Hunted all day and late in the afternoon the wind switched so i decided to head back to the truck. Since i still had plenty of light i thought i would try and stalk a group of does in a draw that i spotted yesterday. While stalking i got busted right away by a doe and she headed down the draw about 60 yards and stopped. I decided to try and circle around her through some cedars and try again. About 10 yards of slow walking i hear two more deer get up in the draw below me. Through the cedars i see large white tines. I tucked up close to a cedar and drew my bow, as the buck stepped out i stopped him, settled the pin and fired. I felt like the shot was going to be good but was surprised when my arrow did not pass through the buck. My arrow only penetrated what looked like 8-12 inches. The only thing i can come up with was that i must have clipped the front shoulder which slowed down my arrow. I felt like i should have been far enough back to miss the shoulder so i am not really sure what happend. I backed out and and waited for a buddy to come help me track. We gave him an hour and a half before going to track him. By then it was completely dark but we were able to find a blood trail. We had drops, then splotches of blood that was mostly red (not pinkish). We followed the trail about 40 yards to where he hoped a fence onto the dam of a pond that is next to a large 40 acre crp field. We lost the trail and decided to back out. I had to work today, my father in law is going to head out to look on a 4-wheeler and i am going to look this afternoon. This is the type of bad luck i have had all season. What are my odds of finding him, any advice is welcome. I am sick over this. This would have been my first buck ever. I have seen lots of bucks this season but have either not had a shot, or missed completly in oct. Didnt sleep last night and still feel like i could puke at any moment. Do you think this buck expired over night or still going?
Nontypcl1
Member
If the shot hit true then 8-12" of penetration would be plenty to put it down. Is it possible it went thru and hit the opposite shoulder? I'd stay after it. If you think the shot was on target then he should be down somewhere. If you don't find him at first definitely go back and look for signs of scavengers that might have found him. Crows and ravens can be your best when trying to recover a deer in tall grass.
Good luck and I hope to see some harvest pics
Good luck and I hope to see some harvest pics
DannyBoy
Well-Known Member
I think that much penetration with a shoulder hit is a very deadly hit. If it seemed a bit low you likely hit the "elbow" but should have hit some vitals as well. A bit high would be a scapula hit and there are some gray areas there. Best of luck to you. I'm sure once that arrow falls out the blood will get better.