RE: Do you think this shot is fatal?
Okay, I walked the entire bloodtrail again looking much more closely than before. I found little pieces of bone in some of the blood spots. I found more lung blood and blood with bubbles than I thought, even past the first firetrail. In the bedding spot, I found a red bloody gelatin-like substance; could this be heart tissue? I also found this substance in the thicket west of the bedding spot in some of the blood spots.
I am kind of at a loss for what my next plan should be. I was wrong before, there is no fresh blood on the second firetrail, it is all dried. The only fresh blood exists between the bedding spot and the middle of the thicket. I have walked the thicket on both sides of the blood trail looking for a new trail or the deer. I have made circles around the bedding spot looking for a new trail or the deer. I have checked both ponds near the area, and the creek.
In my opinion this deer has lost a lot of blood and some lung tissue, and possibly heart tissue. There is a 250 yd blood trail, with good blood sign all along it, and some of it has been walked twice by the deer. I also found blood on limbs and small trees about 3' off the ground. The blood is usually on the left side of the tracks.
Should I continue walking the blood trail or try something different? The deer behind my house are very consistent in their movements. They show up in the field where I shot this one at least once a week. If this deer survives, I will see it again for sure. I'm starting to think if this deer dies I'm not going to find it. Too bad all my hunting friends live so far away, I don't have anyone to help me. Thanks everybody for your encouragement and help.