After suffering through a very warm early season here in eastern Tennessee, I finally caught up with a couple last night. I set up on a field about fifteen yards off the edge in an area I knew they would funnel by on their way out of a swamp because they always walk around the end of this slough that extends parallel to the field. In the early evening I noticed a smaller lone deer moving towards me. I hit it an inch or so high, but it dropped on the spot and expired quickly. I took care of the smaller deer and continued hunting.

A larger doe moved by shortly thereafter. She came up the field edge parallel to me, and I shot at twenty yards when I had a good window. I was shooting at her left side. I hit her a little farther back and lower than I wanted. This was due I think to my human error, and the deer may have begun to step forward as I released. Unfortunately, I knew it was gut-shot. It ran across the field (a narrow one, only about seventy yards across) and entered the woods after walking the last few yards sort of slow and wobbly. The arrow was sticking out both sides of it. There was green stomach matter splattered about at the shot sight with a little white hair in it as well. I backed out and took care of some other things before returning at midnight, now six hours after the shot. My buddy and I located the arrow as soon as we entered the woods across the field there. The woods are just a thirty yard wide tangle of briars and young pine trees before there is a much larger field on the other side. (I had this all pulled up on maps.live.com to show ya'll, but could not figure out how to save the picture to post it here) Anyway, we found a few small spots of blood to work on, and had basically figured out its path through that thirty yard strip. Surprised we did not already find it laying there, we entered the larger field to proceed back to the truck and return this morning. When we entered the larger field and began to walk back, it jumped up only about twenty yards from us. For some reason it was laying in the field rather than in thick brush where I would have expected it. She was not running well and had a very bloodly left side. She ran back into the strip we were just looking in and appeared to lay down as we spotlighted her. I left and assumed I could find it easily this morning after giving it more time to expire.

I returned this morning and could not find any sign of the deer. I searched the strip everywhere near where we saw her and looked in both fields. I could not find any sign of her at all. I saw no blood and no body. It was strange to me as being that this patch is isolated, and the only real cover around, that I could not find it there. It is not a large patch of woods. It just did not appear that the deer had the inclination or ability last night to make it anywhere else. I hate to see a deer go to waste, but I am very concerned with our temperatures down here. I had to cut my search off this morning to return for classes at college, but I plan to go again this afternoon. I definitely owe it to myself and the deer to make every effort to locate it.

I wondered if anyone had any helpful advice or thoughts or what to do in this situation. Unfortunately I think it is just me that will be looking, so multiple-person strategies are out. I only have a small amount of blood from where it ran through the strip the first time, I have located no blood since it jumped up in the field. I was shooting 100-grain muzzy's with a compound pulling low-sixties poundage.

Thanks for any thoughts. I was thrilled to get the first of the season yesterday, but will be just as sad if I do not manage to recover this one.

Jon

Ok ... your sure that it was a gut shot but don't give up hope , the next time you go out check the area in which you shot her , sometimes they'll circle around.
When looking for any type of blood trail , you might have to get on your hands and knees to look closely for the tinyest speck of blood.
If your in some tall grass look at the sides of the grass for any type of reddishcolor and look for bent blades of grass or twigs.
When a deer is hit like that it well head for the thickest cover it can find and it will also head for water , if you have any thick and I mean real thick stuff like a brair patch anda stream or creek near by look there.
Good luck on your quest I really hope you do find her.

Wait till dawn in a similar situation you may take part in next time, deer hit like that are relatively easy to recover...but they have to be left ALONE for quite some time.....when they are not disturbed, they bed down and die. they do not travel unless forced...but with adrenaline from being jumped, they can run a long way.

I used to say wait a minimum of 6 hrs....but a few such experiances have told me 9-12 hrs. Most but not all would only take 6...the only reason i think you can justify going back sooner is if heat might spoil the meat.

That was my way of thinking. With cooler temperatures I would automatically have waited the night. With it roasting as it is, I hoped that I could get to it faster but getting it that night. I waited six hours, hoping that would do the trick. She needed more time though apparently. I was upset when I had to give up searching this morning to get to school because I am very concerned with it spoiling before this afternoon. Either way, I will attempt to find it and evaluate its condition meat-wise at that time. I am guessing that since it was able to hobble still at midnight, it would not have expired until an hour or two before sunrise this morning? I am not sure how quickly it would have cooled/reheated, etc.

Jon