well what do you think??
 

today i had big buck run up on me hardly giving me time to shoot. well i shot he lunged forward and the arrow hit him near the back leg. looked for a while and couldn't find him. what should i do?? i'm planning on looking more in the a.m. but idk?? i feel sick that i didn't make a better. shot second time i've made a bad shot on this guy first one was a miss. i've been watching him since last year.

RE: well what do you think??
 

Get back out and look in the morning, circle around... Did you hit the hind quarter or did you get a pass through gut shot?

Need to know details about shot and placement, was it broadside? Quartering Away? etc...

RE: well what do you think??
 

If You hit Him near the back leg You probably gotsome guts. You should have let Him lay down, and not tracked Him. A gut shot deer will usually die after 4 or 5 hours. If You jumped Him out of His first bed though He could go for miles. You'll just have to look, and hope theres some sign of which way He went.

RE: well what do you think??
 

What did your arrow look like? I'd start, there.

RE: well what do you think??
 

Wounded deer almost always head for water, walk the creeks, etc....just dont give up!

RE: well what do you think??
 

it was immediatly in front of the back shoulder. he kinda walked off with his butt in the air. he was broadside this happened say about 6:30. there was two of them i watched the second for a while after i shot the first one. the first one dissapeared after i shot him. i never heard him run.

RE: well what do you think??
 

Good luck doing a grid search, that's all the hope you have at this point. Probably should have left him go completely over night without looking. SOmetimes gut shots can take more than 10 hrs to die.

RE: well what do you think??
 

You shot Him infront of the shoulder? Or infront of the hind quarter? Did You find Your arrow?

RE: well what do you think??
 

i hit directly in front of thehind quarter. in the gut. it was a neon green arrow should be easy to find. no it was not a pass through shot. it stuck in him about 1/2 way or a little more.

RE: well what do you think??
 

TRAILRIDER- If the buck came in on you so fast then why did you take a shot , i mean if he cme in that fast in order for you to get a shot at him that means you had to rush your shot .Why would you want to do that at such a nice buck or any deer for that matter.I'm not trying to give you a hard time but i realy think you need to decide if the shot your taken is a good for or not you owe it to the animale that you are hunting .Good luck and i hope you find your buck if so put some picture on so we can see him.

RE: well what do you think??
 

listen 20yds broadside.front leg forward standing perfectly still. wind in favor. what would you have done??

RE: well what do you think??
 

This is what I think. Don't take half ass shots![:'(]

RE: well what do you think??
 

well here is the deal if i hadn't shot he would have been out of sight. never to be seen again by me atleast. i will look in the morning i'm looking for some consolation here 2. your not making it any better.

RE: well what do you think??
 

To be honest....there's NO shame in this, at all.

RE: well what do you think??
 

If You hit the deer where You said You did the deer will die, but where He dies is the big question. When a deer is gut shot They usually bed down, and die in there bed. Usually within 150-200 yards from where You shoot them, but if You went looking for Him, and spooked Him out of His bed or in general He could have went in any direction with no blood trail to follow, and its hard to tell how far He'll go before stopping. I'd say put Your walking shoes on tommorow, because You've got a long walk looking around for that deer. I do believe You'll find Him though. Good Luck!

RE: well what do you think??
 

Good to let him sit over night. Last year, same thing happened to me. 15 yard shot right at dark and hit a branch which sent the arrow into the guts just forward of the hind quarters. No pass through.

I went out at night two hours after dark though with a friend and we jumped the buck out of its' bed so we backed out of the woods. Hope the arrow breaks off so the entrance wound has a chance to leak.

Found him the next morning 200 yards further down the trail. Glad we backed out immediately when we bumped him.

Good Luck!

RE: well what do you think??
 

Thats really not a good answer if you dont mind me saying.
For beginners you can expect this to happen. In fact it happend to me and a doe ran off and I followed blood for 2 hours. She probably died for all i know, but it is not a total loss since other animals get to eat with out having to hunt up food.
So after this i practice way more now then before. Even tho i think everyday for a couple of hours is over kill. i just want to make sure i do a better job next time when i go in November.

So really to come out point blank and act like this towards another member is not cool in my book.
I may not be popular here like allot of these guys, but i do try to be fair in what i say to others.
And i would expect the same in return.

RE: well what do you think??
 

TRAILRIDER -All i'm saying is you took to fast of a shot . You said he came in hardly give you time to shoot and you decided to take the shot anyway of fear you would never see that buck again, well you took a bad shot now you may never find that buck so you might be in the same boat you were talking about earlyer the one where you said if you didn't take the shot you wouldn't see that buck again .All i'm asking of you is think before you shoot ask yourself is this a good shot or not or ask yourself if i have to take that fast of a shot will i make a good shot on that deer like i saidyou owe it to the animale your shooting at .I'm not trying to come down on you ,i know we all make mistakes just learn from them.

RE: well what do you think??
 

well thankx Tomkat08 . for those saying not to trail i only checked about a 30yd radius of my stand. looking for blood. i'm new to bowhunting but not new to hunting i know these things. that is why i'm waiting till a.m. to look.

RE: well what do you think??
 

Its cold enough you shouldnt have a hard time. He probably bedded down and said his good byes. He may have gotten a bit farther than you would have wanted, but with this weather he should be down waiting for you to get him loaded up and cleaned!

Good luck, and if you feel like it wasnt the best shot, more of a reason to look tomorrow!

