Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

I'm so angry and disgusted with myself that I feel sick. Tonight I shot my second doe with my bow, and for the second time I was unable to recover the deer. The first time was three weeks ago. Thought I had a good solid pass-thru hit at about 15 yards. The arrow was coated with dark blood but there was no evidence of a gutshot. I was able to follow a scant bloodtrail about 40 yards before it just stopped. My wife and I circle searched for hours until it started raining with no luck.

Tonight, I had a perfect broadside shot at about 22-23 yards. I stopped the deer and shot and thought again that I had made a good shot, but the deer ran off like it wasn't even hit, but I watched the fletching go through the deers chest where it should have been at least a single lung hit. The deer ran about 100 yards before it jumped a fence. I also did not find the arrow and found NO blood whatsoever. I searched until an hour after dark just to find the start of the blood trail and found NOTHING. I KNOW I hit that deer, and I'm 99% sure that she's got an arrow in lodged in the ribs, and she's out there dying right now and I don't have a clue where.

I'm pissed off at myself for not only not making better shots but also because I can't track these animals. I'm starting to think that I have no business in the woods with a bow. On a target range and 3D course I'm a very good shot, but I can't hit the vitals on a real deer to save my life. And I also know that if those shots were taken with my muzzleloader those deer would have gone down within 50 yards and would be in my freezer.

One time I could accept as bad luck and write it off as something that eventually happens to almost everyone, but twice in a row and I have to question the wisdom of risking a third. Every deer I've shot with a ML has died within 100 yards and was easily tracked (if it didn't die withing sight).

Mike

Mike

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

I feel for you Mike, since this is my first year bow hunting, I have had some experiences I never would have muzzle or shotgunning. I will still hunt those seasons, but, I have had deer within 20 feet of me bow hunting. Never have I experienced that before. Is the Iowa River down by Lone Tree still good deer hunting? I used to live in West Branch.

Mark
Des Moines

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

Mike,

Sorry about the bad luck recently. Nobody but yourself can decide what weapon to hunt with. If you truly feel confident in your shooting and tracking ability then that's the way it goes. Unfortunately, it's part of bow hunting as well as gun hunting. This has hapened to almost all veteran bow hunters, yours just happened to come back to back. Double check the anatomy of a deer and shot placement. Sure kill shots are rarely lost.

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

My first bit of advice would be to NOT give up unless all of the other aspects of bowhunting aren't appealing to you and to secondly start leaning heavily on someone you know and trust who is an experienced bowhunter...and by experienced, I would say someone who has killed at least a half dozen deer or so with a bow. Having shot in 3D's and at ranges you must know someone. Have them help track the deer the next time and pay attention to every single detail from the time the arrow left the rest until the deer was out of sight. I think there are pieces of the puzzle that you may have missed. Hang in there...good luck.

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

Drift, how long did you wait before trailing the deer? I have learned a lot over the years about tracking arrow shot deer, and that one should wait a minimum of 1-2 hours before tracking an arrow shot deer unless you see the deer go down, or if it is gonna rain and the blood trail is gonna be lost. Please don't give up on bowhunting. Buddy, I am embarassed to tell you how many problems I had when I first started bowhunting, I should have just been wearing a clown suit in the woods, for I really was a clown. I missed shots, clanged my arrows off my bow because I was so nervous, gut shot deer and tracked them, liver shot deer and tracked them, hit deer and never found them....etc.

vashadowhunter

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

well Mike I can relate my friend ... opening day here in Alabama I shot at a nice buck and missed ...it was late in the evening ..later that week in the evening I shot at a doe ..and missed ... I am 54 years old and just cant see well up close anymore ..when I try to see my pin its a blurr and when I squent to focus on the pin I cant see my target very well ...sooooo I sold my bow after hunting with it for 20 years and bought a crossbow last week with a red dot scope .. I can see great out if although I have yet to shoot at a deer with it ..Alabama and Tennessee made shooting a crossbow legal last year ... hopefully this will cure my problems .. I could have continued shooting a bow but do not just want to wound an animal ..age ..age ..age..and the beat goes on :>))

ROLL TIDE
DD

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

Mike, **** I wish I had your problem. I've been out the last 12 times and just seen one deer after dark and one sneaking through the woods. I had a couple of opportunities early season but pasted for various reasons, now I can't even see a deer. I sure regret not shooting those earlier deer. Man is this depressing. I mean really depressing. All my bow hunting goals are going out the window. I’m hunting all kinds of different places.

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

Dark red blood could have been liver hit. Minimal wait of 4-6 hours in my book before tracking. But hang in there and it will get better. Sometimes things happen so quick we second guess our shot placement or have a hard time remembering everything that happened cause your excited. It is discouraging, but you need to redeem yourself and just take your time and everything will work out. Good luck bud!

