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

I've had them jump the string too. I also had a spike that took off as soon as I released, with my arrow flopping around in the ham. I never did find that buck, and I looked for hours. I shot at 7am, and looked until dark. I then went back the next day as well...I even went back 2 days later, hoping it might find him. I never did.

Not with a bow, however, I have many rifles that allow you to pick your path to the vitals. while hunting with one of those, yes.

I have never deliberately shot a deer in the hams and will not. I have had one deer take a step when I released and another jumped the string. Both were hit in the ham.

The one that took a step after I released was a measured 30 yard broadside shot and the arrow broke both back legs. He dropped on the spot bleeding profusely and died shortly thereafter.

The other deer kind of whirled and the arrow entered just in front of the hip angling towards the back of the opposite leg. It passed between both leg bones and exited the deer. He calmly walked off with what looked like a garden hose pouring blood out the back of his leg and laid down about 20 yards from where he was hit.

Neither hit included any internal organs. Both resulted in a very quick death for the deer. Looking back with 45 years of bow hunting experience under my belt now, I know that both of these bad shots were my fault.

On a long shot a deer has too much time to do something you don't expect from the time you decide to release until the arrow gets to the point where the deer should be. Even if he doesn't jump the string, he can do like mine did and just take a step.

On the one that jumped the string, the deer was alert and knew that something was amiss. The deer was really close and I decided to take it. I should have passed on the shot or waited until the deer was relaxed.

I got lucky on both.

Never shot one in the ass. Never will. You can break the keg without severing the artery and that can take a long, long time to chase down with no guarantee of success. It's a low percentage shot, guaranteed to wreck good eating meat.

no, that guys a greedy, unethical POS.

I really don't want or need a deer or anything else to ruin that much meat on purpose. plus the odds of just a wounding shot makes me pass on anything if'y . the deer I shot in the ham was 46 yards. I was new to stick and string but have always been pretty good at calling distance. screwed up on that one. little buck fever I guess. I want my kills to drop right there though I have learned it doesn't happen like that with bow hunting.
I can't stand those competition hunting shows.

Is a it legal and deadly? Yes! Then it is ethical.

It looks to me like he missed the ethical placement, and just got lucky

Chuck Adams says:

'Ham Shot Ethical?"


Depends entirely on how hungry you are.

Or how inexperienced you are.

Have it your way.

Unless I needed that meat for immediate survival, I would never take that shot.

Pretty much what I said.

My then 11 year old had a monster for our area step out after two straight weeks of hard hunting at 5 feet literally one tree over form us and all we could see was gut and ham. I leaned way out and saw the size of him and knew he was a brute one of the biggest I have seen on the farm. All he offered was a ham for about 3-4 minutes while he worked a scrape and I told my son to wait for a better shot. He backed up and offered it but only for about 30m seconds and the 4x Zeiss was to much for my son to find the deer in the scope. He trotted off and I debated passing the shot in my head for a while. He made the right decision I think. If he would have dropped it and it blatted he could have been turned off from hunting and it was a good lesson in restraint for him to. I don't judge others for their decisions but in that scenario it didn't make sense. Plus can't have junior shooting bigger bucks than dad.

That deer has a six sense I have never seen in a deer. This last season I had him trotting into an acorn ridge with a crossbow. He got 55 yards out and kicked up a doe neither of us saw and she ran and took him with her. Then one day walking out we undressed at the truck and he bolted form the edge of the house with a doe. I was shocked he was laying along the house but grabbed the sticks and gun and hollered for the boy and had him trotting in the field set up on the sticks and the boy was still putting his shoes on at the truck. We had a good laugh at that one. Two days later he came out to the peanuts and the one little 4x4 patch of grass I didn't cut down in the whole field he stopped in to make a scrape or something and hung up there til dark I caught him twice in the clearing but wasn't going to shoot and my son being little watched the rack move around at 35 yards until dark. I think we have had more enjoyment with this buck since that first encounter and am glad we didn't ham him.

Agreed,,, I doubt that many could even tell you where that 3/8" femoral artery actually is on a Deer.

I don't decide ethical or not for people. I think that is something you develop if you have the right hunting mentors growing up. Some get it and some don't. The ham shot I made was pure accident and luck. I was lucky I didn't leave a wounded deer in the woods. It is definitely not something I would attempt on my best day. I'm not sure what happened but I ended up hitting one in the right ham and he was down and out in twenty five yards. Definitely not the type shot you brag about around here but no lost meat. I guess if you bow hunt enough it will happen. I can't envision a circumstance where I would ever hit one there with a rifle. I'd rather let one walk than mess up that much good meat. If that is the only shot I have, I have no shot.