Is losing deer an inevitable occurrence?

[dbHunterNY]

in hind sight any deer i've lost seemed to be ridden with errors on my part that may or may not have avoided the loss. it definitely happens to a hunter if you hunt long enough and more than likely not just once.  i think some really chaulk it up to shit happens more than they should but from what you've posted on here that doesn't seem to be the case with you. you'll lose sleep but try to not lose too much. you've already got some parts and pieces of what may have led to the outcome from what you typed.  you get passed it. keep hunting. redemption is might be one hunt away.

[Pygmy]

Anyone who hasn't lost a few deer hasn't hunted much....

Ain't no flies on the .308 as a deer cartridge....Buy a bigger gun if it makes you feel better,  but the .308 will do the job on deer from any angle, as long as the shot placement is right..

[Five Seasons]

3 hours ago, moog5050 said:

It seems like the conscientious hunter will take those lost deer harder than most and they tend to stick in our memories.

Some of my most detailed strongest memories are of my failures. Not only during hunting, but also during life. 

I think that's how we grow and learn.

[ncountry]

Looks like everyone has it covered.  Mistakes happen. I tried to quit bow hunting more than once because I lost  deer... The love of the sport made me go back out and try again...

Sounds like you did more than many would to recover the deer...I think it is a good sign of respect for the animal to feel bad at least for a little bit.life and death is the way of the wild..

You cannot get a much better deer cartridge than the .308..you just need to find the right bullet . I went from a .308 to a 300 win  mag.. the only thing it does is kick a lot more and shorten their run by 30yds...   I bought it so it would perform as good as the .308 does at 50yds, at 300yds. I havnt shot one over  150yds since ..

[chrisw]

I don't know of a single Hunter who's hunted for any length of time without losing a deer. It happens to EVERYONE despite the stories they may tell. I've lost a couple in my career. It never gets any easier, trust me. The only thing that gives some solace to the situation is not having any regrets about not looking hard or long enough. Even Levi Morgan doesn't shoot 12's all day long. And sometimes those great shots just don't result in a found deer, watch some dog tracking videos online, Shane Simpson is the one I subscribe to... Its amazing what some deer go a mile on from a hit. Learn from your mistakes and try to avoid them in the future, the people who wound deer, spend 15 minutes looking and move on to the next deer are the real A Holes. Do everything you can and don't look back!

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[Taylormike]

My opinion is yes.  It'll happen at some point.  There are too many factors that we can't control.  Stay positive, the deer may very well have survived.  

[wolc123]

It is not "inevitable", but it is nearly so.  Watch out for the math-challenged folks who say they will not shoot if they are not 100 % sure of a kill.   Hunting is not 100%.   In 35 seasons of deer hunting, I can count on one hand the shot opportunities that I thought were "almost" 100 percent and at least two of those deer escaped (both due to my gun failing to fire).   Your gun not functioning properly, for that second shot, is a serious issue that should be corrected before you use it again. 

There is nothing that bothers me more about deer hunting than hitting one and not being able to recover it.  I feel extremely blessed that it has not occurred to me in 15 seasons, but the times it did happen remain etched in my memory more than any successful kills.   The last time it happened was the worst, because I know that deer died.  By the time I found it, more than a week later with the help of the crows, the vermin had eaten all but the head and neck.  I left that little basket-rack 8-point in the woods for the mice.  Having it on the wall would turn my stomach, every time I looked at it, thinking about all that lost meat.  Antlers don't mean very much to me, but I could not survive without meat. 

As bad as hitting a deer and not recovering it is, missing clean is even worse, when it comes to the skill the hunter has demonstrated.  I did that in 2014, on my first Adirondack buck.   It does not take any skill to miss a deer clean, since the area outside the deer is infinite.  It takes at least a limited amount of skill to hit a deer outside the vitals, but that area is more than double the size of the vitals.  My first, well rested shot, on that buck missed clean from a range of slightly over 300 yards, as did my second rushed offhand shot.   Had it not been for a lesson I had learned the hard way 12 years prior, I never would have fired the third (fatal) shot.  That lesson was: ASSUME EVERY SHOT IS A HIT UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE. 

