Can't find deer.. shoulder shot

[Rabbithunter1]

So tonight I passed on three little bucks and had a nice 8 pointer come out.. he finally came 25yrds and I took the shot.. I believe I hit him in the shoulder because both his front legs came off the ground and his one shoulder looked broken and he a little trouble running I believe.. after a half hour I got down and looked at where I hit him and I can't find my arrow nor can I find any blood... I searched around in the dark for 45mins and can't find any blood trail... I'm sick to my stomach about this.. I feel horrible loosing this deer.. what do you guys think went wrong? You think I just wounded him or is he dead somewhere ?

[LJC]

7 minutes ago, Rabbithunter1 said:

So tonight I passed on three little bucks and had a nice 8 pointer come out.. he finally came 25yrds and I took the shot.. I believe I hit him in the shoulder because both his front legs came off the ground and his one shoulder looked broken and he a little trouble running I believe.. after a half hour I got down and looked at where I hit him and I can't find my arrow nor can I find any blood... I searched around in the dark for 45mins and can't find any blood trail... I'm sick to my stomach about this.. I feel horrible loosing this deer.. what do you guys think went wrong? You think I just wounded him or is he dead somewhere ?

Not sure but would help to know what setup you use broadhead draw weight  draw length .

[Rabbithunter1]

12 minutes ago, LJC said:

Not sure but would help to know what setup you use broadhead draw weight  draw length .

I use slicktrick 100grain 60 pounds and 29" draw length 

[sbuff]

I'd be going back out in the morning,perhaps it was just out of your search area. Best of luck.

Edited October 11, 2016 by sbuff

[mlammerhirt]

Did you hear a twack sound when the arrow hit? In my opinion that sound mixed with little to no blow could equal a shoulder hit....next time try and tuck your arrow behind that shoulder.
All I can say is do all you can in the morning to recover that deer....get a call into deer search and see if they can help.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[LJC]

7 minutes ago, Rabbithunter1 said:

I use slicktrick 100grain 60 pounds and 29" draw length 

Fixed or Expendables ?

either he jumped  the string or you have to keep looking tomorrow don't see how especially with a fixed broadhead he will go far unless he died on your neighbor's property or something

[Rabbithunter1]

3 minutes ago, LJC said:

Fixed or Expendables ?

either he jumped  the string or you have to keep looking tomorrow don't see how especially with a fixed broadhead he will go far unless he died on your neighbor's property or something

Fixed.. I don't understand stand why there isn't any blood

[Cabin Fever]

25 minutes ago, Rabbithunter1 said:

I searched around in the dark for 45mins and can't find any blood trail... I'm sick to my stomach about this.. I feel horrible loosing this deer.. what do you guys think went wrong? You think I just wounded him or is he dead somewhere ?

Not to make you feel bad, but you owe it to that animal to get back out there and look for that deer! Looking for 45 min in the dark does not constitute giving up. Either get a good light and a buddy and go back out tonight OR go back out in the morning. Weather is on your side... no rain and cold temps! Look up the # for Deer Search and see if they have anyone in your area.

[LJC]

8 minutes ago, Rabbithunter1 said:

Fixed.. I don't understand stand why there isn't any blood

Iv heard that happen before your not the only one more with Expendables usally. 

Just go back out tonight or tomorrow morning and look again 

[Cabin Fever]

6 minutes ago, Rabbithunter1 said:

Fixed.. I don't understand stand why there isn't any blood

If it was a solid shoulder hit, you might not see much blood, especially if it's high with no exit. Should be some hair around on the ground where you hit it. Are you certain you were looking at the exact spot where it was standing when hit? Maybe you just missed the blood and hair in the dark? It happens, trust me...

[Rabbithunter1]

9 minutes ago, Cabin Fever said:

If it was a solid shoulder hit, you might not see much blood, especially if it's high with no exit. Should be some hair around on the ground where you hit it. Are you certain you were looking at the exact spot where it was standing when hit? Maybe you just missed the blood and hair in the dark? It happens, trust me...

