couple of shots from the far side of the swamp and before long deer started coming our way. A decent 4-pt buck came past me and I shot him with my Marlin 30-30. The shot knocked him down and for a second I thought he was dead, then I looked again and he started moving a bit. "He's not going any where, he'll be dead in a minute" I thought to myself. I was confident that my shot had gone into his chest and I didn't "waste another round".
So got up slung my rifle and started walking toward the deer and I yelled to my Dad "I got one!" I had no sooner said that when the "near-dead deer" jumped to his feet and took off!
Once my Dad got there I told him what happened - needless to say he was not happy with me, at all - in fact he was really p-o'd! My shot turned wasn't as good as I thought, the shot was a bit far back. To make a long story short(er), we found the deer but it took several hours and a lot of tracking!
Plus I had listen to my Dad chew me out (again and again) every few minutes!

This taught me a very-very valuable lesson - when it doubt shoot again!

I had something similar early on.

Two bucks were walking through the woods, one in front of the other. The second one was a wide 10 point. I whistled, I grunted to try to get them to stop. They paused for a second and as I squeezed then trigger they took a step.

I hit him, farther back than I had hoped. He ran out into the field, bloody, and took off up the hill behind me. I was sure he would be halfway up the very steep hill. A couple minutes later I heard a shot on the other side of the mountain.....I thought it must have been the lead deer that I didn't shoot.

I waited for a good hour before getting out of my stand.

Found some blood and also where he stumbled a few times but no deer. I had my entire club helping me to locate it.

Next day at the checking station, I heard about the guy that owns the property next to us had shot a BIG 10pt. I would bet that was my deer.

Lessons learned.

One compelling reason among many to use a suppressor, to remove hesitation to shoot again and any flinching after having shot once already without any form of earplugs.

yellowfin said:

One compelling reason among many to use a suppressor, to remove hesitation to shoot again and any flinching after having shot once already without any form of earplugs.

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A suppressor work on a .300 Win Mag, and are they actually legal for hunting?

DennisCA said:

I dislike putting another round into a animal but I know as a ethical-hunter - necessary. When I first started deer hunting, I learned that lesson the hard way in my 2nd season of deer hunting:

My Dad and I was sitting on the back side of a large swamp (we knew people would start moving around about mid-morning and push deer to us - we did this set up before). Sure enough mid-morn, we a couple of shots from the far side of the swamp and before long deer started coming our way. A decent 4-pt buck came past me and I shot him with my Marlin 30-30. The shot knocked him down and for a second I thought he was dead, then I looked again and he started moving a bit. "He's not going any where, he'll be dead in a minute" I thought to myself. I was confident that my shot had gone into his chest and I didn't "waste another round".
So got up slung my rifle and started walking toward the deer and I yelled to my Dad "I got one!" I had no sooner said that when the "near-dead deer" jumped to his feet and took off!
Once my Dad got there I told him what happened - needless to say he was not happy with me, at all - in fact he was really p-o'd! My shot turned wasn't as good as I thought, the shot was a bit far back. To make a long story short(er), we found the deer but it took several hours and a lot of tracking!
Plus I had listen to my Dad chew me out (again and again) every few minutes!

This taught me a very-very valuable lesson - when it doubt shoot again!

Click to expand...

Thing is, based upon your commentary, you were never in doubt. You thought you made a good shot. Only time I took a 2nd shot after the first one hit, was at a 6 point I killed. He had already been spooked out of his bed by another hunter just 100 yards from me, so he probably had the adrenaline flowing. I hit him once and he took off with his tail down. Hit him again and he dropped. After dressing him out, turned out both bullets were in the boiler room, but I wasn't sure on the first one, so I shot again.

All the other 2nd shots were because the first shot clearly missed.

Pretty sure that I wouldn't put another bullet into a deer if it is on the ground. However, I wouldn't sling my rifle over my shoulder either until I actually walked up to the deer and confirmed it was dead. Just be ready for the follow up shot should it stand up again.

I don't care how good the shot felt, I give them 1/2 hour to an hour before I get out if my stand/blind. I've never had one that wasn't expired when I got there. If you don't give them time you'll just jump them up, even with a good shot. I learned my lesson early on the hard way.

