I'm very sad. Today I drew on my first deer, let it fly, shot placement looked good but no deer. I spent 4 hours scouring 30 acres and turned up nothing. I'm really hoping I just missed. It was 8 AM, I heard a deer on my left as I was studying the insides of my eyelids, looked over, saw a doe under the apple tree 25 yards out. When she turned up hill and was quartering away, I drew but held because I saw a fawn pop out from the apple tree as well. I was about to let the arrow back to rest when another movement caught my eye. A smallish 4-6 pointer was closing in on them. At 30 yards I had a perfect shot through some tree lanes, released, heard kind of a thwunk as the arrow I believed passed through and was lost in the Goldenrod. He didn't jump but ran, crashing through brush and downed branches and I lost sight at about 50 yards into a pine forest. I went to the area pretty sure of where I got him but the goldenrod is thick and turning rusty colored. I never found the arrow, nor spotted any blood. 45 minutes later, I followed his path from what I could remember but there was no trail. Then it became a guessing game that I lost. No arrow, no blood to the novice eye, deer smashing its way uphill= missed him? 30yards I can hit but I'm no William Tell. I group them, say dessert plate sized. Maybe add in the adrenaline and I see again him next week? Those of you that are experienced, let me know what you think. This picture is probably him, we don't get a lot of bucks on the trail cams. Jim from Buffalo I hunted last year as my first year for archery but didn't have anything come close enough to draw on. Today was super exciting, until I couldn't find him. Then I watched the Bills lose, tried to sight in my back up plan for archery, my Marlin 30-30.
pretty much same thing happened to me this morning around the same time.except it was a bigger 6 and i shot 12 inchs in front of his chest at 20 yards!!!sight must have came lose or got bumped pretty good.
If the buck ran tail down, he is toast. JFP is right; grab some buddies and find that arrow and inspect it with your eyes and nose. Cyotes will move in fast on a wounded or dead deer...use them to locate your critter.
One other piece of advice ... if your groups are paper plate size at 30 yards, that is to far to be shooting at a deer.....they should be much tighter...
Dessert plate size PT... that is say 4-6 inches, I am guessing... iffy but better. How long did you look? Looking at the ballgame instead of for your arrow sounds a bit??? It sounds like the arrow is in the deer by your description... if not you should be able to find it.
That's about as good as I have been able to manage with the recurve so I have not gone.(Still waiting on my Hoyt)
By the reaction it sounds to me like a dead deer. Did he bound away or full tilt run? I would get back out there and keep looking.