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

I think tracking a deer shot with a bow is totally different than tracking a ML shot deer or any gun for that matter. You need hands and knees tracking that can take forever and some people I've tracked with didn't have the patience, they just wanted to skip ahead. I'm not placing you in this catergory I just think some people get too anxious and miss valuable sign by going to fast or starting the tracking too soon.The first hit sounds like a liver which should have been a 2hr wait min. and the second (if you hit where you thought)could have been a high lung hit that might have taken a bit for the blood to build up and hit the ground, but she still could have exhaled some through the nostrils which could have been very fine and easily missed. Another thing, When I first started hunting the first few deer I shot I swore I hit them in one spot and when I found them I was usually off on my guess as to where I hit them. I told my dad once "I know I double lunged him" and when we found him it was a liver shot. I guess the short answer is track slow and don't track too soon, I shot a 7pt Tue. that I heard crash andI was 95% sure that itwas a heart shot and I still waited three hours-- he was still dead when I finally got there. good luck and don't give up. Chris

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

With the first one I waited about 15-20min before I climbed out of my tree and retrieved the arrow, and another hour or so before I started tracking. I would have waited longer but I could see the rain clouds building in the west and I knew I didn't have much time.

The one this afternoon I waited about an hour because I thought it was lunged. I started searching right before the sun went down and searched until the battery in my flashlight started going dead. I would have waited longer but there is rain forcast for tomorrow (I really pick great times to wound deer, huh?) and I wanted to at least find a starting point of the trail to determine where the deer was headed after it jumped that fence and got out of my sight.

I left my stand up (I almost just tore it down right then and there because I was so upset, but decided that I didn't want to hump my stand and my bow back to the truck after dark), so I might hunt tomorrow morning and then search for this deer at midday. I have two doe tags, so if I were to finally make a good shot and take a deer tomorrow, I'll still have a tag to tag this afternoon's deer if I find it.

I've never hunted down there, but I have hunted the Iowa River/Coralville Lake area and seen a lot of nice deer out there. I was hunting in Kent Park today because I have two special management antlerless tags for the park and there are a lot of deer out there. I saw a total of 17 deer today incliuding the one I shot. (9 mature does, 6 yearling fawns, a fork and a small 6 pointer with a really screwed up rack).

I really hope my luck turns around tomorrow, because I love hunting with the bow.

Mike

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

Mike,

I know your pain. My brother had the same thing happen to him. He hit a nice doe, and the trail just dried up. Then he hit another nice doe, and she went into a large cornfield, and it started raining. We didn't find her either. He felt as you did, questioning himself and really upset about it. Apparently it was just not to be at that time. But hey, since then, he's shot a nice doe, a 6 pt., and a really nice 10 pt., all of which traveled less than 100 yards between them. Stick with it, I know you won't regret it.

The Trashcanman

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

Drift,
Dont give up man, like said before. Unless everything else is discouraging! We have all lost deer, on the other hand I have recovered deer that should have been lost. Mark where you shoot!!!!! Start there in trailing, I dont give a damn if you seen the animal go down!!!!! Start in the begining, look for hair then blood. Dont walk on the blood trail. Mark the last 2 (AND I MEAN 2 SPOTS OF BLOOD) go slow, dont let your buddies walk all over in front of you( I prefer trailing by myself), and give it time!!!!!!!

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

I have found that practicing with broadheads, from a treestand, wearing hunting clothes, includingmask and gloves,can be a real eye opener.Ditto all the good waiting/tracking advice.

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

Well, I don't know where to begin. You may really want to reconsider your tracking abilities and/or shot selection. OR...just give up archery. I'm trying to read between the lines here to figure out what's going on... IF ANYTHING???
I know you see the TV celebrities "STOPPING" the deer. You have to remember, these guys mostly hunt deer that are in a controlled environment, see low hunting pressure and are being fed. Their deer are not nearly as spooky as the deer the average hunter pursues. IMO, all you do when you "STOP" a deer is alert him to something he's not used to seeing or hearing. You're better off to wait for him to stop(deer do that every few yards or feet as they feed. No need to advertise your presence.

When you say the fletchings disappeared where they should have gone, "at least a single lung hit". WELL, that's not what it should have been. A lot of difference between where it should be and single lung hit.

Maybe revisit anatomy of a deer...OR... you can just quit. Admittedly, you've had a couple bad experiences. IF you couldn't stand another, well definitely quit because somewhere in the next 20 years it'll probably happen again. BUT, you've been fortunate with the smoke pole. Guess what, if you shoot enough deer with anything, your chances of a deer being wounded greatly increase. It can and will happen to most hunters who do enough hunting regardless of their weapon of choice. You try and not make the same mistakes again and try to get better. Some people do seem to be snake bit when it comes to such problems. It's just the way it is. I've gone as many as 10 years and probably 40 deer with the bow without problems and then had 2 missed bucks and a wounded one in an 8 day period. THis after already shooting 5 bucks with 5 shots that year. Now you want to see a guy about to hang himself. I was fit to be tied.

All I can say is be open to the fact you may be doing something wrong and to practice more.

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

I agree that shooting out of a treestand is a lot different if you haven't practiced. I bought my bow about a month ago and practiced in my backyardbut I shot out of a treestand for the first time Wedensday morning at a 8 point buck 20 yards away. I was going for a lung shot but almost missed the deerlow...I got real lucky and clipped the heart. Hang in there because there is no feeling like harvesting a deer with a bow...I'm hooked!!!

