Lost my first and hopefully last deer

[BowmanMike]

 I don't want to waste those guys time if it not very likely they will succeed.

Edited October 27, 2016 by BowmanMike

[Larry]

go back out and look the deer is dead about  100yd from where you last saw it if you didn't jump it on the way out

[Elmo]

23 minutes ago, BowmanMike said:

 I don't want to waste those guys time if it not very likely they will succeed.

That's the wrong attitude to have.  You injured and killed a deer.  It is your responsibility to do everything you can to retrieve that deer.  Give deer search a call.  Let them tell you if they can do it or not and it's their decision whether they want to waste the time or not.

[BowmanMike]

Larry,I went out twice and searched for about 5 hrs total. He must have went further than 300 yds, I combed the area as best I could. Still feel shitty about it.

[BowmanMike]

Elmo,at this poInt that doesn't seem to make sense to me. The meat is wasted,which is terrible,and the deer went through his agony,doesn't make a difference to him if I find it now,right?

The whole situation is depressing to me,I thought I had a better handle on this whole bowhunting thing. It is only my 2nd season bowhunting and 5 th gun hunting.

I can only try to learn from this,although I considered myself a fast learner,but this is not my preferred way of learning for sure.

[grampy]

The dogs can find the scent under the snow with no problem! Scent from a gut shot is very strong! Like I said earlier in this thread. An experienced dog will find that deer with little problem!!! If I were closer I'd help you recover that deer! He's out there dead and not far away!

[reeltime]

, you are trying to recover a deer YOU shot its hardly wasting their time.  if the arrow smelled foul it likely hit something in the guts and even a slight nick in the intestines or the stomach it is 100% fatal.  

anyone can be an armchair quarterback but only you know what the deer's reaction was, what the arrow smelled like and what the blood looked like.  how far the deer ran before stopping for 10 minutes.  you stated you walked to that spot, likely the deer saw you at that time and now was aware of your presence.

Theory is that the deer doesn't know what bit them just that they are injured, especially if they have no idea you are there.  I have had a good number of deer just walk away or even go back to eating after sending an arrow through them without hitting anything solid, especially true with non mechanical heads as the mechanical's often times make noise upon opening.

not belittling you but your biggest asset to recovering a deer is confidence that you will find it. I would take tracking through a goldenrod field over open woods 100% of the time, often times you can find blood on the stems where it brushed against the deer.  

if in fact there was stomach/intestine matter on the arrow that buck is dead somewhere.

[shawnhu]

Elmo,at this poInt that doesn't seem to make sense to me. The meat is wasted,which is terrible,and the deer went through his agony,doesn't make a difference to him if I find it now,right?
The whole situation is depressing to me,I thought I had a better handle on this whole bowhunting thing. It is only my 2nd season bowhunting and 5 th gun hunting.
I can only try to learn from this,although I considered myself a fast learner,but this is not my preferred way of learning for sure.

I can't fathom how the meat isn't good anymore if it's snow on the ground.

Either way, the only real way to learn from this as you've indicated your desire to, is to put closure to this by doing everything you can, and you certainly haven't.


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[grampy]

58 minutes ago, BowmanMike said:

They can't do much after snow and rain,can they?

Yes they can! See my previous post. Easy find for an experienced dog. 

[Elmo]

It's a good thing it's been cold the last couple of days.  But even if the meat did go bad.  You should find out what happened to this deer with certainty.  Who knows?  Maybe it's still alive and clinging to it's last breath?  You should have enough respect for this deer which you shot to find out it's fate.

[ncountry]

Not sure if you are going to take another look. but, imo... I wouldn't waste much  time in the field. I have found that unless they are on a death run ,heart,liver, they will be in cover or next to water.90% of the time.

Good chance also that it turned and went back to where it came from.

Either way.don't get too discouraged. Anybody that bow hunts long enough loses one.

[Taylormike]

Bowman,  First off, take deep breath and relax.  As they have stated, call deer search.  It's never a waste of time,  the handler and dog find passion in these recoveries.  Also, tremendous learning experience for all parties.  If that deer wasn't pushed last night, he's dead close by.  Unfortunately, this incident is quite common, eventually it will happen to all hunters.  If deer search does not have success in the recovery you at least know you put forth the very best attempt. Good luck. 

[Trial153]

This post sucks. Sorry but I have to call it like I see it. Declaring a loss Posting on the internet while you should have been trying to make a recovery. All seems way to half assed to me.

[wooly]

I wont even begin to guess where your deer went to die, but I will say it's NEVER too late to find it and learn from there in case it happens again.

Even if that means you don't find it until after season, the knowledge you gain from that will be helpful on future tracking jobs should the same thing happen again.

 

I make a habit of looking for unrecovered deer after season every year while shed hunting. You'd be surprised how many times deer go to the same places to die, or at the very least have similar preferences on where to pile up when terrain and/or cover are alike.

What may feel like your biggest failure now could turn out to be your biggest learning tool moving forward to future hunts.

[Nomad]

Let me tell you about scent  and dogs. I killed a doe 1/2 from my home,gutted it dragged it the mini van and loaded it. The next day it poured all day I mean a true all day downpour .

The day after that I took my beagle for a walk when we got to where I loaded the deer . He went crazy , so ok let's go Gus ! We ran the trail right to where I gutted it . Two days later after an all day rain, now dragging a gutted deer puts more scent on the ground but it was easy for him and ZERO training .

After that he's done a pretty good job finding deer 

[BowmanMike]

Ok, I realize I made some assumptions,and we all know what that does.

Amazing to me that the rain wouldn't wipe out all scent. Will give deer search a call and let them decide if they want to come out. 

[Chef]

Ok, I realize I made some assumptions,and we all know what that does.
Amazing to me that the rain wouldn't wipe out all scent. Will give deer search a call and let them decide if they want to come out. 

Good to hear!!!! It's not just about the meat, you did the right thing


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[brownclown]

17 hours ago, BowmanMike said:

 Will give deer search a call and let them decide if they want to come out. 

Any luck?

[BowmanMike]

No,they have one guy in the area but said with the rain and time elapsed it wasn't worth it.

I looked again today but have no clue where he wandered of to. Checked two more water sources but nothing. At this point I thought maybe the crows would point me in the right direction,but no luck.

[the blur]

I called deer search last year.   They don't have anyone in Ulster county...   I was bummed out for a while.   We trailed blood for 400 yards, and then it vanished.

[ATbuckhunter]

20 minutes ago, the blur said:

I called deer search last year.   They don't have anyone in Ulster county...   I was bummed out for a while.   We trailed blood for 400 yards, and then it vanished.

Depends where in ulster. I called them and they were going to come until the guy had an emergency come up and couldn't make it. 

[philoshop]

On 10/27/2016 at 10:33 AM, growalot said:

Sorry ..I know I've had deer do a slow wide walk and double back on me to find them not far from were I shot...Did you look well to each side then back towards your stand?

Excellent point Growie. One of my best friends from high school is a full-blood American Indian. The dude knows how to hunt, and how to do it right. One of his favorite tactics back in the 1970's was just to act like a white guy rambling into the woods, and then he'd sit and wait for a couple of hours while.the deer calmed down and came back to the area. He's got a couple of walls covered with serious trophies that attest to his skills..

[growalot]

Lol..you know my mom's mother was a Tuscarorian Native American from the reservation up near Buffalo....It comes naturally then...