Big 8 WOUNDED

[njg0621]

Got in the stand around 3pm on Saturday (OCT 29) and all was good. Was in a new spot, wind was good, it was calm, overcast, going to be a good night! By 4pm it was snowing like crazy! I couldn't see more than 75 yds out. Around 5:45 I see a deer come to my left..... "Wow that is a big bodied deer" I say to myself. At this point he was about 40yds to my left and with the snow and leaves on the trees I couldn't see his horns that well. I thought he was a big 6pt but I couldn't tell for sure. He moved into 30yds and I still wasn't sure if I wanted to shoot him because I have a couple GOOD deer that I want to shoot and I didn't want to kill a borderline buck. Believe it or not even though he was at 30yds there was so much junk in the way I still couldn't get a really good look at him but at his point I didn't think I was going to shoot him. I was calm, cool, and collective, I didn't even stand up or grab my bow because I thought I was going to let him walk. Then he came in to about 20yds and stepped into an opening...... OMG HE IS A BIG EIGHT! I CAN'T F'ING BELIEVE IT!OMG!OMG!OMG! So now I start redlining because I hadn't even prepared for the shot and I was sitting down with my bow in the hanger. I stand up grab the bow and prepare to shoot this big eight point. He is now a maximum of 15yds broadside right in front of me. I draw and go to put the pin on him and there is a leaf in the way. Instead of waiting another 5sec I redline and shoot through the leaf. I watch the big eight run away with the luminoc glowing from his side and I can see I hit him really high. I am not going to say that the branch was responsible for what happened because I think it was a combination of several things. I was excited, the deer was so close I should have shot low and I didn't(biggest mistake), it was snowing, blah blah blah I screwed up and that's all there is to it. It was snowing so hard that within minutes the little bit of blood I did find was covered up with snow. I decided to pull out and look for him in the morning because it was a lost cause at this point.

Woke up in the morning after getting piss drunk that night and went to look for him. Of course we got 6" of snow overnight and now I was trying to find a deer with no tracks, no blood, no nothing! Four of us did the ol' grid pattern through the entire set of woods for hours and hours and found nothing. This is the first time this has ever happened to me and I am really upset about it because it was a really nice deer. Anyways that is the deal, big eight got away!

[WNYBuckHunter]

If you had a blood trail, call Deer Search and have them get the dogs on it. They can track even if the blood has been washed away for a couple of days.

http://deersearch.org/

[SteveNY]

Sorry to hear that man, I know the feeling very well...

Maybe you should call one of these guys that tracks with dogs for free? They seem to be pretty damn good at what they do...

[Doewhacker]

With the snow falling, and even if its the day after when it is falling off of trees and melting, you should have tracked immediately or not shot at all. Bad choice not tracking right away in my opinion.

[Doewhacker]

If you had a blood trail, call Deer Search and have them get the dogs on it. They can track even if the blood has been washed away for a couple of days. http://deersearch.org/

In this situation the dogs would be hunting dead, not tracking. Six inches of snow that has melted from three days ago is tough to get a blood trail from for a dog (even those German ones). Today might be warm enough to make it smell bad enough for the dogs to find.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I agree Doe....show o the ground and more forecast...I am dogging that track.

Bummer luck....hiope you are able to find him at some point.

[biggamefish]

- also would have tracked right away. This is also the reason I don't hunt in the heavy rain or snow. If you have a bad shot which does happen tracking is so hard even if you had a great shot the blood trails can suck and be hard to follow.

Sucks not to find one specailly a big deer. Hope your luck turns.

[G-Man]

i would keep looking.. he's dead somewhere...

[landtracdeerhunter]

You said your shot was high, Did you get a look at where the broadhead hit. Do you think he's still walking around? I know, been in that spot, it a tough judgement call. Sometimes, that's the type of weather those big boys surface, and it's easy to say that anyone wouldn't take the shot. But, in our experience, they pop out in the worst weather conditions. Also,if you think he's expired, get down wind of the area and use your nose to find him. Once you know the smell, you'll never forget it.

Edited November 1, 2011 by landtracdeerhunter

[Gthphtm]

When I first joined Deer Search,I went out with Lee a few times on calls she got from hunters,hunting out of the Ridge check station.All were the morning after a deer was shot,sometime it snowed or rained that night .If the hunter showed us were the deer was shot and if they were smart enough to mark the last spot of a blood trail or where the deer was last seen.The dog or dogs would pick up the sent.

[njg0621]

With the snow falling, and even if its the day after when it is falling off of trees and melting, you should have tracked immediately or not shot at all. Bad choice not tracking right away in my opinion.

