I am thinking that you never penetrated the chest cavity.....angles never seem to be exactly what you think they are at the shot....but at any rate, in my opinion, the deer was at a slightly sharper angle than you thought or your arrow glanced along the ribs and lodged under the near shoulder. If you did indeed get penetration of the chest cavity, you hit the front of a lung...which means they go a looong way. I aided in the sucessful recovery operation of a doe that went very close to 1/2 mile after getting hit similarly too far forward.

Since nobody flamed me I guess I'll just flame myself a little.

Given the tools to think about it now I realize how stupid, idiotic, retarded,and asinineit was that I figured I could get both lungs on a more thanmoderate but less than severlyquartered away deer by trying to enter at the top middle of the closer lung. I simulated the shot situation by taking a 2x2 post-it note and cut it down the middle, then put the piecesside by side about an inch apart to represent how the lungs would sit inside the deer's chest cavity. I then rotated it 30 degrees and looked atit on amodel scaleas if from 20ft up and 30 feet away. What became very obvious was that in order to hit both lungs, I had to hit an area probably about the same size as my 2x2 post-it note. Even then it would've been a high close lung and low far lung hit which is far less than ideal.btw- How would this ^ hit havelikely played out considering neither lung was hit near the center?

I also realized another obvious thing thatthe lower I would've been onstand, the larger that "double lung" kill zone would be.The heart in this situation would've been the highest percentage shot as the kill zone would probably be about 4x6 inchescorrect?

I had something very similar to this happen to me in one of my first real seasons bow hunting. Had a big body 8 point (which at that point was the largest deer I had drawn on) and hit forward on the body quartering away. Waited 2 hours and hopped down thinking I had just smashed this deer and when I got to my spot there was absolutely no sign. Did the same thing you did and started making broad sweeps of the area with nothing. About 300 yards from the stand, just randomly, I found the area where he first layed down and where the arrow finally kicked out. And that area was loaded with blood. Finally had a blood trail that I could follow and did for another for another half a mile or so with just a drop at this point every 40 yards or so. Finally I actually saw the deer again just walking around like nothing was wrong with it before he started running again with no blood trail. It happens but you have to look again. I looked 3 days for this deer before believing that it had lived. Deer will walk around with arrows sticking out of their bodies. It happens more than it should.

Next time you shoot a deer ,watch it as long as you can thencalm down,sit down and shoot an arrow into the ground where the deer was standing when you shot it. Deer like all animals bleed when shot,blood is there you just missed it. start at that second arrow and with a roll of toliet paper mark each spot of blood and move slowly and not till you see the next spot.Your deer is dead you just need to go find it.
If you doubt what I am saying ,how far away would you be if you were shot in the same place.

Hoytail...

First off, I give you credit for sharing this event even though you risked the chance of being harshly criticized by those who may have forgotten what its like to make an occassional bad shot and lose a deer. Kudos to you for seeking the advice ofothers who may have more knowledge!
The shot replayed verbally never looks the same as what you saw. Judging from your comments, you did in fact hit the shoulder bone and therefore lacked the penetration to exit the deer. No blood however does surprise me a bit. What type of broadhead were you shooting?
Quartering away shots require a bit more attention to the "offside" front leg. You want your arrow to exit from behind the opposite frontleg. That means, next time you look at a deer from the side towards you, look where the opposite front leg comes down from the belly and keep your pin vertically even with that front leg. More then likely, your pin will be on the last rib on the side towards you, but the arrow will exit behind the front leg.
Get a 3-D deer target as someone mentioned and practice those shots until its second nature!
Good luck in your future hunts!

I agree with joe I don't believe you penetrated the chest cavity either from the angle you descride at that close of a distance you more than likely lodged you arrow behind that front shoulder.Think about back to the last time you quartered a deer and removed the front leg and shoulder from the body.If you were aiming and hit that crease at that angle both the deer and the height then you probably did hit that deer behind the shoulder but not penetrating the rib cage.the arrow just lodged in the shoulder,but if it is still there then the deer will surely die or get weak enough for the predators to finish the job you started.Don't beat yourself up, learn from it,if you do the same thing again then you can beat yourself up and we will help,lol.

I was thinking the same thing maybe the shot was a little too far forward for a quartering away shot. So then possibly you went just below the spine and lodge into the shoulder blade? With the shot so high on the deer it will be tough to find blood, but Im thinking you should of caught atleast one lung! Thus meaning the hole is high possibly arrow plugging the hole and if not its still bleeding out into the chest cavity...internally! Its so tough though to sit here and say though. May just be to far forward caught the shoulder blade and did not penetrate...deer will survive! Hope this helps!

Thank you fellows. I guess if you own up and ask nice, you get nice. It don't make it right though 'cause I know it wasn't nice for the deer. I hope the bowhunting Gods give this "still rookie" another chance.

For the guy that asked, I was using a 311gr total weight CX Maxima 250 3-D select tipped with a never beforeshot85gr Montec projected from a Vectrix set at 55lbs shooting 255fps.

Anyway, at least 3 things I take from this experience:

1) Be only as high in the tree as you need to be to see deer approaching from a distance that will allow you enough timeto ready yourself. The steeper the angle, the smaller the kill zone.

2) Similar future situations call for a heart shot instead of trying for 2 offset lungs.

3) Increase my arrow weight and it might not deflect off a rib on a quartering shot then change trajectory. (you guys might need to confirm this one)

Aim for the exit point... short and simple. Imagine the true flight of the arrow going throught the entire deer. Did you hit the shoulder, or maybe exit the chest only clipping the entrance lung??? That is the only advice i can think of.

Where did you come up with any of these?

What does height have to do with tracking? Unless you are shooting straight down its amute point.

Both lungs are in contact with the heart hit the heart andyou hit them all.

Fixed blades do not deflect while opening.And there is a 1 1/4 inch plus entrance hole to bleed from.