Heartbreaker

[Knotter]

I had a morning of joy and the rest of the day was misery yesterday. The short of it.  I connected on a whitetail buck on a 20 yard broadside shot. The shot hit him hard on his right side. (heard the "smack") but the bugger jumped the string and the shot ended up hitting a little high and forward.  Be blazed off with the arrow only sticking in a few inches (i think into the scapula).  He ran across an open field (1/2 mile) at full tilt.  I gave it an hour then took up the trail. For more than less of it  were down on hands and knees for a mile and a half trailing millimeter sized droplets of blood.  At first the spacing is every yard... a drop.  then every two... the specs then the odd drop. The trail goes cold after that.  9 hours of searching and I fear I've lost him.     I had two buddies with me helping with the tracking job.  Once the blood trail ran out we fanned out looking for sign. The search took us out a long ways and still no sigh of the buck.  We came up empty handed, puzzled and downright bummed. from the blood sign I wonder if the shot wouldn't be fatal (immediate).  We never found the arrow so I don't know how the broadhead performed.   Opinions welcomed here.  What else do we do... other than look for flock of magpies and crows... if even that?

I keep going over it in my mind.  I honestly believe that an inch back or lower and this post ends up completely different.  I wonder if I had stuck to the EFOC concept with a single bevel would it be different? Should I have practiced more?... used a heavier bow?...  Is my doubt of all this a normal thing for bowhunting and specifically Trad? None of this changes the fact that a fellow earthling is now running around with my number 11 arrow sticking out of his right shoulder.  

I was shooting tapered ash shafts and an eclipse broadhead. The questions I have for the gang.  Have you ever lost and animal?  If yes, is this cause you to reconsider your setup?

The one thing positive I will say is that I am grateful for my buddies that helped me with the tracking and subsequent search. Franck and Luke are true gentlemen.

Feeling low today
Mike

[KSdan]

Forward and high. . . you hit all meat as the back bone drops a third to half way down the deer at that point.  He is out feeding and probably beginning to take interest in does tonight. The deer is not a fellow earthling- he is an animal that will feed someone/something in the end. Nothing goes to waste in the wild.  

Most of us have been there. Sounds like you have AWESOME friends and you served the conservation ethic beyond what most would do. I am sure your skills and equipment are fine.  

Shake it off best you can.  Get back at it.  My money is on- that deer lived and will get bigger next year. . .  and unfortunate for us hunters- a little smarter!

Dan in KS

[flyfish1]

If you were using ash shafts I have to assume you were in the 10gpp range weight wise which is very efficient. It sounds like you hit heaviest part of shoulder and I dont think a single bevel would have done much better if at all. This will happen to more than not, we just do the best we can and learn from every experience and thats all we can really do. Dont be too hard on yourself.

[dbd870]

Don't think this warrants any kind of change, he'll recover.

[fishone]

If you hunt, you will hit a deer and not recover it.
Things just happen! If he ran full tilt for a 1/2 mile, you did not kill him. He will be sore for awhile but just fine.

[xtrema312]

Originally posted by Knotter:

Have you ever lost and animal?  If yes, is this cause you to reconsider your setup?

 

Yes and Yes.  I been hunting 40 plus years.  There are no guarantees even with a gun things go wrong.  Do your best to make good shots and follow up like you did looking for hit game.  Shake it off and get back to it.  learn from it.  Make changes if you see something you did wrong. I hate losing any animal, but it is part of hunting.  Bow hunting is not an easy way to hunt.

[xtrema312]

This maybe a good time to tell this little story.  

Two years ago a friend's son shot a buck about this time in bow season. They tend to be rack hunters.  The kid says "I saw this buck come up with his back leg hanging by just a little hide.  He was small and I was going to pass him. Then I felt like I had to end his suffering."  He shoots this nice size 2 1/2 year old 7 pt. Other than the leg severed above the knee joints, the buck looked real healthy. I asked what the deer was doing when he shot him and how was he acting. "He was chasing does."  I said nice deer, and I think if you asked him if he needed to have his suffering ended he would have passed.

