Jorden Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 11 years Ive been hunting and have never experienced something like today. I was sitting for the first time in a stand I hung about a month ago. About 8:15 I noticed a deer coming towards me. I grabbed my bow and thats when I noticed his horns. By far the biggest deer I have ever seen on stand. The direction he was coming, I knew I would only have one window to shoot. As he walked past I stopped him at 32 yards and let the arrow fly. Well, I lost track of the arrow but from the way he reacted, it looked like a good hit. When the arrow hit, he dropped, nearly to the ground and turned and ran off. I waited about 20 minutes before getting down. Now heres where it gets interesting . I looked at my arrow, not a drop of blood, hair, no trace of deer anywhere on it and it didnt smell gut shot. However, there was a lot of blood on the ground right at the impact spot. There was even little chunks of meat or organ or whatever in the blood pools. Not knowing where I hit, I left and came back with my dad and brother two hours later. We followed the trail for at least 3/4 of a mile before we lost blood. To make things worse, the little snow we had was melting, so what blood we had was gone as well. It wasnt a steady blood trail the whole way. Whenever we would find good blood, we would follow it for a while then it would thin out, then it would get good, then thin out again. Eventually we just lost it. He never bedded down, we never saw him and as far as we can tell he only stopped once. After looking most of the day, we called it quits. The more I replay it, the more I think my shot must have been high, but with the amount of blood at the start, I figured we'd find him. It sickens me to think that 1). I couldnt make a 30 yard shot and 2). THis is the biggest buck I have ever seen and I wounded him. What do you guys think? No blood on the arrow, lots of blood on the ground at the impact spot, he never bedded down. Have your ever encountered this or heard of it? Is this buck mortally wounded it could he make it? Heres a video of the buck I think it was working a scrape about 70 yards from the stand I was sitting in [video=facebook;2417288924021]http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2417288924021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swohiodave Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 He may be fine. I have shot high before and saw the deer weeks later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruttinbuc Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 It happens. As long as you know you did the best you could to recover the deer. There is not much else to do but get back in the tree and try again. Hopefully, the deer will survive and give you another chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Dunno Jorden, gonna be real interested in seeing some replies here. I was told I gave a deer a haircut when I had an arrow with no blood on it. I still question that because the deer kicked like a heartshot deer before taking off hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Sounds like a high shoulder hit. Hopefully he'll survive and you get another crack at him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebohio Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 was the blood bright red? could it have been a high shot taking one lung with most of your trail coming out of his mouth? still makes no sense with a completely clean arrow. was the arrow laying on the ground or stuck in the dirt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarnut Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 This sounds exactly like 3 years ago for me, but i did see the arrow deflect on a small limb i did not kwow was in the way. It deflected back and up and went straight thru this nice big 8. Arrow entered just foreward of the right ham went straight thru and into the ground. After a 2 hr. wait, i had the exact same tracking results as you did, sickening feeling, but does happen. The deer i shot at also never layed down. 60lb, 29dl, three blade fixed Muzzy. Switched to Rage 2 blade after that and the next years buck went 40 yds, this years went 80 yds. In Muzzys defense last 2 years shots were placed where they should be, but i cant help but think the Muzzy did not cut as well as the deer never layed down and the arrow went straight thru him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointing_dogs_rule Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 He may be fine. I have shot high before and saw the deer weeks later. Ditto. god luck to all the dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 This time we're sure playing the guessing game. My 1st thought was your broadhead may have hit the upper part of one of his front legs but didn't break bone. Any sign on the arrow would have been taken off when it hit dirt. That's just my best guess though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 My 1st thought was your broadhead may have hit the upper part of one of his front legs but didn't break bone.. That's exactly what I thought. In 2005 I hit a buck below the body. He was running does and immediately returned to tailing them right in front of me. He bled more or less depending on how fast paced the chase was. I don't think your bow shot knocked that buck down. I think it's more that because you stopped him he was on high alert and dropped big time at the shot. Make no mistake a deer can drop over a foot at 30 yards. The only other shot I can think of is a intestine hit. 99% of the time your deer will die at some point if that arrow passed through the body. Most of the time when somebody thinks they hit high in the body they actually skipped off the top of his back. Adrenaline is a powerful thing and the mind likes to play tricks on people after the shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbeck Posted November 16, 2011 Report Share Posted November 16, 2011 I can't speak for everyone, but I will tell you Ive been pulling the string back on deer for 33 years and it has happened to me. You did all you could in recovery, the only way to make sure it never happens again is to never draw the bow back on another deer. NOT GONNA HAPPEN, don't beat yourself up you will be a better hunter with this experience in your memory. Just remember you can make the same shot on two different deer, one will run 150 yards and find cover, the other will pile up at 40 yards go figure. KEEP AT IT and good luck you may find him yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dartonman Posted November 16, 2011 Report Share Posted November 16, 2011 Im with Al aka Rhino....I think in all honesty you hit a leg....it is what it is....you searched for him, and will more than likely see that deer again....al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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