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moosehunter

moosehunter

PMA Member
The shot I took last night was almost a straight down shot. He was walking in, slightly off to the side but my shot went in on the top just behind his shoulder. We trailed him for close to a mile with very little blood. We had just about givin up when a deer got bumped out of a brushy patch. It was him. I recovered the last 6 inches of the arrow that broke off when he got up and took off. We trailed him for a couple hundred more yards before he crossed a gravel road and slipped into another woods. It looked like there was more blood now. I decided there to leave him be and try again tommorrow morning. What does anyone think about the shot being a mortal wound. Obviously it did not pierce the heart or lungs (at least I don't think so). But it is not back in the gut either. I think the deer is gonna die, it's just if I can find him or not.
 
straight down?? you don't think you took out a lung or anything?? i'm impressed you are still on the trail after a mile and no exit wound. letting him sit the night should help, good luck tomorrow.
 
If you got your arrow know it might have done more damage when it came out. I would almost guess that you had to hit one lung. Fatal for the most part, but on a good mature deer it can take quite awhile. The bad blood trail only makes sense with such a high entry point. He pretty much has to fill up with blood to have any come out. I would guess when you jumped him he wasn't super fast and seemed weak. Giving him more time he will probably bed down and hopefully you can find him. Take your bow you might find him bedded and weak enough that he can't get up. I have seen it before when after you jump them again they start to bleed better and don't have the stamina to run as far before bedding again. Good luck. Sounds like you have patience which will really help you out.
 
muddy. i'm not sure if it clipped a lung or not. I was actually aiming for the spine but have been off to the side just a smidgen. I'm sure the arrow has to be buried deep in the front of the chest. I can understand not getting alot of blood cause it has to get pumped up to leak out.
deadeye. i'm hoping he cause more damage after he took off. he ran up a very steep hill for 50 yards or so then back down and jumped a couple of ravines thats when I stopped following. I figured we were only gonna keep pushing him. It rained this afternoon also. I don't know if it rained over where I hunt though. Hopefully it didn't wash evidence away. I'm feeling lower than whale poop right now
 
muddy. i'm not sure if it clipped a lung or not. I was actually aiming for the spine but have been off to the side just a smidgen. I'm sure the arrow has to be buried deep in the front of the chest. I can understand not getting alot of blood cause it has to get pumped up to leak out.
deadeye. i'm hoping he cause more damage after he took off. he ran up a very steep hill for 50 yards or so then back down and jumped a couple of ravines thats when I stopped following. I figured we were only gonna keep pushing him. It rained this afternoon also. I don't know if it rained over where I hunt though. Hopefully it didn't wash evidence away. I'm feeling lower than whale poop right now....
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If it was a lung shot the blood would be foamy with air bubbles...more than likely you hit a muscle, which will bleed some and eventually heal (unless it gets infected). If it was a gut shot the arrow (and sometimes blood) would have traces of bile.
 
Don't feel too down on yourself. Especially if you don't recover him you need to keep up the confident attitude and go back out and shot another one.

My guess is one of two things. Either you didn't hit anything vital and he is going to recover. Or that maybe you got a good artery or one lung and he will bed down again and die. You have to admit that you gave it your best effort and tracked him that far and looked that hard, which is more than most guys will do. Even if he would die and you don't find him he will not go to waste as other creatures need food too.

Hats off to your effort. Keep us posted and once again GOOD LUCK.
 
I think it is a mortal shot. Helped someone find a very big one on the 3rd that was shot like this. He let it sit over night. We found it in its death bed but still alive about 18 hours after the shot. The second arrow made it a done deal. He knows that we are very lucky to have found it. And, not the be the a-hole but, it is generally recommeneded not to take the straight down shots or spine shots with a bow and arrow. Good luck finding him and don't give up.
 
