So yesterday I was standing in public land. All of the sudden at 830 I see movement 100 yards out, here comes a deer. It is moving from my left to right slowly. It keeps looking behind it so I think it is a doe with my monster buck pushing her. The deer walks 30 yards on the ridge and I am praying that she takes that one step to the right to bring her and the monster by me. Now I still can't see what is pushing her but she is contantly looking behind her. She stops and turns right SWEET she is coming my way, wait a second the she is a he a little spike. As the sun hits his body I see an arrow sticking out of him. Holy crap now I tell myself I have to try to get a shot off if he comes close. The arrow is sticking out of the left back leg way far back. So the deer is now heading my way but he is going to give me a 25 yard shot if he stay on route which is a little long for me comfortably. I decide that since I practice 25 yards almost weekly I will try it if he does come by that far out (Only because he is already injured). Well luckly he jumps at something behind him (my focus is on the deer now) and come 15 yards in and stop in a lane but I have a stump covering just over a quarter of the lungs all of the live and into the stomach. I dont have much room for a shot but I needed to take it before he jumped and I couldn't shoot. Pull back anchor and wizzz goes the arrow. WACK I hit to far forward nailed him in the front shoulder. Now I am cursing my self. One I rushed the shot and two he steped forward and brought that shoulder back when I let go. He goes running off with TWO arrows in him now and I am verbaling abusing myself for screwing up the shot.
I sit down and look back to the ridge and here come a hunter. He is searching back and forth looking for the blood trail. He come in to 15 yards of my tree and I whistle get down and we start to look for this deer. We have blood not alot and the deer is gowing through some pretty wet stuff.
The guy said he had a perfect broadside shot at this deer but it was 35 yards out and out of his usual range but he was standing so perfect he would try the shot.
It is now 900 and he said he shot at the deer around 730 let it go for 30 to 45 min and then started tracking it. So I watched where it ran to after my shot so I knew the genral direction it went it. We head up to the spot after we can't find anymore blood. We search the area and no blood. Bigger search area and still nothing. Now it is 945 and we start talking about the shot and events of the day.
There was a very thick ridge the way the deer ran and I said to the guy "I have shot deer and a buddy has also and they go in that thick stuff lay down and die." The guy looked at me and said "everything is thick around here". He said "it isn't good but this happens sometime and there are coyotes in here and they got to eat". Now I am getting pissed this guy is giving up. He tell me that he is going to walk this flat area back in a circle to his car. He is Done. Off he goes.
So I go back to my treestand and stand there and look to where I last saw the deer and we were a little right of where the deer was so I get my treestand together and start walking to a tree I marked that the deer ran by. Boom I find some more blood. I get ahold of my buddy that is in hunting also and he comes over. Now it is 1030 my buddy shows up and we start trailing again. There is little to no blood but we keep finding little specks and some chuncks of fat. Not looking good for us. The deer is heading right for the thick stuff. So we keep going. We go another 100 yards and the blood stops. Now we are just on the edge of the thick stuff so I did a big sweep of the area and another 80 to 100 yards and boom there is a little spike horn dead.
I was so excited that the deer didn't go to waste. Now I am very dissapointed in that guy. He hits this deer knows that the arrow is going to kill him but just gives up after 2-3 hours of searching. He did say he might call deer search (Definate credit to him if he does) but I was guessing he didn't. The worst part of the whole thing was he said he was a hunter ed instructor. That is what really erked me.
I do relize that when he left it looked pretty gloomy about finding the deer but when you are hutning you have to give it everything you have specailly if you are going to take a shot (out of your range so to speak). That is when the work begins. The other thing I couldn't believe is he took a shot that he wasn't comfortable with. Being a hunter ed intructor if you know you are good at 30 yards and that is it you don't take the 35 yard shot even if it is the perfect shot. I do hold those guys to a higher standard. I am not saying crap doesn't happen in the woods.
I just hope he learned a lesson not to take the shot next time and I am super happy the deer didn't "GO TO THE COYOTES". I don't mean to sound like I am belittling this guy I was just sad to see someone that is suppose to be teaching our new hunters give up on the deer specially after running into anpother hunter who saw where the deer was shot and where he ran to.
The guy hit the deer in the back right leg it went through the leg and into the guts. That shot is what killed him. My shot was in the front leg and just slowed him down. My arrow ended up breaking his leg in two spots and going through to the other leg where the bone on that side stopped the arrow. I didn't hit any vitals. I am the guy who made the crappier shot.
At anyrate I hope the guy sees this post so he knows that the deer was found and knows where he hit the deer so he can put the questions to rest. Good luck you guys and keep your shots within your means and don't give up.