You just learned a few lessons the hard way.  Learning from others mistakes is a lot harder to do.  Some day, when you least expect it, you will capitalize on that experience, and it may be in the form of a true trophy (like a mature Adirondack buck).   This is "hunting" not "shooting" and there always will be some risk involved.  I am willing to risk about a 10 % chance that I will not be successful when I pull the trigger.  The reason I accept that risk is because: the bulk of our family of four's protein comes from venison, my opportunities are limited, and I am the only one who hunts.   

The fact that I have recovered that extra 10 %, over the last 15 seasons, is due to the fact that I try my best to stay on good terms with He who controls the fate of all living things.    I may loose the next one I shoot at, but that will just mean that He has an important lesson to teach me.   The best lesson I did learn from someone else (my uncle and God-father) was to stick the muzzle of my weapon (safety off), into the open eye of a downed deer, prior to getting out my knife.  He lost the biggest buck he ever saw by not doing that.  So far none of mine have blinked.  Thanks to his misfortune, I will always be ready if one does.                  

Edited October 23, 2018 by wolc123

[cynthiafu]

8 hours ago, Dom said:

No need in beating yourself up,you did the deer a good deed by looking for it.I have seen many times when a person shoots and thinks they have hit the deer but still unsure,they go to where they think the deer was standing and find no blood then say to themselves must have missed and go away without any effort of looking for blood or any signs of a wounded/dead animal.

I got a big doe that way . Someone shot at her and hit her she came over to me I saw the blood so she layed down and passed away I waited 2 hours no one came I tagged her and took her

[nyantler]

Been there, done that... it sucks... but unfortunately is a part of hunting sometimes.

[Core]

I think with enough time it is. My recovery rate since I started hunting appears to be below average based on stats I've read and that pisses me off quite a good deal. The last deer I lost was particularly bothersome. Takes some time to get over it.

[NFA-ADK]

They are survivors!  I try to get my shooting skills as good as I am capable, that said ANYONE can loose a deer and most do if you shoot enough of them.  

Simple answer is yes.  If it happens to you then you have to get back on the horse!  

[Daveboone]

Learn from your experience. Six sits without seeing a deer though? That's nothin! Ive had seasons where I have probably sat 12-16 times without seeing a shooter. Then all the sudden there they are. The .308 is a fine round. No cannon is a one shot stopper if hit wrong. Learn your gun and have confidence in it. I did have a .particular .308 that I had problems shooting. It was very light, and had a rotten trigger pull. 54.00 for a Timney trigger fixed her ills, and I was much happier with it. 

[G-Man]

doesnt sound like a mortal hit. id recheck your scope and caliber

. your bullet could very well be still rising and 1 in high becomes 4 in high and hold a little high means a non mortal hit.. ..

[Doc]

QUOTE: "Is losing a deer an inevitable occurrence?"  

I think the answer is likely "yes". I don't know anyone who has hunted for any length of time that can honestly say that it has not happened to them. It is something that we must all try to avoid. Bad hits and other unfortunate things can happen to anyone regardless of how much planning and care we exercise. We sharpen our tracking skills and have preplanned methods for recovering wounded game, but they don't always work either. So when it does finally happen to us, what are the ways of coping? Well, unless the deer is taken under slaughterhouse conditions and tools, we have to understand that whenever a life is to be taken in a wild and uncontrolled atmosphere, things carry no guarantees. You go through a period of anguish and grief an hopefully eventually get over it and accept the fact that occasionally sh*t happens. Just like falling off a horse, eventually you have to mount up again, analyze what went wrong. Try to correct mistakes and hope it doesn't happen again.

