Dear friends, First of all id like to thank you for reading my page. I am a brand new hunter. I went hunting for the very first time in 2020 deer season. It was a diy hunt and i just wanted to try out what I learnt from fellow hunters on YouTube. I got my license for hunting in mid October and was excited. I went in the woods and was excited to find random deer tracks and deer droppings. I started marking the way points on my iphone app and the more i went in the more new things I learnt. I accidentally found my friends unused tree stand and decided to climb on the stand and hunt from it. On 21st November the everything came together and i had a chance to shoot a 8 point buck. The equipment i used was excalibur micro axe 340 crossbow with 16.5 inch bolts that came with the crossbow. I was recommended by the cabelas sales person to buy their cabelas Stk 3 broad head. Once the shot was fired everything was happening in slow motion. I was literally able to see the vain of my crossbow bolt disappear exactly behind the shoulder in mid body and the sand on the other side of the deer splashing. The deer kicked its hind legs hard and ran about 10 yards, stopped and started running again. I have downloaded a pic of a deer from the internet and marked the spot where the shot placement was. I gave it about 45 mins and called my friend. He showed up after an hour and the tracking began. We found blood trail and kept following it for nearly 1.5 kilometres. All of a sudden the blood trail started fading and there was no blood trail after that. We brought in 2 more of our friends and grid searched the entire area and no sign of a deer. We tracked for 2 days and gave up. I have posted a pic of the broadhead, where the shot placement was and also screenshot from video of tracking So what went wrong here?? What should I have done different? My friend said it is the broadhead as it is a 100grain it didn’t create a bigger wound channel. I did go back and bought a Sik Sk2 2 inch offset expandable broad head for the next season. Please give me your expert advice. Thanks
You actually hit a few incher higher than you think and went through the loins. The spine dips low right there and there is a lot of room above it that is not lethal. No way a deer hit where you marked is not laying on the trail within 100 yards with a pass-thru. Many times I have recovered a deer and the shot was a few inches different from what my minds eye told me. Better luck next time.
More than likely, it is still running around. They are ridiculously tough and their blood clots quickly to prevent bleeding out after an injury.
I think fletch nailed it. If you recovered your bolt you might find some darker hair, but more important no bubbles, with paler (not real dark like a liver hit) no foul gutty smell (maybe some iron-ie blood smell).
It wasnt your broadhead. I agree with it being high. Shot angle, how much the animal drops, adrenaline, there are alot of variables that can throw off your perception of how you think it happened. Good job though. At least you got a shot in your first season. Keep at it.
thanks for the info brother. Next time il try to aim a bit low. Since it was my first time i guess I screwed up. Il be more careful next time
You will screw up again. We all still screw up. If you aim low sometimes they dont move at all. I start holding a little low past 25 yds. There are some really good videos out there on shot placement. Study the anatomy of a deer. Double lung is most lethal shot. Heart is just as lethal but smaller target. Best case scenario you get them all. Good luck. The only way to get better is to do it.
My complements on the effort to recover the deer. Too many give up too early. FWIW, a friend in KY found that the back of his house was the same height as where he set his tree stand. He would go up on the roof and practice shooting at a 3D target to get the correct angle at different distances.
Everything the guys said. We can do everything in our power to produce a clean perfect shot. What we can not do is control the reaction of any animal at the second of that shot. This is where luck comes into play. You can help this in knowledge of deer leg stance and head position. A deer can drop faster and farther when in a head down postion than a head up one. You have less chance of shoulder blade deflection on tight shots if the leg is straight or slightly back as to being forward. There are slight things to look for and will come naturally in time when your more comfortable as a hunter. When your mind isn't all consumed in just the shot out of, well fear. Lets face it its a bit scary to think a shot may not kill immediately. It's a journey, learn and with respect enjoy all of it.
were you in a tree stand ? if yes how hi ? That blood trail looks like a couple I followed over the years that were from a 1 lunge hit, They all bleed well at first then peter out to nothing, Just my 2 cents
