PREDATE

Remorse after a lost deer is often overwhelming. I can relate bud. It's a sickening feeling. You are the only one who can know if you truly feel like you put in enough effort to recover the hit deer. I was rooting for ya and I'm gonna remain doing so. It happens. You did the right thing in asking for help. Get back in there and knock.one down!

an 11" flesh wound? lol

I used to despise them for killing a family dog back when I was a youngster. Now I can honestly say they're one of my favorite animals. I'm a die hard predator hunter and shoot every one I can, but they have earned my respect as a huntable species. I'm a hunter. I love venison, turkey, rabbit, etc. as much as anyone, but the hunt is what thrills me. I never have a problem working hard to bag an old gobbler or a nice fat deer and I ALWAYS take my fair share. Some of these guys get downright perturbed at the thought of having to hunt hard. I'm not trying to force my views, but as hunters we should be thankful for every moment we spend afield whether or not we "score" or "harvest". I hunt yotes for a personal challenge, often in the most inclement weather and by darkness. If hunters stop challenging themselves, they often get stuck in the past when animals were abundant. Those times come and go, that's when the complainers start to blame everything else and not their apparent lack of prowess. The good news is that coyote populations naturally level off and prey species aren't gonna vanish due to depradation by yotes.

I would assume that any air pockets inside a chest cavity and around any vital organs would be fatal in itself. I'd say you'd have to thread the needle to miss lung or spine and a broadhead would likely hit one or the other.

Oh she's down alright! I'd be willing to bet that she's didn't go far. If that arrow penetrated 11" then the broadhead is in her opposite shoulder and would be grinding with every step. Be careful gutting her

I'd shy away from getting closer than 250yds, but as long as you can't see each other then anything over 100yds seems reasonable.

Welcome aboard. Good luck this season

Compared to your other arrows, how much of the arrow is missing?

You didn't gum up the SawZall did ya? lol

so was the arrow snapped or is the broadhead the only thing missing?

yeah what's left of the arrow.

the blood trail will tell the tale. How far could you see her run after the shot?

sounds like a pass through and her opposite shoulder snapped the broadhead side off. That's good! So she's leaking out both sides.

broadside, high lung shot? She's probably dead (unless the shot was too high)

Even a "monster" deer can be quite light footed and come in pretty quiet. IMO, squirrels don't start sounding like deer until the seeking/chasing phase begins which I'm happy to say, isn't far off! I wonder how many "All Day Sits" threads will pop up in the coming 2 weeks! lol

No pic showed up bud. Are you still out there? If so, head home and resume the search in the morning. Do you feel like it was a good vital hit? How did the deer act after the shot?

First off congrats on connecting. Two shots are better than one so lets hope he's laying down and bleeding out. Watch the weather and if it looks like rain then get on him. If you have to, contact a deer search company. Good luck

I was covered in deer tonight. First hunt in a week so I decided to skirt the area and not take the climber so I wasn't a ball of sweat. I stop at 2 fresh scrapes and was looking at the trees to pick a spot for a stand and in the 45 seconds that I was standing there, 2 deer had slipped in on me and spooked. That was at 4:15. So I jump over the ridge and set up at the base of a pine overlooking 2 more scrapes. From there it was crazy. I had does coming in from all angles, but instead of walking the trail they all decide to walk straight to me(10yds). Then 7 came in downwind behind me and milled around(15 yds) trying to make me move. If I hadn't picked the pine with dead branches to my left & right I might have been able to roll out for a shot. The one doe which was coming right down the path and to her death got all sketched out because of the herd behind me stomping their feet. I saw more deer tonight than I have all season. I smell days off work in my near future!

Good buck! He's all neck

Damn! I knew I should've "freshened" up the tape I've marked my trapline with since 1988. I guess I just figured that by the time I'm dead & gone it would just dispose of itself and crumble to dust. Then when the kids in 2014 see a single roofing nail they ponder on why someone would've put it there. hmmm maybe they will be more interested in why certain trees have no bark on one side and some silly contraption chained to the base of said tree. lol:D

No matter how we feel about the use of buckshot on deer, I think we all can agree that it has a very abrupt cutoff in it's effectiveness to cleanly take big game. The same can be said about foster style slugs. I don't discount it's ability to be lethal, but IMO 50yds is about the max. I can keep all 27 pellets of 2 3/4" #4buck in a sheet pizza box @50(devastating coyote load!!), BUT #4 is smaller and can be shot out of a necked down choke. Try choking 00 or 000 and the pellets are gonna deform inside the barrel due to the pressure. That being said, try to wing a load of 00 much past 60 and those 9-15 pellets are gonna open up to the size of a 95 Chevy Suburban. Then on to foster slugs. I can smack a cigarette pack @ 90 yds with a plain old Federal slug and I don't think I need to mention what will topple a deer faster, a 1oz. slug placed in the boilermaker or a few pellets placed willy-nilly "somewhere" on a deers body. It's common sense. This day in age where "tackdrivers" are the norm and most hunters wishing for more areas to open up to rifles, there really doesn't need to be any guesswork in our shot placement.

do you plan on chatting with the guy while you're in your stands? Just wondering why you still plan on hunting over corn and so close to this guys spot? I realize that's "your" side of the farm, but if he didn't see a stand then he was actually there first. I would leave a note with my phone # which also says that If I don't recieve a call in 5 days that the landowner & DEC will get involved. I would then talk to the farmer and make sure he/she didn't give you the wrong side and throw in that he may have tresspassers who are illegaly baiting deer.

I've never decoy'd for deer, this sounds like a good spot for it.

This is true, but I would just like to clarify that not just any buckshot is recommended for (home defense). Walls are relatively thin and most buckshot larger than #3 will pass through most walls and possibly endangering innocents. Both my bedside 12's are chock fulla #4

I've had scrapes & rubs for a couple weeks