Well it happened to me tonight. My first chance at a good buck. It's a long story and I'm to frazled to go threw it all but the bottom line is at first I thought I missed completly only to climb down out of the tree and recover my arrow completly covered in blood. The reason I thought I missed originally is because the deer simply jumped a tad and trotted maybe 10 yards and stopped looked around to see what happened and slowly walked away tail down. This happened about 30 minutes before dark I finally climbed out of my stand disgusted with myself that I missed such an easy shoot only to find my arrow. I followed the blood trail which was 2-3 drops for about 30 feet and decided to back out and come in the morning and search. Please tell me I did the right thing. The arrow didn't have any fat on it or tissue or anything just blood and one piece of brown hair on the broadhead. Here's a pic of a deer and the square is where I hit it after playing it over in my mind and see a spot on the deer after the shoot I was about 12 feet in a tree and the deer was about 10 yards away perfectly broadside to me so I have to think I hit some vitals. I'm not sure how I feel right now and I now I'm not going to sleep tonight. I'm heading out tomorrow morning at 5:30am to search again. My gut tells me he is alive somewhere and I've missed the chance of a lifetime on the other hand I wouldn't want him to die in 3 days and never find him so I'm not sure how I feel right now. I'll search as long and as much as I can tomorrow and if I don't find him then I'll be sick and pack the bow away until it passes which I'm not sure how long that will take since this hasn't happened to me before. Here's a pic of were I hit him. Tell me if you think there's a chance I hit some vitals.

If that is where you are sure that you hit the deer, then you should have no problem finding him tomorrow morning.

How do you know exactly where you hit it when you originally said you thought that you missed. Especially at 10 yards. You can hear an arrow hit....especially that close. If you did hit it there you may have caught some lung

If that's where you hit him, he's dead. You'll find him in the morning. I'm surprised you didn't see him go down.

How soon after the hit did you look? Many times the blood really starts coming out after a few yards or better. Good luck and keep us posted.

Jellio (Jeff) what state are you in?

If you hit him there he's down go back and get him before the coyote's or wolves' do!

My thoughts, the way you talk about him jumping a little and then walking off I would say guts First, or hit him high thats why no blood and you got a dead deer but you have to find him.



KEEP LOOKING

I would say if this is the spot where you hit him you got yourself a buck dead close by! You did the right thing on backing out! Good luck and keep us updated!

I would say if thats where you hit. He's done.

I'm in Minnesota I waited a good hour before getting down out of my stand it was pitch black by the time I was down. I followed the blood for maybe 30 feet and decided to not go anythurther. The thing that threw me off it the deer didn't bolt like you see on tv (I now it's a tv show but that's what expected and the doe I shot last year bolted right way) as long as I could see it until it disappeared it was walking very slowly.