RE: well what do you think??
 

Um, what does this have to do with anything?

RE: well what do you think??
 

well someone was bashing me about taking half ass shot's. so i was asking them if they would have taken the shot. i mean wouldn't you have!

RE: well what do you think??
 

No reason you shouldn't find this deer. I would imagine hedidn't go far. Get out there in the morning and bust your tail looking for him.

RE: well what do you think??
 

Well stated.

RE: well what do you think??
 

We all make mistakes, no doubt abuout it, dont beat yourself up over it, get out there and find that deer. He will bed within 100yds from where you shot him unless something bumped him out of his first bed, dont give up, look everywhere. I dont know what you use for practicing but i highly recomend a deer target, it helps a lot. Sometimes if a guy uses a block type of target they will center punch a deer because thats the way they have been practicing. Just a couple of suggestions, they may help for next time, and to answer your question i would have shot that deer. Once we release an arrow anything can happen- I recomend this book to everyone "Finding wounded deer" by John Trout jr great read even for the experienced hunter.....

RE: well what do you think??
 

well went out today on the farm looking for him. ran into the same two deer again wi'll searching it didn't have my arrow in it. i glassed them for a little while. well i know he is still out there alive now so i guess i owe it to him to tie a tag on him so that's what i'll be doing as soon as i get more broadheads.

RE: well what do you think??
 

and how much does a target like that cost??

RE: well what do you think??
 

You can get one for under $100..

RE: well what do you think??
 

good cause i need one. i'm sick of sucking at bow hunting.

RE: well what do you think??
 

You need to practice, we all have made a bad shot, the only thing you can do is learn from this and move on, and anyone who says they have never made a not so good shot, is full of s#*t. It is all part of bow hunting. Pratice makes Permanent.

RE: well what do you think??
 

I don't even know what to say. [&:]How many heads did you start the season with that you need more?
Bowhunting isn't a wing it type pursuit, heading out without being proficient & confident enough to kill a deer. The odds are against you enough as it is. There is a lot of good info out there(around here actually) to read up, figure out how to shoot to an acceptable level & then head afield with more confidence. Back in the day we all had to figure it out the hard way, but that isn't the case so much anymore. Take some time, read up on things around here, PRACTICE shooting & enter the woods a little more prepared next time.

RE: well what do you think??
 

yeah i'm am practicing i don't really need to get better i can shoot a 4inch circle about 9 our of 10 times 40 yds. and the reason i need more broadhead's is that i just don't wanna go without not having enough i have three now but i go hunting all day sometimes and i don't wanna shoot at something and then end up with no arrows or come up on that deer were you get the second shot. and only be left with one more arrow. it's just a safety thing plus i have a gift cert to the place i'm getting em from and my arrows need re fletched at least my practice arrows.

RE: well what do you think??
 

Hope you didnt push him by looking for him so early. A shot like that might take a day or so before he dies. If you pushed him, he might be in the next county dead.

Live and learn. Dont kick your self too much. Everyone who hunts (guns, bows etc) are going to have a moment that makes them sick. You just get over it, learn and do better the next time.;)

RE: well what do you think??
 

For next year practice logical thinking. If a buck comes running by and you dont have enough time to take a good shot without him lunging or moving or whatever, then you shouldnt have shot. If their is a next time, learn your lesson, and if you're not presented with a shot, THEN DONT TAKE ONE. It seems like some people feel like just because a deer is their they HAVE to shoot at it. Even if that means FORCING it and taking a poor and unethical/stupid shot. Take your time, if that deer doesnt give you the proper shot, tip your hat to him,because he's won this round. But stay on him, thats just the battle, but he hasnt won the war.

RE: well what do you think??
 

yeah i really appreciate all the advice guys. i went out checking fences today and working on my motorcross track. and was thinking about that whole thing. i really think that next time i go out i won't shoot unless i'm presented with a good comfortable shot. and also the deer didn't die. cause i saw him today. i'm wondering if the arrow might have just hit a bone and come out. i didn't see the arrow in him but i would know the deer i shot at from a mile away. there is no one like him. he is missing a g3 and a drop tine.

RE: well what do you think??
 

all my deer are missing drop tines....or have drop tines that stick straight up....inverted[:-]

RE: well what do you think??
 

well that is weird. well i have never had any like this one ever around here he is a small rack just kinda messed up. very small no more than a foot but he is loaded up with ten points. it is so strange. but then we have a huge typical 12 or 14. he has to be pushing 170 maybe more he is easily a pope and young.

RE: well what do you think??
 

Hahahaha. how many times have we heard this? Someone goes and shoots a deer, they "think" didn't die and damn it all from all the deer in the woods they go and see the EXACT one a few days later STILL ALIVE. Like telling us this "story" will make us all forget about it. Ohhhh its alive, ok then lets drop it, he missed it, its still fine, no worries. Ahhhhhhh B/s!! The CHANCES of even seeing the same deer are slim to none and then people try to convince us that just after they shot one he comes back and hes still alive and well. I hate liars.

RE: well what do you think??
 

They will pull the arrow out, a lot of times.

RE: well what do you think??
 

This story is a great example of why I believe one must successfully complete a bowhunter's education course before being allowed to archery hunt! I KNOW I became a better and more responsible hunter after completing bowhunter's education many years ago when I first started to hunt with archery equipment!

-Schism