We never found the deer. These threads happen all the time, we hear the stories from our buddies, the shots that seem to defy anatomical logic. Everyone discusses the "no man's land" at the top of a deer...I'd like to dicuss the "no man's land" located mid-lower chest. The buck I shot this weekend defied all percieved anatomical logic and became the 3rd and best example of this "no man's land" on a deer I shot. The shot was right in the "Pocket" where you would consider a heart shot to be. Dead broad side, 18-20 yards, about 25 feet up. Long story short, the deer was finally recovered, 4 hours and a mile later(measured) The ONLY vital organ damaged was a hole in the lower lobe of the near lung. It can be argued the track strategy, and I know the bowhunters mantra is "when in doubt, back otu" but given the circumstances and assessment of a single lung hit, I chose to pursue the deer after 2 hours and fully recognize that I got REALLY lucky that I recovered him. But I also firmly believe that had I gone the waiting route of 4-6 hours, I'd have tracked him to an empty bed with no blood trail leading away and lost him. So I'm not really sure where I am going with the point of the thread, I guess its just to make people aware that you can hit a deer "perfectly" and do very little damage to vital organs. And for the record I almost never shoot a deer this low in the chest, I have never been an aim for the heart kind of guy, and this shot confirms I never will be. When I've hit deer in the heart its been by accident or because I've come down very steep on them hitting the lungs first and foremost. I'll get a pic of the entrance hole, just having some technical difficulties at the moment.
I had almost the same thing happen to me last year & as you can see from the pic I wasn't as lucky as you. If you zoom in you can see the entrance wound behind the shoulder. I would consider this a perfect shot but this deer ran 200+ plus yards in heavy timber right @ dark. Next to no blood trail & stumbled on him doing a "grid" search. Shot was a pass through. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That's not a "perfect" shot though. The entrance hole is perfectly where one would aim....if level with the deer. You said you were 25 feet up the tree...that would mean I'd want to enter through the top of the lung on the entrance side and exit low on the opposite. That'd be the perfect shot. Shot angle is crucial to treestand hunting and success. 20ft and up, your "perfect" placement for impact is a good 2-4 inches higher than it would be hunting a 12 foot ladder or on the ground. my buck I shot this year I was 28-29 feet high and my entrance hole was what some would say is too high...entered just 2/3 inches lower than the spine but exited mid/lower half on the exit. Deer died within 20 yards of where he felt the arrow. All in the angle not in the impact spot.
It looks like the shot is too far back for the heart. The heart is forward and up slightly to the best of my knowledge. The shot is just low and your lucky you caught lung. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
This is where I aim for a heart shot. That looks a little far back an low for a perfect heart shot. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk
Here is where the heart is My son entrance hole took out bottom of heart Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
He was 20' up but maybe 15' higher than deer at 15 yards. I wouldn't even "aim" as low as the op hit from the ground. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
How you missed the heart is beyond me. Catching the bottom of the near lung IMO you should've caught the middle to top of that heart. Wierd things happen. I've saw it to many times to say anything is a gaurantee anymore when we see our arrows go in perfect. Yeah a little low on the shot but for the most part Rybo thats a good shot. Congratulation's!
From the entrance shot Looks like I shoot about 4 inches higher and 4 inches back. If I shoot more then 4 inches off then I did not make a good shot imo
From a tree stand your entrance hole is where you want your exit hole to be. I generally aim a tiny bit higher than where you hit, or about 1/3 of the way up the body, which allows room for the deer dropping on the shot. If he does not drop it is still high enough to catch enough vitals.
I shoot for center 10 (3d targets) with 1 exception. Nervous deer I will aim a little lower. Close shots will compensate itself due to pin being set at 23. Arrow will automatically hit a little high. I try not to everthink it.:sly: Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
Good job on the recovery rybo. Agree, the heart is definitely more towards the front of the deer... Its just the reality of a 1 lung hit. They can and often do go a LONG ways, many times unrecovered. Deer are tough. Glad you got em.
If I make the shot that Ryan did, I would be confident in a short blood trail. Things don't always work out that way. Glad you found your buck and congrats!
Really not trying to be a burr in everyone's side, but if I'd have hit my deer this year or any deer in that spot for entrance I would have backed out and knew 4 hour minimum wait...if not 8+ (or till morn). That entrance only means two possibilities...clipping the very bottom of one lung or outside chance of clipping snippet of heart....if it doesn't catch heart it's got long hard tracking job written all over it. I don't even think about hitting heart...I'll take double lung everyday over heart.
Rybo, Congrats on the deer and your persistence. I used to think that was a perfect shot as well and hit a buck like that and couldn't understand why it took so long to find him. Anyway, this is the entrance hole from my buck last year. It took out the heart and both lungs. (I shot him from the ground after a spot and stalk).
