Well I hate to say, but I did it tonight. I shot a nice 8 pt @ 16 yds broadside. I had to bleet to stop him and when he stopped I settled the pin and the sun was glaring through my peep very brightly, but I could still see my pin and the deer...NO Excuses...I shot high right under the spine on top of the shoulder blade..I saw my arrrow sticking almost straight up and only go in about 4-5 inches...he spun around and ran...I gave him over about 1.5 hrs.. found one half of my arrow about 17 in..my arrows are 26'..I then found blood and lots of it for about 75 yds...then it started to weaken and get very sporadic for the next 200 yds...until I just could not find another drop..I circled and circled and nothing..in all, I tracked him close to 300 yds...he made a huge loop and went back to where he came from originally.. This is the 6th deer I have lost in 20 yrs and the 1st one in 5 yrs..Im trying not beat myself up, but I made a bad shot on an easy target. I will be back out Monday hunting again.. I will go tomorrow to see if I can find him, but it doesn't look good or does it? Hopefully it was not a mortal wound and will live another day...I just can't believ I have made this bone head mistake.
Sorry to hear that, Landon .... I know what a crappy feeling that is .... what 1/2 of the arrow did you find? I am guessing the fletching side?
yeh preach, the fletching side..Tons of blood for a good 75 yds....but it teetered out like all bad hits seem to do...Im thinking I missed his lungs all together...
To be honest, it doesn't look good. I've been there myself and helped others in the exact same situation. Muscle hits, no blood for about 20 or so yards then suddenly there's tons of blood for about 80 - 100 yards, then nothing. Period. I have never made a recovery on a deer hit like that. The only good part is that the deer will most likely live. Sorry to sound so negative but that is my experience. However, you should always look to the fullest extent just to be sure. Good luck.
You are right Greg. I just looked at the anatomy chart and I 100% hit this deer square in the shoulder ...I really don't think there is even a question about it..I saw it close and long enough and Im sure it will live..I have done this one other time and it was the same result.. I knew when I saw the impact what it was..I just don't want an animal to suffer. It was a high hit above the lungs and exactly where the shoulder blade covers that part of the spine..
Landon, the only deer I ever lost was hit right there, he turned as I released and I could not get off the trigger. After looking for a few days he showed back up on our camera with no arrow in him chasing a doe. I do not know if infection killed him, as I have not seen him since, but there was no way to find him while he was dogging does
Landon, your story somes very similar to mine a week ago. I am still sick over it. same type of hit just mine was at a steep angle.
It happens. Look by water, i cant stress how many times ive found deer dead by water after all hope was given up. Look at JZ's buck, you never know.
Not to be a hard ass, but waiting 1.5 hours is not nearly enough on a questionable shot. Then to track it that far without backing off was another mistake. 9" of penetration is plenty to stick into at least one lung. It amazes me, with all the talk of what to do after the shot on here that people still have no patience and rush right in....especially veteran members.
Sorry to hear that Landon. Keep your head up, and I know you have or will have done everything you can to find that deer. You know this unfortunately happens. Go out and redeem yourself.
The shoulder blade is rather easy to pass through. As Dan said I think you might have jumped the gun a little. Hopefully you see him again
Dan and Fastbucknut...an 1.5 hr wait seemed plenty, but maybe it wasn't..I got caught up in all the blood and thought that he would be down within 100 yds...Fast, you say that I may see him again, and if that's the case, then I guess I could have waited for an eternity and still would have the same result...no dead deer. I hope this is the result, I hope he does live another day.. I went back today and found no blood from the last spot and combed over the place good without any sign of him. From what I saw, it didn't look like I hit any lungs at all...I really don't know how much penetration I got...I found about 17 " of arrow and my arrows are 26" ...at the impact I would have said it only went about 4-5" in..but It looked like I damn near hit his spine it so high...I do believe I bumped him at some point and he just kept going...A rookie mistake by a 20 yr veteran...even guys like me with many yrs doing this get anxious on bad shots. I got that feeling like I had to find him to make up for MY mistake....Dan I agree, you are right and I have no excuse even if it's not a vital hit, I knew better, I should have given him 3-4 hrs ...I really hate the fact that I sucumbed to the very thing I preach to my friends and younger bow hunters...
I hate hearing that Landon but as you know, it happens if you hunt long enough. My last was in 05 on a great buck. Bad hit smack in the shoulder with hardly any penetration.
what I was suprised to see was the amount of blood after 20 yds that went for about 50 yds like a dbl lung shot...and then it just sputtered..that's what got me pushing him to start with.
Ok you beat yourself up now it's over, you cannot take it back. Forget about and lets take the next one down!!!!
Landon, keep your head up. I'll tell you the same thing I told Ben. We can't always make a perfect shot. It's no excuse to take bad ones; but if we made a perfect shot everytime, we probably wouldn't find hunting so exciting. Lesson learned. Apply it to the next one! Good luck with the rest of the season.
Dang. I've been through that too, we found TONS of blood, and then it just stopped. Good luck. Make sure if you have any neighbors that hunt, check w/ them. If you have any trail cams, check those too.
