Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum Brush Shot Fail!

I don't mind the criticism, certainly isn't a shot I'd take today. However, if anyone wants to post the pictures for educational purposes I think it could be of some value. In my defense, I'll say the "brush" amounted to a singular or two 4ft tall bush with no leaves that I could see pretty well on the edge of draw I'd been watching for over 4 hours not 10 yards from my blind. Behind the shot was a draw that came back up providing a backstop for my shot. Again, I could see through and clearly over the bush 120 yards behind the buck and had been observing as that is the direction he came from. So I was positive I presented no danger to another hunter.

I strongly disapprove of shooting into thick brush on movement not knowing what is in the brush, what's behind it, etc... That is not what we are talking about here. Still a brush shot and a bad shot now in hindsight only taken because I didn't realize a singular twig could deflect a 270 win bullet. It seems to still be a matter of dispute according to Youtube. I've been convinced it just isn't a shot worth taking in the future.

Anyone that wants to post the pictures, text me at 214-450-2910. I'd be happy to send them so you can post.

Live and learn brother. That’s what life is all about. Learning from mistakes is always a positive thing in life.

I’ve killed 2 trees in the past trying to thread the needle. It happens if you hunt thick stuff on a regular basis.

Have to admit I have tried a few brush shots before in the past, but usually nothing good comes from the try....I have learned to let them walk and hope to get another shot another day.......

Never saw this tree was about a 130 class right behind it I was sick. This was a few years ago.

“Taking the shot they give you” is probably why we have so many posts on the Tracking Dog thread. I would love to kill a really nice buck but unless he gives me the right shot he wins that round. I am lucky enough to be able to hunt as much as I can stand and on a place where there is very little pressure in surrounding area so they have a pretty good chance of not getting shot by the neighbors, so it is probably a lot easier for me to let one walk than most and even then it’s hard.In the last two years I have been in this exact same situation with bucks substantially larger than my best. And one really tempted me. I was hunting an open hardwood flat surrounded by thick brush when I caught a flicker of white about 150 yards out at the edge of thick. Get the binocs up and see nothing but lots of rack and a head.That joker stood there perfectly still for over 20 minutes just slowly moving its head scanning that open area. He was barely in a patch of mostly sage and I had a pretty good idea of his body orientation but never sure enough.He finally decided better of coming into the open and turned around and left through the thick. That’s why he had that rack

I once shot at a stump with a 9mm handgun, turned out it was a fatwood stump, hard as rock, and flat on the side facing me. Bullet bounced off and flew past my head. That would have been a stupid way to lose an eye or die.

25 yards you can pick an eyeball or earhole.

I always wait until there is lane that appears to be free of any obstacle before taking a shot. There are some calibers that are considered to be better "brush guns" than others.

My dumbass cousin almost caught a .30-06 when we were about 16. Were hunting 2 different stands and he decided to sneak up on me one morning. He was wearing a brown Stetson that looked exactly like doe ears in the bush he was in.
I was 90% sure it was a deer but decided to wait until I was 100. Thank God.

No orange?

Nope, not ever......Well, i take that back. If im hunting in the woods, i generally wear a toboggan i have thats orange on the inside. That way if greenjeans comes slipping up, i can turn it inside out and be legal. Ive also used it to mark where thedeer is laying several times. But other than that, im just not a fan of orange, seems counterintuitive

You willingly walk around the woods in Alabama during rifle season without Orange on?

I dont hunt the same woods you do. Theres nobody else out there where i hunt, ever. I have never ran into anyone in 35yrs of hunting. If i hunted where other people are, i guess i would. If i was to run into another hunter out there, theyre tresspassing. Never seen greenjeans out there either. I guess anything is possible though.

Man it ain’t worth the risk to not wear orange. Throw on an orange hat walking to and from stand. If you think it bothers the deer(which I personally don’t) take it off once you are settled

That's what I do.....i just take off my orange hat once I get in stand, when I get out, I put it back on.....I trust no one at anytime and I know I am the only one hunting the woods that I hunt......

They call those sound shots, right.

As in "I didn't see any, but i did get a couple of sound shots".

Makes you want to have an AM/FM radio on blaring while walking to your stand.

If you could see his head above the brush you probably should have just throat patched him.

Yep.

At 25 yards, if all I could see was head and neck, then that's where I aim. Dont aim at something you cant see. I shot a buck in the neck at 200 yards, with a good prop, because that's all I could see.