FullStrutter Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 One of my best friends just arrowed a P&Y class buck in CT about an hour ago. Here are the situation variables: -20 yard shot -perfectly broadside, arrow entered directly middle of vitals, just high -deer standing still -21 feet up in a climber -deer 10-15 feet below base of tree (hillside) -65lb draw weigh -4 blade 1" 100gr slick trick broadhead -hit:HIGH - one to two inches below spine -arrow did NOT fully penetrate, sticking out slightly on opposite side -good blood trail, starting close to shot, no froth Possible one lunger?? How long to wait before tracking? 2hrs? 4hrs? 6hrs? 8hrs? Go back tomorrow morning? This is a 200+ pound monster buck. This a dead deer? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NY_Bowhunter14 Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 give it at least 4-6 hours before tracking, deer should be dead though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illinois59 Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 I agree with NY Bowhunter14. At least 4 hours. Good luck, let us know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backwoods07 Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Made a similar shot last weekend and we think we might've pushed it after entering the woods after an hour. Give it time!!! Four or so hours should do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohiobucks Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 That deer is dead. Give it a few hours and post a picture for us! This a dead deer? Thanks! Am I the only one who sees the "Edit" button at the end of his post? It's from Archerytalk....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerslayer06 Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 I agree. No need to rush this one. Grab a deer burger for lunch then go retrieve the beast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NY_Bowhunter14 Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Am I the only one who sees the "Edit" button at the end of his post? It's from Archerytalk....? nope, i see it too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_lou Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 When in doubt, back out. Sounds like a good hit, nothing wrong with waiting. He will still be dead in a few hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 That deer is dead. Give it a few hours and post a picture for us! Am I the only one who sees the "Edit" button at the end of his post? It's from Archerytalk....? Dead deer most likely. Sounds like the angle was severe enough to get the off lung; probably missed lung with the entry wound, and cut some backstrap. Tom--that "Edit" sometimes comes over if you do a cut and paste from another application. I edited it out as it can slow the load time of this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QDMAworks4me Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Give it some time, although you are obviously excited being patient should pay off in the end!! Good luck and post some pics when you get the deer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Got pics yet?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mosscamo Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 oh yeah, definitely a dead deer. give it some time, and then go find your trophy. Don't forget to put up some pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisticwhitetails Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 If the entrance hole is BELOW the spine like you say there's not much need to wait as the arrow had to take out both lungs and the deer is dead. If your wrong and the arrow hit just above the spine, he will not find this deer as that is a non fatal hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born4it Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 I actually shot a doe almost exactly like you said a couple years ago. Gave her more than 4 hours...looked for her for hours and hours afterwords and never found her. I hope this doesn't happen to you! By now I'm sure you've given it time and have found and taken pictures of it! Good luck! Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born4it Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 If the entrance hole is BELOW the spine like you say there's not much need to wait as the arrow had to take out both lungs and the deer is dead. If your wrong and the arrow hit just above the spine, he will not find this deer as that is a non fatal hit. There's an area between the spine and lungs that some call the "dead zone," and it is not a fatal hit. It would also not necessarily have to hit both lungs if it went in below the spine. If you haven't already, give it at LEAST 4 hours. Take care;) Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimT Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Yup... 3-4 hours. That deer is dead for sure. Pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowtech_archer07 Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 There's an area between the spine and lungs that some call the "dead zone," and it is not a fatal hit. It would also not necessarily have to hit both lungs if it went in below the spine. If you haven't already, give it at LEAST 4 hours. Take care;) Ryan I agree with Ryan here... that deer is not necessarily dead from the way you described. One thing that will help him is he was 21 ft up, so you might have clipped that opposite lung. Give him at least 4 hrs, if not longer. Don't push that deer and he might lay up and bleed out. Also, don't expect a great blood trail because blood will have to pool in the cavity before it begins coming out onto the ground. I hope you find that buck and cannot wait to hear how things turn out. Hopefully your next post will be of your buddy and his giant... let us know!