# Time to Die, an ethical question



## Karoojager (Dec 20, 2005)

Hello Ryan,

I will answer first for myself at you question.
The most of my hunted animals was down on sight range, I had only two animal what ran 70 and 90 meter. But also I had a bad shot at a mountain reedbuck and not found him. This was one of 66 animals.


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## Bushcat (Aug 31, 2007)

Thanks Karoojagter, I know your comitment to practice and skill level from the Muis Jag series!

It seems practice, dedication and knowing when to turn a shot down are factors that contribute to clean kills, thus from an ethical point of view the bow is considered an effective weapon to ensure a clean and fast kill. Skip the risky shots, shoot within ones range, know your preys anatomy, and I should be OK. Is this your experience. 

Thanks again KJ
Ryan


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## Karoojager (Dec 20, 2005)

Bushcat said:


> Thanks Karoojagter, I know your comitment to practice and skill level from the Muis Jag series!
> 
> It seems practice, dedication and knowing when to turn a shot down are factors that contribute to clean kills, thus from an ethical point of view the bow is considered an effective weapon to ensure a clean and fast kill. Skip the risky shots, shoot within ones range, know your preys anatomy, and I should be OK. Is this your experience.
> 
> ...


Yes Ryan, this things what you describe is for me the salt and pepper in the hunting-soup. Nevertheless is it possible to do a bad shot, but if the hunter is a ethical hunter, he will minimize the risc by his behavior.


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## Deserthuntr (Nov 23, 2008)

*Bowhunting ethics*



Bushcat said:


> I have an issue that I am arguing with in my head and I hope you can answer it for me. As a rifle hunter generaly I shoot something and it falls over then and there, within a minute or two the animal is down and its throat is cut, job done.
> 
> I have never shot anything with a bow, but reading about following up and waiting half an hour before taking the spoor, let it bleed before one walks it up, I must admit to not being comfortable with this situation. I do not claim to be perfect and have stuffed up a few shots with a rifle, but I feel my ethical position is to ensure the cleanest fastest kill that I can.
> 
> ...


Ryan, 

This can be a touchy subject. I have been fortunate to have never wounded an antelope with my bow and arrow (have wounded a few with rifle however). All my antelope went down within sight except 1 gemsbok which ran quite a distance because i shot it too low. All the other antelope, including Eland, kudu, impala and blouwildebeest, went down within 50 yards and died within 1-2 minutes!

I have seen animals get a good shot (double lung shot) with a rifle and still running 200-300 meters before expiring and took longer that 10 minutes to die. I was taught to only shoot headshots, but that is not always possible.

If your shot placement is perfect (double lung or heart shot - which it should be) the the animal should expire within 5 to 10 minutes max. There are exceptions though, but they are rare. Do not shoot at a female if there is a chance she might be carying allready that makes them super tough and I have seen them running quite far with even the best heart shot. Only take broadside or quartering away shots and don't shoot if the animal is allready aware of you or appear skiddish. Don't take long distance shots if you are not 100% sure of your shot. If you can't hit a tennisball consistantly at 20-30 yards, then stay out of the bush and practice untill you can.

Keep it ethical, use your head and think practical, take your time and be responsible and it will go smoothly.

Just my 2c worth. Regards. Ian


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## Gerhard (Aug 3, 2005)

Ryan,

When you place a broad head in the middle of the vital triangle you will hit the top of the hart and the 2 lungs.

This will immediately cut the supply of oxygenated blood to the brain.

The animal will be down in 10 to 15 seconds after the shot. 

When you hit an animal in the vital triangle it will most of the time go into what I call a "death run" you will hear it braking bushes and sometimes hear the animal fall.

The animal normally does run more than 60 to 100 yards after this kind of shot.

I have hunted a Blue Wildebeest Bull 2 years ago. He went 30 yards from where he was shot...

Sometimes everything does not go as planned and the arrow might hit a little high or back.

In this situation the animal might take a few minutes to go down. 

After such a shot the animal will not go more than 200 meters, it will feel sick due to the effects of the shot and lay down. If you wait the 30 minutes this will be in 99% of the cases be enough time for the animal to expire.

If you follow the animal to quickly you might pressure the animal. Now its adrenaline kicks in and it may go a long distance before going down.

Patience is a virtue in Bow Hunting...

Waiting for the animal to stand correct for a shot and then waiting for the 30 min after the shot is most important.

Most of the hunting ranches the PH or rancher will take about 30 minutes to come to the hide after the shot anyway, they all have rules like you do not exit the hide until the vehicle stops at the hide...

I hope this answers your question.

If you have any questions about this topic you are welcome to contact me.


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## Bushcat (Aug 31, 2007)

Thanks Guys, Great info. I try to think things through and feel we owe it to the game we hunt to ask these questions of ourselves and kit.

Thanks again
Ryan


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## Gerhard (Aug 3, 2005)

That is why it is so important to make an ethical kill shot every time...


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## StickFlicker AZ (May 19, 2008)

I think it worth mentioning that the "discomfort" or pain level of the animal may not be the same with arrow vs bullet as well, even if it takes longer to die from the arrow. While none of us can probably tell for certain, a quck slice of a nerve by a very sharp razor very likely produces little discomfort compared to bone breaking and bullet shards being sent through the body by a bullet. If you cut your finger while washing a sharp knife, you often don't feel a thing because any nerves are cut so cleanly. While arrows can obviously hit bones, I would not be surprised if many of the animals shot with pass thru arrows don't ever know what happened to them. I have shot animals that didn't react at all when an arrow went through them, but died within seconds seemingly never knowing they were hurt.


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