Shot first deer with a bow!!! Help me confirm when to take up trail!

Well said! I agree with everyone in here. Just stick to your guns and brush this one off. You weren't the first one in here ever to lose a Deer and I am sure you won't be the last. He who is without sin may cast the first stone at this guy! Murphys Law always has a way of creeping up on folks and planting a good kick in the shorts sometimes. As long as in your head you did everything to recover the Deer, take this as a learning experience and get back in that tree stand brother! Good luck to you this weekend and have a good weekend everyone!

Mack

 

Germ I think I am going to take your avatar picture printed out with your quote above, along with me to the stand! I'll just pin it on the tree. That is sure to help!

 

Sorry about the deer man. It happens to everyone at some time. It's not "if" you will lose one, it's "when".

As I told you last night, it happened to me on my first deer as well. Unfortunately, mine was a buck as well. Talk about sick. I was tormented by this for a few days. Literally tormented. But, as has already been said here, you pick up the pieces and go again. I was back in the tree in less than a week. I have taken a few deer since then, and I use(d) what I have learned here, and a lifetime of hunting experiences to recover them. It gets better man. Just hang in there.

I have learned a lot (contrary to popular belief) since I started bowhunting. The one most important thing is this: If we never face our greatest fears and take the chance, we will never know the outcome. My faith will always exceed my fears - the price is to great to go through life afraid.

Good Luck on the next one.

 

Camp,

It does happen to everyone. I lost my share of animals in the beginning as well as I didn't have the internet to take the learning curve out of the equation. You at least have some guidance and a great crew here to attempt to help. Sure there are some egotistical know it alls but I don't think any of us are surprised anymore. We live, we learn and we can only strive to improve.

I'm shocked you didn't get a return call but remember, I did offer you more trackers and within the 6 that is within 2 hours from you, you would have gotten some help. My advice, join the United Blood Trackers and there will be a wealth of information available to you. I honestly have a feeling you killed this particular deer and one of the trackers would have found her, at least would have given you more closer if they didn't. These dogs are absolutely incredible and can find deer days old over miles without blood. Keep them in mind.

We all lose deer, some die, some do not. Hopefully you'll see her and know you have her alive yet. That's always comforting. We should never assume they are alive, but visuals are sure great closure. We haven't lost one since the 90's but I cannot tell you how many I've lost previously to that, like we all mentioned, we learn. Good luck.

 

Brad, just saw this post. Sorry to hear you lost her. Any problems next time give me a call I got a buddy with a tracking dog. Steve is a great guy and his dog Remy is a good one.They're in Dundee.

 

Sorry to hear about your doe. I lost my first one I put an arrow in too.

It happens to every bowhunter at some point, and I have never met one that it hasn't happened to. Take what you learned from this experience with you to the woods next time to help prevent it from happening again, keep your chin up, and stay at 'em.

 

Joe I talked to Steve for about 30 min tonight. It probably didn't matter. I didn't have any permission to go on the private land anyway and some of those landowners don't like hunters anymore because others have caused damage in the past . I found that out the from the land owner I did get permission from.

Did you really want me to call you that late or early???

I was up a creek without a deer.

 

I hate that you lost her. I know this feeling, been there a few times, but after the fact I always knew what I did wrong and learned from it. I can see you've done the same. My advice to you is to get out in your yard and slam a few arrows in your favorite target and get your confidence back. Then get yourself in a tree this weekend and get your first bow kill.

 

I am one ugly SOB, I may scare the deer a 1/2 mile away, i speak from experiance. About 18 years ago I lost my first deer, I let get to me so much I tried to make a "perfect shot" I lost the next two. My Grandfather gave me the same quote I gave you. From then on I do not put the pressure of having to make a "perfect" shot, I just have one thought, "Kill it". If I knew now what i know about tracking, I bet I would have found at least two of those deer. I pushed them into the river and I hit all three of them on the exact same spot. Right in the shoulder bone too far forward.

 

I have been fortunate enough to not have lost a deer yet. The first one I arrowed however, I thought I had botched it up too. Single lung, liver, and exited guts. I let it lay for two hours before even going to check my arrow. The deer went down at the exact last place I saw it. Minimal blood with a 4 blade 90gr Muzzy and my arrow looked identical to yours. The deer might have went 30yds before bedding and probably died within 2 mins of it going down. (It was stiff when I found it).