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

I feel the same way!!!!! I would write something, but you wrote it perfect!

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

Hey atleast your not doing as bad as um uncle opening morning of bow he missed a buck after that he gut shot a do and we found 1 drop of blood and he gut shot a buck after that doe.. He taking 3 shots and hasn't recovered one deer. I got lucky I shot a doe on the 21 hit 1 lung liver and gut on a quater towards shot and we found her about 200-300 yrds away. Would have been a heart shot if she was broadside...

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

been there myself...thankfully i had support from fellow bowhunters who convinced me to hang in there....hopefully you'll do the same.
losing a critter is part of it and it SUCKS but can you imagine your life without bowhunting?
i couldn't...i just started practicing almost daily and i have to constantly tell myself that it's bowhuntin' but worth it.

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

Wow, first off you deer is not lost!!! forget hunting . find your deer!!! in the Day light. go to the fence crossing where you last saw it and follow any trail , look for any blood. it has been my experiance that a deer hit a little hi can run a 100 yards with out a drop of blood showing up. do a grid search but look for blood She is not far from that fence. if there is water close by she is probably real close to that. don't be so quick to give up.

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

The one this afternoon I waited about an hour because I thought it was lunged. I started searching right before the sun went down and searched until the battery in my flashlight started going dead. I would have waited longer but there is rain forcast for tomorrow (I really pick great times to wound deer, huh?) and I wanted to at least find a starting point of the trail to determine where the deer was headed after it jumped that fence and got out of my sight


This is something to think about. I have passed up a lot of chances on does because it was getting late in the evening and I didn't want to worry about trying to find them in the dark. Now a big buck is another story.
If you are like me and hunt in the evening after work a lot that is when
you are going to have the most chances; but when it comes to killing does
I prefer to do it on Friday evenings or weekend mornings so I have more time for finding them and getting them out of the woods.

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

If I wouldn't take the shot on a doe, then I wouldn't take the shot on a buck either. Don't give up man. I couldn't find the first deer (doe) I shot with the bow either. Made a poor hit far back and pushed the deer too early. Tracked for about 400 yars to a river and nothing. The next year I shot another doe, couldnt find it either, Then 6 seasons went by and I recovered all seven deer that I shot, the next year I lost a six point that would've been my biggest bow kill to date. This year missed 2 doesand killed one. I haven't even seen a buck yet[&o]. Hang in there, its all part of the game. Shoot as many does as possble to practice up, wait longer to track them...it will all be worth it when you finally get it all right:)

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

I feel your pain. I'm new to bow hunting, but I too have wounded two deer so far. The first was a small six point buck that I hit too far forward right in the shoulder. My arrow didn't go in more then an inch. I watched that deer run off with my entire arrow dangling from his shoulder....never found blood and circled the area for over three hours. Everyone told me that I probably didn't kill him. The second deer was a gut shot. I made the mistake of getting out of my stand to quick and jumped something up (probably my deer) anyway never found that one either. I was disappointed, but I tried to look at the good side of it. I've only attempted two shots with a bow, both were hits, my tracking skill and patients are what caused me problems. After reading several forums on here about tracking and waiting long enogh to start tracking, I think I'll do better in the future. I would say don't give up, for me, third time was a charm. I got my first bow kill Saturday. Got a decent 11 point that field dressed at 120lbs. Perfect shot and I watched him drop only 30 yards behind my stand. I still waited for an hour before I got down to check on him. If you really enjoy being in the woods and the thrill of getting them in close and the challenge involved in bow hunting, I'd say stick with it. It will get better.

RE: Thinking about giving up the bow, going back to the gun.
 

Mike,

I know exactly how you feel.. I was about to throw in the towel with bow hunting about 5 years ago until I connected for a perfect shot on a 363 pound black bear (no stand)..

What almost caused me to hang up my bow was sickening enough to make a grown man cry. I had a monster buck come within 15 yards of me one morning, (I was on the ground again..I am not fond of treestands). I connected with a pass through shot.. I waited 2 hours and that was the longest 2 hours of my life.. I found the arrow with blood on it. I waited for my father and other relatives to help track as I was not sure exactly where the arrow hit the deer.. It looked like a decent kill shot but you never know. While tracking the deer, we were following a very good blood trail, I had 150% confidence we would find him dead for sure until my dad yells out "wow, look at the size of that buck!"... I took one look and sure enough, we spooked it up and it took off. I went up to the hill where he was standing and there were 2 very large pools of blood where he was bedded down... I followed again for a short distance only to have the trail lead into a field where I swear a UFO came down and picked up this deer. I looked for 3 days with no luck. I back tracked, side tracked, circled around with no luck. It was the largest buck I have ever had the chance of getting a shot at and I still wonder where that deer ran off to. Hang in there and you will succeed.

I agree with everyone here about practing out of your stand wearing the clothes you will be wearing while hunting. Get a range finder and have a buddy move your target around the yard. I have a range finder and my confidence has doubled since the guess work is now gone. I pick out a few trees and remember how far they are. If only those deer would walk by now!