I'll be out tomorrow morning looking again for him of course.. I'll look at where I hit him and then just start looking where he ran into 

[Cabin Fever]

I think your doing the right thing by waiting until morning. That way, you don't risk pushing him. Hopefully, he'll just lay down and die close by. Of course, then you run the risk of coyotes and bear getting to him first! Oh well, like I said before, no rain and nice cold temps so the meat will still be good. Would be good to have someone with you if possible, just for another pair of eyes and to help you keep a level head. Might want to take some orange ribbon or something else to mark the bloodtrail, especially if it's sparse!

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[Lawdwaz]

1 hour ago, Rabbithunter1 said:

  what do you guys think went wrong?

Simply put, you missed the lungs/heart.

 

[Core]

5 minutes ago, Lawdwaz said:

Simply put, you missed the lungs/heart.

 

Yep. As for the blood it is surely there somewhere. Just may be very difficult to see in the dark. 

[HuntOrBeHunted]

A lot of times with shoulder shots the arrow breaks and a small part of it will stay in the deer. Did you follow the shot threw?  Take the time till the morning to re think the shot and the movement of the deer right after. Not finding not even a drop of blood is weird even with a poor/shoulder shot. Are you sure you hit the deer? Do a smaller grid search and try to find the arrow if you cant find blood. The arrow will tell a lot. 

Good luck get right on it early the coyotes don't waste anytime.

[OldNewbie]

Same thing happened to me last week. Thought I had a perfect shot off, but there was a loud thwack upon impact, and the deer bellowed and collapsed in a heap right there.  Only to get up again and limp 10 yds, lay down, get up again when some other deer spooked off, and then limped out of sight. I waited 45 min and then went looking in the dark, with my wife and daughter helping me find and follow a blood trail. (They were way better at it than I was.) We marked it with surveying tape and got maybe 40-50 yards and then the blood just quit. It was just small drops for the most part. We went back in the morning and found the arrow just another few feet away. I used a Rage 2 and one of the blade edges looked like someone sawed on a rock with it. We searched a total of three hours, from one end of my 30 acre hunting area to the other, but nothing turned up. I figure it went off the property somewhere to recover.

In hindsight I would do two things differently.  First, I wish I had thought to put another arrow in the deer when it stood up. And second, we should have waited longer before looking for it. I don't know if it would have made a difference, but my mentors all say we should have waited longer.

This also made me think that lighted nocks might have some real value when shooting at last light, in helping find the deer after dark.

Edited October 11, 2016 by OldNewbie

[SteveB]

He doesn't know where he hit.

No way anyone here could know either.

Even with a perfect heart lung shot, there can be scant blood for several yards. Waiting for morning and more light is probably the best option for less experienced trackers.

 

[growalot]

Just let us know how you did...

[ny hunter]

Good luck hope you find him..

[Bowguy 1]

Shoulder shots always make a cracking sound. There's very little blood n the animal is pretty much unrecoverable. It'll live thats fact. Now you aren't sure so you owe the animal an absolute effort to recover it so look in the am. If it was shoulder shot you'll find the arrow w maybe an inch or so of blood on it. I've never seen an arrow break a shoulder, a leg maybe? Don't give up the search too soon. If you need to get back into stand n replay where it was. You'll see scuff marks where it took off. Look for blood there. If none is found begin walking where you saw it run. Remember to mark some trees when you're in stand n get back in there n look again if you aren't sure. Those markerscould help. Speaking of marking, if you find blood use toilet paper to mark it. It'll keep you on track n give you a visual of direction once you get some in there. 

If you haven't taken many deer use this as a learning experience. Every hunter wants to make perfect shots, we practice it n dream of them but that desire sometimes fools our brain into thinking every shot is perfect or better than it truly was. Not that you're incorrect in your assumption just try to use all facts- sounds, sight, arrow evidence, blood sign, etc to aid recovery. One more thing the loud crack if you heard it could be the off shoulder you hit. That could explain the missing arrow and lack of blood. If the arrow is in shoulder n blocking blood exiting animal the trail could be sparse. Don't give up. 

Best of luck today

Edited October 11, 2016 by Bowguy 1

[outdoorstom]

Your best bet is to get a dog out there before walking through the area again. Good luck! Where are you located?

