Just shouldered a doe...will she live??
 

About 7:30 am this morning I wacked a doe :o, she was about 14 yds slightly quartering towards me. It was a real steep shot as I was pretty high up and for one reason or another I hit her in the left shoulder :sad:, a little high too as I was shooting a pretty steep angle. She bolter about 125 yds across a grass field with the arrow still in her, I didnt find any blood where I hit her and didnt seem to see any in her first few steps, I also just walked across the field where she entered the woods on the opposite side and didnt see the arrow either. Any opinions:confused0024: ? Im not sure about penetration as I didnt get the arrow. Oh and im shooting rage 2 blades from a 71lb air raid and cx maxima hunters! Thanks guys !!

Give her some time. She will die, if you have a dog with you take it with you!! Oh, and don't take shots quartering to you......

I would just say that since you're not sure about the hit, just give her until mid day or early afternoon and try and pick up the trail with some help if you can.

I know I know I know, but she was barely quartering at all that Ive taken several deer standing nearly the same in the past, the bottom line is I didnt get the arrow exactly where it needed to be. I just wanna know what my chances are of recovering her. Believe me Ill be looking from about 12 till tonight, and tomorrow morning if necessary, I just dont know where to start! I marked where I hit her and where she entered the woods on the opposite side of the field so we'll see what happens I gues :o

Muliefever summed up just about rt. I'd probably leave Fido at home unless he/she is a trained tracking dog. If you have binoculars take them with you and if you can't find a bloodtrail use them as you move slowly along any obvious trails where she entered the woods. I'd give her at least 6 hrs. if it was me. Wounded deer will usually bed down relatively quickly and hopefully you'll find her piled up within 200-300 yds. In the absence of a bloodtrail move slow and use your binoculars to scour every in. of woods.

Dan

You seen the arrow still in her? Could you tell about how much penetration you got?

The best thing you can do right now is wait and get everything ready. Gather some friends or family and see if you can locate a tracking dog (if legal in your State). If you are positive of where she entered the timber again, start there looking first for blood. If no blood, all you can do is start grid searching for here. An aerial map would be helpful, mark it into boxes and check them off after checking every piece of thick cover and deadfall. Giving her time will put the odds in your favor. Good luck!

I have had this same thing happen - hitting a doe in the shoulder that is. In fact, it was the only time I ever lost a deer. My mistake was not waiting long enough. I gave her 5 hours and then took up the trail. No good, when I realized after about an hour of slowly following blood that got fresher and fresher that I was pushing her. I backed out and looked again all the next day but she must have left Dodge. A wise old hunter I know told me I should have gave her much longer, probably waited overnight, so her leg would stiffen up, etc. Anyway, I wish now that I would have done that and it still makes me a little sick to my stomach. At least the coyotes got to eat I guess. Good luck. I hope you find her and just wouldn't push it when looking for her.

This is true, howver its pretty hot out today, and im sure the meet will spoil very quickly, so if I dont find her fairly soon the only think she'll be good for is her hide and ill get my earn a buck tag. I really hope I find her though, I'd absolutely hate to waste a perfectly healthy doe :nonono2:

I'll offer up a bit of a different take on your situation.

It really depends on WHERE in the shoulder you hit her. If you stuck that tip exactly in the ball of her shoulder bone (or whatever terminology you want to use, but meaning the thick end of the bone..) you most likely didn't get ANY penetration, the arrow is stuck there, and she'll pull it out later when she's calm and has a chance to stop and work on it.

In my mind, without a drop of blood anywhere, this is the most likely scenario -- plus the fact you watched her run for over 100 yards without falling.

An inch or two either way and you would have been driving through the scapula provided your bow is properly tuned.

Having said that, you owe her your best effort in an attempt to recover her until you absolutely can verfiy she's still alive.

The buck I killed last year was a shoulder shot at 30 yards. It went through the shoulder breaking it in half. The muzzy actually lodged on the opposite shoulder. The arrow broke instantly, i thought he was gone for sure, but he only went about 60 yrds and crashed over. My shot severed the aorta and he didn't stand a chance. there was actualy no blood trail, the meat of the shoulder clogged up the hole. i just walked off the last time i saw him and sure enough he was there, dead.

She will die, it's just a matter of time. Wait it out and start searching from the last place you saw her. Just give her time to expire. Good Luck.

every bow hunter is gonna encounter this problem before too long...jus give er time and she'll die...you might have one heck of a time findin her though so stick with it...how much penetration did you get?

What Greg says is very true. I guess it all depends on how well you got a look at where the arrow was and how much was sticking out. In my case, it was right in the middle of the shoulder and between half and three quarters was sticking out. Hence the wise old hunter telling me, give it time because she may or may not make it with a shot like that.

The other thing to consider is though it may be hot out, she may not expire for a very long time yet depending on the hit, so the meat may still be fine, and you may be tracking a live deer that may have a lot of run left in her. It's a tough call, but you're the one in the situation and can determine it best.

I was just trying to offer some perspective, not saying one way or the other is right. Perhaps a compromise is to start looking soon, but keeping the search party to one or two people and moving sloooooowww, like a turtle, watching and looking everywhere as you go. Good luck. Let us know how it works out.

