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Shoulder blade hit- thoughts?

Sligh1

Sligh1

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Done this for 32 years & things like “dag nab it all!” “How did that happen?” “I wonder if he’s gonna live or not?”, etc etc. Still happens!!!!!

I shot a big old 8 point. I hit very close to where I was aiming. I should have lowered & got it further back off shoulder. Dang it!!!!!
Ok- 20 yards. 100% broadside. The arrow hit him HARD!!!! But- the vast vast majority was sticking out. Clearly this is an issue of “how far did it penetrate?” An inch+ can make the difference. The arrow stuck straight out & he ran like a freight train. Probably because being hit in bone is such a shock & force to the body. I could have got one lung. Clearly: 2 lungs he’s toast. No lungs- no issue.
I tracked bright blood for 1000+ yards. Some bubbles. Nothing. 2 lungs - he’d be toast. 1- just don’t know.
What y’all think? I’m basically trying to guess on an issue that will resolve itself…. He’ll either show back up or I’ll find him sometime later.
Never found arrow. Maybe one lung.
My last thoughts…. Seeing this before…. Deer usually go MIA for a week or so. Laying low. Then they start showing after a big delay.
I haven’t hit a shoulder like this in maybe 10-15+ years so great to hear a lil feedback on ur thoughts & what u have seen or feel results might be. The whole “one lung” discussion is one I’ve never ever got solid conclusion on either.


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I made the exact same shot on a deer in 2018. I tracked it .82 miles in snow. Coyotes jumped it out of its last bed (found 7 beds). I lost blood after it got jumped but knew it was dead deer after following blood pretty easily for that far. As suspected, the deer died but not found for months by a neighbor. Arrow a bit deceiving in pic below as the shot was at a downward angle. Clearly lung blood with bubbles. One lung sure sucks. 1000009370.jpg

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Tough call Skip! Where the arrow hit it comes to fractions of inches one way or the other for a speedy recovery.
Logic would think if you was above the deer that the arrow would deflect down to penetrate the lung a bit.
Good luck Skip
 
Like 1983 has said one lung hits suck, if that is what it was. Going that far you know it did not double lung. As 1983 stated high percentage of deer eventually die from one lung hits but seems like all I know of end up way away from where expect them to be expecting they live for awhile. Always deceiving when person sees great blood from one lung then eventually disappears. Most of the one lung hits I have trailed bled great for couple hundred yards and disappears. Good luck.
 
IowaBowHunter1983 said:
I made the exact same shot on a deer in 2018. I tracked it .82 miles in snow. Coyotes jumped it out of its last bed (found 7 beds). I lost blood after it got jumped but knew it was dead deer after following blood pretty easily for that far. As suspected, the deer died but not found for months by a neighbor. Arrow a bit deceiving in pic below as the shot was at a downward angle. Clearly lung blood with bubbles. One lung sure sucks. View attachment 128577

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The irony…. The one I shot is a descendant immigrant offspring of your buck!!!


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Dang it! That deers a complete studddd of an 8! My personal experience has been, if we don’t recover them in under ~300 yards, our odds of recovering them (within a day or 2) drop off a cliff and we either never find them, or we find them in the spring…but usually never. I’ve never used a dog, but dang sure would, without hesitation if conditions were right. I know the thermal drone would be an incredibly effective tool in these situations, but it’s not legal last I knew.
 
Bowhuntordie channel this season on Roku goes thru some of the shots and has a tracker explain the good bad and ugly of each. Shoulder hits I think he says are the hardest/worse
 
deerdown said:
Bowhuntordie channel this season on Roku goes thru some of the shots and has a tracker explain the good bad and ugly of each. Shoulder hits I think he says are the hardest/worse
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Agree. I just hope it’s superficial & he shows again. I have a feeling that if he’s MIA for a couple weeks for example- he’s toast.
 
You hit solid shoulder by the sounds of it. You will have tracking blood but not heavy. just enough to keep going, which every deer hunter would do.
My experience he will live.
 
