wounded deer recovery????

[First-light]

We all talk about the ones we shoot and recover, how about the deer we wound and don't recover.

Put down how many years you been hunting, deer wounded by bow or gun.

I have been hunting 31 years.

Gun non recovered deer 1.

Bow non recovered deer 4.

[fasteddie]

Gun hunting 45 years ----- 1 deer not recovered

Bow hunting 16 years ----- 2 deer not recovered

I spent many hours looking for those deer and I would rather have missed than to wound and not recovered them !

[WNYBuckHunter]

Wounded and not recovered?

In almost 20 years of gun and 6 years of bow...

Gun hunting, 0

Bow hunting, 1 (non fatal shot)

[wztirem]

Many years ago I shot a really good buck in Goldens Bridge, Westchester County, I waited about an hour for the deer to expire and  then began to follow the blood trail with my cousin and another hunter. To our astonishment, we found the gut pile and in the distance saw two hunters carrying out the deer as fast as their feet would take them.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Let me clarify my numbers, I did not include deer that were recovered by others instead of myself for whatever reason.

[Lawdwaz]

You guys are deadly.

You don't ever miss any deer do you?

[WNYBuckHunter]

Never said I didnt ever miss a deer, or have to make a second shot on one, or shoot one that was on the ground but not dead. I just only ever wounded one once without recovering it.

[Pygmy]

Interesting question.... I have gun hunted 45 years and I bowhunted  perhaps 20 years...I have lost a few over the years with rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader and bow, but I have not kept track of how many...

I have killed between 100 and 120 deer in that time period... Most of my hunting buddies that have killed a fair number of deer have lost a few also, including some who I admit are better and calmer shots than myself..  We all try to make clean kills, but if you spend enough time in the woods, sometimes bad shot happen... I feel as bad about my unrecovered deer as the next guy, but if you hunt long enough, it's gonna happen..

[dszymo]

17 years hunting I have lost 1 with a gun and 3 with a bow.  two that were lost with the bow happened in the same season,  quit hunting for the season and went back to fixed blades.

[First-light]

So far the numbers seem low which is good! Keep'em coming.

[Lawdwaz]

Never said I didnt ever miss a deer, or have to make a second shot on one, or shoot one that was on the ground but not dead. I just only ever wounded one once without recovering it.

I never said you didn't miss.  Just asking. 

Lots of guys with great records, kudos.

[Lawdwaz]

Interesting question.... I have gun hunted 45 years and I bowhunted  perhaps 20 years...I have lost a few over the years with rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader and bow, but I have not kept track of how many...

I have killed between 100 and 120 deer in that time period... Most of my hunting buddies that have killed a fair number of deer have lost a few also, including some who I admit are better and calmer shots than myself..  We all try to make clean kills, but if you spend enough time in the woods, sometimes bad shot happen... I feel as bad about my unrecovered deer as the next guy, but if you hunt long enough, it's gonna happen..

Well put.  The voice of experience. 

[Geno C]

16 years bow hunting ------ lost one deer, liver/lunged him and didnt give him enough time.

14 years Gun ------ 0 deer lost

Loosing a deer is a reality to a hunter and it happens to most... not a great feeling but a reality none the less...

[MuzzyLoader]

47 years hunting

    0 lost with shotgun and rifle (Includes out-of-state)

41 years archery hunting

    lost 1 (been very blessed)

[Doewhacker]

Lets see been hunting for 15-16 years killed about 10 w/bow and 10 w/gun

Gun 1 lost but only gave a hair cut

Bow 2 that I gave hair cuts, I don't know if that counts

Thats not to say I and my family haven't had our share of bad shots, we are just really good at tracking and recovery.

[steve863]

I tell you, I find it almost darned hard to believe when someone tells me that they hunted almost 50 years and never lost a deer.  Throw in bowhunting and I find it even harder to believe. This must be some sort of record if it's true.  As others have said, if you hunt long enough it will happen even to the best marksmen out there.  I also wonder if everyone is always 100% sure that they didn't actually wound a deer?  I've had a couple run a ways without spilling a drop of blood, only to find them dead in a heap.  I could have just as easily given it up for a complete miss and never found it if I wasn't persistent. 

[RangerClay]

29 years of deer hunting.

2 lost gun

1 bow

[ny hunter]

In thirty years of gun hunting Lost 1 deer I know was hit.Miss a few clean.1 that still haunts me he was so big.Never got one with the bow yetIts only been a couple of years with the bow hope that changes this year.

[Geno C]

I tell you, I find it almost darned hard to believe when someone tells me that they hunted almost 50 years and never lost a deer.  Throw in bowhunting and I find it even harder to believe. This must be some sort of record if it's true.  As others have said, if you hunt long enough it will happen even to the best marksmen out there.  I also wonder if everyone is always 100% sure that they didn't actually wound a deer?  I've had a couple run a ways without spilling a drop of blood, only to find them dead in a heap.  I could have just as easily given it up for a complete miss and never found it if I wasn't persistent.

