Me too. It started to rain yesterday and I was hoping if I had a shot it would be good enough without blood, if it was washed away. Double lung and he died 10-15 ft away. He was not on alert walking, so he did not know what hit him as it blew through. Sent from my Lone Wolf treestand using Bowhunting.com Forums
So last night did not end well. I shot and 8pt on the same trail I shot last years buck this time he was coming up the hill as I anticipated and had either a young doe or a button buck tagging along. 6pm with 30 mins to go. I adjusted for a shot and routinely put him in my cross hairs as he SLOWLY feed on brambles heading my way. The angle dictated he needed to be pretty close for his heart side was toward me and he coming in on parallel line. Good that I'm a lft hand shooter and the stand has a rest. The little one behind him apparently irritated him and he spun around to chase it and stopped. Right at my ranged 25yrd tree. Then turned back and watched up hill giving me a good angle on a slight quartering shot. I aimed behind the clear (>) Of his blade and elbow. and squeezed off the shot. He instantly reacted nearly folding himself in half and the thunk of the shot was a clear hit. I watched him tail down flickering like a feather tied to a fan. He faltered several times before stopping rt and my first blind build. He just stood there 150 yrds away looking around flicking his tail. A few minutes past and it was getting dark. I watched him try to walk past the blind. Limping very hard but not hunched up. I slowly got down hit my cleared trail and left. 3 hours later I went out on foot to check. ZERO BOLT, BLOOD. I tracked by trail in leaves then grid searched. I got home at 11:45 no luck. This morning I headed out again. Still no blood and tracked by foot marks in the leaves. 100 ft in I found my bolt covered in bright red blood and either meat or liver. No bubbles. Still zero blood trail. Went to the spot he stood expecting to see pooling ,no. I stayed on the foot print scuffed leaf trail and 500ft from the bolt find I finally see blood. VERY LITTLE. I had to still rely on the prints. Over the ridge and in a deep depression I find a bed. I Believe this is where I thought he had crashed as I was walking out. I heard thrashing in the distance. Well he certainly was in that depression thashing around it was all tore up and had his fur in it. For the life of me no blood to be seen and by now I was on my hands and knees. I lost the tracks about 50ft headed to the swamp. I' ve been grid searching the swamp all morning and I only managed to kick up one deer and it wasn't him. Thoughts,, well that crazy turn at the shot and where my aim was had the bolt slicing a path under his shoulder and along side his ribs Exiting along his brisket. Hurt like hell but not a serious wound. The thrashed up bed could have been him having a hard time getting back up after stiffening. I actually walked past that area last night and in the entire search never heard a deer or any movement. He was either gone by then or holding tight as I went by. I'll post a pic of bolt later. Rt now I need a heating pad and coffee. Oh and apparently a new set of limb dampeners on the crossbow.
That was my thought at the shot. I rubbed the material on the fletching and it was meat not liver. Add to that I was in a 16 foot stand aiming forward and he folded away from me at the shot. It was a rt side hit and the bolt was rt side of tracks I followed. A low liver exit from an elevated shot should have blood. A slide under shoulder/ leg out or along brisket wouldn't have the same type of blood tral as a angled liver. Plus the little blood I found was watery and drippy. Also rt shot through him to the liver would have had to go through lungs. No indication of a lung hit. Oh one other thing that brings me to my conclusion. A liver hit would mean two holes, entrance and exit. He went through a lot of bramble and saplings. Zero blood from wound rub anywhere I looked. If I'm correct on my thoughts his wounds would be under shoulder/ leg and foward of chest pretty much covering them up
dropped my phone on the way in this morning so couldn't be live, luckily I found it after I put an end to this jokers hunting this AM. good luck evening peeps Sent from my SM-S918U1 using Tapatalk
Just tried a spot and stalk on a buck that was tending a doe out in our Monarch Program. Shot right over his back at 30 yds. paid way too much attention to the weeds between the 2 of us and held high. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hmmm, arrow does look meaty with some fat. But weird he was able to take the bolt with him a little ways if it just skinned his hide
Looks like you had brisket exit, the way you describe the shot; possible high liver entrance with the turn and brisket exit? That would explain the lack of blood. I agree with @archbunk it is weird the that the bolt was carried if you only broke skin on the brisket.
