PotashRLS Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 My brother arrowed his best buck with archery equipment about 4:20 yesterday afternoon. Hot on a doe, happened fast, grunt stopped him, gut shot him with a complete pass through just in front of the hind quarters. He says he was basically broadside at 21 yards. The buck hunched up and ran off a short ways standing in that spot for about 10 minutes. After that he could see him walk off slowly until out of sight. When he called me he could just see his white antlers with his binos as he disappeared. He is certain of the arrow placement and saw the impact well. He waited till after hours to get down, grabbed his arrow and snuck out. The arrow looked and smelled of a gut shot. He thinks he heard some "rustling" in the direction the buck went about 30 minutes later, just before he packed up to climb down. We are first heading out this morning around 7am to get on him. We knew we needed to leave him lay overnight to up our chances of finding him "close". They are calling for rain tonight and all weekend that is why I am at work now making up for the time I will miss. Besides, I couldn't sleep with this deer laying out there and all the work I have to finish. I will likely have to work this weekend too to make a project deadline because of this track job. I wanted to put this out there to see who has experience with truely gut shot deer. Did the deer cover a lot of ground, did it bed down, was it dead when found or need to be dispatched? I have tracked several and typically find the guts plugging the hole. FYI...He is shooting a 1 3/8" Grim Reaper 3 blade so the hole is generally good sized. With all due respect, I am aware of the "gut shot deer go to water" thing and already have taken that into account. Your gut shot experience is welcome. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Wish us luck - tough track job ahead A little more detail on that arrow. Was it slimmy brown whitish matter or more chunky food matter? Typically a intestine hit deer will not have blood on the arrow whereas as paunch hit will have blood and food matter on it. Hope this helps. A gut shot just behind the hindquarters is a worse hit than a little farther forward and deer seem to live longer with those hits. He should bed within about 200-400 yards given proper cover. He will likely bed and get up several times in a close area. The blood trail probably will be non existent because its a intestine hit. I wouldn't be surprised if you find almost no blood. They also seem to circle a great deal when looking to bed down. He should take the path of least resistance and he downhill if possible. Yotes will likely have gotten him if you have a population of them. If they didn't get him I say it's 70% that he's still alive. Had it been a mechanical I'd say dead but not from a fixed blade. His blood loss is very minimal from where the hit was. Depending on how much help you can get I would position a watcher about 400 yards on other side where the most plausible escape route is in case you bump him. Also I've noticed crows are usually first on a carcass gotten by yotes as opposed to vulchers. The other option is to call in a tracking dog. If you do this do not search for the deer first. The dog needs as scent free of an area as possible to work. It's your call but if it were me I'd either take a C.O. With me or make sure if I see him he can't get away. My opinion is that this deer is mortally wounded so its best to put him down any way possible. That's your call but if you jump him you have about a 10% chance of finding him. That second time if he's got enough left to jump he will not bleed and now a straight line trail won't happen. He will definitely try to throw you off. As you stated water is obvious here, but don't over value that thought. I'd use water as my last resort after a grid search. These deer typically bed up in some nasty crap. I expect a hands and knees job tracking. Downed logs are another potential. I hope you get him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Wish us luck - tough track job ahead I just re read post. I he stood for 10 minutes and slowly walked off I'd say he bedded within 80 yards of last sighting. His adrenaline had slowed by that point and he ha already started feeling sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Wish us luck - tough track job ahead He also should not jump any major obstacles after that initial run. Path of least resistance is my #1 factor for this deer until he decides to bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Good luck Tracy. Hope you and your brother find the deer. One I shot earlier this year circled back and disappeared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Good luck Tracy, I'd make a good effort for an hour or so, then get a dog. Unless the deer is in a lot of water a good dog will find or bay the deer I'm sure. Agree with Pat that shot is worse than a more forward gut shot, but lethal given enough time. Hope to see pics soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHISKEYSWAMP Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Dad gut shot his buck last year with a crossbow. We gave him around 4 hours before starting the search but would have gave it longer if the farmer hadn't started cutting the corn it ran into. Long story short, we kicked the buck up 7 times before finally getting another arrow in him. We didn't have a choice to keep pushing him as we had to get him out of the corn or loose the blood for good. The buck would only run 80-100 yards and lie down. The final shot was 9 hours after dad hit it that morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 i've seen deer still alive the next morning... so try to be quiet and glass ahead. i agree with Pat... path of least resistance. however, i've seen a couple travel a long way. ones that did always circled back. usually they head down hill toward the closest cover with some kind of water though and don't go far if you don't push them. i agree with Pat too that you do get more blood if not shot in the stomach and not the guts. it's like when you field dress a deer... the intestines have a fatty coating on them that hinders bleeding i think, where the stomach feels slick and smooth with more blood vessels on the outside of it. either way i don't think he'll survive though. he'll die of infection or from being too weak to keep yotes at bay. def go in quiet and glass ahead. