Where did it hit?
 

Guys can you give me an idea on this one. Was out this morning and got the picture perfect broadside view with head turned away from the deer. Now I centered up for the heart/lung region and squeezed the release. Unfortunately I did not see the arrow contact and concluded that I missed as the deer did not hang around. About two hours later I climbed down to retrieve the arrow. Found it lying in the tall grass just past the deer's location. It was covered in dried blood! I smelled the arrow since I previously thought I missed. Okay there was no smell of gut or bowel on the shaft. There was no hair on the shaft. The shaft was coated from the broadhead to the nock. I conclude that 1) I hit him. 2) He was hit someplace other than the gut. 3) The animal must be closeby on the ground (remember this is two hours later).

I covered the little creek draw for several hundred yards each direction. Went and got help from our hunting buddies and stood at the last place I saw the deer. They worked increasingly larger concentric circles around me from 5 yards to 400. We found no sign, blood, hair nor hide......or deer. Brisket, tenderloin, what? Makes me sick to shoot the animal and not find him.

Any ideas on the hit?

RE: Where did it hit?
 

Sooner
It is hard to say where you hit. I have had 2 deer in my life that did not leave a blood trail of any kind. I hit both in the lungs but in my case I did not get a pass through so I think the arrow may have kept the holes closed. Fortunately I was using a game tracker back then and it led me right to the deer. Keep searching and check all nearby trails for any signs of blood

RE: Where did it hit?
 

Thank you. Probably hit him high in the lungs. Will look some more but am not too hopeful. Did find this though: http://www.braggingpost.com/Links/charts_and_game.htm

RE: Where did it hit?
 

Sounds like you were in the chest area somewhere since you had a pass through and didn't hear any bones when the arrow hit. You were at least 2 hours behind the deer which is good, poss. that it was a liver hit (dark blood) Lack of smell is a good sign and usually there is some form of stomach contents on a gut shot. Liver hits will take awhile for the animal to expire and they can cover a large area. Don't over look the possiblity that the animal circled and is in the opposite direction of what it ran off in. Wounded animals often circle back and hide especially if they don't know what hurt them.

" Anyone can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a Dad"

RE: Where did it hit?
 

not too hopeful....

sooner my friend, am I hearing this right?

I wish you the best in finding this critter! Hopefully the "fanning" party didnt wipe out what little evidence there is, but I would bet their is a speck or two of blood here or their!

Look at the terrain, the direction the animal went. Also even if it was dried, you probably could see bubble marks on your shaft. Start where the animal was standing, then look off to the direction of travel, and get on your hands and knees.......if its fatal, its a dead deer. You gave sufficent time to not be pushed even with a marginal hit, before climbing out of your stand, so it shouldnt be far! Go slow, be patient, and use some creativity, you'll find it! But dont give up the faith.....

http://www.geocities.com/tradbow007/...dventures.html

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RE: Where did it hit?
 

I agree with Lil. Get on your knees where you last saw the deer. The sign is there you just have to look harder and smarter. Crawl in the direction the deer went and see what it sees. Check all trails you come across from your knees in both directions. Look for upturned dirt and leaves, broken branches pointing in the direction of travel, anything that could direct you till you can find better sign of the hit. Its first moves will most likely be right through bushes and undergrowth and you need to stick your head in those too. Lots of times you can almost invision the route these things will take when your at their level. KEEP LOOKING

RE: Where did it hit?
 

Thx to all you guys. By the way, my fletchings are flourescent orange and green and the nock is a flourescent green. They really shine. Just simply did not get a glimpse of the arrow which I usually do.

The deer did run immediately rather than the mulekick or the hunchback thing. I did check the Johnson Grass on both sides of the trail high and low. Yes on the knees too. Yet to see it. I miss the meat for sure but hate it more cause I was raised to take care of the resources. Leaving one dead somewhere doesn't cut it. I will check again this evening.

RE: Where did it hit?
 

If you hit the brisket or some place like that you'd have heard a lot whack. Briskets don't bleed a lot. I say you plugged him and he's not far away. The only other spots that might yield so much blood on the arrow but none on the ground are the back leg or a hit through the tenderloin. The The back leg would likely leave more blood on the ground than the tenderloin. A front leg shot would also leave blood on the ground... at least for a little ways. If there was a lot of tallow along with the blood I'd believe brisket... but it doesn't sound like it. Tough call when you're there looking at all the evidence sometime. It's really hard over the internet.:)

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RE: Where did it hit?
 

Sooner, two weeks ago I had a similar experience. A good size doe offered me a broadside (slight quartering) shot. This year I switched to carbons and the arrow zipped so fast that I could not see exactly where I hit. Right after impact, the doe took off like she was freightened by something but did not look hit. The doe went about 20 yards and then started to walk slowly like nothing happened. I was a little concerned but continued to watch her walk off. She walked about 60 yards and finally started to "hunch over" but kept walking out of view. I marked the spot where I last seen her and about 15 min. later I checked out my arrow. I left the arrow lay and left the woods for about 2 hours. The arrow was covered in dark blood - I was concerned because of the dark blood. Later, I returned with some help and NEVER found one drop of blood - NOT ONE DROP!!! This has never happened to me and I was sick to my stomach. I started questioning my shooting ability. We searched for several hours and finally we found it about 40 yards from where I last spotted her - in the complete opposite direction that the doe was heading. She was in some real thick brush and I was very happy that we did not give up.
My shot went into the gut area at first but then traveled through the heart and hit one lung prior to exiting. I couldn't believe we never found a drop of blood with a complete pass through.
So what I'm telling you is don't give up. Good luck.
By the way, this is my first time posting and I'm addicted to this board. I've been reading from this board for almost a year now and have learned a lot from all of your experiences!!! Good work!!

RE: Where did it hit?
 

Be patient.

It's not a briskit hit or there would have been tallow on the arrow. Though dried were you able to determine a color of the blood?

I got a high left lung and the arrow passed through the liver on my doe last week. I have a picture of one drop of blood that was pivital in my tracking [shown with a machinist's SS Ruler at http://members.w-link.net/~dick_cres...ock2_small.jpg We followed the trail 164 yards on our hands and knees finding a drop every 5 or 6 feet.

One of my partners gut shot one the other day. The shot was high and passed through the gut and exited low on the other side. The deers reaction to the shot and the blood trail were classic liver hit shot. However when we found the arrow the next day it was covered by intestinal matter. Again though it became a trail of one spot after another butr we tracked her to her bed then marked the spot and recovered the animal [not long dead] the next morning.

Just be patient and follow the trail. Tracke and direction ofg travel are vital clues too.

I would suspect a high one lung hit . . . and would also expect to find the animal in her/his her first bed if you didn't inadvertantly push her/him

I hope this helps.

Bowhunter