"you should have tracked immediately" - I had a Luminoc sticking out of the deer when it ran away so I knew where I hit him. The deer was shot below the spine but above the lungs. The only chance I had of catching a lung by dumb luck was if I hit the left lung on the way out the other side of the deer. There was basically no bloodtrail to track at all except a few small drops. I knew that there was absolutely no advantage to possibly pushing a buck that was hit bad at that point. I was tracking as blind then as I would have been in the morning.

"or not shot at all" - Easy to say until you have been in the treestand every minute you can since opening day, passed up several young bucks and finally have a shot at a good one. How in the hell am I not going to shoot a good 8pt at 15yds broadside??

The only thing that I would have changed in my situation is have hit the deer in the vitals. Other than that I think I don't regret anything. If I smoked him like I should have there wouldn't have been any trakcing or any losing the deer.

[Geno C]

that suck to hear, id keep looking tho!

[MuzzyLoader]

What a gut-wrenching feeling - to hit a great deer [high] only to not recover it.

[Doewhacker]

"The only chance I had of catching a lung by dumb luck was if I hit the left lung on the way out the other side of the deer. There was basically no bloodtrail to track at all except a few small drops. I knew that there was absolutely no advantage to possibly pushing a buck that was hit bad at that point. I was tracking as blind then as I would have been in the morning. "

With snow there is very little trace of blood because it sinks in to the snow, add to that a mist from a lung hit and you will not see alot if any blood. As far as no advantage and maybe pushing a poorly hit deer, guess what you had nothing to loose because you had zero to go on the next day. At least the night of you could have hauled ass on the tracks and tried to follow him. You don't need to listen to advice, I'm just telling you what you should have done in that situation.

"Easy to say until you have been in the treestand every minute you can since opening day, passed up several young bucks and finally have a shot at a good one. How in the hell am I not going to shoot a good 8pt at 15yds broadside??"

Its called restraint and good decision making, it comes with being a responsible hunter.

[njg0621]

"At least the night of you could have hauled ass on the tracks and tried to follow him. You don't need to listen to advice, I'm just telling you what you should have done in that situation."

So because it was snowing I should have chased around a deer that was hit bad for miles? Have you ever heard the saying "when in doubt back out"??? My hope was that if I let him sit he might have layed down and gone to sleep. If I went over and found good blood within 50 yards of where I shot him I would have went after him that night. Since I found almost no blood anywhere I decided to hope he would die slowly over the night. It was snowing hard enough that I would have lost tracks in 30minutes and there is no way that deer died within 30minutes I guarantee you that. Last tiem a derr can run faster than me through the woods in the dark. My odds of finding him dead by letting him sit were greater than chacing him around. If I let him sit and I found him you would prob be sitting here telling me it was a good move not chasing him! Anyways hindsight is 20\20, thanks for "telling me what I should have done in this situation" but I truly believe that you are compltely wrong in this case.

"Its called restraint and good decision making, it comes with being a responsible hunter."

Restraint? 15yds broadside and taking a shot entails me not having restraint?? How much better can it get than that? If I hit him properly he would have died within 50yds and we could have gotten 2ft of snow that night and I would have found him. This is why I hate even posting a story like this because you always get know it alls that would have done it different. Making good decisions is the 12 immature bucks I passed this year and waiting until this one came out at 15yds to take the shot.

Edited November 1, 2011 by njg0621

[Culvercreek hunt club]

"you should have tracked immediately" - I had a Luminoc sticking out of the deer when it ran away so I knew where I hit him. The deer was shot below the spine but above the lungs. The only chance I had of catching a lung by dumb luck was if I hit the left lung on the way out the other side of the deer. There was basically no bloodtrail to track at all except a few small drops. I knew that there was absolutely no advantage to possibly pushing a buck that was hit bad at that point. I was tracking as blind then as I would have been in the morning.

"or not shot at all" - Easy to say until you have been in the treestand every minute you can since opening day, passed up several young bucks and finally have a shot at a good one. How in the hell am I not going to shoot a good 8pt at 15yds broadside??

The only thing that I would have changed in my situation is have hit the deer in the vitals. Other than that I think I don't regret anything. If I smoked him like I should have there wouldn't have been any trakcing or any losing the deer.

I have seen double lunged deer stay on their feet for over a half an hour. Personally if the weather is pounding---rain or snow. where I could lose tracking ability...I stay home...it is a killer knowing they are still out there but just as you proved...bad things can happen with the best intentions. Food for thought.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

. Making good decisions is the 12 immature bucks I passed this year and waiting until this one came out at 15yds to take the shot.