 

Edited October 11, 2016 by outdoorstom

[Huntscreek]

I would go back at 1st light. Retrace your steps, look at impact spot. You may see hair, than remember where he ran walk off to the side at walk slow check both sides. Is he running up hill or down?

[Core]

8 hours ago, OldNewbie said:

Same thing happened to me last week. Thought I had a perfect shot off, but there was a loud thwack upon impact, and the deer bellowed and collapsed in a heap right there.  Only to get up again and limp 10 yds, lay down, get up again when some other deer spooked off, and then limped out of sight. I waited 45 min and then went looking in the dark, with my wife and daughter helping me find and follow a blood trail. (They were way better at it than I was.) We marked it with surveying tape and got maybe 40-50 yards and then the blood just quit. It was just small drops for the most part. We went back in the morning and found the arrow just another few feet away. I used a Rage 2 and one of the blade edges looked like someone sawed on a rock with it. We searched a total of three hours, from one end of my 30 acre hunting area to the other, but nothing turned up. I figure it went off the property somewhere to recover.

In hindsight I would do two things differently.  First, I wish I had thought to put another arrow in the deer when it stood up. And second, we should have waited longer before looking for it. I don't know if it would have made a difference, but my mentors all say we should have waited longer.

This also made me think that lighted nocks might have some real value when shooting at last light, in helping find the deer after dark.

If you can get a second shot definitely that sounds good. I will try and remember it. If it's any consolation I don't think you pressured it. I hit a deer in its hind leg last year (yeah it was an incredibly terrible shot). I knew it was a bad shot so I waited a few hours, including coming home and surfing the net. That's when I saw some people online saying for a bad shoulder shot you in fact should chase it immediately because it will clot up and you need to keep pressure on so the deer can't lay down, clot up, and be done.

Anyway, I got back to my spot and tracked it at least half a mile. The blood near the initial hit was strong but it started to lighten up. Then it would lead to a large pile of blood where the deer had laid down. Then after that pile of blood very, very little other blood, so it would take me a while to find the trail again. Then I'd find it, walk another few hundred yards, and find another pool of blood on the ground. After each pool the spotting on the trail was very light. Finally I got to a significant pool of blood and could never regain the trail after that pool.

[Gencountyzeek]

1 hour ago, Bowguy 1 said:

Shoulder shots always make a cracking sound. There's very little blood n the animal is pretty much unrecoverable. It'll live thats fact. Now you aren't sure so you owe the animal an absolute effort to recover it so look in the am. If it was shoulder shot you'll find the arrow w maybe an inch or so of blood on it. I've never seen an arrow break a shoulder, a leg maybe? Don't give up the search too soon. If you need to get back into stand n replay where it was. You'll see scuff marks where it took off. Look for blood there. If none is found begin walking where you saw it run. Remember to mark some trees when you're in stand n get back in there n look again if you aren't sure. Those markerscould help. Speaking of marking, if you find blood use toilet paper to mark it. It'll keep you on track n give you a visual of direction once you get some in there. 

If you haven't taken many deer use this as a learning experience. Every hunter wants to make perfect shots, we practice it n dream of them but that desire sometimes fools our brain into thinking every shot is perfect or better than it truly was. Not that you're incorrect in your assumption just try to use all facts- sounds, sight, arrow evidence, blood sign, etc to aid recovery. One more thing the loud crack if you heard it could be the off shoulder you hit. That could explain the missing arrow and lack of blood. If the arrow is in shoulder n blocking blood exiting animal the trail could be sparse. Don't give up. 

Best of luck today

I broke my does shoulder this year, she was slight quarter towards me at 19 yards, shot high on this shoulder exited opposite arm pit rib cage, never cut through the hide. Top of 1 lung and center of the other. Obviously if he hit lower on the shoulder it's harder bone. Should've seen the arrow hanging out of the deer as it ran away giving an idea of shot placement.

[Zag]

Well it doesn't sound like the shoulder shot I did a few years ago. My arrow was right there broken off just after the bh. There was blood for a few hundred yards then it eventually stopped. There has to be some sign at impact. Ive had ones where there was no blood for 10-15yrds.