[Got2strum]

I've lost one with basically the same shot once. My cousin whom hunts an area close to me saw the buck a week later and he was acting perfectly normal, no limp or visible sign of injury. Plus I guess I taught that buck a lesson because he gave my cuz the slip without presenting a shot      
I still felt bad for flubbing the shot but you can't change it, gotta move on.

[VictoryHunter]

Bummer! You did everything you could do so don't sweat it. Deer are really tough and only a few inches of penetration in the shoulder wouldn't likely kill the deer. Personally I would never rely on high foc to kill, just practice and next time try to put it in the right spot. No need to change your setup.

[Knotter]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the perspective. This is the first animal I didn't recover. I learned a lot tracking this guy.  It's hat I love about hunting. If your willing to listen you have something to learn. I will always be a student of what nature has to teach me.  KSdan- your right. Everything out there is food for something and there is no waste.

At the end of e day Franck pulled a pile of survey flagging out of pocket that he and Luke picked up on the way back to the vehicle. I was flabbergasted by how much we went through.  Pretty near 2/3 of a roll.   When I think of that I know I tried my hardest to find him. The first time the trail went cold I sat at the last spot we saw blood and just thought about where he could have gone. I think I know deer pretty well and I had a hunch.  I Measured the distance between droplets and projected where I might find the next bit of sign. Sure enough... There it was!  A speck the size of a pinhead.  Then another the size of a quarter.  It took hours for us to cover what the deer did in a matter of seconds.  When the trail finally went cold it took the three of us stubborn buggers a good while to let go of the idea that we might catch up to him.  

Much to learn I have (in a yoda voice).

[Russ Clagett]

I made the exact shot on a large buck two years ago...searched off an on for two days...no deer..until two weeks later he showed up on a trail cam looking just fine..except for that scar where it was healing...

[David Brent]

Mike,  
Take heart. This reminds me of a situation a few years ago when I was hunting one morning when a mature doe came in. She was at a slow walk when I mouth grunted  to get her to stop (I never will do that again). She stopped at full alert at 18yds when I pick a spot, drew and released. At the shot she started to drop! Not her first rodeo and the Woodsman hit her square in the shoulder blade. A very loud SMACK and she tore out like she was running from the he?? hounds. I was mortified as yourself and could not believe what happened. I could hear the arrow bouncing off brush and trees as she ran. I got down to check for blood hoping I got enough penetration as most of the arrow was still sticking out and to see what blood was on the ground. I found the arrow without the broadhead about 65 yds. from the shot and when I bent down to pick it up she took off. She was standing, watching me about 50yds away and bounded away with her tail up. I never found her.
Three years later one of my brothers was hunting the property during the muzzloader season and shot a mature doe. Upon butchering he found my Woodsman broadhead buried in the scapula with about 1/4 to 3/8" of the tip coming through. Not enough to get the job done. I'm betting the deer you shot will be fine and if one hunts long enough this situation is going to happen.
Chin up and get back at it!

Dave Brent

[Robhood23]

Based on what you said I would venture to say you hit the shoulder blade! If you would have hit the meat above it I believe you would not have heard a smack and you would have had alot more penetration.

[johnnyk71]

sure sounds like he will survive. i have a buddy who shot one high in the shoulder with a rifle last year, and could not believe he couldn't find him. dropped him like a rock from the shock, but that was before he got up and ran off.

when he showed up a couple weeks later on a trail cam, he had a piece the size of a baseball missing out of his upper back/shoulder. and he was eating corn and chasing does! amazing animals.

[D. Key]

I had the same scenario happen to me about 3 years ago on Sept. 29th.  Hit a buck high in the shoulder blade and only got about 2" penetration.  He ran off and broke my arrow off just at the insert.  I looked for 2 weeks and found nothing. Ironically, he came back on Dec. 24th of that year, as I had him on my trail camera at the same set.  I'm still chasing that ole boy.

[Knotter]

I still can't get over how fast he moved/reacted on hearing the bow.  I will be watching for him in the coming weeks. Tough critters.