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointing_dogs_rule Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 let'm lay as long as possible. good luck to all the dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbarcheryhunter Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Just talked to a guy that hit a doe in archery season and it lived 3 days until it died. They did recover it. Not sure where he hit it in the gut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowhunter42 Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 How did things go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotashRLS Posted November 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Update....... I just got to work and will be heading out but wanted to update you quickly. WE GOT HIM. He bedded 10 times, traveled over a 1/2 mile, 5 1/2 hours and 2 more arrows. He is a perfect 10pt with a 16 5/8" inside, 22" beams and will likely score in the upper 130s. He will be my brother's first "book" buck. It will take a long time to type the story and my sister-in-law has all the photos ( will post with the story) so give me a few days to put it together and I'll post it. The pictures may be a bit graphic. Plus my laptop took a dump so I have to talk nicely to my wife to use hers. Persistence, experience and a little luck found this deer. Thanks for everyone's well wishes. There is nothing like the brotherhood that chases whitetails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Wish us luck - tough track job ahead Yes!!!!!! Glad you got him! Can't wait to see him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbarcheryhunter Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 That's just great u found him!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowhunter42 Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Awesome can't wait to see pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowhunter97 Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Thats great man! Its always nice to see a deer recovered especially when that happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maine Hntr Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Way to keep at it! Can't wait for the rest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetailfreak55 Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Awesome job! Its great when you find a deer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotashRLS Posted November 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Well............. Be forewarned that there is a picture that may be a bit disturbing. We got on him a little after 7am. My two brothers and sister-in-law took up the trail while Dad watched the west button hook and I watched the east. The blood was not bad considering the shot but no where near what you would want generally. The deer was heading SSE quickly crossing one of my gun stands large shooting lanes and regrouped where the buck had his first two beds a 150 yards or so from the shot. The beds were frosty so he clearly got out of them early on in the venture. He began a short stint east and hooked back north doing the customary "fish hook". He went by one of my favorite ladder stands and ducked under some crap throwing us off a bit. It took a good while to pick him up again because the blood was very sparse here. We encountered another bed with little blood and dry leaves which looked more recent. I circled further north cutting northerly deer trails and intersected the blood again. He is now heading NE up a narrow ridgeline and the blood picks up significantly. This ridgeline is essentially a lengthy line of small narrow ridges each separated by some swampy grass. He is now heading NE over 400+ yards from the shot. Each time we encounter a bed the blood stops making establishing his new direction difficult. These small ridges eventually angle and connect to a main ( small hogsback like ridge) ridgeline running east. He works his way up this ridge at an angle now showing signs of rustling the leaves up with his rear hooves. We find another fresh bloody bed with scrape marks and exposed dirt. We clearly bumped him out of this one. The blood is poor again but we could see all the maple and beach leaves rustled angling up the ridge. Every so often we found blood to confirm it was him. Once on the top of this ridge he is heading due east. It isn't far that the ridge starts declining and the blood picks up again. He is on a heavy deer trail heading towards an old vehicle path which leads into the property. He hits the path and see fresh hoof print disturbances in the old gravel/dirt path but no blood. We assumed he continued as the hoof prints clearly showed he was struggling. I found one larger area of blood where he veered SE in the direction of a small cattail pond. I pointed to it and told my brother to sneak up to it and be ready. Wouldn't ya know it all of a sudden I see Duke draw his bow. I hustle far enough to see Duke let one fly hitting the buck in the base of the neck at the front facing shoulder. The buck couldn't get up but stayed upright. His wife ran his quiver over to him and handed him a field point arrow. He threw it back at her and told her to give him one with broadhead. She did and Duke launched a second arrow again just in front of the facing shoulder. The buck was down for good. We circled around to the buck's side of the pond and stared in disbelief. I prayed a quick prayer thanking the good Lord for our harvest and asked him to quickly take the deer which he did. It was AMAZING! This deer actually went to water but not until he was really sick. He had his back end in the water and continued to watch his back trail. Because of the pond's banks, cattails and lack of leaves on this vehicle path, he didn't know we were there until he and Duke saw each other at the same time. He is 10 points, 16 5/8" inside, 8" G2s, 10" G3s and 22" beams. The pictures a bit deceiving. The pond picture below clearly shows the initial arrow wound and how much entrails were hanging out both holes. The larger broadhead helped keep the hole open and also cut one of the deer's legs giving us some venious blood to track on. When the deer would bed, the ground was full of frost causing the tallow on his intestines to harden and further plug the hole. Once he got moving again, more blood would warm it back up and let it bleed more. We are extremely proud of the deer and our efforts to turn something bad into something good. Hope you enjoyed the ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scbasshunter Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Wish us luck - tough track job ahead Congratulations!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowtech_archer07 Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Congrats!! That's awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Glad you guys found him. Congratulations to your brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 That's great Tracy! Great buck, I know you guys worked hard for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointing_dogs_rule Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 congrats on a great tracking job. good luck to all the dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 WTG! great recovery! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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