I am sure the hunter that made the poor shot for whatever reason feels pretty bad too

That is the real issue,...this is something that should be swept under,....it's not like we are advocating shot discrepancy ,..its the image posted,....defend it,...you will see,...in time
it is acceptable,...this is a progression of intention and acceptance.

I wonder if you would stand in a room full of hunters and announce that every one who has made a bad shot is an idiot. Because if you think everyone that has made a poor shot is an idiot , the shoe may be on the other foot.

Anybody who has never made a bad shot has not hunted much.

There are bone heads who hunt without target practice or take shots they are not confident of, that is what humans do. Dumb stuff. Fortunately most people don't do dumb stuff.

That deer is holding its head up and not bleeding much. Probably will survive.

I think guys like Marty are more common . Made a bad shot in spite of plenty of practice, then spent two days finding his deer.

That deer will be fine.
I made a shot just like that as a young archer. I saw the deer at very close range more than a week later when he stopped briefly while chasing a doe.
A friend of mine has a mounted buck that he shot through the neck on the last day of archery and killed the first day of rifle season. You can see the scar and the clipped hair on the mount.

Excuse me, but I have to say some of you guys are pretty harsh, given the only information we have.. the photo. I can't blow it up to know if it is archery or not and it doesn't matter, but like some have said.... if you've never made a bad shot you haven't hunted much. If the guy took a neck shot on purpose I bet he'll never do it again. Stuff happens to even the best of shots.

I know I've wounded a turkey or two with my bow in 20 years but I spent hours looking for them. I've not lost a deer, but I've only hunted deer with a rifle for 10 years and I'm comfortable with my gun.

Let's lighten up on this a bit. Go out and hunt or trap and have a good weekend with your families.

I'm looking forward to three days without rain starting Monday and maybe a roe buck in the freezer.

Pete

Feel bad for the guy that blew the shot but the buck will survive the flesh wound.

Would you post pictures of the idiot tracking the wounded buck ?

I just want to see if it is any of the idiots we know !!

w

Got a pic of the guy trailing it. Doesn't look fatal to me, but who's to say he didn't recovered it. I've seen them survive some good hits from cars. Though animals.

Russ

Back in the 80s I helped my brother inlaw cut deer during our gun season. I mostly did skinning and capping as he was a the schooled meat cutter..Most people would be shocked to see the pile of broad heads and bullets recover from those deer. Some were obvious new hit and of course the kill shot. Others were pretty much a ball off scar around the bullet or broad head.. So it was very evident that not all shots to deer were fatal..
One that always stood out for me was a very big buck shot in a what they call here a metro area.. That deer had at least two dozen hits on him by 22 bullets. Some just under the hide others in muscle areas. Even had one round stuck in his rack that must have been done while was in velvet. That was something done by and idiot..
I'm also in the club that has had shots go bad. Not many but it happens.


Mac

This thread is foolish all together. The O.P. calling the guy an idiot and doesn't know the whole story. Hunters bashing hunters is never a good thing. We have anti hunters to worry about. Probably a better idea never to even post this thread..... just sayin.

Some idiots claim neck shots are the way to go.

Yes he will live. I just lost a buck in Illinois that was much bigger than that and I've been sick ever since. My buddy shot a 170" in the neck at 20 yds last year in Illinois the deer dropped and laid there thrashing in the honeysuckle for 10 mins but he couldn't see it to put another round in him. Jeff climbed down and about the time he got close enough to see the buck he jumped up and ran off. We tracked him for 600 yds and lost it. Then the neighbor killed him two weeks later and the slug hole thru the center of his neck was completely healed. It happens

The neck shot is one of those odd complexities in hunting. As mentioned above, some love it, others hate it. I’ve shot deer in the neck before, several with my bow. Most were hit in the spine dropping instantly. Others it in an artery leaving a trail Stevie Wonder could follow. But then, there was that one shot that changed it all. Doe cam in, drew back and she paused behind a tree showing only he neck. Shot her and she bled like crazy for 200 yards or better. Then, it just stopped. First day of rifle season, she came back by the same stand. Could see the scar tissue. This was a full month later. Shot her with the rifle and was curious to see the damage. Nothing vital. She was fine. Changed my opinion on that type of shot but I’ll still not begrudge someone that does it. Not the best option but it’s their choice in the end. As for a rifle, it’s not a bad idea with light caliber guns that shed everything they’ve got in a few inches. 22-250, 223, 243, 25-06. Heck, any light for caliber bullet designed for rapid expansion is a good option.

Some might call you the idiot for not knowing how to change the date on your trail cam.

I've always followed any blood trails on property I hunt that I find, whether I know what it's from or not.

Keith

It was common practice among Plains Indians in the 1840's to shoot mustangs in the neck with a rifle to stun them, so they could catch them. General George Custer's horse Dandy, was shot in the neck at the Little Big Horn with a Buffalo Rifle. Libby, his wife sent Dandy home to Father Custer, who rode the horse in parades for years.

As long as a wound is not harming the spine, the windpipe or arteries, it will recover. Lot's of Civil War veterans recovered from worse than this. As it is cool and semi dry, not much of a chance for blow flies or for it to go septic. he will recover unless someone else shoots him.

That wound though looks not like an arrow or rifle wound. It looks like a gash, as others said from a horn, or maybe he ran into a fence while chasing a doe.

Sans arrow sticking out, hard to say it’s an arrow wound. Specially around rut time.

I have a buddy that claims he aims for the jugular. Not very ethical if you ask me. Also said buddy admits he at least attempts to poach out of car windows and shoots game out of season. I gave him crap about it but some part of me thinks it’s all bs and he hasn’t shot anything. Claims he draws a bow out of the window. Seems fishy. No law against lying to your buddy’s I suppose but doesn’t make him “cool” or a “bada**”. We all make mistakes but I try to follow the rules down to the letter.

Oh... and supposedly shot a massive buck in the neck this morning and “lost” the blood trail. He just wants to out do the lawful, ethical hunters and make up stories. I highly doubt he shot anything at all. Just wants a nose up on me.

I would venture he isn’t really a hunter, just a POS shooting deer and ruining it for the rest of us.


OP, that picture looks like it could’ve been a wound from an antler during a battle maybe.

I shot a little six pointer on Friday that had a wound on its back, it was cut pretty wide open and ran from its spine down its side. Looked like an possible miss from a broad head in the early season. I think the person who shot it aimed a little high and hit the back strap above the spine from a steep angle, it was healed pretty well, considering the damage he would have made it if he didn’t step out broadside in front of me at 35 yards. I wish I’d have taken a picture of the wound.