What Went Wrong With Trail? UPDATE DEER FOUND pg 2!!

[hickry]

Can somebody help me figure out what happened?? Man... it's kind of been a tough week on the bowhunting!  Broke my favorite ironwood bow on Thursday, but had 'little brother' made out of the same tree in standby.  So I went hunting yesterday, and first rattle out of the bag, had a really nice buck walk by checking his scrapes.  I shot him about 10 yards out.  Hit him a little too far forward... and in the shoulder and didn't get very good penetration... but he ran LOW AND FAST... didn't think he would go very far.  Didn't hear him crash, so I gave him about an hour and a half.  My dad's a great tracker, so I got him and we hit the trail.  Well, the deer started bleeding a little about 20 yards from where I hit him.  Steady drops for 20-30 yards, then he OPENED UP for about another 75-100 yards.  I've been deer hunting about 25 years, and in all that time have never seen a blood trail like this... you could literally stand in a spot and just see a line in front of you as far as your eyes could pick it up.  Then, back to some drops for another 100 yards... then nothing for 50 yards... then just a few drops for a little while longer.  We finally lost the trail in the neighborhood of 300-400 yards from start.  Got some more guys and did a grid search after that in every direction... NOTHING.  I can't figure out what happened.  He ran off with my arrow... never found it.  Maybe, in his running, it tore up one lung and he just went a LONG way?  I'm including some pictures of blood... can y'all help me figure out what happened??
   
   
   

[Mudd]

I can't do more than make a suggestion.

If it were my deer I would find a tracking dog and see if the deer could be located.

Good luck with your search.

God bless,Mudd

[slivrslingr]

Anyone in your area have a tracking dog?  Looks and sounds like a dead buck to me, I'm willing to bet you walked past him at some point.  He may have circled back the way he came from, somewhere between where you shot him and where you did the grid search.  If nothing else, wait a day and look for the crows.  Hope you find him, I know how you feel, BTDT.  He's out  there, go find him.

[Mike Gerardi]

I would go back to the last drop of blood and go backwards looking left to right. I had a buck do that last year. Over 150yds into the track, the blood got less and less until it stopped.  I went straight back 20 yds and found blood going to the left. It continued for another 100+ yds before we found him. We tracked him drop to drop.  As you know they will circle, zigzag and back track several times with a marginal hit. We never go past the last drop until we find another. Or try not too...  And is it possible that someone else could of come across him before you?
Mike

[Earl Jeff]

It is also possible that you hit him on the shoulder blade and failed to penetrate in the chest cavity.

[kuch]

that looks like bubbles in the blood in the one pic? if so , my deduction is one lung and a long difficult track...but that deer should die. don't give up...think like a hurt deer..good luck!!!

[Friend]

Could not tell with any degree of confidence to what had happened. One thing that has worked   consistantly for me is to make a commitment not to move beyond that last drop of blood. It drives my partners nuts that I may commit up to an hour on my hands and knees screening every twig, leaf. rock within a 20 yard radius of the last drop of blood. During this exercise I may find his tracks and go from there. The key has been to remain patient and take some pleasure in figuring out the puzzle. My buds are excited when after all there waiting we are on the trail again. They must not disapprove too much since they come get me when when they have lost a trail.

Tracking and game recovery is one of the most important aspects of the hunt. Learn to relax and take pleasure in it. The reward is great.

[Shawn Leonard]

I would of backed out and gave him a lot longer than an hour and a half! They will lay up with one lung and that what it appears it is. I know it is too late, but a minimum of 4-6 hours on a hit like that before you start tracking, almost treat it like a gut shot which is minimum of 6-8 hours in my book, the longer the better! Shawn

[Coonbait]

I hit a bear a month ago in New Brunswick the same thing! Heavy shoulder hit, little penetration, LOTS of blood.We used a GPS as we tracked and followed a very good blood trail over two and a half hours. The GPS showed we traveled over three quarters of a mile. The last sign was were the bear scraped moss off the ground a assumably clotted the hole in his shoulder! Shoulder hits are rarely fatal. If your not in the vital organs he will not bleed to death. Get yourself a copy of John Jeanneney's book DEAD ON it's a great read on how and when to track wounded deer! And waiting isn't the answer except on gut shot animals. If you one lunged that deer you get on him now. You want that deer bleeding, not lying down recovering. Don't give up until your sure in your own mind that you did all your capable of, then move on and keep hunting.
GOOD LUCK
GLENN

[Ward / Texas]

Sorry to hear about the tough week.  Have you seen any sign of buzzards working the area?

