HuntingNet.com Forums - Success! Doe Down!

Got out for the second time this season this afternoon. Last Sat was the opener, saw a couple does just at last light and let them walk. Tonight, I set my climber up in a white oak and it was raining acorns all around. Don't know how I avoided being beaned. The wind was okay, kind of cross wind, but I still expected deer to come from either the south west or the woods to the east,but didn't see any movement. About 10 min to 6, I don't know where she came from, but I saw a doe silently working her way into my shooting lane off to my left. I was already standing and put my pin right on her shoulder, but I forgot to compensate for yardage. I was set at 25 yards and she came in about 20, and she took a step just as I let it fly. I knew I hit her, followed her with my eyes and saw her push another deer or 2 that were with her. I saw her circle around and dissappear about 40 yards away. I thought I heard her crash, so I figured it was a good hit and she's down. Surprisingly, when I got down, I didn't find my arrow. Uh oh, here comes that bad luck I'm thinkin.

I packed up my climber and walked back to the truck, grabbed my coleman lantern, and forgot my camera, lol. I gave it about 45 min, then tried to pick up the trail. I was feeling kinda sick, didn't see my arrow or find any....wait a second, there's a small splotch of bright red blood. Okay, its a hit. The trail was sporadic, all I found were single drops or specs every 5 to 10 yards. I marked every drop with some TP and I could visualize the route the deer took. I lost the trail for a while, and called a buddy. Its pitch black out now. I figured we might end up doing an early morning tracking exerciseinstead of hitting the range tomorrow. After I called him, probably 15 yards from the last drop, there are 2 more drops! Okay, I'm thinking this is around where I heard the crash, but didn't see any more blood. I went around a small stand of trees trying to be sure not to disturb any sign and there she was! By the time I got done dragging I figured I'm not gonna get any decent pics, so I didn't bother, sorry... I gotta say, reading up on what to do after the shot really helped out. This was one thin blood trail. She was laying in a pool of blood tho, and there was an exit wound, so I may just have to go lookin for that arrow another day.