I hit a doe this evening and was unable to find her tonight. The shot was a bit far back but still in the front half of the deer. Vertically, the shot wasin about the middle of her side, maybea bit higher. After the shot, she ran 35 yds and stopped. She stood there for 5 minutes like nothing was wrong then walked off. I lost sight of her, then a few minutes later a buck came by chasing a doe. They came from the same area the doe disappeared so I looked to see blood on her but I saw none and she appeared to be moving well.

I waited 3 1/2 hrs and took up the blood trail. There was no blood until about the spot where she stopped first. We followed it for 60-70 yds before losing it completely. We lost it at about the spot where the buck began chasing her. There wasn't alot of blood but it was bright red. We searched for a couple hours but never found anymore blood or sign of her.

Any thoughts on what vitals I may have hit? I don't think it was far enough back to be a gut shot, so I'm thinking it's a single lung? The height of the shot I'm guessing would explain the lack of blood? I'm heading back in the morning to take another look and hopefully find her.

Thinking a lung also.

From the area you described the hit in, and the color of the blood, it would have to be a lung. If not, you'd be getting a greenish brown mixed in I would think, indicating a paunch hit.

Were you able to find your arrow? Often, looking it over closely helps a ton, too... You'll be able to readily i.d. a gutshot deer from an arrow that's recently passed through some entrails; it'll probably stink to high heaven too.

Remember that a single-lung deeroften travel easily upwards of 300 yards as well. Keep on going in the line that the deer you shot was heading; maybe the doe you saw coming back wasn't her. In fact, let's hope it wasn't. I'd spend a couple more hours tomorrow going that direction. Then, if that proved fruitless, I'd come back and go in the direction you saw the buck running the doe.

Best wishes in finding her.

Was the blood a bright pinkish red and bubbly? If not you might have hit liver...which means you shouldn't trail again til the morning anyways.

I would guess liver. This past sunday I shot from a high elevated stand at a nice nine pointer, distance of 23 yards. The arrow flew through a bit back and high. The buck ran 40 yards and stood looking around like nothing happened for at least 20 minutes. Then he walked, gingerly up a slight grade seemingly headed for a spot a large tree had fell over a few years back. He walked like paunch shot but not hunched over. After a half hour I slowly got out of my stand and went to investigate the arrow and blood sign. I was on a slope while investigating so the deer wouldn't see me from where he'd went. The arrow was bright red, as if somebody spray painted it. The blood was bright red and not an abundance of it. The arrow had no green paunch matter and didn't smell of it. The blood s pot was bright red and six inches in diameter where he stood for the long period and looked like it was trying to gel. I left to go home and read my trusty "trailing whitetails" by John Trout Jr. In that book it seemed like my shot hit the loin and the whitetail wouldnot berecoverable with a bow and most likely it wouldn't be fatal.
The next morning, the shot having taken place at 2:15pm, I took up the trail which was non existent. So I went to where I seen him last and 10 yards further in the mess of massive limbs I found him dead. He'd probably died within a couple hours of the hit. Upon field dressing him, It didn't appear that his paunch was pierced, but the broadhead had sliced through the upper lobe of his liver.
Sorry for the long answer to your question, but this points out that not all liver shot deer will have signs of being paunch shot. Most do however, or at least all that I've shot through the liver. The few I've shot through the liver, stood around for a while after the initial flight and bedded not long after another short walk. It takes from 45-120 minutes for them to expire on those because I've had to wait while seeing them bedded from stand.
According to the book trailing whitetails, liver blood should be dark red. The above mentioned bucks blood was bright red like a muscle hit.
Good luck trailing. If you got the liver he shouldn't be far.

Sorry again for the long winded answer.
Dan

Was she broadside, quartering away, to? Were you in a tree, on the ground? Find the arrow. Sounds like a muscle hit to me. There will be bits of muscle on the arrow if it were, in which case you may have only got one lung, or no lung depending on where you really hit the deer. It's tough sometimes to see exactly where the arrow went. Like dkbs said, if it were a complete loin or muscle hit, you will never find that deer. If it was one lung, the deer will go down, eventually. I'd say the doe you saw being chased by a buck wasn't your deer so I'd find trails near last blood and follow. Deer will often take an easy, familiar route when hit that will lead them to heavy cover or water. Check thickets and whatnot. Good luck, hope you find her.

Thanks for the info...She was broadside when I shot, maybe a very slight quartering toward but it wasn't enough to make me aim differently. I was in a treestand but because of the lay of the land, I was maybe a couple feet above her when I shot. The blood was a bright red, not really any pinkish color to it all. As for the arrow, it went all the way through and stuck in the ground in some tall grass. The first 10 inches was covered in dirt and the rest of the arrow was hard to tell because it was in the grass. My first thought was a paunch hit because the arrow looked brown. I now think thebrown coloris from the ground and grass. I immediately smelled the arrow but it smelled like blood is all, no foul odor.

I was hoping my story would end like dkbs but I don't think she laid down that quickly. I've been trying to figure out if there is anyway the doe that was being chased could have been a different one and I just don't think so. The area she came from is the same spot we lost the blood trail. But there's always a chance it was a different deer. To make matters worse, we have rain in the area today. I think it is raining at my hunting spot right now actually. I will be heading out in a little bit to take another look. Will let you know what I find. Thanks

I would keep looking, but I had the same thing happen to me last year. The doe I shot was hit a little high (arrow passed through) and I waited till the next day before begining tracking. I found her alive and feeding in a clearing. She was limping, but not mortally wounded. My arrow hit her above the lungs and below the spine. This has happend to me one other time on a nice buck which also lived. My buddy killed him during gun season and was able to examine the hit. The arrow went clean through and did not damage any vital organs. I have since moved my aimpoint from the double lung to the "sweet spot" (where targets show the lung, heart and liver overlap). It seems to make a triangle just above the deers armpit. I have talked to many people, processors, etc... The void above the lungs and below the spine does not contain any vital organs or arteries. From everything I have gathered deer hitin this area, can usually survive.

P.S. Nothing wrong about asking for advice. Wise men are those who ask for advice and help.

if its bright red you most likey hit liver i shot a doe earlier this year she was quater towards me when it hit i hit lung liver and gut if she would have been broadsie would have been a heart shot but the blood from her was bright red and she ran probly 250 yds but we had a nice steady blood trail.

Well it took 2 more hours of searching this morning but we did find my doe.We found a little more blood than last night but lostthe trail completely.And it started to rain.We searched everywhere in the trees but found nothing. Finally I figured we'd walk the creek back to the truck. I kept looking in the creek but was seeing nothing so I walked up to a big falldown to look there. I almost fell stepping over a log so my buddy looked to see what I stepped on and noticed there was a little blood on the trail. We followed it to the creek and found her laying next to shore in the water. She was 150-200 yds from where I shot. Talk about getting lucky. I was surprised there was any blood left since it had been raining for about 45 minutes.

The shot was farther back than anticipated, but she was also quartered slightly towards me so the exit hole wasthrough the guts. The doe thatwas being chased by the buck was the same one I shot. Instead of staying in the trees, she headed across an open field and made it to the waters edge, but no further.

Thanks for the replies, it really helps learning from other's experiences.