I would have rather seen you make a good shot on an immature buck and recover it

[ny hunter]

Hope you find him...

[HHC1]

I would have rather seen you make a good shot on an immature buck and recover it

You took the words right out from under my fingers. My brother and I don't hunt if tracking is going to become an issue. For me, not recovering an animal is the worst, so I take every opportunity to avoid that situation.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Exactly HHC...I was all about supporting him until he got punky with Doe for being honest...then he comes out with the "don't regret anything"??? ayfkm? Anyone can screw up and hind sight is 20/20 but you have to be able to learn something from bad experiences and I ge the feeling he would be right back out in a downpour or snow storm sticking another one....

[njg0621]

I would have rather seen you make a good shot on an immature buck and recover it

Me to obviously! God I love how everyone is perfect when you don't know them personally and prove otherwise. I admited everything that I did wrong, won't post anything but success for now on. So you get out of the stand and go home if it starts snowing or raining during your hunt? Do you ever get in the stand?

"...then he comes out with the "don't regret anything"??? ayfkm"

I WAS REFERRING TO BACKING OUT THAT NIGHT! OBVIOUSLY I REGRET MAKING A BAD SHOT! I would never in a million years want to wound a deer of any kind. Some of the best hunting is before a storm that is rolling in, who stays home? I had a deer at 15yds yes it was snowing but at the time I knew that if I hit him the way I should have he wouldn't have gotten away in rain, sno, sleet, or freezing rain. Everyone I know was hunting last Sunday during that snow and I know alot of good ethical hunters, me being one of them.

Edited November 1, 2011 by njg0621

[scobar]

A high musle hit, the deer is not dead. You said it was in the eveing so the buck was real close to his core area, his comfort zone, and if he had no idea you were there he will be back. Stay clear of the area for a week then try again. I think you will see that deer again. As a certifed tracker for Deer Search we would not even atempted to find your deer with a musle hit. Stay calm and give him another try later next week, good luck.

Edited November 1, 2011 by scobar

[Sudzy8]

I have seen double lunged deer stay on their feet for over a half an hour. Personally if the weather is pounding---rain or snow. where I could lose tracking ability...I stay home...it is a killer knowing they are still out there but just as you proved...bad things can happen with the best intentions. Food for thought.

I don't believe that a double lunged deer is going to stay on its feet for over a half an hour. Double lunged deer are dead within a minute. Even when you get one lung the deer is dead within a few minutes. They may cover a lot of ground in that time...but they are dead very quick. Deer that are still alive after 30 mins are gutshot or liver hit deer...not lungs.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I don't believe that a double lunged deer is going to stay on its feet for over a half an hour. Double lunged deer are dead within a minute. Even when you get one lung the deer is dead within a few minutes. They may cover a lot of ground in that time...but they are dead very quick. Deer that are still alive after 30 mins are gutshot or liver hit deer...not lungs.

You are wrong. I have physically seen it myself. and the big reason it can happen is two fold....lungs are multi lobbed and if the fat actually clogges the hole a vacuum can be maintained to allow some breathing. ask an EMT if they ever pull out an object that is puncturing a lung and why they won't. I saw my buddy shoot a buck while we were erecting a stand. beautiful hit from on the ground..pass through and double lung. we waited a half an hour and completed the install of the treestand overlooking a mowed clover field.....deer had run into the corn lot behind us. After the half our we tracked....deer never laid down but stood several time and he ended up IN the cut clover field about 20-30 yards from the treestand we just put up....I was in it and setting it and he didn't come out into the clover until we entered the corn a half hour after the shot. When we found him...two tennis sized balls of fat on both sides and both lungs punctured. Don't believe for a minute avery good shot will be like the videos and result in a toppled buck in 50 yards.

All I am getting at is as responsible hunters we have to make choices......I have set in my stand through some nasty weather in hopes it breaks...I have also let deer walk during that time because I was worried about losing them. I also have left the woods when it moves in and is forecast to continue or get worse.That is my choice...yours may not be the same...and that is fine. You just have to be able to look yourself in the mirror in the morning and know you did what you believe to be right.

[growalot]

You ppl kill me...a person shoots a deer ...obvious way darker than should..IMO and looses said deer ... Arrow sticking out of a shoulder and it's...."Good luck ...go get em good luck...He doesn't find said deer ....and what do you guys say when he tells ya he's going right back out?...Ohh... "Good Luck go get em best luck..."

This guys tells you basically the same scenario and you some of you criticize and jump his ass for not making the right decision...Just so so many Wow moments on this sight