One lung hit. Thoughts?

[ATbuckhunter]

4 minutes ago, NonTypical said:

I have called 6 people from deer search. 2 were out of town. Left messages with 2 others. One # was out of service and 1 guy from westchester said he was upstate and would get back to me later. Hopefully someone comes thru. 

I think I know the guy from Westchester. My friend is good friends with him if that's the guy im thinking about. He'll help you out for sure. 

[NonTypical]

10 minutes ago, Vinny Tagalucci said:

How soon after the shot did you get down to start looking?

Very good possibility that it was a non lethal hit and he will survive.

My buddy had a similar scenario.Two weeks later we had pics of the same deer on one of the cameras-trailing a doe.Try with a dog and then try letting the area settle down for a bit.Chances are if not dead he will be back if he's not pressured.They are extremely tough animals and can take quite a bit of abuse before laying down to die.

I waited 5 hours before tracking. He never bedded in the 300 yds that we had blood. I know that they are tough animals and it is possible that he survived. But like I said, I've not given up just yet. 

[NonTypical]

4 minutes ago, ATbuckhunter said:

I think I know the guy from Westchester. My friend is good friends with him if that's the guy im thinking about. He'll help you out for sure. 

Sandy?

[Chef]

Yea I'm gunna say that you hit backstraps and not lungs that blood is very red does not look like lung blood at all... and the fat slick on the arrow screams backstraps. One Lung will kill and quickly. Lung blood looks like this

See how pink


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[NonTypical]

6 minutes ago, chefhunter86 said:

Yea I'm gunna say that you hit backstraps and not lungs that blood is very red does not look like lung blood at all... and the fat slick on the arrow screams backstraps. One Lung will kill and quickly. Lung blood looks like this

See how pink


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I know that I hit backstrap but with the downward angle and the few bubbles that were present, I figured that I clipped the top of the lung on the far side. Plus the bubbles that were found when tracking came from the exit hole, not the entrance hole. I know this because there was blood on both sides of his tracks and I could tell the difference in the color of the blood. 

[cynthiafu]

They need more deer dogs / search. 

[Chef]

I get what your saying, but as blood dries it will also start to bubble a little. I'm just saying don't sweat it too much, I'm really thinking that was a non lethal hit


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[rachunter]

you can't knock yourself for not trying,i still hope you find him.

[NonTypical]

37 minutes ago, rachunter said:

you can't knock yourself for not trying,i still hope you find him.

Thanks. I do too. I just wish that I would've been able to get a dog on him today before the rain starts. 

I shot my bow today and everything is right on. But now when I think about what happened, I think he jumped the string when I shot causing a high hit. Right before he came in I had 4 does run by me. Less than a minute later, he runs in and stops at 25 yds broadside and looking back over his shoulder. He was already on high alert. It clicked that he wasn't chasing but was bumped. I should've aimed at the bottom of his chest instead of the middle. Not less than 30 seconds after I shot, I had 2 hunters come walking right on by. They had no idea what had transpired or that I was even there. I'm not making excuses for my shot, but now I realize why I hit him high. I really hope he's alive and I get another shot at him, but I've not given up yet. I will go back this week to look for him. With the warm temps today, it shouldn't be long before he starts to stink up the woods if he's dead. 

[SteveB]

4 hours ago, cynthiafu said:

They need more deer dogs / search. 

It is a 100% voluntary organization unpaid. And most are hunters as well

[gjs4]

1 lung is only fatal when you catch something else with it IMO


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[Taylormike]

I believe that deer is dead.  I'm thinking the arrow was broken or didn't pass through because you hit rib bone.  How high in the tree were you?

[New York Hillbilly]

The pic of the broken arrow and blood bath on the ground equals one dead deer. Finding it is another issue entirely.

The flood of adrenaline that kicks in when a deer, especially a nice buck, comes up on us is incredible, and all too often cause the shooter to lose ones grip. Pretty common actually, supported by, and  based on, the number of stories I read here on this site every year. Further, bad crap can happen even under the best of circumstances. 

The end result too often is a screwed up shot, followed by tons of self doubt, second thoughts, rechecking our equipment, and maybe even regret for taking iffy shots, then coming up for a rationale to explain how forces other than ourselves "caused" the situation.

Finally we look to convince ourselves the deer is going to shake it off and live. Deer are pretty tough for sure, and have tremendous will to live, and can recover from pretty significant injury. In your case though, based on the many years and deer I and friends/family have shot, tracked, and recovered (and sadly also not recovered), your deer is dead. 