 

[ATbuckhunter]

The answer is yes for me. There are a lot of variables you can not take into account when shooting at a deer so anything can happen. NFA-ADK knows how well ive been shooting and I still missed a doe Thursday.  All you can do is practice shooting and try to increase the percentages. Pick your self up and get back out there! You did your part in looking for that deer. 

[Jdubs]

Some things you can control.  Others aren't up to you.  By all accounts you searched as best as you could given the circumstances.  For all you know, it wasn't a mortal hit and there was never going to be a recovery.  Clear your guilt, learn the lessons and move on.

That said, you do need to resolve your weapon issue before hunting with it again.  What ammo were you using?  Know your dope at the ranges you might take a shot given your chosen zero.  I hunt with the factory Hornady Whitetail .308 in 150gr and all of my shots are under 100 yards.  So far, my success rate with that ammo is 100% with minimal or no tracking needed.  Good luck on your next hunts!

[Chef]

It is not "inevitable", but it is nearly so.  Watch out for the math-challenged folks who say they will not shoot if they are not 100 % sure of a kill.   Hunting is not 100%.   In 35 seasons of deer hunting, I can count on one hand the shot opportunities that I thought were "almost" 100 percent and at least two of those deer escaped (both due to my gun failing to fire).   Your gun not functioning properly, for that second shot, is a serious issue that should be corrected before you use it again. 
There is nothing that bothers me more about deer hunting than hitting one and not being able to recover it.  I feel extremely blessed that it has not occurred to me in 15 seasons, but the times it did happen remain etched in my memory more than any successful kills.   The last time it happened was the worst, because I know that deer died.  By the time I found it, more than a week later with the help of the crows, the vermin had eaten all but the head and neck.  I left that little basket-rack 8-point in the woods for the mice.  Having it on the wall would turn my stomach, every time I looked at it, thinking about all that lost meat.  Antlers don't mean very much to me, but I could not survive without meat. 
As bad as hitting a deer and not recovering it is, missing clean is even worse, when it comes to the skill the hunter has demonstrated.  I did that in 2014, on my first Adirondack buck.   It does not take any skill to miss a deer clean, since the area outside the deer is infinite.  It takes at least a limited amount of skill to hit a deer outside the vitals, but that area is more than double the size of the vitals.  My first, well rested shot, on that buck missed clean from a range of slightly over 300 yards, as did my second rushed offhand shot.   Had it not been for a lesson I had learned the hard way 12 years prior, I never would have fired the third (fatal) shot.  That lesson was: ASSUME EVERY SHOT IS A HIT UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE. 
You just learned a few lessons the hard way.  Learning from others mistakes is a lot harder to do.  Some day, when you least expect it, you will capitalize on that experience, and it may be in the form of a true trophy (like a mature Adirondack buck).   This is "hunting" not "shooting" and there always will be some risk involved.  I am willing to risk about a 10 % chance that I will not be successful when I pull the trigger.  The reason I accept that risk is because: the bulk of our family of four's protein comes from venison, my opportunities are limited, and I am the only one who hunts.   
The fact that I have recovered that extra 10 %, over the last 15 seasons, is due to the fact that I try my best to stay on good terms with He who controls the fate of all living things.    I may loose the next one I shoot at, but that will just mean that He has an important lesson to teach me.   The best lesson I did learn from someone else (my uncle and God-father) was to stick the muzzle of my weapon (safety off), into the open eye of a downed deer, prior to getting out my knife.  He lost the biggest buck he ever saw by not doing that.  So far none of mine have blinked.  Thanks to his misfortune, I will always be ready if one does.                  

Please ignore this guy a clean miss is better than a wound. That being said don’t get down on your self it happens to us all and we all grow from it


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[BigVal]

It happens just need to be sure to have some "blood glow" on hand. Lol 

[Five Seasons]

I think with enough time it is. My recovery rate since I started hunting appears to be below average based on stats I've read and that pisses me off quite a good deal. The last deer I lost was particularly bothersome. Takes some time to get over it.

It should always bother you. If it doesn’t, you should stop hunting.

It’s human.


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