I'm reposting this here for you guys who are too cool to go on that 'other site'. I've been pretty fortunate/lucky in the past several years in that most of the deer I shoot drop quickly in sight. Those that went out of my sight were easily recovered. Yesterday I had a very interesting experience. I went up pretty high in my climber. (I had my reasons for the height) There is a dry creek bed that the deer were using. According to my non-arc type rangefinder this creek bed was 11 yards away. I hoped the deer didn't come right down the creek bed because it would have been a really steep angle for a shot. Well of course the only deer I see, a small doe, comes down the creek bed. She's slightly quartering toward me but not enough to worry about. My shoulder and elbow pop loudly when I draw, she snaps her hed up at me. I can't believe she heard it but somehow she picked me off. In a split second I put my 20 yard pin on her chest and send an arrow on it's way. 20 yard pin... 11 yards away.. Oops. My arrow, with it's bright firenock appears to skim right over her back. She bounds off, apparently unscathed. I kick myself repeatedly. This is an earn-a-buck property. Does can be hard to come by and there are 50-60 other hunters on this property all looking for does too. Anyhow, I use the range finder to look at the arrow. The feathers look bright and clean. I see no hair or blood. I climb down about 20 minutes before last light. To my surprise, there is some hair and a very scant amount of blood and fat on the arrow. Very scant. Pictures of the arrow. Not much can be gleaned from the broadhead as it sank deeply in the dirt. Only a very, very slight amount of blood/meat/fat on the shaft. There is bit more blood on the shaft toward the feathers. Still not much. Feathers with just light amount of blood. (on a solid chest hit, these are drenched and flattened with blood) Near the nock there is some amount blood. There is no blood where the deer was standing. No hair on the ground. She bounded off like she was simply spooked. No hard run. She stopped about 75 yards away, looked back at me and the bounded off out of sight. I was 99.99999 positive that I simply skimmed her back. How many here would think the same thing?
Being hard-headed (I'm a woman, I'm allowed). I try to trail her anyway. Can't find where she ran at first as it was all waist high stinging nettle. I go to where I last saw her. To my surprise there is blood... and a fair amout of it. Not tons, but more than one would expect from a skimming hit. I recruit Kendall and Deb to help because my flashlight is going dead. I apologize to them in advance because I'm sure it's going to be a fruitless track. We all seem a bit confused by what we are seeing. I shot at her right side and the blood is on left side of the trail. The blood trail doesn't get lighter the further we go as can be expected with meat hits. It seems to be getting heavier. Sometimes there are bubbles in it. Some of the blood is very pink. I cannot figure out how I could see the arrow going over the top of her back and some how have gotten a lung so I convince myself it's not really lung blood. About 150 yards into the trail I'm feeling bad because the deer is going through some really thick stuff and I'm think K and Deb are hating me for making them walk through this stuff. I offer to give up the trail. I'm confused about the hit but I'm still fairly certain the deer has only a minor flesh wound that just happens to be bleeding a lot. Deb (my hero) is steadfast about continuing on as long as we have blood. Another 50 yards up the trail the deer gets into a tangle of briars and giant ragweed. The blood trails circles around in it.... and now the blood sign is very light. Deb circles around the other side of the brairs and there is the doe. Laying stone cold dead. I actually hit her on the far side! The angle was steep enough that it entered right next to her spine and exited out of her chest a bit back. A one lung hit. So... the take away from this is 1) use the right pin. 2) Higher is not always better with treestands. 3) Even if the arrow looks bad.. look for a blood trail. Take a good look. 4) As long as there is blood.. follow it. 5) Have good friends who are happy to keep pushing on. This is how close to the spine the hit was.
Congrats. I've also learned that it's good to have friends that don't use peep sights, even if they do miss on the first try, LOL (inside joke)
Good job. I was going to say I would look for blood all the way to the point where you couldn't see her anymore. If you found none stop if you found blood follow it.
Great post and good follow through. We can all learn things with stories like this. Thanks for sharing. And congratulations on the doe and good luck with your newly acquired buck tag.
Thanks guys, Yeah, I would have never guessed that it was a fatal hit by looking at the arrow. I think it's because the arrow just skimmed along the lung instead going though it. There was one long slice along the outer edge of the lung from one blade. The other two blades clipped off the ribs and sliced along the inside of the chest wall. Either that or it's because my bow has smokin' hot speed. (not) The blood trail was fairly strong tho'. GMMAT that's one of your old muzzy heads. (new blades of course)
Note to self: Congrats on the doe Christine and also for not giving up (Deb too seeing how shes now your hero)
Before getting to your second post I wondered about the exit. With such a steep angle it would be very low. Good information in this thread and something for us all to think about.
Great post and a great end of a story congrats on never giving up. Great friends help. Now go kill your buck with that newly aquired buck tag. Good job A less of a person would not have even looked
Very cool story! Extremely "CSI" like...... especially with the excellent photos. Congrats! Good job. It certainly pays to examine every shot as if it were a good hit. You hafta make sure, I hit a deer very similar to that. I was horrified. The deer was coming in quartering toward me. It stopped at 6 yards and I was 20' up. For some reason, I didn't want to do the spine shot, so I aimed a little higher than center on the rib cage and shot. I was stunned when I saw my arrow come out on the same side of the body, only lower! It was near dark and after a sleepless night I recovered the deer the next morning. Same thing, a 1-lung shot and no blood trail. I usually leave my camera in the truck until after the fact but that might have to change. I like how you did that.
I really wish I had taken pictures of the blood trail. There were these big splatters. Occasionally a bloody mist on the leaves. Lots of blood brushed up on the briars/weeds. Some spots were it was just drips. Then more big splatters. Suddenly there was very little blood ....the last 10 ft. And while she dropped in an open spot, I couldn't see her while I was standing in the brush 10 feet away.