Yeah... give her some time.. then go in after her...
could be dead in there...

Good luck and be sure to update us when you get back from looking for her! Hope you find her.

All good posts above. The only additional advice I have is to look near water. If she was running hard and is bleeding internally she may head to water to rehydrate and bed down.

What kind of sound did the impact make?
Did you find the arrow? And, was there blood on it? How far up the shaft did the blood go?

Depending on how much penetration you got, she may or may not die. Like Greg said, if it didn't get through the shoulder, then yo won't find her and she won't die from that hit.
But, you stilll gotta look, and hopefully you at least find the arrow and from that, you will have a better idea of what did or didn't happen.

I shot a nice buck last year. It was a bit forward and went right into the shoulder blade. The arrow stayed in the dear. I watched him run 80 yards and fall over. However, I wanted to see his blood trail just for the practice. Not one ounce of blood! It was all internal.

Give her time for sure though!

With a high hit like that, blood is gonna be scarce. Make sure you grid out the area and look real good before just calling her a survivor. If you got through that shoulder, she's dead.

This is the best advice I've head yet, if there is indeed water around. I would start looking at very first light in the morning, not sooner. That deer will likely live into the night. If she dies tonight the meat will be fine in the morning. This is how I would handle this situation.

Did you find her?? Whats the verdict? I thought all day about this,was wondering if you found her or not! LOL

According to a post on AT that is almost guaranteed to be the same poster, he found the deer about 75 yds from where he last saw her. No pics on that post yet either.

saw that post too...
he's leaving us hanging over here... ;)

Yeah, we need the verdict.

Dan

Then your sure she's dead right?

Sounds like a found deer but confirmation would be nice.

Okay guys im back! So just to verify, I did post on the other site however unforunatly i DID NOT find her :nonono2:

I went out at about one that afternoon, and my self and 3 others searched till after dark. When I say we found nothing that is not an exaggeration! No arrow, not a drop of blood, and I mean I was on my hands and knees looking! From there we went to where I saw her enter the woodline, she jumped into a small grassy area of which there were 3 options for her. There is an old dirt roadway that heads towards the swamp. Naturally being it goes downhill and leads to water was my first choice, and no dice! Not a thing! No deer, no blood, and no arrow. The next choice was about 2 acres of THICK brush! So we spread out and covered every inch of it, towards the end we spooked a doe up, however we determined it was not her. The next option was a big grass field, and she wouldve had to turn pretty sharp to get in there. So we searched the surrounding woods and also got nothing. I also went back out this morning and searched some more and again nada.

So Im thinking she's a survivor, no blood, not great penetration, and no sign of her. My only question is how the hell did that arrow stay in her! As for the sound it made, it was kind of a loud cracking sound I'd say. Either way that my update and it sucks :nonono2:

Well...It sounds like you gave a good effort to find her...I always ask myself one question..."Would you take the shot again tomorrow if you had the chance?'' If you would, try to forget it and move on, if you wouldn't, you just learned something...

Experience comes from learning from failure...

I have a lot of experience in many areas...

Yes I would most definately take the shot again :wink:. Bad shots happen sometimes, I make that shot 99 time out of 100, but that was the 1 time! It kinda has me rethinking the rages though, I know they arent meant to go through bone but at such close range and a lot of KE im still a little dissappointed..but you cant beat em with soft tissue shots!

I was kinda thinking about the mechanical when I saw this posted up...Made me think what would have happened with a Muzzy or Thunderhead fixed blade in her slicing as she ran away...

Sorry to hear it Lyncher. That is the exact reason I don't shoot mechs. If you happen to make a poor hit, you have a higher percentage of success with a quality fixed broadhead, in my opinion. I know there is always the exception on both sides, however I like to play percentages. Dead is dead...and a good shot with pretty much any head will kill them. Its on the errant shots that I am worried about and want the percentage on my side. You hunt long enough, you'll shoulder one - that's a fact. Keep your chin up...

Mike

Last season I shot a nice non-typical buck. When the arrow hit him it cracked very loud. He took off running and the arrow was hanging out of the side I hit him on and fell back out about 20 yards after he started running. I retrieved the arrow and noticed it only penetrated about 2 inches. I have heard of this happening to other hunters but it was the first time it happened to me. I knew then I hit him on the thickest part of his shoulder bone. My son and I gave him some time then searched all day and did not find him. There was very little blood. I know he lived to see another day.

why in the world would a person use a mech broadhead is beyond me.

Because its on TV.

Based off the arrow location and the lack of penetration, I would say she will live. Deer are tough and if that arrow did not penetrate the shoulder bone then I think she will make it. Was she limping badly as she ran away, or was she running on all 4 legs? If you were elevated, I am not surprised with the lack of blood as there was no pass-through. I have seen the pictures from processors showing broadheads embedded in shoulder bones. Always and area I try and miss when shooting.

I have shot both fixed and mech's. I believe shot location is the key. I am not going to say if you would have a fixed blade the deer would be dead or vice verca. You said you would take the shot again. Good! Then Chalk this one up to buck fever, Murphy's law, etc... Stay confident in your equipment and your shooting ability.

You did everything you could to find the animal and I think she lived. Go get her later in the season. Good Luck!