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Post by bsutravis on Oct 29, 2008 17:04:44 GMT -5
9:30am..... I see a doe hop a fence and she moves within 30 yards of my stand. She browses around a bit, and I keep watching behind her to see if she's being followed. Sure enough, I see a good set of antlers through the saplings and leaves. This buck moves within 20 yards of me and puts on a show. He's pawing, thrashing, busting limbs.....raising heck but he really isn't paying much attention to the doe. This goes on for close to 10 minutes, all the while he never gives me a broadside shot. About halfway through this buck's tirade, a smaller buck shows up but he's missing one side of his rack. He keeps his distance from the bigger buck, and I'm thinking they might fight. Anyway, finally the doe has seen enough and she starts walking away from me, and the two bucks. I'm still waiting to get a shot....... The big 8pt hits a trail that leads away from me, but he stops and turns slightly so I have just enough angle to get a lung shot. I draw and settle my 20 pin......and let it fly. At that moment things went weird. I remember watching through my peep, and the last vision I had was my bow jumping to the right and my pins were somewhere over it's back/rump. I nearly dropped my bow, but I tried to watch the deer as I kept hold of it. The deer bolted and went straight away, but I couldn't see my arrow in it, nor an entry point......nor could I see the arrow in the ground. All 3 deer ran off and were out of sight within 50 yards. I got out my binoculars and finally found my arrow laying on the ground (not stuck into the ground). I could see a big tuft of hair at the broad head and more hair on the ground. I waited 2.5 hours before getting down, hoping it ran off and died. When I got down I discovered I made a pass thru shot, but from what happened with the bow I have no clue if it hit high, low, front, or back..... Also there isn't any blood trail...... I finally find a few drops of blood and I spent the next 2 hours traveling 300-400 yards and only finding a drop or two every 10-20 yards. It was TOUGH searching. Long story short I eventually jumped a buck that I am 90% sure was the same I shot at.....and he bolted and ran away like "normal". So....after some more looking I've chalked it up that I didn't hit any vitals and I hope the buck I saw is the one I shot. I'm ill over not finding the deer......not because he was a "monster" or anything (he'd probably go in the 120's) but because he was a good deer and I didn't hit my spot and kill it. It was only a 20 yard shot, and I'm totally confident in hitting a 2" spot at that distance......but nevertheless I blew it...... Anyway.......the arrow had a film or glaze of fat possibly, and some bits of tissue and a light smear of blood. Hair at the impact point.....but like I said no blood. If I add up all the drops I found while tracking it I would say I found 30 drops on the leaves. He definitely wasn't pouring the blood out. I hope he lives!     |
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Post by freedomhunter on Oct 29, 2008 17:10:16 GMT -5
I can tell you that you scraped his belly, done it a couple times, looked just like that. What happened, who knows?
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Post by Sleazy E on Oct 29, 2008 17:18:02 GMT -5
From the looks of the hair you hit the lower half of his belly... I am not well enough versed to know exactly where... The film I would think indicates a gut shot.... but if you did not find anything else to make you think gut shot... then I very possibly could be wrong.
As far as the miss goes... it happens to everyone... I know how you feel about it making you sick... it has happened to me more than once... all we can do is our best to make a good quick clean kill on every animal.... but Murphy is gonna get his share of turns as well.
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Post by lymanl3 on Oct 29, 2008 17:55:04 GMT -5
Low on the brisket? Lots of hair..fat....How far did you track?
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Post by turkeyscout on Oct 29, 2008 17:58:15 GMT -5
..........hey bsutravis, sorry about the no recovery, it happens, but two things that comes to mind ,if you did hit in the gut area the arrow shaft will have a smell, and using expandables broadheads a quarter away shot are tough, new archery products just came out with a expandable broadhead called pro series spitfire XP 125..3 blade they CUT ON CONTACT that helps on shots like this. its what i'm using now and i took a quartering shot on a doe this year and got her, thank goodness......ganders mountains-- castleton has them...just my two cents....turkey scout
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Post by Decatur on Oct 29, 2008 18:19:36 GMT -5
Did you smell the arrow? Does it smell like gut? Sorry about the whole situation. I would go back tomorrow snd look for blood where I last saw him, just in case. Do you know why you flubbed the shot?
