Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Ham Shot Ethical?

I wouldn't begrudge a person for shooting an animal and hitting it in the ass, weather it be a bad shot, flinch, wind, or the animal simply moved... However to purposely aim for that location and take that shot is asking for a wounded animal more often than not.

Schit happens when hunting and nearly everyone is guilty of making a shot that we are not proud of, and that is one thing. Being a braggart about a bad shot and defending it as skill is quite another.

Why we would be better off without bowhunting..

If it jumped at the shot and got hit there by accident, then yes it was lucky. No way I'd try it on purpose, and no way I'd post a photo of it, either

Not the shot i would like but i won't b!tch about it.

Sometimes things don't work out as planed.
my B-in-law tried to shoot a deer in the neck,his Savage was a tad low and shot about an inch to the left.

Had 2 holes in back and he finished it off with a 22.

It happens.

If you cannot hit the animal in the vitals, or head, neck, anchoring shot, just don't take the shot.

Too much room for error.

I would hope that hunters would respect their quarry enough to not impose that margin of error on an animal .

This.

I am an avid bowhunter and I've had this happen to me one time. I was on the ground eye level with a doe at 10 yards. She was trying to figure out what I was. When I got a chance I drew and released. She wheeled at the movement and I got her ham. I was SICK to my stomach as she ran off.

I did the walk of shame back to my truck to wait for an hour before I went to look for her. To my surprise the blood trail was like following a glow in the dark golf cart path. She went 50 yards and bled out.

I couldn't even feel good about harvesting that deer because of the shot I made. For anyone (much less a "professional guide") to defend it as ethical and a good shot to take is abysmal! To do it on social media is just plain reckless

Reminds me of the guy who told me once that he "just missed the lungs and hit it in the neck."

Steve.

Really? I see just as many botched shots on game with rifles and shotguns!

Come on now.

I hunt with gun and bow but how many wounded deer do you think gun hunters leave to suffer every year? Many take pots shots at long ranges or on running deer and just because the deer didn't DRT, they think they didn't hit it or their too F'n lazy to go look for blood.

I'm willing to bet we all know someone who does this kind of "ethical" hunting. I have followed up on a few deer that someone said they "missed" and guess what, there was a blood trail with a dead or wounded deer at the end of it.

Furthermore, we are all hunters. We shouldn't be bashing the method as long as it's legal and fuel the anti's fire anymore. The libs do that enough for us.

Yep!

Things arent always going to be perfect. Your scope got knocked-off, without you knowing it, or the arrow hit a limb you didnt see, but there is no excuse, IMO, for purposely taking a bad shot. Man up and admit the deer beat you this time, but there is always next time.

I made a shot like that on a Bull once, been trying to forgive myself every since. That shot caused seven hours of tracking to finish him off. That memory has cost me several Elk since then because I won't take a shot I'm not 100% positive of.
I sure as hell would never post such a picture.

If you've hunted enough, you've had it happen. But as someone already stated, no need to post it as an accomplishment�.

Not even close to the same but thanks for the reply

Didn't say it was the same. I said it reminded me. We have all kinds of excuses for bad shots. They're not all the same.

Steve.

Wyoming hunters have long referred to that as a Colorado head shot.

I respect a man who can admit his mistakes.

There's a world of difference between an ethical shot and a shot that went wrong. If the shooter is purposefully shooting at the ham for a kill shot, well, that doesn't cut it in my book. Poor or no ethics to be sure.

However, if an animal moves or the shooter accidentally moves, then maybe it's bad judgement at the worst and certainly nothing to brag about.

I teach hunter safety to kids. We put up shoot - no shoot scenarios on the screen. Some deal with safety, some with ethics. When we ask them shoot or don't shoot, they usually get them all right. Maybe that ass shooter dude needs to learn something from the kids.

Also dont like it.

Hardly a high percentage shot to make a clean kill, and also a poor picture to celebrate the sport and accomplishment.

At least he recovered the animal. Small victories.

It only works when using an UBER bow.

first buck I shot with an arrow "jumped the string" and the arrow hit him in the ham as he was quartering away, the broad head sliced open the ham to the bone then went through the paunch and one lung. turned into a over night hunt until I got my dog and he found the deer.
never will I take an iffy shot like that again.
shooting for the ham on purpose just isn't right and nobody will convince me otherwise.