A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

Guys, I would appreciate any and all input.

Last night, I believe I missed on a nice doe at 30 yards. It was about 30 minutes before legal shooting time ended. I put my twenty yard pin on her a little high and released. I didn’t see the arrow hit but she did jump and/or arch her back. She whirled quickly and ran off, making a shrieking sound I’ve heard deer make when I’ve accidentally spooked them before, sort of a warning call of sorts to the other deer in the woods. Then she circled back, waving her tail and slowly watching in my direction from about 75 yards off. At this point, it’s too dark and she’s too far to see if there’s a point of impact.

So I go back to the house and come back with my 15 million candlelight flashlight and light up the woods. No blood, no arrow, nothing. If it was a clean miss, like I assume it was, the arrow would have likely sailed into the slough about 25 yards behind where she was standing at the time ( I was in a ground blind), so I may not find the arrow until winter. So I slowly canvassed the woods following the path I saw her take and nothing. I didn’t hear anything moving or getting up and running either. I went in after about an hour as it started pouring raind and did a quick hike though the woods before work again this morning. Nothing.

I’m thinking it was a clean miss or worse, a gut shot. However, wouldn’t the arrow normally pass through the guts? It all happened so fast, all I saw was the deer jumping and whirling and bolting. And then coming back slowly to check me out from a distance. She wasn’t acting hurt, just rattled.

I do think I’ll take off early from work tonight and go out for awhile again just to make sure. Any thoughts? Similar experiences? Also, if I did gut shoot her and she died overnight, is finding her this afternoon in 70 degree temps too late to save any of the meat. Regardless, I would tag her and accept what happened out of respect for the deer.

Thanks in advice for any insight and the occasional insult I will expect with a potential recovery thread like this.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

I gut shot one last year and it was pretty warm. We went back the next morning and found him. The backstraps were fine. I wasn't about to cut the deer open though. Gut shot and warm temps don't mix well but the loin was fine.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

Go back and look for that arrow a little more... I say you missed hear or at the very least just nicked her... Try looking for that arrow again... That will tell the whole story;)... A gut shot deer does not usually circle around and blow at you...

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

It sounds like to me it was just a clean miss? But your doing the right thing by checking out the area and making sure.
As far as finding your arrow? There is no telling where that thing landed.
Exactly!

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

I think you had a clean miss and you just spooked the heck out of her. She would not cirlce back around and come back to a similar general area if she was shot, especially if it was a complete pass thru gut shot. I would bet you just missedher and she was trying to figure what in the heck just happened, that's why she came back. I would not take off from work early, not unless you are planning on hunting.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

Thanks for the replies guys. I will plan on looking for that arrow again until I find it. I didn't think a wounded deer would react that way either, coming back to check things out.

Regardless, is that what you call that high-pitched shrieking sound? Blowing? It's sounds like someone scraping their finders across a chalk board.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

Update. So I found the arrow last night or at least half of it. It was snapped clean off right below the fletching and the broadhead end nowhere to be found. So I did another sweep of the slough, which isn't very thick and the neighboring properties but nothing.

Could an arrow snap in half from impact on a rock or collision with something else? I know the other dreaded possibility is that the other half was inside her or at the least it was hanging on to her and that she had not dislodged it yet. Still, where the arrow half lay was directly behind where she was standing and she bolted in another direction after the shot before circling back and blowing at me. So I doubt she would have broke it off at that spot. Plus I know now I aimed to high from carefully measuring the yardage. The arrow should have theoretically grazed her back.

I'm going to look one more time this weekend with some friends but I'm thinking all is well. Perhaps I'm too optimistic. On another note,I went and bought some of those arrow knocks that light up when fired and glow afterward to I'll see where they hit and find the arrow more quickly the next time. And I'm going to look into a range finder. Right now I am pre-measuring yardages from my stands with a rope and markers.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

"MY" take....

First....I'm not being critical...just offering advice.

#1 - Finding the arrow in a timely fashion is PARAMOUNT to knowing your next move.

#2 - I think you would have seen the arrow sticking out of her if it had stuck in and been broken off.

#3 - YES! I told Rob I was glassing the other night....and saw something in a tree about head high. It was an arrow. I INSTANTLY knew the story of it. Last year....before I took the buck I just got back from the taxi....I had a shot at him (Thanksgiving Day) at 30yds. It was dusk....and I didn't see a small limb in front of me. I release my arrow and it sounded like an explosion. New lumenok.....gone. All I find is the fletching end. I didn't even look for a black shafted arrow with no markings in that brush. But....now I know where it is!;) I'm going to take a photo of it in the tree.....as soon as I get that far into my woods on a day hunt. But to answer your question.....most definitely a limb can do that to an arrow.

