dishearted bowhunter

[Guest bukrub]

Yesterday afternoon I shot at a nice 8 pt. He stepped forward just as I shot. I found a few drops of blood and dark hair. This morning I found my arrow with a bent blade I also found two bone chips the size of dimes. I trailed him for a mile plus and jumped him from his bed. He jumped over two high logs and down over a steep ridge and kept on running. In his bed I found a 4 inch spot of blood. It had not soaked through the 2 inches of snow we have it was all on top.I feel it is a rear leg wound, he had been 15 hours or so since the shot. He seems allright but I am sick to my stomach. Will he make it? I would like to think so.

[Tominator]

Will he make it? I would like to think so.

From your description, yep, I'd say he's going to be fine.

[Turkeygirl]

I'd say from what you've told us he'll make it....could there be a chance you hit him high, maybe chipped off the top of a vertebra? I think he'll make it.

[fly]

As long as the wound doesn't get infected I'd say he'll make it. The cold temps will help.

[JasonLester]

Man it happens. We do everything we can to ensure it doesn't but the truth is sometimes things happen. You did the right thing trailing him and you owe it to any animal you shoot.

[buckee]

I've tried to encourage guys in the past to get back on the horse after getting bucked off, and now I have to do it again.

This time it's pretty tough, because the same thing has happened to me, only 3 days ago. I still can't get over it, but I have to.

I still feel like crap, but I haven't canceled my tag yet. I've got to accept the fact that sometimes, crap happens, no matter how good of a hunter, shot, or tracker, you think you are, and move on.

Lick your wounds, and get back on the horse, and I'll do the same..OK

Here's my story, so you won't feel alone.

Dec 05

(Long story short,)

I went hunting again with Wilf this morning. Sunrise was at 8:00am this morning, so legal shooting time was 7:00. It was overcast, but at 7:10, I had a large buck follow my scent trail in, and he was at 15 yards. I drew, and couldn't quite make my sight pins out.

When I open both eyes to shoot, I always see double, and it screws me up. I tried a shot with both eyes open, and missed (embarrassed). The buck just jumped, and started smelling the scent again. I reached for another arrow, and turned on my sight-pin light. I pulled on him again at 20 yards this time and heard that lovely "THWACK".

"All right !", I thought

He took off across the field like a bolt of lightning, and I stood up to watch him . I lost him about 3/4 of the way across the field, because of the darkness and the city lights in the background, but I was confident, it was a good hit.

I waited until 8:00am until I walked out to check for my arrow. I couldn't find it, so I sat back down for a bit, so as not to ruin Wilf's hunt too early. At around 8:30 I decided to sneak out and check the next field over, since I couldn't visually see him laying anywhere. Nothing in the cornfield, so I checked a little adjacent bush section, with no results.

I crossed the cornfield to see if it was laying in the next field, but nothing there either. I came back, and started looking for blood, and oh boy, did I find blood. In the first field, where I shot him at, there was plenty. When he stopped running, it looked like someone was pouring blood, in a steady stream out of a cup. It was a never ending stream of blood. He was bleeding like a stuck pig, all the way to a hole in the fence, where the deer go into the corn field. You could see where he was procrastinating crossing the fence, because the steady blood trail was meandering back and forth, this way and that, and everytime he stopped there was a tremendous amount. BUT..I couldn't find any blood on the other side of the fence, even though it looked like he had crossed there.

By this time Wilf had joined me for the search and we both figured he must be laying right there in the ditch somewhere, with all that blood. well we looked, and we looked. We went up toward the farm, and checked the field full of high grass...nothing. I went up and checked the ravine, but...nothing. We went back to the last sign of blood, but we were both befuddled.

We both didn't think after losing all that blood, that he would, or even could cross the open corn field, but that was now the last resort.

I kept praying that God would help me find him.

Wilf went across high to check the fence-line on the other side of the corn field, and I crossed over to the most likely route of travel. I was working blind, with no obvious running tracks, and no blood. I crossed the corn field, and followed a deer trail, across another small grassy field to the corner, where they come down off the hill there.