1time said:

I don't care how good the shot felt, I give them 1/2 hour to an hour before I get out if my stand/blind. I've never had one that wasn't expired when I got there. If you don't give them time you'll just jump them up, even with a good shot. I learned my lesson early on the hard way.

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The 30 minute wait is a good rule of thumb, but a lot of them can be dead pretty quick from a good shot. I've killed a couple that were dead almost immediately. They were all shot with a .300 Win Mag. Two were button bucks that were literally right beneath my tree. Another was a 7 pointer that I crushed the front shoulder on. He did a 360 from the impact and laid there in the open field. Usually, when they drop where they stand, they will be dead before you can get there.

So, while the 30 minute rule is a good rule of thumb, deer will not always jump up from a good shot if you don't give them the 30 minutes to bleed out. How good of a shot could it have been if the animal takes 30 minutes to bleed out? However, I understand that 30 minute rule as a precaution.

When in doubt, wait the 30 minutes, or just wait the 30 minutes as a rule of thumb.

fabsroman said:

Thing is, based upon your commentary, you were never in doubt. You thought you made a good shot. Only time I took a 2nd shot after the first one hit, was at a 6 point I killed. He had already been spooked out of his bed by another hunter just 100 yards from me, so he probably had the adrenaline flowing. I hit him once and he took off with his tail down. Hit him again and he dropped. After dressing him out, turned out both bullets were in the boiler room, but I wasn't sure on the first one, so I shot again.

All the other 2nd shots were because the first shot clearly missed.

Pretty sure that I wouldn't put another bullet into a deer if it is on the ground. However, I wouldn't sling my rifle over my shoulder either until I actually walked up to the deer and confirmed it was dead. Just be ready for the follow up shot should it stand up again.

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fabsroman said:

The 30 minute wait is a good rule of thumb, but a lot of them can be dead pretty quick from a good shot. I've killed a couple that were dead almost immediately. They were all shot with a .300 Win Mag. Two were button bucks that were literally right beneath my tree. Another was a 7 pointer that I crushed the front shoulder on. He did a 360 from the impact and laid there in the open field. Usually, when they drop where they stand, they will be dead before you can get there.

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.300 win mag for a button buck seems like a lttle of a over kill.

Been lucky, haven't had to put a 2nd shot into anything yet.

If I can't get a solid and clean first shot, then I don't take the shot.

Last year, I was hunting in northern Frederick county when 8 deer (does and small yearlings) ran out of the woods and into the field on the nursery I hunt. I hit one of the yearlings in the neck at about 85 yards (she went down) and then trained the rifle to my left and cleanly took another mature doe. I was shooting a .25-06 with 115 grain Noslers over 50 grains of IMR 4831. I went over to the small yearling and, while incapacitated, it was still alive. I figured I'd go and dress the mature doe out, come back and by that time (10-15 minutes), the yearling would surely be expired. This was not the case. I reluctantly shot the small doe again through the thoracic cavity at about 10 yards, blowing the oppiset shoulder off. That Nosler hit that thing like a scud missile but it still would not die. At this point (it was almost agonizing for me) but I shot the thing a third time, blowing the other shoulder off. Finally, 10 minutes later, the thing expired.

I have been hunting a long time and I've seem deer react in ways no one would ever expect to both well and poorly placed shots. There is simply no reason (other than an incredible will to live) that the animal in question did not expire after that second shot. I felt pretty bad after that incident. It reinforced in my mind that these animals deserve respect. Always strive for the clean shot but know that sometimes, the forces of nature may throw you a curve. Don't beat yourself up about it.

Best,

ST.243

mark71211 said:

.300 win mag for a button buck seems like a lttle of a over kill.

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Yeah, the 10 pointer that I made the appointment with at 100 yards or so forgot to put it on his calendar. That left me with a button buck that just wouldn't leave the very near vicinity of my tree. I have taken 250 yard shots on this farm, so a .300 Win Mag isn't a terrible choice for the shots that can present themselves. Could probably go to 1,000 on this farm if I had the skill.

Next time, I'll bring the .222 Rem, .220 Swift, .270 Win, .30-06, and .300 Win Mag with me into the tree stand so I have the right tool for the job. lol Want to build up a .25-06 on a Borden action so I really have the entire gambit covered. Might sneak in a .243 too. On the upper end, I might need a bazooka when a group of 10+ happen to stroll by.