Ok "Kyle", your post doesn't quite make sense but your odds of hitting a standing deer at 40 yards is about 100 times more accurate than shooting a running deer at 200 yards. Besides, didn't you ever catch the part in hunter safety where they strictly tell you that you shouldn't shoot at running deer because the deer could instantly change speed or direction causing the bullet to very easily miss the vitals resulting in an unclean kill. You might want to think next time before you say something like what you posted.

Different strokes for different folks and everyone's hunting situations and opportunities are not the same. That said, I've passed up many a shot without regret because I didn't think it was a good shot to take. Before I fire I want to be sure of a few things like what is the backdrop of what I'm shooting at and will this shot most likely result in a humane kill. I'd much rather be gutting a dead animal than trailing a wounded one. Trying to aim at or lead running game doesn't really allow for a safe look at the backdrop it is running past. Once a bullet is fired you can't call it back.

what if the tire falls over...c
how about getting a 50 gallon barrel and making a target on it....or you can go rabbit hunting

Great post. I myself am a bowhunter and wouldn't shoot at a running animal but I think thats a good idea. When the rut is on and you cant stop a buck of a lifetime this drill might just help hang him on ur wall.

What in the world do I have to think about!!!!! The odds are good if you can do it. I kind of lost of what part of my post don't make sense. You might have a hunter that can not hit the broad side of a barn at 40 yards then the next hunter can hit a deer 200 yards running. Just the way it is.

I'm not having this arguement again. Like I said numerous of times before I am confident in myself to shoot at running deer so I do. Have 2 bucks on the wall that I killed that were running. I also have killed numerous other bucks and does on the run. The way we do alot of our deer hunting is making drives. About 75% of the deer we harvest every year is on the run. You think the deer is going to stop so you can shoot it, I think not. Like I said before I'm confident in myself so I shoot, if you don't by all means don't. Don't rap the hunters that can kill running deer. Everybody has their limit on what they can and can't do. Some hunters can hit running deer some can't. One last thing, were in the world does hunter safety has to do with running deer!!!!!!!!!!!!!? I'm not trying to start a arguement here, but try looking from my angle.

Good luck and happy hunting Archery 101

I have killed running deer so I am confident I can do it. However I have hunted for 40 years and am a decent shotgun shot on birds. I use a similar method with my rifle on deer-- not much different but I do not lead em much --only an inch or two.
This works for me however this does not mean I will take any shot that comes my way -- only if I feel confident it is a reasonable one I can hit with. We all have different skills and abilities and comfort levels. What is ok for me may not be for you. Most of my running shots are fairly close in halfway open terrain where I get a good view of the target. I do not take real long shots at runners-- too great a chance to wound and not be able to follow up with a second or third shot if necessary.
To date the most I have needed was two shots-- the first one knocked em down but then he tried to get back up a couple of minutes later. I was ready and a quick second shot finished em.
I always prefer to take one shot --one kill but the plans of mice and men----!!! I think we all need to use whatever method works for us and is legal. We also have to be willing to admit our limitations and know when not to shoot. Good and safe hunting to us all !!!

On the other hand, Wisconsonhunter, part and parcel of being incompetent is that you don't know you're incompetent. And incompetent people will, as you say, "think they can hit it and shoot" (or words to that effect) when they really can't and have nothing to base thier belief on. But, for example, NatureGuy shoots skeet and knows what he can hit on the move.

Big difference from "just believe in yourself" to "a man's got to know his limitations". The first is based on hope the second is based on testing.

So yeah, blast away at the rolling tire? However I fail to see how you'll tell anything about shot placement on a ROLLING target!????

Sourdough's comment proves a point I've made before. Some people are great at making running shots, but NO ONE can predict the future.

That goat stopped and he missed. Well, what if it did the opposite - it bolts and he gut shoots it or nails it in the hips? I'm not criticizing him or anyone here. I'm sure he and others are just dandy on moving targets, but no one can predict what the animal will do next in a split-second, causing a foul shot.

I've seen a lot of guys brag about the great running shots they've made, but they never mentioned the misses or injuries. The guy that brags about his awesome running shot last season might very well make a gut shot this year. I've seen it, and I never want to see it again. Respect the animal.

I like you Sourdough Dave. Good post.

Still can not beleive that alot of hunters wont shoot at a running deer. They say its unethical to shoot at a running deer. Let me ask this question. You have a hunter that shoots at a stand deer 40 yards away and hits it in the lower leg wounding it than hops away then you have a hunter that shoots at a running deer 200 yards away drills it right through the heart killing it. Now which shot is more ethical? GREAT POST

hey archery 101 not everybody agrees with you the way I was raised you shoot at that deer. Im 13 and i can hit a deer running so Im sure that other guys that have been hunting and shooting for years can do it to.I say this as respectfully as possible

My problem is when folks like Archery 101 want ME to live by THEIR limitations!

Ok cheap shot I agree with you totally until the part where you say Im incompetent. there was absolutely no need to say that.

+1 for all your posts here, Sourdough.

To all the people that think it is unethical to shoot arunning deer listen to this story. My great grampa was a full blown outdoorsman, loved to hunt fish and all that. His one fault was that he couldnt shoot a still target for the life of him. My grampa said they jumped a doe on a old logging road and he shot 2 times, but sounded like one, and dropped the deer with 2 shots to the head. He did this many more times. Sounds pretty ethical to me.

While I am not advocating shooting at running deer and don't want to stir that pile any more than it has already, if you haven't already seen it, get your hands on "Bowhunting October Whitetails" by the Wenzel brothers. The shots they make are amazing. They practice by putting balloons in old tires and rolling them down a hill and shooting the balloons out. They shoot recurves, no sights, and seldom miss. IF, IF, IF, you practice to where you can hit a running target regularly and make clean and ethical kills like they do, I see nothing wrong with it. Good hunting, all.

Kyle I'd like to know where you got that 75% of deer are shot running, because I've heard of maybe 1 out of 100 deer that i know of getting shot on the run. To me it sounds like your talk is about 10 times your ability and the statistic is a bunch of BS.

You arent suppost to shoot at running deer in the first place.