Shot an 8 point this morning in NC. Spent all day tracking it. The arrow impact wasnt perfect, but we were finding consistent blood, and even some pools of blood 8 inches around. Just recently had to call it a day because we spent so long tracking it, but will be back out at first light. My question, given where it was shot, and the route it traveled, anyone have any tips on recovering it? It traveled primarily north for about 500 yards, with one time where we lost the blood trail for about 100 yards. Last we saw it was getting close to the school and seemed to be turning to the west, probably running parallel to the school. Anyone have any guesses, tips, etc on where it would be? Also, I provided a goofy picture of where it was hit, so if that makes any difference let me know. I'm working my tail off to find this one...
You probably nicked one lung. 500 yards is a long way. Tree stand shot? Pass thru? He could survive that.
Also I have never seen a deer lose this much blood before. It's crazy to me. I'm gonna go out tomorrow to look again before I believe it survived.
I shot a buck years ago that high from the ground. I waited overnight and found it in the morning about 400 yards from the spot of impact. Good luck to you in finding yours.
How long did you wait before tracking him and what do you mean by the shot "wasn't perfect". If the shot wasn't perfect it would have been wise to give him some time before tracking him.
Suspect a leg hit. They bleed a lot but it is external bleeding so it seems like a lot. Internal hits fill up the body cavity and damaged hearts don't pump blood for long.
We waited probably 30/45 mins before tracking him. It was a little above center, but didn't seem like it was above the spine. He's just bleeding a ton but still traveling far. Confusing. Also there's a lot of people in the area so likely he got bumped a few times anyways before settling down. We'll see.
Maybe... but if there was real heavy blood, that's easy to do. There are usually multiple clues to determine what to do. How did the deer run off? How much initial blood? I love seeing heavy blood at the hit sight? That will almost always be a dead deer. Did I hear a crash? One of the surest clues to back off is when I see a deer following a trail that makes sense. That is it comes to a turn in the trail and follows it. A mortally hit deer runs through stuff, not around it. Lots of clues but it takes practice and experience. No two are the same. Anytime I see a pool of blood... unless I have already waited a long time... I am backing out. That is a jumped deer. A deer that was able to stop, lay down, get up and run again, needs 8 hours... Pushing them will almost never play out well.
Yeah I know we went fast looking for him and it was stupid because I know the rules of thumb for that. Excitement over took us. I can only hope that after 14 total hours of looking that he somehow survived and made it away. I'm going out again tomorrow for a third day of looking but not hopeful. Gonna be hard to get back up in a stand after this one.
Swampleach, I blame you for everything. Worst hunting buddy ever. But seriously after 14 hours of lookin in some of the hardest brush in NC I didn't find him. 90%sure what we had was good lung blood and lots of it. Y'all think he's dead? Been 2 weeks now, and I'm going back out this weekend again to search for that deer . Lost lots of sleep over him.
Seeing from the pic where you think you hit him and from your description of the blood trail it sounds like you hit an artery to me...constantly pushing him may have kept that blood from being able to stay clotted if it wasn't completely severed, and likely, IMHO, you have a dead deer out there somewhere. This late afterwards you have very little chance of finding anything since the carcass will have been picked clean and likely scattered about by various scavengers. I'd say stop losing sleep and make sure your next shot/chance counts.
Yeah I'm gonna do one last search because the area is semi enclosed (800x 400 meter box kinda) with roads and construction around it so I think he's still in there. Hard to believe he'd cross major roads while bleeding out.
Didn't utilize the best noses in the world, it's legal in NC as far as I can see. http://forums.bowhunting.com/bowhunting-talk/28334-blood-tracking-help-those-lost-deer-dogs.html
