How to Size Up Your Shot For Maximum Effectiveness

With temperatures hovering around 20 degrees, the glow of the sun jutting out from the horizon was a welcoming sight. I was bundled in thick, quiet fleece layers yet still chilled to the bone. Fortunately, my stand setup was situated along a major rub corridor, and I figured this serious cold snap would only incite deer activity that much more.

Two hours later, I still hadn’t seen a thing. But then, there it was… a flicker of movement across the heavily wooded bottom. A quick peek with my 10-power binocular confirmed my suspicions — a nice buck trailing a doe, and they were coming fast!

I was slunk in my seat with an extra jacket across my legs (I know, bad mistake). My bow was in my lap, so I slid forward to position for the shot. I would have to shoot sitting down or risk losing the jacket or otherwise moving too much. I had to react quickly.

The doe was in the lead and she dashed through my 15-yard shooting lane. I hit full draw, then hurriedly swung the sight pin in front of the buck’s chest. He was walking fast, so I frantically kept the pin near the shoulder blade, then swung through while triggering the release.

The arrow hit with a crack! Immediately, I could see most of the arrow shaft sticking out from the deer’s chest as he trotted away. Seconds later, I thought I heard a crash but I wasn’t positive. My mind went berserk. Did I just marginally wound a great buck and wreck my bowhunting season?

Thirty minutes later, I climbed down, stiff legged and still partially frozen. Fortunately, I found the buck less than 100 yards away — he was stone dead. The sharp, three-bladed broadhead had struck just in front of the shoulder joint, severing the carotid artery. The blood loss was immense, and I presumed he died within seconds. The shot was effective, but I was truly lucky to take this buck home.

After this experience, which occurred more than 15 years ago, I examined what went right and what went wrong, then vowed to come up with a productive shooting plan every time I’m in the whitetail woods. With that in mind, here are some tips I’ve used that have improved my effectiveness at the moment of truth.

Drawing Undetected

Getting to full draw, undetected, is a crucial step. If a buck catches your movement, he’ll go into high-alert mode. This could cause him to spook or crouch down unexpectedly as you release the arrow – both bad scenarios.

The better choice is to monitor the buck’s travel and demeanor and then gently tug on the bowstring while the deer is relaxed and his eyes are obscured by a large tree or screen of vegetation. Generally speaking, if you can see a deer’s eyes, chances are he can see you, too, so don’t risk it. Also, don’t count on extreme stand height to save you, either. A deer’s ability to catch movement from above is quite stellar. Always wait and draw when the time is right.

One other point: consider coming to full draw sooner rather than later. If you wait until the deer is only a few yards from your shooting lane, chances are you won’t have the opportunity to draw unnoticed. A better bet is to draw once the deer is 20 or 30 yards out from your shooting lane, then hold at anchor and wait. Once the buck steps into the clear, you can strike. To prepare for this, practice drawing and holding for up to 30 seconds, then shooting accurately on a 3-D buck target. Do this frequently during your backyard shooting drills. It will prepare you for the real thing.

Once it’s prime time, you should have your bow in your hand or on a platform holder where you can grab it in the blink of an eye, all while exhibiting very little movement or noise. You may also want to be standing, rather than sitting, so you can react more effectively to a sudden shot opportunity.

Knowing Your Limits

To be effective, you must read the signs between a poor shot and a good one and do it quickly. Shot distance, timing, and angle are the key factors in all this.

Shooting Distance: Every bowhunter exhibits a different skill level, so effective shooting distance is personal. However, most whitetails are taken in thickly wooded environments where tall grass, thick understory, and low-hanging tree limbs run rampant. Taking shots beyond 30 or 35 yards is not well advised – even for experts – since there’s a good chance your arrow will nick one of these unexpected obstacles, causing an errant shot.

I’m a diehard western bowhunter and often take shots beyond 45 yards. But I like my whitetail shots in close, under 30 yards, for all the reasons mentioned, including the fact that I’m usually sitting for long periods of time, in cold or chilly weather, to where my body becomes stiff and out of rhythm. I don’t practice shooting under these conditions all that much, so I can’t expect my effective range to be the same.

