Made a bad sot tonight

[Lifehog]

I went out this afternoon and at about 4 0'clock i made a few calls on the grunt tube i looked to my right and i saw a deer coming my way it was a real nice 8 pointer he walked behind me at 20 yds i came to full draw and stopped him i hit a small branch and it totally sent my arrow off course i hit him in the mid neck area there was a good amount of blood i left him go and i will be out there at first light tomorrow.
This really sucks i have been bowhunting for 15 yrs and i have only shot two deer that i never found i practice just about everyday.
Right now i am just really miserable thinking that it might be suffering and that i might not find it i must of looked right thru that branch this sucks.

[JerseyJim]

Nobody is perfect! Things happen. Don't beat yourself up over it. Get out there tomorrow and see what you can find. The neck has a lot of arteries to sever. You said you saw a lot of blood and thats a good sign. Let us know how you make out with your search tomorrow! Good luck....Jim

[dragthor]

Good call waiting until morning. You do not want to push him around. Its cold up here tonight in north jersey.

[Broadhead88]

We have all been there before and it sucks. Hang in there and go up tomorrow. This cold weather may freeze him up tonight.

Good luck and let us know.

Bob

[boozer]

Dont ever feel bad about a bad shot, We the Archers get a bad name for crippling deer, but just think about how many rifle hunters start blasting at random at deer running accross the feilds, and alot of them are only 1 or 3 day a year hunters with no tracking skills, ive witness some of them shooting and if the deer didn't drop in sight, they figured they missed it. but ive shot buck in rifle season that had broadheads in them, and they still were able to get around 3 weeks later quite well. if you loose the trail check close to water, they seem to head that way alot of times when crippled.

[NY Bowhunter]

Don't beat yourself up too bad over it. (easy for me to say huh?). That's the sick thing about bowhunting that we've all experienced at least once in our lives. 2 indifferent hits in 15 years is pretty darn good. Good chance it is still a fatal hit. There are many arteries in the neck. Good choice in backing out and waiting for him to expire too. Good luck tracking him.. let us know how it turns out. Keep an eye out for your arrow too.

[Deer902]

Good luck tracking your deer. Let us know how it turns out.

[BarnesX.308]

I accidently shot a deer in the neck with an arrow. It jumped the string. I looked for hours that night and couldn't find it. The next morning I found it within minutes. It only went about 50 yards. This might be a more fatal shot than you think. I severed the jugular vein and the carotid artery and the deer was dead almost instantly. No O2 to the brain right away. My problem was that I thought it headed into the thick cover about 100 yards away. It was pouring rain so I had no blood to follow. That deer may have piled up way before you think. If it's not stone dead now, it may recover fully.

[slugman]

Happens to the best of us. Do all you can to track & find , should be plenty of blood if you hit an artery.

[EatsLead]

The suspense is killing me! Did you find him? If you hit him in the middle of the neck and found a lot of blood I bet he died pretty quick. No need to feel guilty. I bet you found him and are getting the picture ready to show us right now

Good Luck