Interesting. I still think guts though. They never walk hunched usually unless their gut shot. I'm thinking you got the bottom of the guts and thats why the arrow don't smell of it. Who knows though. Good luck Chief!
There is that vallley where the organs come up between the transition from the vitals to the waste areas. I'm guessing you are in the valley and that doe will be fine.
Keep on this post and let us know, this will be interesting if you manage to find it. Dont really know what else to say, it happens to everybody. Just wait until i get a bow kill, i can almost bet ill be doing the same thing you are. Best of luck my friend.
First of all, get yourself together my friend. You shoot enough deer and eventually this happens, I don't care who you are or what they say on TV. It sucks for sure and I know that feeling myself. But... suck it up buttercup! If she did walk and not run away and she was hunched up, I'd say there is a very good chance you got guts. Now, what I don't know is if you nicked them or didn't "drill" them and in a less than "good" gut shot, if the deer will live a lot longer than say a "drilled gut shot" if that makes any sense. Get out of there and wait till this evening. Get some friends together with lights and look for her. If you hit guts and there is water nearby there is a very good chance that is where she'll be, especially if you didn't push her.
Wish it were cooler. In my opinion this deer needs more than a few hours. If you feel like you have to track it today because of warm temps do it very slowly and have an arrow nocked, you might get lucky and be able to sneak in a secondary shot. If you loose blood start your search around a water source, gut shot deer often head straight for water. Wish I didn't know that. Best of luck to you.
My brother and I just got back from looking at the arrow and the beginning of the blood trail. The arrow did smell okay. The hair on the ground was almost white. I must have hit lower than I thought. We didn't go into the woods on the trail. We just looked at the loop she had made in the field. There was somewhat bright blood along with watery blood that smelled like gut. My guess is that since she was quartering away the clean blood drops are from the exit wound and the foul smelling blood is from the entry wound. We left and we'll go back after dark. I really hate this but I don't think she's going to die anytime soon.
Hopefully she really felt lousy and bed down quick somewhere and you will find her tonight. Good luck.
Hi Chief... just got here. #1. The meat won't ruin as fast as most think. It is going back into the 40s tonight here and we are 300 miles south of you. We left quite a few in SC early season over night in the high 60s and they were usually fine. #2 I think there is an artery running along the abdomen... I may be wrong. If there is, you may have hit it. #3 Go get your beagle or someone else's dog if possible? #4 To quote a certain QB R-E-L-A-X... you'll get her... just go slow.
Keep in mind, if you truly hit gut, temps are not an issue for you right now. Unfortunately a gut shot takes a while to die, but the body continues to work during that 8+ hours and there probably isn't any spoiling going on. And don't be so down this happens... One of the proudest deer I ever killed was a very small doe. I hit that deer right square in the gut, I knew I did immediately. I felt horrid. But I took all the necessary steps, she never knew I was there, I waited until dark to slowly back out so as not to spook her and then came back the next morning and found her right where I left her with no spoilage. What was an extremely dismal feeling at first turned into me being quite proud of myself that I recovered a deer that so many others would have pushed and never ever recovered because I did the right thing. You've done all the right things so far, keep doing those things and you'll have your deer.
MNpurple hit on my thoughts exactly about the meat spoiling. As long as she's alive spoiling won't start, and you have a few hours after. Good luck with your search, hopefully you can find a few beds along her route and she'll be in the last one.
We've been tracking for two hours now. The trail through the small wood was easy. Didn't see a bed there. Tracked approximately 200 yards across a bean field. Found where she'd laid down in a low place in the field. She made it across the field into what I guess you guys call CRP. Having real trouble. Crisscrossing trails through thick stuff almost as tall as we are. I've been standing here at the last spot of blood while my brother and two friends try to find more.