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisticwhitetails Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 There's an area between the spine and lungs that some call the "dead zone," and it is not a fatal hit. It would also not necessarily have to hit both lungs if it went in below the spine. If you haven't already, give it at LEAST 4 hours. Take care;) Ryan No there is not. This "dead zone" above the lungs, below the spine is a myth. If you hit below the spine your in the lungs or guts. Problem is most people don't realize just how low the spine actually sits in a deer. The zone you refer to is actually above the spine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotashRLS Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 I shot a doe a couple years ago but from a ground blind. The impact was similar to yours. The arrow burried up to the fletching. I let the deer go over night knowing I hit her high. The next day I had a sparse blood trail and 3 bloody deer beds within the first 75 yards of the track. I then lost blood and did not recover the deer. I figured she was dead until my brother smoked her 10 days later (not knowing it was her) during our antlerless firearm season the end of October. She was feeding in our secluded alfalfa field with her fawns. She had no signs of being injured until skinning her out. Then the enterance and exit holes were very obvious and were high in the "lung area" just below the spine. She dressed 125lbs and cost me our archery big doe contest:mad:. Anyway, I would take a small 2 man tracking crew in after him far enough to know whether or not you had a good lung hit. If you go further than a lung hit deer should, back out till the next morning. Then 4 or 5 guys is better for canvassing the area if need be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atthewall Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 From what you have described, my feeling is he hit the top vertebrae of the spinal column, top half, hence the reason why the arrow didn't punch with a pass-through. It didn't center the spine well enough to sever the nerves, which would have paralyzed this deer. If he shot just a hair back, the void or dead zone as mentioned here, comes into play big time as well, even if the arrow angle was fairly steep. This will be dicey at best and even though we feel it was a good shot, just knowing it was high brings on enough doubt about shot placement into the vitals. A single lung shot deer can cover a tremendous amount of ground, most particularly if the hole can vent the thorax region enough to keep the other lung from collapsing from back pressure inside. I would recommend he sit this one out a long time and hopefully it's cool enough to do so if the deer is in fact down now. Certainly don't want to push this animal if he's not down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullStrutter Posted October 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Hi guys, thanks so much for all the info, I learned a lot from this thread, even though we spent 5 hours looking for this buck, after waiting 5 hours, with no luck The blood trail petered out after about 350-400 yards, no beds, and not a really great trail except for a 50-100 yard stretch in the beginning where it was dripping pretty good and he stopped a couple times and dripping blood "pooled up". The blood ended after we found a part of the arrow, a middle section broken off with no broadhead...weird. It was a 6" section, that, coupled with the end of the arrow found within 25 yards of the shot, left the front 5" including the broadhead MIA. Interestingly enough, after finding the piece of arrow, the blood stopped completely, we search every direction he could have possibly went for hundreds of yards on hands and knees, slowly and deliberately. I believe he pulled that broken section of arrow out with his mouth and licked the wound closed, either that or it fell out and he felt it fall out and the wound that was being kept partly open from the arrow closed and/or he helped lick it closed. He was angling uphill slightly the entire time. This fact, coupled with the fact that he went that far at all without bedding down, not a great blood trail for the most part, and was never pushed, leads me to believe it was a non lethal hit and he will survive. We grid searched heavily for hours in all directions after losing the bloodtrail. My friend may go back tomorrow with more help for one final look, but I'm not convinced it will yield anything. One other point to mention...after seeing the situation for myself I believe the buck was more like 23-28 feet below the release of the arrow, not 30-35 as previously mentioned. Strangely enough, I think I feel at least as bad or even worse than my friend, one of my best friends in the world...I wanted nothing more for him than to find this once in a lifetime monster Connecticut buck. I was surprised to see how bummed and depressed I felt after coming to the conclusion that we probably were not going to find the deer. Thanks again, I appreciate all the feedback and discussion generated. After thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThethirdI Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 I shot a nice buck last year below the dead zone. Should have been a double lung hit. I saw where the arrow went in and the deer should have been dead. I backed out after he walked off and waited all day. Followed the blood trail for a mile and then nothing. Never found it. The arrow went through the paddle bone. Don't understand what happened???????????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 That's too bad, but I have to agree, sounds like a non lethal, muscle hit, not a chest cavity hit. As far as finding the broken up arrow, sounds to me like that broadhead is still in him, hopefully it will heal. I think when an arrow is in a deer they bleed through the hollow tube and when they fall out, that's when the hole plugs up and you lose the blood trail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aujack Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 if you have access to any dog that might be able to track a deer try them. Just last week a friend poorly shot a doe which had no blood trail, we brought his jack russell out to help track and he went straight to the deer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy617 Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 sorry to hear about your friends buck. where are you guys located in ct??? i'm in wolcott/waterbury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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