When in doubt just give them time! I know I said to go back last night though! lol. :/

 

Not entirely true. if the shot was further back, above the Diaphragm or so, it is very possible to shoot through all meat at a steep angle. The deer I killed last year had been shot by a club member earlier in the year. Same situation. Lots of blood, Then nothing. The Guy was convinced he put a good shot on it. Big 8. I shot it in shotgun season, and the shot was ll through the backstrap, Over compensated for distance and had a steep angle. When i butchered it there was still almost 1/2" of meat between the wound and the spine. and it was infected as all get out.

 

I read every post of this thread.First off I want to commend you for the sincerity you have shown in your effort to recover the animal and in your interaction here.Hind sight is always 20/20.You did a lot more right than you did wrong,there is an awful lot to process in the moment and those skills are only gained through experience.
Sorry you lost this animal,given the way you seem I don't anticipate that this will be the norm.My advice to you would be to get back in the saddle quickly.Lot's of positive thoughts and concentration will put the next opportunity in the win column for you.I wish you good luck!

 

gfy x 2!

 

I'm certainly not going to argue about this and I don't want to hijack this kids thread.....the ONLY way you can shoot an arrow through the backstrap (notice singular) and not damage the spine on a broadside shot is to shoot OVER the spine and nick the opposite side. You simply cannot shoot through both straps (or the one nearest you) without damaging the spine........the proximity of the spinous processes and the thick layers of fascia make this impossible.

If you look at this deer (or anyone you butcher) you will notice the tips of the spinous processes are easily palpable past the end margins of the backstraps and their spacing is certainly not large enough for a BH to pass between them........thus making a shot that passes through both straps without hitting the spine impossible.

 

atlasman is exactly right. You cannot shoot through both backstraps without damaging the spine. We're talking bone here, not spinal cord which may or may not result in downing the animal. One certainly can break spinal bone without breaking the spinal cord resulting in nothing more than a wounded deer.

 

Best piece of advice on this thread. I'm not going to bash you either. In fact I commend you for your efforts, keeping your head, and not making any big bonehead mistakes. I think going back in that night MAY have cost you IF the deer was in fact fatally wounded. But... we'll never know for sure. I'm just saying with the information you had and the uncertainty you seemed to have after the shot, I would have waited til morning. What stuck out in my mind was when you or others were saying take up the trail until you feel comfortable and go quiet in case you jump her. When you were making the decision to wait or not and the notion of "possibly still jumping her" comes into play IMO the decision is made.... wait! Again not bashing or anything just offering my opinion. Sorry about your deer. Get back out there and try again. Good luck.

 

Dude, it happens. Anyone who's been bowhunting for a while has lost one, or more. First shot last year, 8 pointer prob. in the 140 class range, and I tracked it for over a mile blood trail and all. No deer..... Atlasman hit it on the head though, knowing your shot placement and listening post shot are probably two of the most important things. Sometimes we just get so exceited that we forget the basics. Keep at it.

 

no doubt this sucks! i know how you feel, i think most all of us do, but look what this has brought us... a great learning tool for all. so far 13 pages!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow. i'd be willing to bet all of us who commented were rooting for you and to be honest it was like a fickin suspense novel. i couldnt wait to hear/read what happened next. many different opinions and takes on what to do and how to do it, but in the end we all side with "keep trying." this has been one of the BEST threads and i think it embodies who we are as bow hunters and what this site was created for. thanks for sharing your hunt with us!

 

Just a simple FYI, I don't think of myself as a kid being 33 years old. I am one to ask a lot of questions with everything I do so maybe I come off as a kid.

I agree 100% (now)

Jeff, what is your rule of thumb as far as meat. When do you think recovery that evening recovery is required to ensure the meat is good? 55 deg? 60deg? 65 deg? Is there a chart or rule of thumb? (i.e. meat is typicall good from the deer expiring for 6 hours @ 60 deg, 4hours @70 deg, 10 hours @ 50 deg, etc)

Thanks. I did not anticipate this type of thread because post shot I thought i had a dead deer. Have I learned a lot? You bet. I think the final report shows that waiting until morning right away was the best thing to do. But that again is 20/20 hindsight. If I would have waiting till morning and I found her and the meat was bad (that was my original thought process but now I believe she would have been fine from learning from this thread) I would of been upset that I thought I could of recovered her the night before and had good meat.

It's always easy to play quarterback on Monday morning.