HEY DEADEYE. I AGREE WITH YOU ON THE SHOT PLACEMENT. BUT THIS GUY ONLY OFFERED ME THIS SHOT. I KNOW OF MANY DEER THAT WERE TAKEN DOWN WITH A SPINE SHOT AND THATS WHAT I WAS HOPING FOR. AND AT 25 FEET(YES FEET) I WAS SURE THAT I COULD DRILL HIM IN A GOOD SPOT. WITH ALL BUT 6" OF THE ARROW BURIED IN HIM I WOULD SAY HE WON'T SURVIVE WHICH IS WHY I FEEL LIKE CRAP IF I CAN'T FIND HIM THIS MORNING.....
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Moose, I would have take that shot to. Matter of fact I have one spine kill my self. Most hunters don't know the anatomy of a deer beyond where the heart and lungs are. Did you know there are some major arteries in the deers rump and a blade throuhg both cheeks is quite deadly.
Deadeye-good guess he is either going to recover or die, ha ha, just funun ya! You are right that the yotes need to eat to.
Hunt on All4s
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Hey moosehunter, I am confident that you have killed this animal and I am also confident that you are the kind of hunter that will give it your all to find him. My message was not to kick you while you are down. It's more for the other readers on here. We have plenty of youth and beginners reading this and since nobody else was saying it, the spine shot is frowned on along with the straight down. Although there are plenty of success stories with these types of shots and we are all hoping yours will be too, sometimes you get no good shots and you should let them walk. Again, good hunting and good luck finding the deer.

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Could you have gotten too far off to the side and the arrow glanced off a rib and is between the rib cage and shoulder blade?

I shot a buck last week that had a 100 grain Thunderhead lodged right behind the shoulder. The blades had worked loose, but the deer was otherwise fine. There were no fresh wounds and everything had healed over, so it was obvious the deer was hit last season. There was scar tissue high on the outside of the shoulder blade, which led us to believe the shot was likely a quarting to shot or a shot taken at a steep downward angle (or a combination of both). The arrow never made it inside of the rib cage and into the vitals. The deer was healthy and fine and until I was skinning it and found the arrow, it showed no signs of being previously hit.

I bring this up simply as a possiblity to consider. Congrats on your trailing persistence and best wishes finding him.

Keep us posted.
 
I'm with scout. I've been checking in all day waiting for the news!! Sure hope he's having a party!!
 
first of all, thanks to all for your input and advice and encouragement. the rain saturday afternoon was no help at all. i started at the last place i had blood and followed the most likely trails he would have went and found no trace. then started making circles looking for traces and nothing. then i just walked the timber hoping to find a body and nothing. i went back to the last place where i knew there was blood and it was washed off from the rain. so from there i reluctantly decided i gave it my best to try to find him. i have never had to trail a deer like this and it's hard for me to get over the fact i know he's gonna die, or is dead, and i don't know where he's at. all told i spent 3 hours friday night, 5 hours saturday, and almost 4 more sunday trailing and looking for him. He was a hell of a nice buck, but i would have spent the same effort on a doe. the way i see it an animal at least deserves enough respect to make a decent effort to recover him. hogie, being the good guy he is, will take me up in his plane in a week or so to look for him from the air. by then the coyotes should have him spead out enough to see him pretty good. thanks again guys......
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You are a true sportsman. You're gonna trust Hogie at the controls of an airplane?
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Let me know when your gonna go for the ride. I'll tell AirCare 2 in Waterloo to be on stand-by.
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The 'Bonker
 
Moose,

You have my respect has for the effort you put forth. Learn everything you can from this experience. All you can do now is take what you can and change the things you may consider doing differently. Don't look back, just look forward.

All is not lost yet. Let me suggest two things. First, consider letting the crows help you find him. Continue going back to the area of last blood, especially early in the morning, and listen for a flock of them squawking. Second, I'd talk to every landowner or hunter you know of in the area, especially close neighbors, and let them know you hit a nice buck that you could not recover. Give them your phone number. In the coming weeks/months, maybe even next year, one of them may stumble across that carcass while deer or bird hunting.

I personally have found two dandy buck carcasses in the past year (plus three other deer). One of them had been shot by a neighbor. I actually had seen something was awry in that location a week earlier, but it was 200 yards away and at the time didn't care to investigate. When the neighbor's kid told me his dad had hit a nice buck the previous week, I put two and two together and went back. Sure enough, it was his buck. The coyotes had picked it over well, but at least he had closure on the incident.

Best of luck to you in your hunting endeavors.
 
bonker. i'll let ya know before we go for a little ride. I appreciate your concern. Hogie is a good pilot though. I've flown with him several times with no problems. I don't even puke anymore when he does the woopdie doooos .
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I feel my odds are good with him cause he's only crashed a couple times.
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Badgerbowdude. You offered some good advice for a cheesehead. (just kidding
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) I know the guy that's hunting the timber he was last in so I have contacted him already. The neighbors is a good idea though. I will follow through with that and will keep one eye on the sky looking for them crows. Thanks..
 
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