Can a buck survive a single lung shot????


drew11

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Sunday evening i took a bad shot on a huge buck and cant find him! He walked a stright line to my stand and i took the shot wit him facing me head down at 5 steps. Missed spine n guess i got one lung. Got pass threw, arrow was soaked and got really good blood trail for 100 yrds then he entered planded pines that r thick n bout 15' tall, found where he came out other side of pines bout 200yrds and he went to creek n turned went right down a knee high creek. Last found blood is right in middle of creek on big vine that crosses creek bout 10'' over water. Have looked for him for 16 hours! He will score over 150'' easy!

Any good ideas for finding him?

Could he survive a single lung shot?

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Hate me if you want, however, we all learn from taking bad shots. Hopefully this is a lesson. I've learned along the way that it ain't worth it.

Ditto.

I filmed a buddy make that same exact shot last year. He got a good talking to afterwards. It's much better to let that deer go then wound him.

Good luck finding him.

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Sunday evening i took a bad shot on a huge buck and cant find him! He walked a stright line to my stand and i took the shot wit him facing me head down at 5 steps. Missed spine n guess i got one lung. Got pass threw, arrow was soaked and got really good blood trail for 100 yrds then he entered planded pines that r thick n bout 15' tall, found where he came out other side of pines bout 200yrds and he went to creek n turned went right down a knee high creek. Last found blood is right in middle of creek on big vine that crosses creek bout 10'' over water. Have looked for him for 16 hours! He will score over 150'' easy!

Any good ideas for finding him?

Could he survive a single lung shot?

1. That's a very bad choice of shot placement, unethical and irresponsible.

2. If you hit 1 lung, the deer will die, shouldn't go too far before it croaks.

3. HORRIBLE decision on shot placement.

4. You probably didn't hit a lung.

5. Learn from this experience and make sure the deer is broadside or quartering away before you let an arrow go.

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A one lunged deer will die. I wouldn't be surprised if he laid down not far from the shot. How long did you wait before you picked up the track?

We waited 2 hours and tracked him 100 yards to where he went in the pines. Came back at daylight and found the blood trail comin out other side of pines prolly 200 yards from where he went in. He came out of pines went down 4whlr trail prolly 50 yrds to creek and went down middle of the creek. The same creek i grunted him out of b4 the shot, he made a circle after the shot. The last blood i found was 150 yrds up the creek from where i shot him at.

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You got lots of blood which means he's a goner.

Did you wait before you went after him, or were you too excited to wait?

I don't imagine he'll be too far from where you lost him. It's grid search time.

If only you knew where he left the stream..if he did.

I was thinkin the same thing, so i walked the whole creek to where it starts, up n down both side lookin for blood. Grid searched a lot of the pines that are on both sides of the creek.

Definitely a lesson learned

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Id say its possible but not likely. Those things sure are tough though. It amazes me how animals can survive a shot anywhere without medical treatment. I mean if a human gets shot ANYWHERE, without proper care they are pretty much toast. Its crazy how deer can run a hundred yards after having their heart vaporized by a high powered rifle. whereas a human would be dead before they hit the ground

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Can a buck survive a single lung shot????

I don't think so. Eventually that deer will die if indeed you got one lung.

As for the shot placement, guessing we are all guilty at times of making poor decisions in judgement for whatever reasons; be it exhaustion, or heat of the moment split second thoughts running through your mind on whether or not you think you can get away with a shot and make a clean ethical kill, or whatever other reason it happens. It is human to err, learn from it and move on.

Welcome to the forums.

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Not the best shot to take, but he should be dead somewhere if you did in fact get a lung. When you take a marginal shot, leave the deer sit for a long while. Two hours may not have been enough time. If you pushed the deer, you drastically reduced the chances of finding him. Good luck and pick your shots a little better next time.

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I made a single lung shot on a buck 2 years ago (broadside at a steep angle, not the shot that you took). I didn't track until the next morning and we still never found that deer. I was asking the same question about the possibility of the deer surviving. After reading every article I could about wounded deer I learned that it is possible (but not common) for a deer to survive a single lung hit depending on the severity and amount of blood loss. I think in my case the deer was pushed off of the property by a predator, not sure about your situation. I applaud you for the effort in trying to locate the deer.

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Depending where in the lung it was hit, yes, it could survive. A lung shot in essence kills a deer by suffication from the bleeding. So if you hit part of the lung that doesn't have as many veins and arteries running though it, it is possible for that deer to heal. The problem lies with the infection it could get. That may kill him but it could take months.

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