to shoot or not to shoot?

[213chrisp]

as the title says, its my first hunt, and i was also recoding, the doe and 2 fawns somehow sneaked to my right without me hearing or seeing them till it was too late, grabbed the camera and moved it as fast as i could , but i wasnt able to get the crossbow on her till a while into the video, i do explain whats going on during the video as well with voice overlay with my pc.

my question is at the end, she was about 50 yards, would of been my first deer, but opted to pass due to angle, my questions to everyone, DID i make the right decision?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oq2vpaIOqA

[ed1315]

I think you made the right choice, but what is more important is: YOU think you made the right choice.... Your first deer needs to be a clean kill, at least that is what I heard Roger Rangin say once and it made sence to me. That being said, I am still kicking myself for passing a shot on a huge ten point 3 years ago. I have not seen a better deer since then. At the time the shot did not feel right (Front part of kill zone hidden behind tree) and I have to live with my choice. Of course I would have felt terrible if I wounded him and did not recover him. There are irresponsible hunters that will shoot at anything that moves. Consider yourself better than that. You are more responsible than that. perhaps your first kill will be a nice buck... that would be special!