so I set up a totally new stand tonight and put out some corn and 2 hours later I have a 9 point and a 5 point walk out down wind of me, they stop at 40 yards and smell for what seems like forever, the little guy walks to my stand looks at me and srugs it off. the big boy goes for the corn, at 15 yards I take a perfect broadside shot on him. he runs right through a cedar tree like its not there stubbling and then sprints 50 more yards, he then slows down to a trot for 75 more or so then goes behind tall grass where the 5 point joins him, I have no idea were they went after that. I thought I hit him good but he moved so fast I couldn't tell were it got him. I get down 30 min later and find my arrow right were I shot him, 5 1/4 inches of total penetration and broke clean off. there was blood spray up the arrow about 2 inches. it wasn't very dark out but zero blood that I could see, I made the call to leave and look again in the morning. my main question is, does 5 1/4 seams I bit too far for the shoulder bone. I think that I got him decently but not really sure. any thought? think he could live? also I am only hunting 11 acres so If I bump him im screwed
Hard to say. What kind of broadhead and what setup are you shooting. I had a pass thru on a solid shoulder hit this year. Shoot the D350. With nothing stuck out the bottom you probably will not see much if any blood. 2010 Bow tech Destroyer 350
Well I was always taught the hunt begins after an arrow is released.... If the shot hit it mark and broke off w 5" or more you should find him. Be patient tracking and don't give up until you've found him or exhausted all options
So far you've done everything post shot correctly, that's good news. Its hard to say why you got so little penetration, did the shot look low or high? It sounds like you'll find him in the a.m. to me.
How did the shot impact sound ? Sound like it hit a shoulder? Or maybe bounced off of the off shoulder? I have seem pass trough arrows thy still look clean sometimes.
The fact that he ran away "fast" vs. Slow" is a good sign in my book. Like mentioned above you definitely made the right call backing out until morning. Good luck & be sure to keep us posted! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Arrows don't necessarily break at the skin either. They can break anywhere when you hit the off shoulder. He probably got more penetration than he thinks. Waiting for happy pics.
well crap.... waited till this morning.. went out with my girlfriend, took forever to find first blood, a drop 5 yards away. we "followed" drops of blood for about 200 yards. took forever, was on my hands and knees part of the time. had 2 spots about 3 inches in diameter of blood around 150 yards. then one drop of blood every 5 yards or so then nothing. we looked and looked and could not come up with more blood, we then grid searched all 11 acres which didn't take long and didn't find him. we went back to the last drop of blood and grid searched that area for more blood. nothing. don't have any idea what to do. he never bedded down on this property and I checked the field edge and found no blood. I guess he could have lived but I doubt it. I assume he clogged up and will bleed out internally if there 5 inches of arrow in him. just sucks not knowing.....
Start getting some neighbors permission to look, you should not be giving up yet. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
don't have a dog and don't know anyone with one. the neighbor property is an open wheat field and he's not in that. also no one lives on the neighbor property with woods so I don't know who to ask. I may just walk it... also the border of most of the property is a large creek, so he could get water anywhere.
I hate these threads... no offense. Can you call your DNR and ask if they know someone with a tracking dog? Even a house dog can often find a deer. Do you know a bird hunter? My brother's bird dogs point deer constantly whenever I go hunting with him. Have you looked in the creek?
okay time to put this thread to rest. I did the only thing I could think of and walked through the couple acres across the wheat field. as I got to the back half of it I heard running and looked up and there he was, he didn't see me so he stood there for a little bit then bolted out of there. I couldn't find any blood where he ran or a bed with blood in it. he must have sealed up somehow. it has been roughly 23-24 hours since I shot him.
Did you find the other part of your arrow? 5" sounds like a lot but, depending on where you hit the deer 5" may not have hit any vitals. For example; if you hit high just above the spine at the base of the neck where the shoulder blades are and the facing shoulder blade was positioned just right or you hit the top of the facing shoulder blade, the arrow would have penetrated and hit the opposite shoulder blade and stopped. When the deer took off running, the arrow would have snapped off. I'm not saying for sure that is what happened but, it could be a similar scenario. If this or similar is what happened, the arrow could have easily flogged the hole long enough for the wound to clot and stop the bleeding. This is just the best I could come up with reading the thread. These thing happen and unfortunately it's prt of it. I wish you luck on your remaining season.
thanks man. no I never found the remainder of the arrow. just really weird to me. crazy how tough they are. also my girlfriend and I found 3 nice sheds from searching the whole property. crazy how 11 acres can hold some brutes.
