To describe a sound is actually quite difficult but if we use our imagination we might come up with a sound, when shot in the rib area, it sounds like someone took a baseball bat to a side of beef, it' s actually unmistakable once you learn it. When hit in the paunch/stomach and the ribs are missed, it sounds similiar but hollower.

Another analogy that could be used is taking the palm of your hand and smacking a big steak real hard...you get that slap sound....that' s what comes to my mind.

Without finding the arrow, it' ll be pretty hard to determine if you actually hit the animal or not. Like mentioned above, I' ve never had one blow at me if hit....they usually blow when they don' t know what happened...I imagine they may from time to time but never had it done to me.....I have on misses tho.

Arrows will bury themselves into the soft ground of the woods and can be very difficult to find...that' s one reason I recommend bright fletch that contrasts the forest floor and a deer' s hide, I use white and yellow or flourescent orange and yellow, bright, bright fletch or crest the arrow.

Good luck and I hope that doesn' t deter you from trying again, we hunt, we live, we learn......with no blood at all, it does seem you may have missed, they are amazing animals and can move like lightning when that bow goes off.