Oh man Shocker! Good luck on the recovery. Do you have any idea at all on the hit or are you totally unsure?
Good luck on the track. Definitely see if you can get someone to help you track. Sometimes not so easy to keep a clear head with all the adrenaline. Bow? Gun? Deers reaction? Give us some details when you have a chance Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Good luck on the recovery and don't leave us hanging while you wait. Tell the story and keep those details fresh. Arrow stay in him?
Hopefully you marked POI at least. Things can look so different when you return, even after just a few hours, especially with rain matting things down that may have been kicked up when he bolted.
Ok back at truck and im second guessing the tracker. I described hit and he said he thinks its a dead deer and i should go look for blood before it rains. Maybe you guys can help me think a little more clearly. Buck came following a doe i had ranged at 39 yds. When he got to that point where i could take a shot i stopped him and held my 40 pin right in the “vee” but low vee, like heart area. I was approx. 20’ high. At first i thought i spined him but you know how fletchings can appear higher than the P.O.I.. as he turned to run i noticed about 2/3 of my arrow (28”). Sticking out. So maybe 9” of penetration. He stopped and stood there about 60 yds from the POI. He took a couple steps and i looked down to untangle my binos. By the time i looked back up he was gone. I didnt hear a crash and just as a betting man im saying i dont think he fell over right there. He may have bedded down idk. When he was running away i thought i saw a bulge in his off side. Idk if it was a scar or tumor or my arrow trying to exit the hide. FYI i shoot a 60” lb draw weight with a 415-ish grain arrow. Slick trick magnum head…. I think best case possible scenario is i got high lungs and hit offside shoulder. Next best is single lung (missed near side lung high and clipped offside). Worst case is a no mans land hit. Im definitely not going back for blood now haha. i just dont think i gain anything and its too late to beat the rain. It isnt going to let up until tomorrow morning so it is a gully washer. The tracker is also a cop and is working a homicide right now so he doesnt know when he will be available. i think im leaning towards trying to line up a dog for tomorrow. If i cant then i hope he lays down and dies within a close proximity of where i last saw him. i forgot to mention! The only thing i did was sneak to POI. I ranged my tree from there. 35 yds. No wonder i hit high.
Wouldn't hurt to go from POI to last place you seen him. You might be surprised. Trackers usually say do not go on trail before dog, for him to say do it might be something I would consider. Since rain has started it will make your approach quieter and rain hitting the ground will help cover your sound as well.
How much open area did he have to move to get to cover by the time you untangled binos? Also...those offside shoulder hits can make it appear you only got 9 inches of penetration when in fact you may have gotten 2/3rd of your arrow in him and it just kicked back. That rain may make it easier to stalk in there downwind and quiet to find blood.
I would go to where he last stood and look for blood or a body. If the blood looks good, I would go on with the track. Don't have to completely relay on a tracking dog. Use your instincts and go slow. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Also with that hit, it's a life or death hit. If you hit high, most likely will know from blood and probably won't find him from blood. If you hit below spine, dead deer right now. So not hurting anything by starting your track. The blood will tell you right away what you hit. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Yep, blood is still there right now, definitely won't be in the morning and it's nothing but a grid search at that point with no clue which direction he went after last seeing him standing.
It completely dumped. No way blood is still there. I didnt want to bump him. I did manage to get a really bad pic of him before he came in. Ill show you that gimme a min to edit the pics im in a drive thru getting some grub
Blood or not You have a chance to track feet. He turned to run. So those tracks were deeper. Start with those and go with it until you saw where he stood still. Even with rain you should see tracks with a big wounded deer he should be walking "heavy"' bending thick weed stems in direction of walk. Good luck
I agreew I agree with others, after hearing your shot description, I think you should take advantage of the noise cover and at least look near last sighting. I bet he is down in 200 yards from the shot. If not, waiting until tomorrow will probably not result in recovery since it probably high enough he will make it.
Do you have coyote? Even with a non gut hit, say lung.It's a buck more smell and it's raining. They are no different from your dog in the rain. Think to how your dog smells dry compared to wet. Dead deer would just concentrate that to one spot. Get out your rain gear and check things out.
