Well post of shame guys. After sitting all day Fri & Sat I moved to another good spot for a Sunday morning hunt before I had to pack up and head back home. 9:40am I see a great buck coming my way chasing a doe. I get draw back and he come right by my at 20yds and I let an arrow fly. I have my bow mounted Camcorder rolling and think he's actually going to go down on film and he very slowly walks off towards a cypress swamp never to be seen again. Searched the swamp and area for the rest of the afternoon with another guy and but no luck. In slow-mo the exit wound is low under to far shoulder so I think he just laid down or walked through some deep water expired and the lilly pads covered right him over Owner said I would have been one of the larger bucks ever taken on the property but this one was with a bow. Not happy. Feel I need therapy now Thought I was getting some nice points for the team and meat for the freezer. Swamp Buck - YouTube The only thing I was happy about is that I held held the camera on him after the shot. Usually I forget and just put my bow/camcorder down. Shot with a #65 Prime Rival bow with 480 grain Black Eagle Rampage arrows tips with 2'' Wasp expandable BH.
Sorry to hear he was lost. I'm still mourning the missed shot on my first bow buck that was a dandy. I'm more focused than ever to get more zeroed in at 40-50 yards so a 30 yard shot isn't an issue. Good luck the rest of the season.
If it died in the water and sank, isn't much you can do about that. Sounds like you did your part with a good shot.
I shot one on October first that sounds like about the same shot and I tracked him for 700+ yards and came up empty handed. With it coming out low like that you probably got one lung and he might live or he might die in a couple of days but either way it sucks.
Hunting takes some tough turns some times. As long as you feel that you have done your due diligence in looking and he wasn't found, enjoy the video and get back out there.
You shot at him as he ran by? Gee.... If so, how could you have done "your part with a good shot" as Kennyg says ?
Did you watch the footage? He was walking and didn't want to stop him and make him alert to jump the string when my shot did go off. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Im sorry to hear that you could not find him! Hes a great buck too. I know you did what you thought was right in the given situation, but i have always been a firm believer in stopping deer. It alerts them, but definitely gives you that brief second to really anchor your shot. Enjoy the video and get back out there! Best of luck to you in the future!
I appreciate all the kind words but I'm also open to any advise on what I could of done better. Really not happy with not retrieving this buck. This is only the 2nd Whitetail I've ever shot. As far as stopping them before you shoot. I like the idea but then I should hold low expecting them to jump the string? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
A low whistle or burp is perfect for stopping a buck for a shot. Don't worry about adjusting your aiming point, I haven't seen where they are more likely jump the string after stopping them. In fact i would say the opposite has been the case. The high alert buck that you didn't stop that is already all wound up is the worst string jumpers
Depends on the distance. But for most shots just aim for the heart and if they drop a few inches youll still get lung
Thanks much. One thing I did realize was I was still on Elk mode and was aiming at the lungs not the heart. Usually I aim for the heart so if they move it's still a lung shot.
I took a walking shot at a doe a few years back primarily because my wife was pregnant with twins and really needed my help. I jerked the trigger of the xbow sending the shot even further back and high. At first, I couldn't believe what I had done, then as luck would have it, I caught an artery that made her look like an airplane with red wings running through the woods. I've vowed to attempt to stop any deer that I'm going to shoot at since. Tough break, but it will happen to everyone eventually. I thought I was immune until 6 years ago when I lost 2 bucks in one season. Tracked one 600+ yards followed by a two day grid search, and the other tracked well over 2 miles through snow before losing the trail (land owner would not let me do a grid search). 25 years of always recovering and I got cocky about it.
I shot a deer a while back that ran into flooded timber. I searched for hours but couldn't find him. Came back a few days later and I found him floating only 50 yards out.
