I shot a big doe this morning and the shot was a little high. I wanted a while before I went down and checked for blood. I arrow was still sticking out of her when she took off but I cant find any blood. I feel good about the shot but how come there is no blood I am using a rage. I am going to wait until around to go back out. Do you guys think it is a lethal hit.
No blood could be due to the fact that the arrow is still in the deer plugging up the entrance would. How much penetration do you think there was? Dave
Sometimes when the arrow stays in it will fill up on the inside and just have a small trickle on the outside. If you missed the lung on the shot side, it could be a long day. A one lung hit deer can go a long way. If it was me I would wait until 2:00. I would get on my hands and knees and solidify the direction the deer went. I would approach the recovery on the quiet side and with a lot of patience. If I had not dedicated the day with my family I would offer help, I am not far.
When I shot my doe on the 7th. I made a good shot as well, there was a little blood at the point of impact. But very very little blood while tracking, I really struggled to find any blood at all.. I was using a NAP Killzone (similar to your Rage). However, where she finally crashed 40 yds away there was buckets of blood. So don't give up. If you're confident in your shot, she's more than likely down. When I found my doe, there was a hole in her that I could put my fist in. But like you said, there was very little blood on the trail. As I field dressed her I made an assumption as to what happened in my case. It was all pooling up inside her chest as she was running, when she crashed and laid down, it poured out.
I have shot a few deer where I didn't get a full pass through and got very little blood just a drop every foot to 3 feet but the deer expired within a 100 yards. The cavity usually fills and since there is not an exit and the entry is at A higher point it might not bleed out like you would expect. Take your time , remember the deers path it ran and mark it there has to be a speck of blood some where, and keep looking shes probably out there somewhere.
What you hit all depends on the angle from your tree to the deer. Also, will a single lung shot always kill a deer even if its a mature one?
Well me and two other guys looked for 3 hours and didn't find a single drop of blood. I talked to farmer and said that she might be laying in the bean field. I am thinking about going back out there later. Do you think the deer will be good until tomorrow it is supposed to in the 30's and night and 50's during the day. I feel sick.
I would do a grid search until it gets dark. Take any dog if you have one. It is legal in Illinois. Take a peak at google earth before you head out and make a mental note of all directions within a 1/2 she could have traveled.
I'd be wary of the meat if the temp is above 42 degrees and the deer has been dead for any length of time. That said I'd still want to find it. Good luck.
