Stumbled across a anti hunter website and they said that bow hunters have a 50% success rate implying that 50 percent of the deer we shoot will go unfounded and wounded. Of course if we had a magical broad head that created instant death no matter where the placement on the deer, they still would be against bow-hunting. But made me wonder whats your deer recovery rate on the deer you shoot, so far mine is 100% knock on wood (i did experience a gut shot though once but still found the deer).
I've wounded 2 deer In 26 years of bow hunting. Both have happened lately (2009 and 2011). Both were mature bucks. I knew It was going to happen being I went 23 years without wounding a deer. I'm kinda on a bad role right now with confidence on killing a mature buck after my last 2 shots taken. I've passed 15 yard shots since that I know I would've taken prior. Gotta get out of this funk I'm in.
Last deer I "lost" was in 1993. I'm sure I said it before but I am saying it again. I think someone stole it from me. For real!
Two deer in ten years bow hunting. My buddy who has been bow hunting with me has one in ten years. I've only ate tag one year so that's 9 years of taking deer. Many times two deer. I'm well above 50% recovery. One I hit a branch and it hit the deer in the back leg. Right in the meat. Got about 5" of penetration. I know he lived. The other was a high back gut shot. I tracked that deer forever. Never found him.
I'm at 70% I was on a good streak until last Fall when I hit Whistler's front leg. 7 Kills, 3 wounded. They went down like this: W, K, W, K, K, K, K, K, W, K
In my several years of bowhunting I have K K K K K W W K. Had a little slump last year due to some bad decisions but hoping to get back on the ball.
I was talkin to the guy that was my instructor for my bow course, he had been taking notes all last season on the story's that hunters had told him. He said from the people he had talked to it was right about 50% recovery rate. That was as a whole with new and seasoned hunters.
I can think of 4 deer that I wounded and never recovered. One was a 12 pt that I hit high and had very little blood to follow. It ran out and I never saw him again. Another was a big half rack that I hit in the shoulder (twice that season). I saw him doing fine later in the year. Another was a big 8 that I hit in the shoulder. He also survived, as evidenced by trail cams. And a small doe that I shot, I still to this day don't know what happened. I completely ran out of blood and never found her. So, I guess I've shot 2 deer that I never found and don't know what happened to them. I have killed somewhere around 35 deer with my bow. That puts me at 94%.
Im 100% with a bow (knock on wood). Only lost one deer. That was a massive buck I shot with a ML. My neighbor found him a week later in a little outlet of a river that borders our land. He was a NT that taped just over 165 inches. Made me sick. I haven't hunted with a ML to this day. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 4
I read an article by a wildlife biologist this past fall and he pointed to an actual study that proved it was minimal compared to the antis accusations. Think about it. If it was 50 percent you'd be tripping over all these mortally wounded deer on most of your trips to public land. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
magic BH? That would be a poison pod legal in some states. I started in 1970 with wooden arrows and a recurve. 0/12 till my first harvest. 80's- probably 50% 90's-70% the last 13 years we have taken 260 with a bow and the loss rate has been just above 5%. What many don't realize is most of these deer survive. We have taken many in the gun season and could then look at exactly where the hunter hit with the bh. I am on a 17/17 streak now. 99% of your success rate is determine by you upon release. IE, I don't release unless I am 99% sure it's a kill.
I'd say I'm around 80%. I think I've lost 5 or 6 total, and 3 of those were the first couple years I bow hunted. 30+ kills. Honestly, most of the guys I hunt with are probably in a similar range... and they are guys that have hunted 20+ yrs. It happens, no matter how much you practice and prepare. Deer are tough.
19/21 ... 90 % recovery rate. This is my 4th year in the whitetail woods. One in 2011 I hit low and bumped him more then once. One this year gut shot ran on neighboring property and I didn't have permission to track.
I have wounded 4 that I can remember (two of which I know for a fact lived). Don't know exactly my total kills, but would definitely put my kill ratio at 90-95%. I am a good, but not a great shot, I just make sure to only take shots I know I can make.