So I hit a buck Thursday morning smack on the shoulder (small snafu at time of shot) watched him go to the middle of a bean field and stand for an hour- then walked off. Zero blood. Tonight he came in dogging does and didn’t make it out of the plot. I don’t have a good answer- I just know I’ve hit shoulder a few times and never recovered but they all lived from my experiences. It’s amazing on how tough they can be- and right now with hot does doesn’t help. A few years ago the wife hit one and he went and worked 2 scrapes before he went down- crazy
 
newfarmer said:
So I hit a buck Thursday morning smack on the shoulder (small snafu at time of shot) watched him go to the middle of a bean field and stand for an hour- then walked off. Zero blood. Tonight he came in dogging does and didn’t make it out of the plot. I don’t have a good answer- I just know I’ve hit shoulder a few times and never recovered but they all lived from my experiences. It’s amazing on how tough they can be- and right now with hot does doesn’t help. A few years ago the wife hit one and he went and worked 2 scrapes before he went down- crazy
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How much penetration? I have read that they survive single lung hits but I have also blood trailed several that in some shape or form were undoubtedly one lung. If little to no penetration through the shoulder they will live for sure. But if you tear up one lung, the arrow stays in for any amount of time and if infection hits several die much later.
 
Hmmm..

Bout all I can add is....,
I Big buck hit there can withstand that shot WAY MORE then a young buck/ doe.
However, even with 8" of penetration, that should be a dead deer.
 
A definite game of inches. I used to think pulling 70+ lbs with 31"+ of draw length that I could get away with just about an shot placement. I've heard numerous stories like this one that certainly has me realizing these old tough bucks can take a pretty hard hit no matter the bow setup. Good luck on the track job! Hope you find him or he pulls a '50 cent' and just shows back up with a limp.
 
Jgamet said:
A definite game of inches. I used to think pulling 70+ lbs with 31"+ of draw length that I could get away with just about an shot placement. I've heard numerous stories like this one that certainly has me realizing these old tough bucks can take a pretty hard hit no matter the bow setup. Good luck on the track job! Hope you find him or he pulls a '50 cent' and just shows back up with a limp.
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Agree, I was using the same weight and draw length years ago. As I was slipping out for the day, I stepped on a branch that snapped and two buck stood up 20 yards from me. That didn't know what made the noise and just slowly started walking away. I stomped on the ground like an alarmed deer would and one came back. I hit him about the same location as described. A big crack and off he went with the sound of my aluminum arrow tinging off brush. Never found him but the neighbors seen him limping around a month later. That following spring shed hunting I found part of the shaft over a quarter mile away. He lived.
 
Hey Skip. Late to this one, but here are some of my thoughts: You got one lung based on what you described. Two lungs, and he would be toast, as you said. No lung, and you wouldn't have had the amount and type of blood you described for that far (probably not at all). If the broadhead broke off in him, he'll probably die (but not necessarily). If it pulled out, definitely can live.

Deer can survive a pneumothorax (air in the cavity...usually collapses the lung) for a while, but probably not long term. Where it makes sense, one lung hits should be pushed...i.e. don't let them lay up and close up. Obviously neighbors, weather, terrain, etc all factor into this, but if he's bleeding, he'll stay bleeding if pushed. If let to lay up and it's a marginal lung hit, they can close up, clot up, and make it. The sooner the pneumothorax can be stopped, the better his chances of survival.

Infection is of course a longer term issue that could cause a fatality here. Hard to give odds on that. If the deer is able to reach the wound to lick it, better chance of survival.

Shoulder hits: For those that don't realize, the shoulder is not connected to the skeleton at a solid joint (I know you know this Skip). It "floats", in a way, over the rib cage, held in place my muscles and tendons. At the shot, most deer duck, and they will also turn away from the incoming projectile. This can make their front feet almost leave the ground temporarily (they take weight off their front legs as they squat and load up to bolt), which can cause the shoulder to "absorb the punch", much the same as one would back away from a thrown punch in order to reduce it's effect. This "absorbing" of the impact can reduce penetration. Not saying this happened here, but just something to keep in mind. Ducking and turning can also lead to deflections...again, not saying that happened in this case.

I hope he lives on to give you another chance bud! (what a giant! and, Rob (@IowaBowHunter1983) dang dude, that's a giant too!)
 
Skip, sucks to hear, this is always a tough one. Had this happen 1 time also and saw the deer 5 days later bumping does. I only got a couple inches of arrow in and don’t believe got the penetration to get into the chest cavity. Deer lived all year as I found his sheds.

wishing you the same outcome!
 
WELL WELL WELL…. Someone showed up on camera tonight!!!! 2 weeks MIA. 10 guys grid searching. NOTHING. Tonight- BAM! Walked out right before dark in his core area. Picture is a partial of his head & rack but 1000000% it’s him. He’s back!!!! I was convinced he was dead to be Honest. My other take “they go MIA, recover & show back up” ended up being right.
I could not see the shoulder in the photo. TOMORROW the wind is right …. As I’ve been goofing off & just doing run/relaxing “let’s watch stuff hunts” - time to get back into the chase!! These dudes just never quit surprising me!!!!
 
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