Hey guys,
I got a chance at a nice mature deer last night, not the biggest in the woods but definitely an older deer. I was close to 30 feet up a tree due to lack of cover and had this deer walk out at 14 yards. I drew back and grunted and he stopped SLIGHTLY quartering away with his left leg forward. I aimed to have the entrance a little high due to the shot angle and released. One blade on my slick trick drilled a bone (I guess the shoulder) but I watched my arrow hit right behind. I admit the shot was a little far forward.
I got to trailing the deer and found hardly any blood because I didn't get a pass through. Finally found my arrow almost 200 yards from the shot. Twenty yards later the blood stopped. When I found my arrow, I could tell the deer had stopped and probably pulled it out and started walking. He definitely did the typical act of circling back to where he came from, but after 240+ yards, I simply couldn't follow his trail anymore.
My only explanation is that the arrow went it, was maybe deflected or the angle was extreme, and it penetrated right under the front of his lungs. I found a piece of cartilage about the size of my thumb next to the arrow that looks like it came from the sternum. I have a hard time believing an arrow can penetrate behind the shoulder, even at that angle, and not at least get something vital to the deer...but I know it happens. I just wish I knew if he was dead or alive.
I just want some opinions or experiences. I know they can go a long way on one lung, but there was NO sign that this deer bedded down for over 200 yards. I waited in my tree for 45 minutes and slipped out of the woods. We came back 3 hours later to look. Hardly any blood. It was all straight red and the entrance was high due to the angle with no exit so I know he did not bleed much. I grid searched today, but there are simply too much woods and I have no idea how far he could have made it. This is the first deer I've lost and I could never explain this feeling to anyone. It's still a little hot down here, so I am going to keep an eye out for buzzards...but I just feel defeated right now. I'm just going to have to get back in the tree and learn from experiences. Thanks for any input