I was on a facebook hunting page this morning when I came across a post where a guy apparently had made what he considered to be a good clean kill on a buck with his bow by shooting it right in the left ham.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...m.744820605556046&type=1&theater




Immediately people started posting negative comments when the site's administrator (who is a registered hunting guide) stepped in and reprimanded the nay sayers as uninformed troublemakers, defending the shot as ethical and proper as the location of the hit is a good place to aim as it is loaded with blood and has major blood vessels and arteries and stating that a hit there will result in a good clean kill.
I'm fully aware that the femoral artery runs through all four quarters but is this a new fangled scientifically correct technique that I've somehow failed to pick up on?
I'm an old school guy and have always considered the heart lung shot to be the only aim point that any archer should ever take.

Am I missing something here?

You aren't missing a damn thing. I see so many bowhunters on Bubbavision make shots like that that I can't bear to watch anymore�.

Bad shot and they don't want to admit it. miles

Shoot it in the azz, then call it "an ethical ham shot"?
Sounds like something out of DC.

To me, very unethical. The femoral artery is maybe 3/8" wide........awful tough to target it.
First or second deer I ever killed with the bow was quartering away pretty hard. As I released it took a step. Smacked him square in the ham....he took three steps and keeled over. It honestly looked as if some dumped 5 gallons of blood on the ground and all over the trees. Fastest kill I've seen with a bow. Complete and utter luck though. I'd never take the shot or condone it in any way.

I am not a bow hunter but it seems to me if that were the only shot I had I would go home empty handed.

Swampman is at it again I see..

my brother made a bad shot like, hit in the same place, deer only went 20 yrds and bleed out real fast. he had lucked out and hit the artery.

That's a double whammy. Ham shot into the guts. What's not to love?

I don't recall that being a practiced shot in Hunters Education? Never seen a target that has a kill zone in the arse? I personally wouldn't take that shot unless the animal is wounded already.

I don't care WHAT his name is, he would NEVER "hunt" with me.

We used to just call that a bad shot.



But we used to also call a spade a spade, a crook a crook, and impeachment used to be an option for bad presidents as well.

Strange times we live in, this wonderful make believe world.

It's not just bow hunters.
I came across this Cow while Cat hunting a few years ago that was very much alive despite being ass shot (right ham) by a large caliber rifle. The shot came far from killing her but it caused a compound fracture of the femur bone so she wasn't going anywhere.
I had to put her down with my 17rem which should be a discussion on the "ethics" (and low percentage IMO) of head shots but that's another thread.

Witnessed a similar experience on a pig, probably didn't even make it that far. Was very surprised but it's still dumb luck, not an ethical shot.

If you have enough horse power in the chamber, an odd angle spine shot can, imo, be an ethical choice.

However, that is not a choice I would make with a small caliber rifle or bow.

Good thinking, a 99.9% chance of simply increasing the suffering is always a good idea.

Sorry, but that's bad shot regardless of the situation.

Looks to me to be a fortunate outcome to an unfortunate(read botched) shot placement.
I wouldn't try to take that shot on purpose myself.

Ethical if one is hopelessly lost and starving in the desert/forest.

If one is a recreational hunter, however, and with conscious thought made the decision to take on that angle, he/she would not be included in subsequent camp invitations. I find it entertaining when the same question is posed with the situation being the trophy of a lifetime. Responses aren't quite as rapid. There are after all some who's main goal is to put something on the wall meat be damned.

I have arms slinging 450+ grain slugs that could probably put down rhino sized critters with that approach. Given that the loins and hams provide the bulk of meat I intend to take home though, I don't habitually unleash my destructive powers in those regions.

As to the femoral artery: I suspect that only one out of 100 of us on this site could successfully track its path on the target's exterior. I always note it when butchering, but I'd not stand there and bet a paycheck that I could push in an ice pick and make contact. Even vets who have done thousands, often miss brachials or jugulars when drawing blood.

I too think it's a lack of respect for our quarry. On the more human side and in defensive situations, we don't commend folks for "back shooting."

If the OP's rendering above was a "sh-t happens shot", that's fine, and the person at least owned up to it. Acceptable practice? Again, not in my camp.

I will admit I once inadvertently put one in the hams on a small buck, and he needed finishing. It was also the very first big game hunt my young wife had willingly participated in. Given the resulting vocalizations, thrashing, and struggles to escape, not to mention the subsequent butchering mess, I would have fully understood had she refused to ever go afield again. Fortunately, she is still my best and most dependable hunting buddy.

The femoral artery is only found in half the quarters, the rear ones, right along the femur.

The front end has similar brachial arteries which are neither as big nor as long.

Modified texas heart shot?
I'd go home empty handed before taking a shot like that.
Show some respect for the animal..

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.

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.