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Post by bsutravis on Oct 29, 2008 18:25:16 GMT -5
Lyman...... I just used the ruler tool in Google Earth, I was a good 325 yards away from the shot location to the last point I found a speck of blood. I was 850 yards (1/2 mile) away from the shot location to the place where I jumped the buck that I'm fairly sure was the buck I shot at. The shaft had no gut smell on it whatsoever.... it's very possible I could have grazed the chest, then pierced through the front right leg and that's what made my arrow look like it was a pass thru..... Now this question: Like I said, he tore that area up that I was in. He has 3 scrapes inside the woods near my stand, another 2 on the perimeter of the woods. Do you guys think he will return to those scrapes or abandon them since he was shot at in that area?  Decatur....... I'm not sure what happened with the shot. I had to have hit a branch with my bow when the limbs released. When I hit my release everything was good for an accurate shot, then at that moment of release nothing was right... |
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Post by Decatur on Oct 29, 2008 18:31:30 GMT -5
I think he may come back. A lot of deer don't really know what happened when they are shot with a bow. If he does come back, you can bet he'll be leary and jumpy! Good luck!
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Post by varmint101 on Oct 29, 2008 18:39:29 GMT -5
I bet he comes back with lovin still on his mind!
Looks like brisket and fat to me too.
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Post by huxbux on Oct 29, 2008 18:53:09 GMT -5
I agree with the others Travis. An arrow that causes death will always be covered with blood. I don't think you hurt that deer other than causing him one really good scare. He ain't going anywhere, but I would choose a different location at least a hundred yards or more away from the scene of the crime. I believe he'll be pretty leery of that spot for a good while. Keep hunting him and good luck!
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Post by duff on Oct 29, 2008 19:04:02 GMT -5
I agree with the brisket.
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Post by Sasquatch on Oct 29, 2008 19:20:52 GMT -5
Been there. Looks like a brisket hit. THat buck is alive. I bet he'll be back.
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Post by bsutravis on Oct 29, 2008 19:32:52 GMT -5
You guys will help make me sleep a bit better tonight! Thanks for the help.
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Post by hornzilla on Oct 29, 2008 19:54:01 GMT -5
I agree with the brisket, and the fat tissue in that area. If so he will be fine.
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Post by powderfinger on Oct 29, 2008 19:59:54 GMT -5
I've seen arrows from double and single lung pass thrus look like that before. (Not with the hair, but I'm guessing that has something to do with the expandable head.) The most recent being the doe I shot last weekend...the one with one lung that went 800+ yards. My belief is that my arrow deflected off a rib and came out in the sternum area thus the "squeegeed" look. Your arrow has the same look. My deer bled a gallon early but it did become sparse at the end. I bumped her once and found her still very much alive at the end. I'm not trying to make you feel bad, but you might want to give it another try tomorrow.
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on Oct 29, 2008 20:10:34 GMT -5
I say brisket as well. I'd also say he's probably in Illinois by now and still hasn't stopped. That buck is little smarter now of the area  |
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Post by Woody Williams on Oct 29, 2008 20:11:29 GMT -5
Yep.. my guess is the brisket. You pretty well just dinged him to get that much hair. Tallow on the shaft pretty well confirms it.
He will live to be hunted another day.
Better luck next time.
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Post by songdog on Oct 29, 2008 20:12:11 GMT -5
Sorry about the bad day , we all have had days like that I can guarantee you. I did that a few years ago and ended up taking a real nice buck a few days later. Hang in there . Nobody likes wounding deer and not finding them , but you have to take it as a part of the game . I really big factor.Don't be so hard on yourself and hang in there.
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Post by raporter on Oct 29, 2008 20:48:39 GMT -5
Low on the brisket? Lots of hair..fat....How far did you track? That would be my guess too. BTDT! |
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Post by jobraun on Oct 29, 2008 21:45:10 GMT -5
had a double lung pass through on a doe last sunday with the arrow stuck in the ground and there was not much blood at all on the shaft or fletching. She ran about 40 yards and I did not see a drop of blood until a few feet of where she went down. the fatty tissue on the shaft makes me question how good the hit was but I sure would take another look.
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