Would 200 yards of thick timber have stopped the bullet, yep. Was there any other hunters, deer, dogs, cows, horses just inside the trees that you couldn't see, maybe. In the end your dad made the decision and you listened to him, job well done. Your dad decided that safety outweighs a deer, that in itself is a very very valuable lesson. No deer is worth taking a risk for. I have let deer walk because of the background not being to my liking, have had to pass on a LOT of doves that were too low or the background too close to a house or parked car etc, have laughed at ourselves and fellow hunters when a pheasant got up between us and flew away with neither shooting at it becasue we each though it was closer to the other. Never regretted any of those decisions. I have also always take my own vehicle to groups hunts/shoots because I have left them when things got "iffy" such as beer cans came out of their buckets, never never trade safety for a chance at a game shot. You have to be right EVERY single time, fate only has to get lucky one to have someone injured or killed, and more often than not the shooter knows the victim as it is one of their friends, family or hunting group when an accident happens. A few years ago I attended the funeral of an acquaintence that I had known since he was a little kid, hunted with him twice, thinking maybe the first time was a fluke, second time sealed the deal that he and his friends were way more interested in killing stuff than safety. He ended up getting shot in a duck hunting accident in a small boat, shotgun load to the back, way back in the marsh area, took him a while to die, his friend/hunting buddy will forever carry that memory with him regardless of whether or not he hunts or shoot again, and so do his mother, father, sister, and brother. Its not worth it to take chances. I am now stepping down off of my Hunter Ed Instructor soapbox.