This point was 400 yards from the last blood sign, and there...was a drop of fresh blood. That drop turned into another as I followed the trail in, and up the ridge a bit, then back down, heading back toward the farm.

There was a drop or two of blood every few feet, for a bit, then nothing. I had just lost the trail again, and was looking for more blood, when I heard a twig snap. I looked up, just in time to see my nice buck, heading up toward the anti-hunter's neighbor's yard, with my Exturkinator arrow, sticking out of it side, a bit high.

My heart sunk, because the time is now 12:10, and this buck is still kickin after 5 hours of vigorous bleeding, and 500 yards of travel.

I just backed off completely, and will be going back, to visit the neighbor tomorrow morning. I want my buck. I feel terrible. Even if I don't find him, I'm canceling my tag.

Please pray I find that buck in the morning. I know it's got to be dead now, but where?? It's supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow. I hate seeing a beautiful animal like that go to waste.

Dec 06

Well, Wilf and I went out looking for him this morning at 8:00, and it's now 2:00 pm.. I had really high hopes of finding him, without too much trouble.

I grid searched the strip of woods, I thought he was heading for, ( 75 yrds wide and about 200 yrds long), but nothing . Then I thought that maybe, just maybe, he went to the left, and either along the hillside, or down somewhere further down, so we checked that out for a good 300 yrds .

I then thought he may have gone back toward the farm, to the right, and checked the hillside, and went up behind the farm, and walked the whole ravine down...nothing.

Wilf and I were tired and sweaty, so we went to Tim Hortons for a quick snack and coffee. Wilf had to take off home, so he could take care of his doe, before he goes back to work tomorrow. I decided the only other place he could have gone was up through that 200 yrd strip of woods, and across the main road, up into another section of woods, so I went back and grid searched that for 2 1/2 hours. Kicked up lots of deer, found 2 small 2x2 sheds, but no big buck.

I'm really disappointed. I can't see how he could go so far, and lose so much blood. from where I first shot him, to where I last seen him yesterday at noon, was 475 yrds.

I think I'm done for the season. This will be the first year, in over 30 years, that I didn't fill all my tags.

[pigeon]

Sounds like he'll be just fine.

[ksbowhntr77]

I'd say he's gonna be fine... I'm with Buckee, GET BACK ON THAT HORSE.... I too lost a bruiser just about two weeks ago. Aparantly he's just fine, still hopin' to find him during rifle season and finish what I couldn't. Let's face it, when you're flingin' sticks with blades on the ends, crap's gonna happen.......lol I was sick to my stomach too, BUT I am back at it again. I went back to the bowstand three days after I lost him, hopin' to see HIM again.... I hope you do the same..... The only advice I have for you is to try and figure out what you did that was maybe not so right and LEARN from it...... that's why the good LORD presents us with failure so that we can LEARN from it and SUCCEED... God Bless and happy hunting......... KS

[NY_Bowhunter14]

he should be alright, he'll make it...

[Illinois59]

The important thing is that it matters to you that the animal didn't die a quick humane death. For that reason alone i want you to be the one that is hunting them. Because you take high percentage shots and do everything you can to recover the animal.

I know the feeling that your feeling. That's what makes us sportsman and not just hunters.

[Adjam5]

Hang in there.

If you have ever shot at anything...you've missed.

Deer are resilient creatures and bounce back well.

[Flintlock1776]

You did you best and maybe even more so for tracking him that far. It happens, just better luck next time!

[m gardner]

Sounds like he'll be fine. They get hurt worse fighting with each other during the rut sometimes. You are a hunter and you are trying to hurt the deer enough to kill it. No apologies. Beat yourself up enough to improve your technique and/or equipment then get over it. We all lose one now and then. Anyone that says otherwise hasn't been around long enough, is very lucky, or a liar.

Mark

[Adjam5]

Let me show you a pic from someone I know who took this PA buck.

They found a broadhead in it when butchering. The head was concealed perfectly with no infection around it.

According to the shooter, this was from last year, that broadhead. There were no open wounds on the animal.

So they can survive with a broadhead in 'em.

This deer was taken in gun season.

Keep your head up and keep hunting.