[hickry]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Unfortunately, not going to be able to go back down until next weekend... just too much happening. Pretty sick about it.  It was warm yesterday... and I don't think the meat would be good today to ask others to go out.  I've one lunged on shots angled way down before... but they've always gone down within a few hundred yards... and haven't ever lost one like that.  I'm still not sure what I would have done differently... will research giving them more time. Based on the bubbles in the blood... am guessing that I did get into the chest cavity... but, beyond that, just don't know.  I agree with not moving beyond the last drop of blood... I'm always the one slowing everybody down.  But, I think sometimes you just don't have a choice... they just seem to stop.  Now, turning, that's another story.  The more I think about it, the more I wonder if he didn't backtrail a little?  Anyway, thanks again for the feedback.

[Archer Fanatic]

Would there be any water in the area? That looks and sounds simimilar to my brothers deer several years ago. We went back and found him in the water of a small creek bed.

[hickry]

Yep... there's quite a bit of water.  He crossed a creek at one point... and then went kind of went right up an ox-bow of it.  Just downstream, this creek gets pretty big and then dumps into a river.  I would say it could be very likely he went for the water.  Each one of us walked the creek twice and couldn't see him... I don't know if they would sink?

[lpcjon2]

Maybe he laid down and clotted.

[hickry]

Well, my dad took his bird dog back over today. She's not a tracking dog, but she would point or bark at a dead deer. He said they walked three hours... nothing. The way those woods are laid out, you can cover a lot of ground in three hours. I've about decided he hit the river... or just went a lot further. If anybody else has had this happen, let me know. I don't want to have this mess up again.  Thanks, again, for all the comments.

[Bill Tell]

Did you find any hair?  If you did what color did it look like?  How long was it?  Did it have black tips?

[Onions]

hickry,
I had the same thing happen to me last week. I shot a buck with a 160 Snuffer, little forward. As he took off I saw more arrow sticking out then I expected. However, looked to be at least 4" (which would put the arrow in the front lung). I was VERY foggy that morning, I could not see over 50 yards (normally I can see 1/2 mile over winter wheat, and picked corn with a nasty thick swale between). I figured the buck would head for the nasty cover of the swale just north of where I shot him (100 yards or so). I tracked him through the cover,with plenty of blood. Once the buck was through the cover, I lost all blood on the edge of the picked corn field. Searched on my hands and knees for 4 hours. NOTHING! Very disapointing!
I went back the next morning, figured if the deer was dead in the swale, I would see crows, ravens, or vultures. Maybe a coyote something. Nothing?????
I can't imagine the deer lived, but where did he go???
I have "lost" a few deer in all the years, its never easy, always disheartening. However, nothing in nature goes to waste.

chris <><

[J. Cook]

If you hit forward, only pierced one lung on a mature buck -- he is NOT dead.  I have seen 3 different 3 yr old + bucks in the last 2 years that were singled lunged on shots almost identical to the one you described -- all 3 were later killed in gun season AFTER rutting hard, fighting, and just being bucks for 2 or 3 weeks after the shot.  

A mature deer CAN and WILL likely live with a single lung shot, were no major arteries were severed.  I'd be willing to bet you that if you ask around, someone will see that very deer again in the future.

[Mint]

I had the same thing happen to me about 8 years ago. Trailed that buck a long time until the blood trail stopped. My friend ended up shooting the buck two weeks later. One lung and still alive.

[Onions]

Thanks for the encouragement! Hopefully I see him again, maybe this time I can put a arrow in the other lung!

chris <><