I'd say you missed....but I can't express how much that arrow will tell you....and I'd do everything in my power to find the arrow before I did ANYTHING else (in the future).

Good luck

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

An arrow can and usually does snap when shot off into the wild blue unknown. All it has to do is glance off something to turn it a little off pure flight and if it smacks a small limb, sapling or whatever... it's toast... especially alluminums. How far from where the deer was standing did you find the arrow. Was it in a path directly behind her or was it off on the trail she ran? It's always a bummer to find an arrow that way because you don't know. I never had it happen like that in all my years bowhunting. I mean found a half and not had evidence of a hit....., but I've busted them in practice stump shooting when I tried to squeeze one through a hole. Because of the way the deer acted I'd say you missed or maybe tangled one up in her lower legs when she lit out. I'm almost certain from what you describe... you missed, but without the rest of the arrow or the deer we won't know.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

I break arrows like that all the time when shooting 3ds if I slip or miss judge a distance and it hits a stick thendeflects in to a rock or something was there any sound of the arrow breaking when you shot? and if you didn't hear it its probly cause so much other things are going on i know when i see a deer my heart is beating so hard im afraid the deer will hear it.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

I've never had a "hit" deer "blow" at me after it was hit. I think you scared the hell out of her with a clean miss.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

Sounds to me like a direct hit. The arrow however did not exit. It maybe found after some tracking and you will then find a large blood trail right up to it.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

Thanks guys. I appreciate all the open and honest feedback. I would agree GMMAT. Finding it quickly would have been best. I did not expect the rain to move in as quickly as it did. That helped goof things up pretty quickly. Davidmil, I found the arrow piece about 20-30 yards directly behind where she was standing. Regardless, I will head our again this weekend to see if I can find the other half lodged in a tree or wherever.

nodog, if it were a direct hit, do you think she would have snapped it off somehow? Or that it bone or something so hard that it shattered?

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

Clean miss... and you may never find the other part of the arrow. You don't have the fletchings to help you locate it.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

id say clean miss

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

Yes. The reaction of the deer is what I'm going on. When a deer jumps and kicks at impact it's a hit. If it just hunches up and goes off slowly it would be a gut shot. If it just goes off after being startled it's a miss. The reaction of the deer is a very important factor in evaluating the shot.

Daughter found an arrow for me that I could not, this spring from a very similar situation. The bucks reaction though kept me looking and after about125 yards the blood trail opened up. The arrow that I could not find was about 100 yards down the trail. It had not gone clean through but hung up. The shot was steep and the arrow must have impacted the ground before going all the way through.It was on the money. The blood trail up untill the arrow had exited consisted of a few drops. It was a faucet after it fell out. The deer was about 300 yards out. Tough old boy considering the size of the hole in his chest.

It's easy toget all turned around when getting down from a stand. Sometimes it's good to get back up and use a radioand directanother guy through where you last saw thedeer. My brother and I have had good success this way, but you have to take note of as much info as you can. I've carried a junk arrow, painted brightjust for slinging at the last spot.

I would do what I could to recover the deer up to a point. After that I would *not* do anymore. No reason to ruin future hunting. 24 hours in warm weather would be past that point.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

Yeah, it's called blowing. Odds are it was a clean miss. Never seen even a slightly wounded deer come back and blow and stomp.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

i thought it was a clean miss when i added it all up and then thought of the story i had to back up it being a miss but.................ive had deer come back in and had deer act like nothing happend just spooked to then have them fall over dead a few minutes later. these have been center heart shots but then i rememberd i had one i shot in the heart run away blowing like crazy and ran in circles back to me a few times before jumping up and flipping completely over and when she hit the ground she didnt even twitch it was like she died in the air. anyway i thought that i never had one blow when hit but then i rememberd that one time. but if the other half of the arrow was past were you shot the deer (and not near its travel path after the shot) i really dont see have the other half didnt pass the deer too.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

Every heart shot deer I've ever seen ran hard after the impact. Most will keep going 'til the lights go out, but rarely one will stop after a hard sprint. One thing about a true heart shot is that the deer is not going to live over a minute or two, and usually less than that.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

Update. It was a clean miss or at least I'm 99 percent sure it was. I've got her on trail cam a few timessince then. She has some distinct black markings on one of her back haunches. I've also noticed my sights were off/moved and most likely contributed. I didn't notice since I wasn't able to practice until this weekend. Must have been from an outing from two days before I missed on her when I knew my bow got stuck on the ladder in the pre-morning darkness while pulling it up. All good now though. Thanks for all the replies guys. Appreciate the input.

RE: A missed shot - or a recovery operation?
 

Sounds to me like a clean miss, better luck next time. She came back to taunt you.