RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Good luck sleeping tonite. I believe you will find him also.

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Good luck Greg. I'm convinced he's dead, but I wasn't there. I'm sure you are doing the right thing. Let us know when you find him. Can't wait to see the pics!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

GOOD LUCK!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

One thing in this post stands out to me.....

"WHEN I find it"........Love that attitude!!! All to often I hear "IF" or "I HOPE".............You'll get him bud.....Good call.

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Exactly

Why when you shoot your buck this year I will be happy!!!!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

This is quite possibly the best post and reply in this entire thread.

My thoughts will be with you Greg!!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

you'll find him;), when you do i wanna see pics;)

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Hope you find him

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

best of luck greg. i 've been in that situation before

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Good luck in the morning!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Greg, I'm confident you will find him. Don't beat yourself up about taking a walking shot. To be quite honest 1/2 the deer I have taken have been walking. I have rarely tried to stop a deer, only if they were moving fast.

The shot sounds exactly like the one I took my doe with.....a little far back and too high to hit guts. Because it started pouring down rain I had no choice but to take up the trail immediately. Fortunetly for me I found her within 40 yards and put another arrow into at 10 yards.

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Well Greg...its the morning so you are probably out there looking for the buck already or getting ready to go out.

Whichever it is...Good Luck man, I'm thinking about you!!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

I'll bechecking in throughout the day. I hope my boss doesn't catch me. :eek:

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

I guess all us old-timers get to learn that less this year, huh?

I'll never shoot a walking elk at 33 yards again, either! ;)They'll either stop when I cow-call to them, or bolt and I won't hit them far back. Either way, I can live with that result better than hitting them back like I did in Colorado.

Good luck, Greg... I know exactly what you're going through.

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

These kind of shots while hunting are,unfortunately, a fact of life. It just proves the fact that this is not target archery. I was a successful target archer for many years, hunting is a whole new game. Knowing what to do after the shot is a skill learned from experience. While learning, I've made the mistake of trailing too soon. It usually turns out for the worst. By waiting over night before tracking, I have leaned toward the extreme side of caution. Hopefully he'll be right where I think he is. I'm leaving in a few minutes to go look. Either way, I'll report back with the results later today.

I posted my situation in hopes that others could use it as a learning experience. For both shot placement and tracking techniques. Nobody wants to come on here and say,"Darn it!, I wounded a deer. Now what?" The difference is that I know what to do. It is a continuing process of honing your skills as a hunter. Even after hunting for over 40 years, I learn something new every season. Hence my signature.

Thanks to all for your encouragement.

GregH

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

When you look up Hunterin the dictionary, there is a picture of GregH

Class and Respect

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Greg:

Believe me....I commend you (and I know a thing or two about this;)) for your decision to come on here and let us in on your situation with this deer. I think there are lessons to be learned in MANY of our everyday situations....and when it happens to involve someone as seasoned as yourself.....the subject matter (and the ensuing lessons) takes on a higher level of importance.

From me, personally.....Thanks, again.

Now go get your buck!:)

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

I think you will find this deer, I don't know if you have read it or not, I made a very similar shot myself last night. I gave him 2 hrs and found him 150 yds from where I shot. I believe this is what separates veterans from beginners, the tracking stage of hunting. I have made mistakes and learned from them over the years, thanks to guys like yourself. I took some heat last night on here from a few people, but overall most were supportive. After looking at the insides of my deer, I did hit his liver and maybe some lung?, but the liver shot is what really took this creature. When I found him he had been dead for a while. Good luck!!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Greg - take your gas mask for the field dressing job. I let mine go overnight, and he was bloated like a blimp when I found him the next morning. That's definitely not fieldwork for somebody with a weak stomach.

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Good luck again, I know eachof us wishes we could help you on the recovery. Can't wait to see him!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

I also commend Greg but regardless of whom it is, someone will be the ethics police or the critic. I've posted such a thread a couple years ago. It didn't matter that the animal lived, a few felt it necessary to jump down my throat, mainly because of personal feelings rather than constructive criticism. I saw that animal later that season.

The animal in the recovery thread I mention at the top. I failed to stop him when I shot and hit him too far back, that's usually the case when shooting at moving animals because like shooting blue rock or upland birds, we fail to follow through. We stop to shoot, the animal does not and moves forward resulting in a bad hit or one farther back than we intend.

Today I stop all my animals or allow them to stop naturallly. I stop them as subtle as possible. If they are on alarm and drop at the shot, so be it, they may win that time. I don't hold low, that cost me a great buck when he didn't drop.....I rely on a quiet setup and my shooting ability. Again, if they "drop" out of the way, they win...if not, I win.

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Words of wisdom indeed!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Gregh, you are a class act. Sincerely. You have as much experience as anyone on here and I respect you for it and for your honesty. I am sure you will find him and I cannot wait to see a picture of him.

Just as a side not I do not stop an animal inside 25 yards. I see no need to stop them. I am not perfect by any stretchand I do not mean to sound like I am telling you what to do. just telling you what I do. I personally would rather have them relaxed than stopped and on edge.

You are 100% correct. This is not target practice and so many variables can mess things up. All I know is that shot will absolutely kill that deer and you will absolutely find him.

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

DID YA FIND EM???? I think I speak for everyone, I don't feel like I can go onanymore without knowing!!!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

agreed bhunter50!!!!!!!!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

I'm no pro by any stretch, and to see someone as accomplished of a hunter as Greg make a post like that means a lot.

I trully appreciate the honesty, repect, and reverence you have for your game and your fellow hunters. Thank you for the post, and yet another lesson learned.

Best of luck to you this morning. I have faith that you'll find him!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Greg, great point about continuously learning. There will never be a day when any of us can say we have learned all there is to know about bowhunting whitetails. To hear it from someone with your experience and the level of respect that you have here is a good reminder for all of us.

Good luck this morning finding that buck.

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Greg you are truly a great hunter as far as accomplisments and ethics!! It shows that no one is perfect. Nobody can shoot like Robin Hood. This is real and sometimes we make mistakes beyond what we can control. I have faith in you and your experience, now go find that deer and put this in the past. Don't sweat it!

-Sparrow

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Hey guys.he's out checking now..he'll update when he knows something..for now you'll have to stay tuned.

Maybe minutes, hours, or tomorrow. Rest assured Greg is doing all he can to take the needed time to make a successful recovery.

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Manhe is just trying tokill us.... Good luck Greg!!!!!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Greg,
Im thinking about you right now hoping your taking care of your buck!! I hope he is right where you thought he was! I said a little prayer for you!
TIm

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Ive been flipping through page after page. Post a pic already.[:@] I know you have found the deer, where are the pics.;)

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Yeah, what he said!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

I do not know GregH, don't remember his posts either or anything about the man.

What I DO know is that from my experience, and I've got a little bit of experience, that doesn't sound like a hard hit deer to me.

If you hunt a lot, you're going to wounds animals. Its hunting, and thats another thing I know, that you accept that, feel terrible if you don't find the wounded animal, learn things from your mistakes if there are any to be learned and hunt again.

That was all I was saying, nothing towards GregH at all

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

again, best of luck in the recovery.

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

GregH Hope you got your hands on him by now, lets see those pictures.

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

I'm worried,this is taking too long. I've been in his shoes and the longer it takes the less chance there is of finding him. If he has found him then shame on you Greg for teasing us!

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Im pulling for youhopefully you found him by now. I hope its cold there a little warm here in michigan.

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Hopefully he's just too busy buthchering him is why he hasn't posted pics yet.

RE: Disgusted with myself
 

Come on Gregwe see ya lurking!