Steve, I think what you say carries some truth... it is a reality that it happens in the deer woods but then again it may also be true that some have not lost one yet. i will say i have hunted with some guys before who will hit a deer and say "Oh i clean missed" and when i come over they say why are you looking? my reply is i just want to make sure... i have found blood before from a guy who claimed he flat missed. I try to exhaust every avenue in the recovery of that animal.  we as hunters owe that to that animal and the land we hunt. i do whatever it takes to track that wounded deer that anyone in my camp shoots. i do agree with steve that some hunters just DO NOT know if they missed or hit a deer sometimes and ive seen some that are VERY fast to say "i missed".  when in some instances its the complete opposite.

[ny hunter]

I have found 2 deer that others say were clean miss's.I agree you have to and look again and be sure that it was a miss.

[steve863]

I tell you, I find it almost darned hard to believe when someone tells me that they hunted almost 50 years and never lost a deer.  Throw in bowhunting and I find it even harder to believe. This must be some sort of record if it's true.  As others have said, if you hunt long enough it will happen even to the best marksmen out there.  I also wonder if everyone is always 100% sure that they didn't actually wound a deer?  I've had a couple run a ways without spilling a drop of blood, only to find them dead in a heap.  I could have just as easily given it up for a complete miss and never found it if I wasn't persistent.

Steve, I think what you say carries some truth... it is a reality that it happens in the deer woods but then again it may also be true that some have not lost one yet. i will say i have hunted with some guys before who will hit a deer and say "Oh i clean missed" and when i come over they say why are you looking? my reply is i just want to make sure... i have found blood before from a guy who claimed he flat missed. I try to exhaust every avenue in the recovery of that animal.  we as hunters owe that to that animal and the land we hunt. i do whatever it takes to track that wounded deer that anyone in my camp shoots. i do agree with steve that some hunters just DO NOT know if they missed or hit a deer sometimes and ive seen some that are VERY fast to say "i missed".  when in some instances its the complete opposite.

You are probably right, some probably haven't lost one yet, but these people maybe have hunted 5, 10 or with luck maybe even 20 years.  I find it hard to believe that anyone who has hunted close to 50 years has lost none or only one deer.  $#!+ can happen while hunting, and for someone not to experience it during 50 years of hunting is most remarkable in my honest opinion.

[jimbodwb]

17 years hunting and I hadn't lost one till last year...or so it seems. I took the shot but the deer never moved at first. He then turned and ran straight down the hill and across the road. My buddy and his father helped me look for 3 hours. Never found any blood but we did find a small tuft of white hair where he was standing. I think I missed but the shot felt good. This was on his dads farm and he did not see the deer again all year. He was a big 11 point and was at least 3 1/2 yo so I think he went nocturnal after that. He has seen a real big deer this summer that he thinks might be the same one. I still get that pain in the gut feeling whenever I think about it though.

[Geno C]

17 years hunting and I hadn't lost one till last year...or so it seems. I took the shot but the deer never moved at first. He then turned and ran straight down the hill and across the road. My buddy and his father helped me look for 3 hours. Never found any blood but we did find a small tuft of white hair where he was standing. I think I missed but the shot felt good. This was on his dads farm and he did not see the deer again all year. He was a big 11 point and was at least 3 1/2 yo so I think he went nocturnal after that. He has seen a real big deer this summer that he thinks might be the same one. I still get that pain in the gut feeling whenever I think about it though.

could have gut shot him or hit him in the chest... depending on the angle. ive seen gut shot deer not shed a drop of blood for quite some ways due to the cavity filling up with blood. if you found wite hair you might have hit him. gut shot deer usually cringe and hunch up for a second after being hit and if one is not looking it can look like the deer did not flinch. im not saying that was your case but that can also lead some to believe they missed...

[jimbodwb]

Yeah, that is what I originally thought and that is why we looked for so long. His dad went out the next day and still could not find any blood. I hope this big one he is seeing is him. I will know when I see him because he is embedded in my memory. I have never seen a deer that big in my life(which is probably why I missed him... can you say buck fever) and I remember how his main beams almost touched at the tips. Pretty cool looking.

[Pygmy]

Something to consider while we are discussing this topic...

A person may very honestly say that he has hunted deer for 30 years and never lost one... Nothing wrong with that... But some hunters, for whatever reason, like limited time to hunt, being very selective, etc. shoot at fewer deer than other hunters...

If someone hunts for 30 years and shoots at 20 deer and never loses one, that's different than someone hunting for 30 years and shooting at 100 deer and never losing one , even more so if bowhunting is included in the equation... I am certainly NOT knocking bowhunting, but there are many variables involved in that game, such as an unseen twig to deflect an arrow, etc. etc.. that can turn a perfect shot into a bad shot  through no blatant fault of the hunter.. Such things happen with bullets, also, but there is more margin for error, and more opportunity to correct the situation with a quick follow up shot.

Either way, most of us mere mortals lose a game animal now and then, if we hunt a lot and shoot at several animals per season..

Everybody would rather have a clean miss  rather than a wounded animal, but think about it...

A clean miss is FARTHER off your intended target than a gut shot or a broken leg....A clean miss is just a LUCKY shot, and a blessing, because your marksmanship was even farther off than a marginal hit, which could result in a wounded, lost game animal....