Think I blew it tonight.

[Biathlonman]

Time to hunt this year has been nearly non- existent with the birth of my third 6 weeks ago and two more kids under 5.  Well grandma and grandpa had the big ones today and I couldn't stand the thought of letting this beautiful day slip by. My wife gave me an evening pass and I was in a stand a buddy and I have maintained on an oak ridge on some local public land.

It was slow until about 4 o'clock when I spotted what I thought was a lone doe crossing the ridge below me. Much to my surprise my doe in estrus can made her curious and she started my way with a second doe in tow.  Once they got close I guess they decided the acorns on that ridge were nice and milled around eating until about 5.  As I was angling trying to get into position to account for them being behind me the largest doe suddenly snaps to attention.  Next thing I know a monster buck appears from behind them in an area I have little visibility and horns one of the does in the butt. They bounce out in the opening behind me and he pops rights out behind them in the neighborhood of 20 yards more sharply down hill then I thought at the time.  Without conscious thought the bow is back and the arrow is off. Much to my chagrin he dropped like I've only seen deer do on TV and wheels with what looks like the feathers of my arrow caught between his skin and spine. He tears off out up a different finger ridge and things get quiet. It was getting dark and my flashlight batteries were going. ( it was a hastily thrown together trip) so I backed out.  I'll be back in at first light to sort this out.

Anyone have any thoughts?  I'm guessing he got cut a little cut and an education if my eyes didn't lie, but I just can't figure out how a three blade broadhead could have ended up with the shaft hung up by the feathers in that position.

[Wannabe1]

Brad, I got no words of wisdom for you as I'm still looking for my first but, do hope this ends well for you! Good luck and hope there is a find at the end of the trail.  

[mwosborn]

Only way you will know is to go back in the morning as you have planned.  You never know.  Good luck.

[Guss]

Good luck in the morning bro....gonna be a restless night...!

[KyStickbow]

I hate that brother....but you never know. Hoping to hear you have good news and a story to tell in the a.m.

[dhermon85]

Sounds like a flesh wound. Trust your eyes, you know what you saw. If you hit way high, he may be just fine.

[Wudstix]

Go back as planned and look for any sign.  No blood most likely means he'll live and be wiser next time.

[stujay]

As above...let us know how it turned out.

[South MS Bowhunter]

I agree the only way to know is investigate it thoroughly.

As for trusting your eyes...I will have to disagree to some extent as I just experience a situation where my eyes lied to me.

Or at least my vision was somewhat deceptive. When shooting at  live animals things happens so quick that without a video to show it frame by frame its hard to really know what took place in some situations.

Here's my story from Halloween afternoon.  At 6:10 pm I took a shot at a quartering away doe shooting on her right side. At the shot my arrow appeared to hit her way back and in the ham about middle ways up.  And with very little penetration.

She took off shot out of a cannon, and I watched my arrow fall to the ground about 15 feet away from where she stood. Upon investigating the area I found found white belly hair and stomach materials.

I backed out for 3 hours and upon returning prepared for a long night of tracking I set out to look for a gut shot deer that I originally would have said was hit in the ham.

After 50 yards of nothing but Gut materials and no blood I find a pile of intestines, large and small and the colon all piled together      

From there I begin to fine small droplets of blood for the next 61 yards and a dead deer that stiff as a board from being dead for 3 hours.

The moral of this story is expect the unexpected, your eyes will lie to you and only a through search will tell the full story.

In my case the Simmons Tigershark  had unzipped the lower paunch of the doe and totally disemboweled her by the first 50 yards. That's not what I saw!

[Chad Orde]

Originally posted by South MS Bowhunter:
I agree the only way to know is investigate it thoroughly.

As for trusting your eyes...I will have to disagree to some extent as I just experience a situation where my eyes lied to me.

Or at least my vision was somewhat deceptive. When shooting at  live animals things happens so quick that without a video to show it frame by frame its hard to really know what took place in some situations.

Here's my story from Halloween afternoon.  At 6:10 pm I took a shot at a quartering away doe shooting on her right side. At the shot my arrow appeared to hit her way back and in the ham about middle ways up.  And with very little penetration.

She took off shot out of a cannon, and I watched my arrow fall to the ground about 15 feet away from where she stood. Upon investigating the area I found found white belly hair and stomach materials.

I backed out for 3 hours and upon returning prepared for a long night of tracking I set out to look for a gut shot deer that I originally would have said was hit in the ham.

After 50 yards of nothing but Gut materials and no blood I find a pile of intestines, large and small and the colon all piled together      

From there I begin to fine small droplets of blood for the next 61 yards and a dead deer that stiff as a board from being dead for 3 hours.

The moral of this story is expect the unexpected, your eyes will lie to you and only a through search will tell the full story.

In my case the Simmons Tigershark  had unzipped the lower paunch of the doe and totally disemboweled her by the first 50 yards. That's not what I saw!

Wow that is crazy!

[Colotrad]

I once killed a buck that had a 3 point scar just above his spine. Its possible and if you hit him there, chances are he will heal just fine.

[ChuckC]

My son gun shot a buck a few years ago.  Buck looked in fine shape.  On deboning, we found a broadhead stuck in his spine.  Later, after removing all soft materials, one of the blades could clearly be seen inside the foramen where the spinal chord passes.  It had to have cut a small portion of the spinal chord.

I think some bowhunter dropped this buck in its tracks.  WHooped and hollered and danced, lowered his gear to the ground and then cried as it got back up in a few minutes and ran away.
ChuckC

[Eric Krewson]

Same thing here, shot a doe and hit high or so I thought, looked like I cut skin on her back but could see my arrow hanging out the off side just under her spine as she ran off.

One pin head sized spot of blood found in 2 hrs of tracking that evening and none found in 6 hours of looking the next day.

Last year I was hunting armadillos on the back side of the ridge I shot the doe on two years previously and found a doe skeleton down in a hollow I never walked up during my tracking job.

Hope it was someone else's but I suspect it was the doe I shot.

[Biathlonman]

Well I spent several hours out there this morning and I believe my eyes were telling the truth.  I followed messed up leaves and foot prints in the mud for about 100 yards until I found a drop of blood.  Followed pin drops for about another 100 yards then stopped just suddenly as it began.  I hope and prey the old boys back to chasing the ladies all ready.

[KentuckyTJ]

Ouch. Sorry Brother that's always tough.

[stujay]

Thanks for the followup... I have had the same thing happen and the buck survived...I think yours may too.

[Biathlonman]

I can't imagine him not surviving from what I've seen.  I drew blood so figure my buck tag is filled.  Maybe I can make it out for a late season doe hunt.

[trubltrubl]

to make you feel better a friend of mine put a three blade through the skin between the spine and the top hair on a bear and we saw him  again two days later with a small mark on the top of his back...and as unharmed as a papercut  by the looks of it...maybe you can get another shot at him...good luck

[huntnmuleys]

to heck with that buck tag is filled part.  youre still hunting and hes still there.  you might cross paths again.

[tracker1]

Brad, I'm sorry to hear about the buck but I'm sure he will be fine.  I was going to send you a message the darn geese are off the hook up here now.  A cold snap sent about bunch of migrating geese down.  Fred Gimble and myself are trying to get on the deer. Lots of small bucks no big shooters yet.