Landon, I would also wait till morn. you will find her dead then. take no chances, it will be the weekend so you should not have to miss work anyway good luck bud!!
Jeff, thanks man, I know what you are saying and I get ya Blood, Im off for two weeks now, so time is not an issue.. I just wish I would listened to what I know is right instead of trying correct it by going over to it...I really for the life of me can't understand why I pulled my bow arm up at that very second...it was like a reflex...I keep playing it over and over..doesn't matter if it's 40 lb doe or a 180" buck to me, I take it hard either way..but I will not quit. This year has been good to me..8 deer down with a bow and 2 with a gun with 2 weeks left, I will cherish the time I have in the woods even if I don't connect again..Jeff, michealP, Meanv, Bloodcrick, PT, and many others....thanks for the boost in morale felllows....I consider you guys friends even though we have never met, I feel I let you guys down by doing a stupid thing that I know not to do...Im suprised though that she ran that long...you think maybe the other deer in there with that took off could have made her go farther?
Day late and a dollar short again, eh Danno? :D Landon, sorry you didn't find here bro, but you did the right thing waiting until today to look. Congrats on having the will to hold off......something a lot of guys can't do.
thanks Dan, I believe I would have found if I had not went to mark blood and spooked her and all the deer that were with her, I believe they helped push along with me...I honestly thought I heard her crash in the bottom about 120 yds away...I didn't obviously.. it was the other deer crashing down thru the woods...the only thing they may have happened and it would be a long shot, is that she will survive the hit...but I believe it was right thru the intestines and maybe the kidney some..she is likely dead...I called the landowner and he said to come anytime, but right now it's snowing pretty good and we have about an inch on the ground already with winds getting ready to whip up to about 35 mph..would it be best to wait til morning or go out now?
I think this is a very real possibility, especially with a potentially non lethal shot. Don't feel badly about it Landon, I lost a doe this season as well. It does INDEED happen to all of us if you do this bowhunting thing long enough. I was very bummed, but I did all I could do to try to find her, to no avail. I was back out there the following evening.
Landon, it does happen (as you know). From the sounds of it, I was sure you would find her, but there are no definites with hunting. Keep your head up, bud. You still had (having) one heck of a season.
Im going to go hunting in the morning....then i will climb down and go to the property next to this property that she could've ran onto and look for a few hrs if needed..At least I can say I tried all I could..at least I will have a little bit of peace of mind knowing that I went that extra mile...still sucks though...thanks again guys.
A few years ago I shot a decent buck. I thought is was a great shot. So I waited a while and got down and went the direction that the buck ran. Well he was only about 40 yards from where he stood when I shot him, but still alive. He jumped and ran. So I went back to the cabin and waited for a few hours thinking that with all the blood that he could not have been that far. So about noon I went back out after him. I followed that deer about a half mile and the blood stopped near the road. I spent the rest of that day and the next morning looking. I had neighbors look too and nothing. I was very disgusted with myself. In fact I hated what had happened. I came home and told my wife about it and I even said that I was not going back the next weekend. She told me to "cowboy up" and get back out there, and I did. The following weekend I shot the biggest buck of my life. Moral of the story, it happens. Get over it and get back on the horse cowboy. Rodeos are not won with your feet on the ground.
Landon some snow might not hurt if she didn't die right away she might still be warm and melt the snow off her and stick out better.. Good luck bro it happens to all of us sooner or latter!!Walt
no luck...I stuck it out as long as I could but it was staright up nasty today...winds 30 + mph steady and rain/snow sideways. about 32 deg out...I saw no sigh of her and looked for 2 hrs doing circles..I need to let it go now and just practice even more than I do now, which at least twice a week all off season and everytime before I go to the woods I take about 8 shots...but I will pick up the pace if need be, I know it happens, but I just can't stand it..
Seriously, get back up. Let it go. What ever happened is in the past. You need to move on, for your sake and for the sake of any animal that you draw back on in the future. It happens to all of us, at least those that are honest will admit it. Read what I said just above. What make you an ethical hunter is the feelings that you have for the animal and the knowledge that you made a mistake.
thanks madhunter...I have closed it and moved on...I won't forget it, but I let it go and I reralize that nothing in nature goes to waste at least an animal will get a meal in this harsh cold snow if she died....not proud of that either, but it's the truth and we are all part of the cycle of life I guess.
It's the truth. I think this is the correct attitude. We need to make every attempt, but also realize that the above is true, nothing goes wasted.
well we got about 5' of snow and in a short time so Im sure lots yotes, coons, bobcats, fox..etc will be looking for any food they can and this will be a pleasant treat for them...again, this not the outcome I wanted but it is what it may be....it's all part of how this world turns...