If you hunt open fields, where longer shots are possible, still be cognizant of your realistic effective range. Don’t be tempted to stretch the distance too much, unless it’s a mild-weathered day and your body feels loose and limber to promote smooth, accurate shooting.

Shooting Angle: An ethical shot will sever both lungs, or the heart, if the arrow happens to go low. On a broadside deer, you’ll want to aim about four inches behind the shoulder blade and one-third of the way up the chest from the deer’s brisket line, or where the front leg meets the chest. A broadhead striking here will collapse both lungs for a fast recovery. Also, let the on-side leg come forward somewhat before releasing the arrow, since this moves the shoulder blade away from the entire vital zone – giving you a clear, unimpeded shot.

With a slightly quartering-away deer, you must adjust your aim so the arrow’s exit point is in line with the offside front leg. This will drive the broadhead through the on-side lung and then center punch the off-side lung, resulting in quick, fatal recovery.

Beyond these shooting angles, things become dicey and unethical, since striking heavy bone and/or only part of the lung region increases dramatically. For example, with the quartering-to shot, the shoulder blade – which is thick on a whitetail – will block the entire vital region other than the rear portion of the on-side lung and possibly the liver. On the hard quartering-away shot, the angle becomes too severe – the deer is almost facing straight away. This can increase the likelihood of the broadhead deflecting off ribs and missing the vital region entirely.

Keep in mind shooting angle is also impacted by tree-stand height. Depending on the height of your stand and the shooting distance, you may have to aim a little higher on the deer’s chest in order to catch the top of one lung and the bottom of the other. To avoid ultra-sharp downward shooting angles, and complicated aiming points, pick shooting lanes 15 to 25 yards out from the base of your tree.

Timing the Shot: If a buck is walking slowly into your shooting lane, then great, be patient and wait for the broadhead or slightly quartering-away shot. If the buck is moving in and out of thick understory while feeding or chasing a doe, you may have less time to react. If you feel like the shot is a good one, and the vital region is clear – then don’t hesitate, take it.

If the deer seems a little on edge, or the angle or shot distance is causing you some uneasiness, then don’t do it. Wait for a better encounter. Take the shot only when the deer is relaxed and you have enough time to aim precisely and to execute a good release.

Managing Bucks on the Move

When bucks are in full on chase mode — a common theme in November — they can be difficult targets because they rarely stop moving.

The way I see it, there is one viable way to handle a rutting buck on the move: you can attempt to stop him by emitting a soft mouth-blown doe bleat or buck grunt, in hopes of stopping him long enough to aim and get through the release.

Keep in mind, emitting a soft doe bleat (“meeeeh” sound) or buck grunt (“urrrppp”) to stop a deer doesn’t work 100-percent of the time – sometimes the sound will go completely ignored, or worse yet, spook the deer altogether.

If a buck happens to stop moving at the sound of this vocalization, he’ll probably be somewhat on alert now as he searches for the maker of the sound. This can make the deer poised for jumping the string – or crouching low at the sound of the shot. For this reason, it’s good to aim lower than normal to compensate for a deer’s natural reaction to spring downward at the thump of the bow going off, to ensure a double-lung hit.

As illustrated at the beginning of this article, shooting at a rut-crazed bucks as he hustles past your stand leaves too much margin for error. I won’t take a shot at a fast-walking buck ever again. Some bowhunters are comfortable shooting at a buck while it walks very slowly past their stand and at close range, but even then, it’s a risky proposition because a deer’s shoulder blade is shifting from side to side, which alters the exposed vital region.

Remember, bowhunting shots are highly situational. This is where trusting your inner compass becomes important. If the shot doesn’t feel right, then chances are it’s not. It’s always best not to risk it and wait for a better opportunity.

Bowhunting whitetails during the rut can present a number of shooting challenges for bowhunters. Consider these tips and ethical shooting guidelines, so you can react quickly and confidently at the moment of truth.

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