RE: Bad shot on doe....
 

If there was mucus on the arrow with very little blood and a slightg funky odor it's most likely an intestinal hit well back by the deer's hind quarters.
There is no mistaking when you hit the stomach. Generally you can smell a stomach hit before you even find your arrow and the arrow itself will smell quite strong.

Regardless, hopefully you didn't spend too much time looking for blood and get her up because most times a gut shot deer will lay down for the first time well within 100yds of the hit. If undisturbed it's quite possible to find them in their first bed or very close by as the animal attempts to move a little now and then as the discomfort grows.

Go slow, the deer is cut and it will bleed at least a little at some point but don't expect much.
Don't just assume the deer will go to water and head off on a blind search. Try to find the trail, find some blood and sort it out slowly.....don't get ahead of yourself in a panicked search.

RE: Bad shot on doe....
 

Truthfully, you sound a little unsure as to exactly how far the doe was from you when you shot. You say at least 25 to 30 yards?!? Does that mean it could have possibly been 35? When you went to retrieve your arrow did you count off the number of steps to where the deer was standing? This would give you a better idea of where your possible shot placement ended up based on which pin you used when you shot.

I had the same type of result last year when I shot a doe. And upon finding her, I saw that I shot her high and behind the liver. The arrow had no blood on it but a whitish, mucousy look to it. There really wasn't much of a blood trail to speak of either.

I wish you the best of luck in your recovery efforts!!

RE: Bad shot on doe....
 

Great advice!!!!! Good luck in the morning, keep us posted!

RE: Bad shot on doe....
 

Good luck finding her!

RE: Bad shot on doe....
 

We tried tracking her this morning and didnt find a drop of blood. Looks like I'm hunting again tonight, but I'll be a lot more cautious in my shots.

RE: Bad shot on doe....
 

I did the exact same thing with the first deer I ever shot a bow at. I don't know where I hit her, because unfortunately we never found her. :(

I guess I was so nervous, I forgot to watch for the point of entry. Hubby came to get me out of my stand and I was on the ground searching for my arrow or blood, didn't find either. He asked me a ton of questions I couldn't answer and he started doing the zig zag pattern looking for blood. (he's like a bloodhound I swear) He didn't find blood anywhere close to where I shot her, he found it about 60-70 yards away. We tracked forever, with a good blood trail, even had bubbled "lung blood" so we thought. Ended up tracking right past where hubby had walked to come get me. He realized then what had happened. We saw where she laid down, and she was the deer he had kicked up walking over... he didn't know I had shot one, or he wouldv'e taken a different route. Unfortunately, he had kicked her up and she kept moving.

We tracked probably 3 hours or so, but with no success. I was heartbroken and sick to my stomach. I learned a valuable lesson... not to let the adrenaline get the best of me and to follow the shot AND the deer AFTER shot. The next year, I knew *exactly* where my button buck went and knew *exactly* where I had hit him with the arrow. I have now realized that with every experience we gain knowledge and smarts. Take this and learn from it, that's making the best out of a bad situation.

I am sure we all could tell you stories similar to this, it's a learning process and you just have to keep tweaking everything until you get it just right.

RE: Bad shot on doe....
 

That sucks, but it does happen. If it never happens to you again you will be very fortunate. I see you updated this a little after 8...not trying to be critical (I know you have school) but I would look a lot longer for a wounded/dead deer than an hour. Maybe get back out and look for her after school. You shouldn't be looking for blood, you should be looking for a dead deer. Good luck...

RE: Bad shot on doe....
 

I would not give up this soon. First of all, you know you hit her, most likely in the guts. She is dead by now, if not, she is damn near dead. I would bring afew friends, fan out, and start a grid search. Look into the thickets, along the banks of that lake and stream. It is less than 24 hours after the hit....I would never, and have never, given up trailing a deer that I hit, which is the exact reason I have a 100% recovery rate so far. The point is you do not, under any circumstances, give up the trail within 24 hours of the hit. Dont push the animal unnecessarily, but dont ever give up so soon!That is just my strong opinion, but it is what I live by, and I feel others should to. You owe that to the animals that you kill.:eek:
Give it some more time, and I am sure you will find her!:)

RE: Bad shot on doe....
 

I have to agree. A gut shot deer is a dead deer.

Deer usually bed down quickly after a gut shot.

I have found many deer hit by me or friends that had no blood.

Piebald,

You need to just search the area. That doe did not go far. As others mentioned, seach thickets or areas where and deer would go to hide.

It was cool today in PA and that deer should stiil be good. It will smell like hell with the gut shot, so don't think it is spoiled.

Gut shot deer take many hours to die, so don't think it has been dead all nite and spoiled. It may not have died until the wee hours of this morning.
If I were in you shoes, I'd hang up the bow and spend the day searching.

RE: Bad shot on doe....
 

well piebald the same thing happened to me last weekend with my first bow kill


The deer was quartering to me slightly, i had hit on lung, and the liver but upon exit i had hit the stomach and all that was on the arrow were a grainy type substance and light brown in color.Luckily i knew which way he ran so i walked that way and it took about thirty yards for it to start bleeding but after that it was an easy track, good luck hunting