2nd (follow-up) shots - Your thoughts?

I'm not a traditional hunter in the sense that I am a head shooter, understanding many will and have criticised me, but as a part time profession of contract professional wild kangaroo shooting, the carcasses are no accepted unless head shot, so through this practise I continue to head shoot for my own meat and trophies unless range dictates otherwise and I'm wanting the trophy over meat or removing pests, usually head shot dead or an (unusual) miss and If any variation I alway follow up with a finishing round aiming for ethical humane kills, with one exception FOXES, don't care where I hit them just hit them at any range, scene nasty thing foxes capable of namely to birthing ewes, foxes eating baby lambs as the being born and or eat the sheepskin rear end followed by ears etc all whilst lamb down birthing to week to fend off attack, so less ethical considerations for foxes during lambing season
 
while rabbit hunting for pest control. If it's still moving after the first shot, hit it again if you can
Click to expand...

we had a question on my hunting quals on what to do with a rabbit if it was still alive

the options was

1: throw it away and shoot again:D
or
2: whack it in the neck
 
usually head shot dead or an (unusual) miss
Click to expand...

I am back and forth on headshots for hunting. if everybody shot up or just shy of their skill there wouldn't be a problem but too many don't. It is a game of small margins

I am not innocent I have done it on pigs, geese and already shot animals that I have tracked

I am not so skilled I can make Franz Albrecht https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ob0fgc0I7A shots so I don't try

but I have done headshots at pig feeders from a realtive short distance

but I disagree with your assertion that headshots are dead or miss. the absolute worst woundings of animals are headshots that hit but don't kill. with the jaw shot an animal can live for days/weeks and less blood to track by then other woundings
 
Husqvarna, I'll agree with you on headshots. I take them ONLY when conditions are right - and so far not on any deer - only pigs. On a pig a headshot is much easier because the head is so much larger in back than in front. Aiming at the base of the skull means that if your bullet is a little farther forward it still catches brain and if it is a little farther backwards it catches spine.
 
Where I hunt if the deer tries to get up, you put another round in it. If it runs off at the shot, you don't have a chance for a follow up anyway. They're gone into the thick stuff immediately, make the first one count. They get off in a swamp or Carolina bay with all the water, tracking can be very difficult, better waste a little meat than lose the entire animal.

My deer count is up there to date, I've employed more than one follow up shot over the years and thankfully so. Over the last 10 years or so, I've taken my time and waited on the animal to present that shot that 99% of the time results in instant incapacitation. High Shoulder where the spine dips below the scapula is where I put the bullet if presented. Does get their melons split if 150yds and under.
 
A best practice is to stay quit and pay attention. Wait to see what the animal does. Getting up excited and making a racket is not wise. Lesson learned.
 
Many years ago I was hunting with my high school buddy, Walter. We were just teens at the time, and were hunting with his dad. The dad was telling me about Walter's first deer. Walter had been told to shoot the deer again if the deer tried to get up. He shot that first deer with a 12 Ga and buckshot, and then ran over to the deer, which was still kicking. So he shot it again, and again, and again, till his dad said there wasn't an edible piece of meat on the deer.
 
Thats one thing I ran into using an AR to hunt deer sure is easy to double tap UM if you need to or not.Coyote shootin started it, then I could'nt stop.
 
15-20 minutes: Rifle with great hit (double lung)

Longer to much longer with archery and/or bad hits too far back. Twelve hours if an archery gut shot (unless it's so hot the meat would be ruined or if you know there are so many carnivores that the animal will be consumed completely).

On 2nd shot, of course most of the time, there is no opportunity - animal runs off before dropping or lying down some distance away.

If there is a chance to shoot again, you betcha - if it's still moving, I'm putting a 2nd one in, preferably to the neck.
 
we had a out of town hunter bag a moose today, I thought he was using a machine gun because I heard a nice three round burst

the two follow up shots were complete gut shots, one our lease second biggest moose ever :(

I am quite certain that the first shot was a kill shot because my dog had bayed the moose who was fronting it, a 50 meters shot, double lung and as he as using a a 300winmag it was a kill shot

we hardly ever rinse the bodies out because water= moisture= bacteria but I rinsed and rinsed, sprayed with a vinegar solution, he didn't even help

it still reeked

not only did I have to cut away much meat because of 6! exit entry holes I stunk of high heaven, even the dog didn't want to be near...
 
One should always strive to make the first shot count, because it's the best chance you're going to get.

That said, one should never hesitate to shoot again unless you are certain the first shot worked.
 
Shots which hit a vertebra but don't cut the spinal cord account for a lot of these "dead deer running off" occurrences, as the concussive force to the vertebra can TEMPORARILY affect the spinal cord. If a deer shot with an arrow drops at the shot, it was a spine shot and the hunter should immediately put an arrow through the vitals. If the spinal cord was cut the second arrow is not necessary but there is no way to know this in time.

The same thing can happen with a bullet but because of the much greater energy transmitted by a bullet, shots to lungs or shoulder do often drop the deer in its tracks.

I made the mistake of not shooting again a deer which dropped when I shot it with a muzzleloader from a treestand. The deer jumped up and ran off and despite several hours trying to find it by trailing and then a grid search I couldn't find it. Lesson learned.
 
Wow some of you guys are amazing. Never needed a follow up shot, dropped every deer right where it stood, never lost a deer. Man I wish I could be that good.

Reality is practice with the weapons we are hunting with but things still happen. If I am shooting a gun I always rack another round after I shoot. If the deer is still up and I can get a shot I will take it. As others have said they "Thought" their shot was perfect, I would rather not take the chance of hoping it was a good shot. If that deer is up and moving I am shooting again. I don't want to have to track it and I don't want it suffering any more then it needs to.

I have taken a second shot on a couple deer with slugs. I have had to put a second arrow through 3 deer. Shot high and broke their backs. I either take another shot from the stand or get down as fast as I can to finish them off.

All that said....I have dropped deer right where they stand even with a bow. Hit a doe once and she jumped straight up and never got her feet back under her. She kicked twice and was done.
 
It is ethical

I think that the first thing you should do is wait at least 10 to 15. I also think that if you feel a follow up shot is necessary then you should do the ethical thing and shoot the animal a second time. My dad always taught me that after the first shot if the deer is getting up and trying to get away he would say "shoot it till you drop it for good". Most of the time one proper shot will do the trick from my experience and waiting 10 to 15 mins.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top