cant stand the wait
 

Well,
slipped into the swamp stand behind the house, about 45min before dark Mr. Big boy comes through (8-10) at what I thought was 30 yards (ended up being 35yds, a 6 inch drop on My bow), held him up with a grunt and let it fly. Saw the arrow going low, He snorts, and takes off up the oppposite hill and stops looking around for 15 seconds, then slipps off.
I lost sight of the arrow and did not hear a hit, "looked" like it may have been low. Climbed down after 1/2 hour and went to where he stood for 15 seconds, large blood area, I followed the trail back to the hit, and found 1/2 of the shaft (blade end) stuck in the ground at the angle of flight from My stand. Blood splattered there, so the blood started right away.

I walked back up to the house, that was 3 hours ago. Unsure of the hit, and do not want to push it, but it will only go down to 58 tonight.

Odd how the arrow broke clean and continued on its flight and stuck in the ground, bright red blood, but not gushing like a slug gun (2nd year bow)

RE: cant stand the wait
 

Was he quartering away? Still sounds like a good hit from what your saying. Good Luck on the recovery

RE: cant stand the wait
 

dead broadside,
could not ask for a better setup,
broadside, head behind a tree, very light wind blowing in My face.

I just "miss under estamated" the distance by 5 yards.

My bow is flat out to about 25 yards, then it drops like a rock


Slack

RE: cant stand the wait
 

good luck finding him. where the heck were you aiming to STILL HIT HIM though if you got a 6 inch drop from 30-35??

i think you need your bow looked at!! flat clear out to 25...but 30-35 is a 6 inch drop??? just doesnt seem right?? an arrow should have a definent flight and not drop like a rock. your pins should all be gapped the same distance...unless im wrong? my bow only shoots 260fps...from 15-25 and 25-35 my pin gap is the same..and if i use my 25yd pin on a 35yd shot i think im roughly somewhere around 5-6 inches low.

but either way...good luck finding him...sounds like a good hit..sounds like the arrow stuck in him and snapped when he ran off. maybe only got 1 lung from angle and low hit..but should got the heart too with any luck. did good backing out since you were unsure though...

RE: cant stand the wait
 

OK here is the deal. You had a good shot. You took a shot but missed the distance a little bit. BUT, you still connected, and got blood immediately. You did not push the buck, so he is not in a hurry. You are doing great so far. Give him time, and follow your senses. I predict you will bring him home.

Good luck to you Slackdaddy, and keep us posted.

I'll be here all day tomorrow, checking back for an update and pics.

Good hunting and be safe.

God Bless

RE: cant stand the wait
 

Well, no joy!
Waited till morning, Found the blood puddle no problem,He headed strait up the hill (thick laurel) and bedded 2-3 times at the top, each bed had 1' round blood stains (not puddles), following the trail was no problem, good sized drops and plenty of them, "thin" red blood, but plenty of it.

He went up hill about 100yds, bedded a few times, then dropped of the side into another bottom, then the blood slowed way down and was a drop every foot or so, then had about 20 feet of real heavy thick red blood, then nothing, finnaly foud one drop about 30 feet away, but nothing after that, spent a few more hours tryng to pick it back up, but heseems to have "clogged up".
I believe I went through the brisket (outside of the ribbs)
I paced off the shot, 42 yards, I was way off, thought it was about 30-35.

Judging distance is My main goal to work on now.

Mauser, I shoot 1 pin(dot), it is zero'ed for 20 yards, at 30 yards I am 4-6 low, at 35 yards I am 8-10 low, 40 its in the ground.
I never thought the shot was 40+, I would not have taken it.

Slack

RE: cant stand the wait
 

Yeah but the drop of you arrow wouldn't make you hit it further back. Get out there and look some more. Maybe you caught the liver. Start looking in brush piles and doing grid searches.

RE: cant stand the wait
 

Um? If your zero'd for 20....if a target is 30 yards you have to aim high with a 20 yard pin. What are you doing again?

RE: cant stand the wait
 

Get out and look some more. You have a dead deer. Do like the others said and start a grid search and check brush piles and such. Don't give up yet.

Good luck.

RE: cant stand the wait
 

Sounds like you missed below his heart, cause it seems like you'd have found him if he died with a heart shot.

RE: cant stand the wait
 

I am also a horrible judge of distance, and have passed on shots because I thought they were too far, only to find out they were right in range for my best shooting. :eek: I guess my motto that I carry with me into the stand and everywhere I go is "rather be safe than sorry". I misjudged the yardage on a 160 class (approx.) a week ago tomorrow, I coulda made the shot if I woulda had a correct yardage on it, just woulda aimed higher. The shot was a perfect placement, but shot low, right under him.

I would suggest stepping all of your shooting lanes off and marking them with color coded (according to your pin colors) markers. This way there is no question on which pin to use or what yardage the animal is at. If it is past a marker, you know it's out of range. If it is in between markers, you know to allow for that, if it is right on, there is no guesswork, apply the appropriate pin to a couple of little brown hairs in the kill zone and take it down.

Good luck, hopefully you will get some more time to look for him, sounds like a decent hit to me.

RE: cant stand the wait
 

Don't forget, if there's water in the area, check it out. Good luck with the recovery. Good move not pushing him!;)

RE: cant stand the wait
 

Rob,
I am zero'd for 20 yds, at 30 yds the arrow has dropped down 4-6 inches, at 35 yds it has dropped 8-10 inches.
So at 30 yards I hold 5 high, at 35 I would hold 10 high,

In a hunting situation I would not shot past 30 yards, or so I thought.
My shooting is "OK", My "range finding" is terrible.

I am shooting an old used 1995 Darton Excel, I would like to get a"new used" bow that will shoot a "little" flatter out to 35 yards, oh and does not weight 50 pounds.

Slack

RE: cant stand the wait
 

Good luck finding him like everyone else said! If I lived closer, I'd volunteer to come out and help you with a grid search.

RE: cant stand the wait
 

The next person that posts "why do you use a rangefinder"?.......

We should link this thread to a reply.

Jeff

RE: cant stand the wait
 

I hear ya my range finder was my best tool for hunting! I was not sure if I needed one but i SOOO glad I bought it 3 years ago!!

Any luck with your deer????

RE: cant stand the wait
 

No joy again,
I know I hit low, real low. I know He bedded up in the laurel over night,
And dropped off the back side the next morning when I went looking for him (13 hours later), and the blood ran out.

If I went through the chest, below the ribs, and He lives, how long till He is back making the rounds, or will He sit this years rut out ??

Thanks,
Slack