Hey guys, Just hit a buck in the shoulder and got about 7-8 inches of penetration. The arrow broke off so that 7” is still in him. The buck ran off and then stopped, then walked up over a hill. I could see a lot of blood running down his side but his body language didn’t make it seem like he was dying after the shot. However I got to the point of impact and there seems to be a good amount of blood, and it’s semi-bubbly. I wasn’t sure if 7” was enough to get into the lungs or not. I was thinking about giving him 3 hours or so before I pick up the track. Thoughts?
Best case scenario you didnt get into the chest cavity and he will be fine. You will know that if you find steady trail for about about 200 yards and then it slowly petters out over another couple hundred yards. Scenario number two is you got a single lung. In that case he will bed in short distance ( 150 yards if you didnt already bump him) Possibly in his bed with single lung hit he may develop tension pneumothorax and it may kill him at the bed or after a another fairly short trail... if enough air builds up in the pleural space. If that doenst happen you will see him leave his bed never to be found.
Give him more time than 3 hours. It is a fatal hit if it got into the lung but will take a while. I'd give it a minimum of 6 hours and 8 would probably be better. It's tough to wait, but most times they bed up fairly close. They lay on the wound and if you bump them out of that bed there is little blood to follow. I shot an elk like that several years ago. We gave it 2 hours, been raining a lot and worried about leaving it overnight and rain wiping out the trail. Lots of blood like yours not too far from POI. Ended up bumping him out of his first bed. After that gave it all night. 5 hours of searching the next day we got lucky and found it. Followed its hoof print more than blood.
7-8" is a decent amount. Id say he will be dead and probably already is. If you truly got that much..
Update- gave him 5 hours and didn’t find him. It was 6” of penetration that broke off and is still inside him. Had insane blood for about 100 yards, then it trickled down to drips for another 200 yards. Grid searched for a couple hours and didn’t turn anything up. I thought I had enough penetration possibly but I guess not, maybe he was quartered away more than I thought and the angle caused me to catch more across the bone. Not sure Pretty disappointed in myself, really felt good about the shot on release. I’ve been focusing hard on my shot process this year and cleaning up my form. Really thought I had done everything right until I saw that arrow hit shoulder. Demoralizing. Such an up and down year. I killed 3 does and 2 bucks in Maryland this season, but have struggled in PA to make anything happen. Just have to buckle down and keep going (can still get another buck in MD and have the rifle/late season in PA) but just tough to not let negative thoughts enter my mind as far as shooting goes
Sorry you didn’t find your deer. Unfortunately that deer will eventually die if not already dead. Chances are slim he can live with 6 inches of arrow and a broadhead inside of him. Keep eye out for buzzards these next few days.
First off. Plenty of deer live and recover after being hit with a broadhead, to suggest otherwise is silly considering the amount of first hand examples of guys butchering dead dert and finding heads. As well as reconizing deer months or years after on trail cams with an obvious scar. Secondly the arrow broke off at 6 inches that doenst mean you got six inches of penetration. No guarantee that even entered the Thoracic cavity. Looks like my first scenario came to pass from the description of your follow up. Thanks for letting us know.
I appreciate everyone’s assistance/advice. Unfortunately this is part of bowhunting sometimes. I feel bad for the animal but like you said I’m hoping he ends up making it and someone else gets a shot at him. My biggest buck ever was a giant 8 point that had a fixed blade broadhead lodged in his shoulder blade. Deer are resilient creatures
The great traditional bowhunter Mike Mitten said " Nothing goes to waste in nature" .. pick up your chin and hunt another day buddy, none of us are perfect and neither were our ancestors...
Somewhere in a far off galaxy, I saw a photo of a doe with her insides completely exposed on her left side. Anyone seen it and where? My aunt used to see a three-legged buck on her farm.
I had a three legged buck running on my place for a couple years. Guy to the south finally got him as a nice 130" 8 point. That buck could run and jump just like any other.
