Anyone have any thoughts.. Deer down.

[HuntOrBeHunted]

Ok so i'm in the stand this afternoon with the bow. A 4 pointer come down the beatin trail and about 30 yards away gave me the shot. I found a nice blood trail and about 30 yards away found my arrow nice and bloody. I kept on the blood trail for another 70 yards it seemed.. Right into a swap. I still kept on wanting to recover my deer badly. I lost the trail a little ways in the swamp. I couldn't find the deer I looked for 3 hours in the cold water past knee high. I never had a deer run off so far after a bow hit. Im going out at the crack of dawn cause I can't stand the fact I lost that deer.

 

 

How far have you seen deer run after a bow shot with good blood trail.

 

What kind of shot do you think I got I know it had to be a decent hit but I would have thought the deer died sooner than 80 yards.

 

I feel like I was right on top of it. Im shaking my head biggggg time right now.

[ididnotvoteforobama]

Hope you find him , can you put up a climber to get a good look around with binoculars  ? much easier that slogging through all that water. He's most likely dead and half submerged.

[HuntOrBeHunted]

No thick trees its pretty swampy. My guess is he has to be dead just idk how far off from the last time I saw blood. And the water is hit and miss I didn't think he would sink.

 

Off at the crack of morning is all I can do. Hope I find it. Loosing a deer like this is the worst thing that could happen to a hunter outside from falling out of your stand.

[Fletch]

What did blood on arrow look like, little bubbles, slimy, dark, white fat, meat? Did arrow not pass through did you see arrow as deer ran away in deer? How was blood trail? Spray one side, two sides, drops, bubbles, clots, pools. Did deer bed? Did you start tracking right away? Was it noisy did you hear anything while you were tracking?

Is swamp a size you can walk around in morning to check for blood trail coming out?

Barring any more info, cover every foot of ground for 400 yards in every direction from lost blood.

Hope you find it.

[Nomad]

I too hope you find it.

I take many things into a account of where and when I bow hunt. I don't hunt an afternoon if I can't come back the next morning,I strongly prefer an afternoon hunt in the open hardwoods,as they are easier to find and mine has cut crop fields all around it,again easier for me to recover .

I avoid the thick brush most afternoons as it's often hard to find them that night,oh I've done it,but I don't like doing it.

Good luck in that swamp!

Oh it's not always how FAR they run but what they run INTO. I went back the next day to recover a friends deer last week ( he could not as he owns a large co.and had to work) he shot it at night and it ran into thick brush.....

It only went maybe 150 yard but it was mostly all me on hands and knees ,it's that thick . No ground blood as the "Rage in the Cage" broke apart inside the deer and the exit Hole was made by a bare shaft the never came out all the way. Found it but I was at last blood searching that spot for an hour, it was ten yards from me that whole time!!!!

Edited November 11, 2014 by Larry302

[Five Seasons]

2 years ago I shot a 5 point. Just barely nicked the lower part of his heart. This wasn't a huge old tough buck and it was still a lethal shot. That bastard ran for over 300 yards including down and up a steep creek bottom. So much blood initially from the rage head that I expected to find him any second. Luckily he didn't go for a swamp and we still had good blood most of the way.

 

If it's not a devastating heart of double lung they can surely travel. And truthfully this was an early kill and not a huge deer and after he bled out on the hoof, to this day I claim him to being one of the best tasting deer I've ever had.

[josephmrtn]

How long after the shot did you wait before tracking? they usualy say wait at least an hr

[gfdeputy2]

JOSEPHMARTN

I was going to ask the same sounds like OP may have been pushing the deer if that is the case he could go a ways

[HuntOrBeHunted]

I looked since sun up and can not find it.

 

I heard the hit on the shot. Shot looked decent. The arrow did not pass threw. But picked up blood about 10 maybe 15 yards away bleeding from one side it was gushing pretty good for a few yards then back to spots. Maybe 100 yards in I lost trail in super thick swamp land. Water was anywere from 10 inches to waist high. I had chest waders today last night I was just freezing while looking.

 

Blood was good and red no bubbles that I could see and nothing to make me think it was a gut shot.

 

I can't stand the fact to think I lost that deer but its warm out now and I looked all morning I just can't stand it !!!!

[accman]

I lost the only one I shot at that way, saw the arrow hit behind the shoulder, no blood, could see the arrow in him, ran for 200 yards over knolls, down ravines, and into the swamp.  Waited 3 hours, with tons of prints around and no blood, I had to follow him by his longer, heavier, stride, which was easy to follow, but once he made the swamp it was over. He never broke stride.  I had my waders from fishing but I just got swallowed up in the the mud.  Tried some 2 x 6's cross some areas, but even then only made it part way and couldn't differentiate his prints from others.  Tried getting to higher ground and glassing for a while, smoked half a pack of cigarettes hoping he might move, but unless your next to em, they're not going anywhere.  Came back next morning hoping for some sign, but nothing, no arrow, nada. Tough break, know how you feel, and mine was a clear 20 yd shot, must have caught more muscle than vital.  Which explains why I won't take a long shot over 40 cause I couldn't face losing another one. 

[HuntOrBeHunted]

No luck. First time that ever happen to me.  I found a little blood deeper in just couldn't lay eyes on em. Im shaking my head at this one. Gave it as many trys as possible.

[DirtTime]

If it was in the water...........Air keeps the lungs inflated. Hence, it will float. No air in the lungs, it will sink. Most of the time. Then, after some time, the guts will bloat and it will rise back up, and stink.

 

Sorry you lost that one. You will get another shot.