I think your shot was a whole lot better than you realize, are giving yourself credit, or want to believe because of being crunched for time or overwhelmed.  I wish you could get some help finding the buck.  

Again.good luck, I hope you find him.

 

[biggamefish]

The buck I hit last year was a double lung. Hit the back of the first side going in and then middle to front of the farside. The arrow smacked a rib on the other side and just barely poked through. Long story short hardly any blood. Pin pricks every 20-25 yards and a 150 yard track.  The last 40 yards no blood at all. These are tough critters.

I have found that it seems most deer specially if they are big run aways and most stop bleeding on there feet and run for another 40-100 yards.

[wolc123]

There is a product on the market called "bloodglow" that, when mixed with water, causes blood to glow bright under the moon and starlight.   They say it works even better in the rain.  The active ingredient is luminol and it was developed for crime scene investigations.  I am on the opposite side of the state, but if you know anyone in law-enforcement out there, they may be able to get you some.  This stuff picks up blood drops that you can not see.  If you got on that blood trail tonight with luminol, you may at least get closure on that hit, even if the meat is bad.  

I think your arrow passed thru above the spine, in the thick "back-strap" area.  If that is true, then he will probably recover, and is probably out chasing does right now.  A few years back I killed a basket-racked 8-point that had a broadhead , and a few inches of shaft, stuck under the hide on the exit side.  The wound must have been about a week old (it was opening day of gun season) and I lost about (4) chops when trimming out the "questionable" looking stuff around the wound.         

[rachunter]

5 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

.  

I think your arrow passed thru above the spine, in the thick "back-strap" area.  .         

that's what i was thinking to except there is to much blood on that arrow.

[chiefbkt]

I hope you found the buck, but since I haven't seen a picture I'll say you haven't yet. Anyway, my two cents on the scenario. If you hit high in the back strap, there is no way you caught lung and that deer is fine. If you hit one lung, the deer will survive as long as the lung doesn't collapse. Since you said you hit him high, odds are its merely a flesh wound and will survive. Keep in mind when tracking a deer that is potentially lung shot that the blood isn't coming from the cavity, it's coming from the mouth and nose. So initially there could be blood and then it could be lost as it starts clotting. Which means one of 2 things: One, the lung isn't fatally harmed, deer survives, and hopefully you get another crack at him. Or two, his lung collapses and he dies within several days of the shot. Let's hope for the first option.

I've attached an image that depicts a deers vitals clearly showing the location of back strap and lungs. Good luck either way and hope this helps.

[NonTypical]

It appeared to hit him about 6-8" down from the top of the back and exited a bit lower on the opposite side. Isn't there an area above the lungs but below the spine? Also how could there be any bubbles if I only hit backstraps?

Edited October 31, 2016 by NonTypical

[chiefbkt]

There is an area just above the lungs people refer to as "no mans land", this image doesn't show that. I would find it hard to believe there could be bubbles in a non lung hit. But like mentioned earlier, the blood you show looks awful dark for lung blood and looks like it was coming out both sides of the deer from your picture. Not being there and witnessing it in person, it's just my opinion though. One way or the other I hope you find him or get another crack at him.

[The_Real_TCIII]

It appeared to hit him about 6-8" down from the top of the back and exited a bit lower on the opposite side. Isn't there an area above the lungs but below the spine? Also how could there be any bubbles if I only hit backstraps?

There is no such area

[NonTypical]

There was not many bubbles, but a few. Yes I do think it was in "no mans land". But with the exit hole a little lower, I had thought it was possible that I just got the top of the lung on the far side. Who knows for sure. What I do know is I tried very hard to locate him in the thickest stuff imaginable with no luck. It is also in some very uneven terrain so it is possible that I may have walked or crawled right by him without spotting him. I will go back and try to sniff him out this week. I hope he lived and maybe I'll get another chance at him. But until I exhausted every option looking for him, I'm going to assume he's dead, 

[The_Real_TCIII]

You typically get a pretty good blood trail on the backstraps hit that peters out after a couple hundred yards

[Jason118]

I lost a deer this years single lung. Wall hanger broke my heart. 6 of us looked for him over two days. Deer search wouldn't come out on a one lung. Kinda messed up because the guy told me if I would have gut shot it he would find it for me , one lung most of the time still alive. 

[HuntOrBeHunted]

Ya got a dead deer with in 100 yards of last blood I would say. Do a grid search !!! Good luck

[First-light]

Hell of a rain storm last night. look for the crows when searching they will be on him quick.