Look at this arrow (important lesson)
10-06-2009, 09:23 AM
#1
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Central Utah
Posts: 4,815
Look at this arrow (important lesson)
I've been pretty fortunate/lucky in the past several years in that most of the deer I shoot drop quickly in sight. Those that went out of my sight were easily recovered.
Yesterday I had a very interesting experience. I went up pretty high in my climber. (I had my reasons for the height) There is a dry creek bed that the deer were using. According to my non-arc rangefinder this creek bed was 11 yards away. I hoped the deer didn't come right down the creek bed because it would have been a really steep angle for a shot.
Well of course the only deer I see, a small doe, comes down the creek bed. She's slightly quartering toward me but not enough to worry about. My shoulder and elbow pop loudly when I draw, she snaps her hed up at me. I can't believe she heard it but somehow she picked me off. In a split second I put my 20 yard pin on her chest and send an arrow on it's way.
20 yard pin... 11 yards.. Oops. My arrow, with it's bright firenock appears to skim right over her back. She bounds off, apparently unscathed. I kick myself repeatedly. This is an earn-a-buck property. Does can be hard to come by and there are 50-60 other hunters on this property all looking for does too.
Anyhow, use the range finder to look at the arrow. The feathers look bright and clean. I see no hair or blood.
I climb down about 20 minutes before last light. To my surprise, there is some hair and a very scant amount of blood and fat on the arrow. Very scant.
Pictures of the arrow.
Not much can be gleaned from the broadhead as it sank deeply in the dirt.
Only a very, very slight amount of blood/meat/fat on the shaft.
There is bit more blood on the shaft toward the feathers. Still not much.
Feathers with just light amount of blood. (on a solid chest hit, these are drenched and flattened with blood)
Near the nock there is some amount blood.
There is no blood where the deer was standing. No hair on the ground.
She bounded off like she was simply spooked. No hard run. She stopped about 75 yards away, looked back at me and the bounded off out of sight.
I was 99.99999 positive that I simply skimmed her back. How many here would think the same thing?
Yesterday I had a very interesting experience. I went up pretty high in my climber. (I had my reasons for the height) There is a dry creek bed that the deer were using. According to my non-arc rangefinder this creek bed was 11 yards away. I hoped the deer didn't come right down the creek bed because it would have been a really steep angle for a shot.
Well of course the only deer I see, a small doe, comes down the creek bed. She's slightly quartering toward me but not enough to worry about. My shoulder and elbow pop loudly when I draw, she snaps her hed up at me. I can't believe she heard it but somehow she picked me off. In a split second I put my 20 yard pin on her chest and send an arrow on it's way.
20 yard pin... 11 yards.. Oops. My arrow, with it's bright firenock appears to skim right over her back. She bounds off, apparently unscathed. I kick myself repeatedly. This is an earn-a-buck property. Does can be hard to come by and there are 50-60 other hunters on this property all looking for does too.
Anyhow, use the range finder to look at the arrow. The feathers look bright and clean. I see no hair or blood.
I climb down about 20 minutes before last light. To my surprise, there is some hair and a very scant amount of blood and fat on the arrow. Very scant.
Pictures of the arrow.
Not much can be gleaned from the broadhead as it sank deeply in the dirt.
Only a very, very slight amount of blood/meat/fat on the shaft.
There is bit more blood on the shaft toward the feathers. Still not much.
Feathers with just light amount of blood. (on a solid chest hit, these are drenched and flattened with blood)
Near the nock there is some amount blood.
There is no blood where the deer was standing. No hair on the ground.
She bounded off like she was simply spooked. No hard run. She stopped about 75 yards away, looked back at me and the bounded off out of sight.
I was 99.99999 positive that I simply skimmed her back. How many here would think the same thing?
10-06-2009, 09:38 AM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: central and east texas
Posts: 4,894
wow tough call...had to have been there, we can trak blood with dogs here. would prolly be your only chance to find out. i would think as any arrow hit, the deer would lie down to tend to the wounds. if ya had the dog, you would see the deer up and spring away. how long to wait, if i wasnt sure if i hit the deer or not i would prolly have the dog out befor sun went down if it were a mornin shot and at day break if it were a evenin shot. but dogs arnt allowed everywhere.
10-06-2009, 09:55 AM
#5
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Central Utah
Posts: 4,815
Being hard-headed (I'm a woman, I'm allowed). I try to trail her anyway.
Can't really find where she ran at first as it was all waist high stinging nettle and I couldn't tell were exactly she ran. I go to where I last saw her. To my surprise there is blood... and a fair amout of it. Not tons, but more than one would expect from a skimming hit. I recruit Kendall and Deb to help because my flashlight is going dead. I apologize to them in advance because I'm sure it's going to be a fruitless track.
We all seem a bit confused by what we are seeing. I shot at her right side and the blood is on left side of the trail. The blood trail doesn't get lighter the further we go as can be expected with meat hits. It seems to be getting heavier. Sometimes there are bubbles in it. Some of the blood is very pink. I cannot figure out how I could see the arrow going over the top of her back and some how have gotten a lung so I convince myself it's not really lung blood.
About 150 yards into the trail I'm feeling bad because the deer is going through some really thick stuff and I'm think K and Deb are hating me for making them walk through this stuff. I offer to give up the trail. I'm confused about the hit but I'm still fairly certain the deer has only a minor flesh wound. Deb (my hero) is steadfast about continuing on as long as we have blood. Another 50 yards up the trail the deer gets into a tangle of briars and giant ragweed. The blood trails circles around in it.... and now the blood sign is very light. Deb circles around the other side of the brairs and there is the doe. Laying stone cold dead.
I actually hit her on the far side! The angle was steep enough that it entered right next to her spine and exited out the middle of her chest a bit back. A one lung hit.
So... the take away from this is
1) use the right pin.
2) Higher is not always better with treestands.
3) Even if the arrow looks bad.. look for a blood trail. Take a good look.
4) As long as there is blood.. follow it.
5) Have good friends who are happy to keep pushing on.
Can't really find where she ran at first as it was all waist high stinging nettle and I couldn't tell were exactly she ran. I go to where I last saw her. To my surprise there is blood... and a fair amout of it. Not tons, but more than one would expect from a skimming hit. I recruit Kendall and Deb to help because my flashlight is going dead. I apologize to them in advance because I'm sure it's going to be a fruitless track.
We all seem a bit confused by what we are seeing. I shot at her right side and the blood is on left side of the trail. The blood trail doesn't get lighter the further we go as can be expected with meat hits. It seems to be getting heavier. Sometimes there are bubbles in it. Some of the blood is very pink. I cannot figure out how I could see the arrow going over the top of her back and some how have gotten a lung so I convince myself it's not really lung blood.
About 150 yards into the trail I'm feeling bad because the deer is going through some really thick stuff and I'm think K and Deb are hating me for making them walk through this stuff. I offer to give up the trail. I'm confused about the hit but I'm still fairly certain the deer has only a minor flesh wound. Deb (my hero) is steadfast about continuing on as long as we have blood. Another 50 yards up the trail the deer gets into a tangle of briars and giant ragweed. The blood trails circles around in it.... and now the blood sign is very light. Deb circles around the other side of the brairs and there is the doe. Laying stone cold dead.
I actually hit her on the far side! The angle was steep enough that it entered right next to her spine and exited out the middle of her chest a bit back. A one lung hit.
So... the take away from this is
1) use the right pin.
2) Higher is not always better with treestands.
3) Even if the arrow looks bad.. look for a blood trail. Take a good look.
4) As long as there is blood.. follow it.
5) Have good friends who are happy to keep pushing on.
